The Fire Keeper's Peril

Cheng Shi held a golden Mask in his hand and examined it curiously.

To be honest, he never imagined that the Mask would actually be useful to someone else.

He thought the Mask he had given away last time was useless, so he gave Fang Shiqing another Healing Art with the Shared Divine Grace.

Looking back now, I feel like I lost out big time!

Cheng Shi, the Mask Cheng Shi was holding was not the one he had given to Fang Shiqing, because that one had disappeared after Cheng Shi was brought here.

Mask are always consumables.

"You mean, you used this Mask to summon me?"

After the conversation, Fang Shiqing realized that Cheng Shi was unaware of the purpose of the Mask.

She looked somewhat surprised, but secretly felt lucky.

Thank goodness, thank goodness my desperate gamble paid off, otherwise...

She didn't know how to explain this to all the Fire Keeper.

"You don't even know what your own things are for?"

"..."

This question is directed at myself, isn't it?

What's in you can't be mine?

If something exists, it already exists; why make such a distinction?

Cheng Shi didn't know how to respond, so he clicked his tongue and handed the golden Mask back to Fang Shiqing.

"Then what is the purpose of this?"

Fang Shiqing took the mask and glanced at it:

Unashamed Mask (S): When you put on this Mask, your fighting spirit will be unstoppable; when you consume this Mask to cast a defensive spell, all defensive effects and their duration are doubled.

The effect has changed; it's now a defensive mask.

She frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then asked, carefully choosing her words:

"This question may be a bit presumptuous, but Cheng Shi... these Mask..."

"I found it."

"Oh." Fang Shiqing shook her head and chuckled, looking like she knew it. "This is a defensive mask that can increase the defensive effect and extend the defensive time."

Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow, thinking of Old Cui's profession.

The warrior of Decay, the mummy.

Could it be... that these Mask are related to the player class that provides them?

"I see."

He nodded, took back the Mask, and then put it into Cui Qiushi's hand.

Cui Qiushi was caught off guard by Cheng Shi's actions. His eyes widened, and he stood there stunned.

"What are you looking at? Keep going! You guys look so pathetic. It's obvious you're in for a tough fight."

"Holding this will help me withstand a few more blows."

Even though Cui Qiushi was a warrior who had been tempered by war, he was still a little dumbfounded when someone casually gave him an S-Rank Item.

Moreover, the person in front of him is not even Fire Keeper.

"I..."

"It's a promise, this isn't a gift for you. Once you've resolved your current troubles, you Fire Keeper will have to return it."

Hmm, let me think, what should I order?

Before she could finish speaking, Bailing sneaked over again, carrying her tattered skirt.

"Boss, take me! I'll pay off my debt with my body."

Cheng Shi curled his lip, looking disgusted, and said:

"Dream on. I'll not only lose the mask, but I'll also let you have a free ride. You're really scheming."

"?"

Even Bailing was stunned. She first confirmed that the person in front of her was indeed Cheng Shi, and then suddenly burst into laughter, clutching her stomach and laughing so hard that she leaned on Cheng Shi's shoulder and couldn't straighten up.

"Hahaha... Well, what should we do then?"

"I can't let you have your fun for nothing."

"Then how about I pay you?"

"?"

Sister, what do you take me for?

Am I that kind of person?

How much?

Ah, cough cough, oh no, I feel like I'm evolving in the direction of XX.

I just want to compromise with Destiny, I don't really want to be a XX.

"Alright, let's get down to business, let's get down to business!"

Although Cheng Shi was puzzled as to why he could jump from one Trials to another with Trials a Mask, since he was here, he had to treat the Trials his own.

After all, no one could tell him whether death in this Trials was truly death.

No one could tell him whether he would lose points if he failed in this Trials.

To be honest, Fang Shiqing hadn't expected this situation either.

She originally thought she would summon a puppet that was a replica of Cheng Shi's abilities, but she didn't expect to summon the real person instead.

That means that Cheng Shi, like them, is trapped in the same desperate and perilous situation.

The culprit behind all of this was herself.

Fang Shiqing appeared calm and composed on the surface, even with a smile, but in reality, she felt extremely apologetic.

Their aim is to protect the good, not for the "good" to protect them.

But there was no other way now that things had come to this; she couldn't just send him back as soon as he arrived. So she looked at Cheng Shi and made a decision in her heart.

Given her status, she couldn't promise anything on behalf of the Fire Keeper, but she could promise something for herself:

Regardless of the outcome, in this Trials, there will always be one person who survives.

She clutched her Book of Truth tightly in her hand and quietly pressed the page for "Skeleton Warrior".

Amidst these chaotic thoughts, she also told Cheng Shi everything that had happened to them.

