It had been exactly two months since Chu Ke obtained the Fundamental Forces.
As Chu Ke continued using them, the Fundamental Forces finally underwent their third evolution—devouring themselves.
That was to say, when Chu Ke possessed two equal portions of Fundamental Forces, he could use one portion to devour the other, increasing the total amount and ultimately obtaining three portions. Of course, this growth ratio was not fixed; it increased according to the value of the counter in Chu Ke's mind.
For example, after devouring one portion of Fundamental Forces, he could now increase them by 2.3e+18 portions.
"This is getting a little boring." Chu Ke's physical body floated cross-legged in the void, his right hand supporting his cheek.
The Fundamental Forces truly could accomplish anything, but all of it was based on Chu Ke's "understanding." At the end of the day, before this, Chu Ke had merely been an insignificant human among countless worlds. The "interesting things" in his mind would eventually run out, and life would become as dull as a game he had cleared countless times, after exhausting every bug exploit and gimmick.
Perhaps when that reached its extreme, it would be the dividing line between humanity and divinity.
Although that time was still far away, in Chu Ke's endless life, even the longest span of time was no more than an instant. It was indeed necessary to think about it in advance.
"Huh?" At that moment, Chu Ke froze. He sensed what the clone he had sent to the world of Cyberpunk 2077 had been doing.
"Right, why not try being the protagonist myself?"
He was not talking about the protagonist of this book. Chu Ke knew better than anyone that this book's protagonist was absolutely himself. What he meant was becoming the protagonist of those other stories.
Before this, Chu Ke had played agent battles by handing out "cheats," somewhat like controlling game characters.
Why not upgrade directly to a VR game, create an account himself, and enter the field personally?
There might be suspicions of "cheating," but that was what made a qualified "player," wasn't it?
After all, when players played games, they might not use a trainer, but they had to have one.
If his defenses broke, he could just turn it on. Or rather, making him lose his cool would be the greatest reward.
With a thought, the original Chu Ke made a few adjustments to the settings of the clone that Cyberpunk-world Chu Ke had sent into the magic array.
His emotions—or rather, the human side of him—began to intensify.
The original Chu Ke smiled faintly and turned his gaze toward that brand-new world.
His true nature should be gentle and kind, right?
"O Hero from another world, in the name of the Priestess of the Holy God Goddess, I call upon you! Come and save this broken world!"
Within a marble temple carved with magnificent patterns, rays reflected from several golden mirrors converged upon the central altar.
A woman wearing a priestly hat and an expression of devout reverence clasped her hands before her chest, chanting in a strange language.
On the raised platforms to either side, several clergy members in priestly robes held flower baskets and scattered petals and holy water through the air.
A ten-member choir sang hymns praising the Goddess in clear children's voices. Beside them stood a Priest in red robes, holding a gospel book and reciting in a low, powerful voice.
It seemed that the Holy God Goddess they spoke of had heard the call of her devout followers. A beam of infinitely sacred light broke through the dome and shone down as a human figure slowly took shape within it.
Bathed in holy light, Chu Ke slowly opened his eyes.
He rubbed his eyes like a newborn child.
The people present gradually stopped their hymns. Every one of them looked at Chu Ke with surprise, excitement, and curiosity.
Chu Ke's lips moved.
What would he, the chosen Hero, say? Would he be curious, or bewildered? Everyone waited in eager anticipation.
Chu Ke narrowed his eyes and shielded them from the light as he looked upward. "Who the fuck turns on the lights in broad daylight? Turn them off!"
The next moment, that holy light representing the Holy God Goddess's authority and glory flickered like a sound-activated lamp in an old house with poor wiring. After flickering for a while, it went "der~" and went out.
Along with it went the original Chu Ke's anticipation in the void.
The original Chu Ke sighed and looked away from that world. "Must've seen wrong. I should look at the snowy mountains in the distance instead."
"Huh?"
"What's going on?"
"The Goddess's holy light?!"
Unfortunately, the languages of different worlds were not mutually intelligible. The people below had no idea what Chu Ke had just said. They were only shocked that the Goddess's holy light had suddenly gone out.
On the altar, the Priestess who had received the Goddess's blessing of Otherworld Language Comprehension lowered her head to stare at her toes, not daring to speak.
Goddess, what kind of dangerous thing did you send over here?! Chu Ke ignored the commotion below and began examining his cheat.
Yes, the original had temporarily sealed his authority to use the Fundamental Forces, but he had also given him a powerful cheat.
Light Red
Defeat enemies to gain points and allocate them to yourself.
Simple and direct. Chu Ke wondered whether his original self would receive a lawyer's letter from the trainer next door.
But then Chu Ke remembered that he seemed to have committed copyright infringement plenty of times himself, so he relaxed.
Chu Ke turned to the trembling Priestess beside him and nudged her with his elbow.
"Say your lines."
This was obviously the opening cutscene CG. Why had it frozen?
"Oh! Oh, right!" The Priestess swallowed and came back to her senses, though her eyes were still unfocused and she did not dare look at Chu Ke.
So, with a vacant, wandering gaze, she began her introduction. "Um... well, the prophets foretold that the most vicious Demon King in history is about to awaken. The Holy God Goddess Sophie will join forces with the Space Goddess to summon five legendary Heroes from another world to save this world."
The Priestess's professional standards were quite good. Even though she was terrified, she still completed the entire CG sequence.
"Um, let me interrupt for a second." Chu Ke raised his hand. "Is the Space Goddess named Qidu?"
He could not be blamed for getting the wrong idea. The Holy God Goddess's name was simply too ridiculous.
"Huh?" The Priestess froze, then shook her head. "No. Her divine name is An Erle."
"..." Chu Ke fell silent for a moment. "Continue."
"Oh, right... Every Hero possesses a unique extraordinary class. For example, the Law Hero in the west possesses All Laws Mastery, while the Time Hero in the south is a Time Manipulator. You are currently the third Hero to be summoned."
"How do I check my class?" Chu Ke asked.
"It's very simple." The Priestess quietly chanted "Inspect" in a strange language, and a virtual light screen appeared out of thin air. "This is the status panel that everyone in our world has. It records information such as class, name, physical attributes, and skills, which can only be seen by oneself and those one permits to see it."
The Priestess placed her small white hand beside Chu Ke's head. "Language bestowal."
In the next instant, Chu Ke understood this world's language and the magical language used to cast basic spells.
"Inspect," Chu Ke murmured in the magical language.
"Well? Well?" The Priestess was no longer quite so afraid. She leaned closer with curious excitement. "What extraordinary class is it?"
"..." Chu Ke fell silent again for a moment, then asked, "Just asking, does your prophecy specify when the Demon King will be born?"
"Huh? Counting the days, it should be sometime within the next couple of days." The Priestess became somewhat dejected at the mention of it. "Why are you suddenly asking?"
"...Nothing." Chu Ke looked up at a forty-five-degree angle, confidence radiating from him as though he truly were a Hero.
"I am the chosen Hero."
Chu Ke Class: Demon King Constitution: 1; Resistance: 1; Recovery: 1; Mana: 1 Available points: 0 Skill: [Demon King's Mercy LV: max]: Ignores the vast majority of detection skills and negative effects. (Trust me, it'll be safer if you can't recognize me.)
Thanks to reader Heart and Qin for the 3,000-point tip.