As the title says.
Over the past seven days, Xie Yang, apparently having received some promise from that Prophet young lady, happily helped Cheng Shi run an A-grade Weapon dungeon.
Actually, Cheng Shi had never intended to get a weapon. What he wanted was a few Gold Pocket Watches.
But Xie Yang felt that the value of the watches could not even compare to a bottle of Past Prosperity potion, so he insisted on getting him a weapon.
Seeing how stubborn Xie Yang was, as if he had no fear of death, Cheng Shi compromised. He casually named a Mage weapon and had Xie Yang run the dungeon for him.
When Xie Yang learned that Cheng Shi needed a Mage weapon, he froze for quite a while.
"So you're a Mage?"
"Don't I look like one?"
"I always thought you were an Assassin. You're very good at hiding yourself."
"..."
Fortunately, Xie Yang did not die in the dungeon, though his injuries were severe.
Cheng Shi earnestly persuaded Xie Yang to get that bottle of Past Prosperity back. Unexpectedly, Xie Yang decisively rejected his suggestion and went into debt for another bottle.
In the end, he did get the weapon, but he lost another bottle of medicine in the process.
"May you find love soon." Cheng Shi's expression was complicated.
"Thank you."
Xie Yang was sincerely grateful.
Cheng Shi was sincerely disgusted.
If it weren't for the fact that you can keep me company and chat, why should I care about your damn love life?
Still, this was pretty good too. At least he had some entertainment to watch.
In this world, relaxing both body and mind was the most important thing.
Time passed in a flash. When Cheng Shi opened his eyes again, information about a new trial had already appeared before him.
Cheng Shi had not entered a dungeon for a week, so his competitive form was holding up well.
Special Trial (Memories of the Endless Night) has begun Matching teammates (1/6) Trial objective: In these interwoven memories, there is always a way out—but only if night has not lifted. (Time limit: 12 hours)
"Fuck!"
Cheng Shi froze for a moment before cursing loudly.
It was actually the opposing side's trial. Wasn't this sending him to his death?
Match successful (6/6). Entering trial.
Amid Cheng Shi's extreme shock, his vision dimmed once more.
"Sir? Sir?"
The sounds of bustling conversation filled his ears, occasionally interspersed with the clinking of cups and cheers.
Was this... a tavern?
Cheng Shi opened his eyes and found himself sitting at a round table. Six people in total were seated around it, all asleep with their heads on the table. He was the first to wake up.
He looked at his clothes. His collar and lapels were completely wet.
Fortunately, it was not vomit. They had probably knocked over their drinks while sleeping, and he reeked of alcohol from head to toe.
"Sir, shall I continue bringing out the drinks you ordered?"
A waiter dressed in black stood beside him, holding a tray and quietly waiting for Cheng Shi's instructions.
Continue? Everyone's drunk like this, so what the hell are you still bringing drinks for? To bathe in?
"No, thank you." Cheng Shi shook his head. He watched the waiter bow and retreat as his teammates gradually woke up.
"Where is this? A tavern?"
"Ugh, my head hurts..."
"Ah! My clothes are dirty!"
"Xuenila Mutton Blood Wine, a favorite of the Blizzard herdsmen. During the middle of the Civilization Era, there was a small nation called Bilius south of the Blizzard Mountain Range, where this wine was popular."
"Glug glug glug... Ah, good wine!"
"..."
Looking at the teammates' varied reactions, Cheng Shi's expression darkened.
Three men and three women. There was clearly a freeloader in this match.
"Big shot?" The bespectacled boy who had spoken first began rapidly surveying the surroundings. His gaze lingered briefly on Cheng Shi and the woman who had explained the tavern's history before turning to the latter.
"Fang Shiqing, Civilization, Singer, Ladder 2047. Good morning, everyone."
The Civilization Singer somehow produced a white handkerchief. She elegantly wiped the alcohol stains from her wet white shirt and black necktie, then slightly lifted her glasses and nodded to each person in greeting.
Cheng Shi quickly formed a mental profile of her: long, curly hair, round black-rimmed glasses, delicate features, and... the air of a teacher.
An English teacher, at that.
Fang Shiqing, Civilization, Singer, Ladder 2047
The bespectacled boy seated to her right slightly opened his mouth, looking utterly shocked.
"A 2,000-point match?" As everyone turned to look at him, he hurriedly introduced himself, "A'ming. The 'ming' in 'to remember.' Civilization, Assassin, Ladder 1717."
The moment the boy finished speaking, Cheng Shi frowned.
This person was lying.