The Trials were initiated because the Fire Keeper were seeking something that was very important to them.

They mobilized many Passing the Flame to pray together, with the same goal, but not everyone lined up together.

Regardless of where the other Fire Keeper ended up, Fang Shiqing, Bailing, and Cui Qiushi were all assigned to the same game, and were placed in the [Chaos] game.

Yes, a chaotic situation!

The title of their Trials was "The Pearl on the Crown of Truth ([Chaos])," but the hint Trials was:

[Wail loudly as the death knell tolls (limited to 5 days)]

The question and the clues are almost completely unrelated.

However, judging from past Trials of chaos, His hints can generally be ignored.

Because His game is filled with all sorts of chaos and disorder, players who enter the game don't need to look for any Trials clues at all. Just surviving until the end of the Trials is already the greatest victory.

Moreover, the scoring logic in this game is different from other games. You never know what it's thinking, nor do you know why it gives you points or deducts points.

Therefore, in His scheme, there is no need to consider pandering or care about anything else; in short, survival is the most important thing.

Cheng Shi looked at Fang Shiqing and the other two with a sudden realization, finally understanding why they were in such dire straits.

Because they had already survived four days of this chaotic disorder.

Today is the last day.

The group was currently in what appeared to be an underground wine cellar, the air thick with the lingering aroma of alcohol. Few flames flickered on the torches on the walls, barely illuminating the small, not-too-crowded space.

The Fire Keeper are probably taking shelter here temporarily, and once they leave, they will likely face the next battlefield.

War often implies chaos, which fits His theme perfectly.

Since there was no Priest in the team, Fang Shiqing, who held the Book of Truth, had to take on the role of a healer for the previous four days.

Fortunately, she had enough experience and resources to lead her team to persevere until now.

However, the pages of the book for imprinting talents are not endless. Now, there are only a few pages of skills left in the book in her hand, and her teammates are almost exhausted.

"So, you still have three teammates who are alive?" Cheng Shi asked, quite surprised.

Fang Shiqing nodded and pointed in a certain direction outside the cellar.

"That's right, they're in the ruins a few miles away, with the NPCs."

We couldn't hide our identities from each other, so we simply told them the truth and that we were from the same organization. This would make it easier for us to act together.

Now is the time for the three of us to keep watch for the main force.

"An organization? What organization?" Cheng Shi smiled. He knew that Fang Shiqing couldn't possibly be referring to the Fire Keeper.

"Soul Salvation Society."

"Tsk, so you guys have started lying too."

Cheng Shi raised his eyebrows and a smile curved his lips.

He had heard of this "Soul Salvation Society," which was an organization of Believer with somewhat fanatical beliefs about death.

Most of the members of the group have a talent for controlling corpses or summoning the undead. They claim that "bringing the corpses back into the battlefield is the best way to send the dead to the afterlife," making them a notorious small faction.

The Fire Keeper fabricated the identity of this organization because it was a niche organization with few people knowing about it, and also because it could solve the problem of the various pages about necromancy in her possession.

However, judging from the appearances of Fang Shiqing and the other two, apart from Bailing, none of them had the temperament to match the image of this organization.

Another point is that the big guy has quite a few records of the [Death] talent, which doesn't seem like he got them by trading with someone else.

Could it be that among the Fire Keeper, there is a high-scoring player who Faith in Him?

Cheng Shi rolled his eyes, but didn't press the matter further.

"They believed it?"

"Of course they don't believe it. They probably think we're going to abandon our plans to operate with the main force."

After all, in such a vast battlefield, small-team operations, aside from the inability to achieve their intended objective, are far more convenient for self-preservation and concealment than following the main force.

What are the other three people's configurations?

"A Void Energetics Erudite Scholar is about to reach 2600 points, with a passionate and powerful Heartstring; an Elemental Judge with 2500 points, with a neutral and calm Heartstring; and a prisoner whose specific situation is unknown, protected by [Silence], unable to hear the sound of his Heartstring."

Cheng Shi was taken aback, and suddenly realized that this lineup was actually not bad.

One warrior, two Mages, two Singer, one Hunter, but they're missing a healer.

But now, the wet nurse has arrived.

"Oh wow, your scores are quite different. I remember Bailing was..."

Bailing smiled broadly and said generously:

"Boss, let's get to know each other again. Bailing, the Sensory Hunter, the City Defender, 1447."

"Cui Qiushi, Order Knight, City Defender, 1964."

"Fang Shiqing, Erudite Poet, City Defender, 2114."

Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow, pondered for a moment, and made a decision.

"Cheng Shi, Doctor of Forgetfulness, 2401."

If you don't mind, I'll take over this game.