He did not know whether A'ming was hiding his Path or had fabricated his score. In any case, one's class was difficult to disguise, and there was no need to disguise it.
However, judging by his nervous appearance, he did not look like an Assassin.
Assassins were usually more... capable and composed?
Cheng Shi suddenly thought of Song Yawen. Forget it. Perhaps acting contrary to expectations was currently popular among Assassins.
A'ming, Civilization, Assassin, Ladder 1717
"Hey, big brother?"
As Cheng Shi was thinking, the boy called out to him.
Cheng Shi paused slightly and realized that the speaking order had somehow changed to reverse order. The boy happened to be seated on his left.
My turn already?
Cheng Shi slightly composed his expression and introduced himself with a bright, cheerful smile:
"Cheng Shi, Existence, Priest, Ladder 1501."
The moment he finished speaking, he saw one of the women across from him frown slightly.
Oh? This is getting interesting.
"1,500?" A'ming's eyes widened even further. He looked at Fang Shiqing, then at Cheng Shi, and said even more incredulously, "Another 500 points apart?"
"Another?" Cheng Shi smiled.
"Last week's trial was also 500 points apart. It was a real pain, and incredibly dangerous."
"But you still survived, didn't you?"
A'ming forced a smile and said unoptimistically, "I was just lucky."
The introductions continued. It was now the turn of the uncle to Cheng Shi's right, who had been rubbing his head the whole time.
The uncle had shaggy, long hair and was wearing a fur-collared jacket despite the sweltering weather. His eyes looked somewhat listless.
"Huang Bo, Chaos, Singer, 1998."
Chaos! The opposing Path to Civilization!
This should be fun.
Cheng Shi smiled as he studied Fang Shiqing and A'ming's expressions, but the two merely looked at the uncle a little longer and showed no unusual reaction.
Huang Bo, on the other hand, kept rubbing his scalp with his fingers buried in his hair. He did not even raise his eyes, as if he did not care in the slightest that there was an enemy among his teammates.
Huang Bo, Chaos, Singer, 1998
"Another 2,000-point player?"
"Another Singer?" The female player across from Cheng Shi cried out, then hurriedly covered her mouth.
She was the same young woman who had frowned when she heard Cheng Shi's Path.
"What, is today a singing competition?" The other female player, who was still chugging wine, tilted her head. With one elbow propped on the table, she swayed the bottle in her hand, ran the tip of her tongue quickly around her lips, and giggled:
"Bailing. You can call me Niao Niao too. Sinking, Hunter. My Ladder score is too low to mention. Whatever my good brothers and sisters say, I'll listen to."
As she spoke, she gulped down two more mouthfuls of wine. She did not care that the spilled liquor once again soaked her collar, saturating the low-cut black silk dress and plastering it to her chest, outlining two tantalizing curves.
"What I'm best at is obeying orders~"
Filth and Decay.
Cheng Shi did not even need to look. He could identify this collar-wearing young lady as a Filth and Decay Hunter just from her scent—a Sensory Hunter.
They excelled at indulging their desires and guiding their prey to indulge alongside them. They tugged at their prey's nerves and tormented their state of mind, causing them to lose themselves in indulgence and lose the ability to resist as they sank deeper.
The young lady looked like an expert in pursuing physical Sinking, but Cheng Shi discovered that she had not lied. This meant that her score on the Path to Godhood was indeed very low.
A low score, yet she could still be matched into his game.
She has some skill.
Bailing, Sinking, Hunter, X
Assassin A'ming looked rather constrained by her posture. Uncle Huang Bo kept scratching his head, while Fang Shiqing studied her with interest. As for the final female player beside her, a look of disdain flashed across her face.
Cheng Shi thoughtfully turned his gaze toward the last female player. She was a pretty young girl with delicate features and glasses, and she appeared open and composed. Yet she was the only one who seemed evasive when Cheng Shi looked at her.
"Xu Lu, Nothingness, Singer, Ladder 1643."
"?"
When that deliberately feminine voice rang out, Cheng Shi shuddered before quickly looking toward Bailing, trying to hide the smile he could not control.
Look at that. What a coincidence.
The only Prophet in the game—and someone I already know. She was most likely that Clip Girl whom Xie the lovesick fool had pursued without success.
Tsk tsk, a believer of Destiny. Sorry about this, but my identity this round is a believer of Time.
In other words, I'm the wolf!
Heh!
Xu Lu, Nothingness, Singer, Ladder 1643
Cheng Shi really wanted to laugh, but he did not dare reveal too much. He knew that Xu Lu was surely sizing him up as well. She was probably still wondering whether this Cheng Shi was the same "neighbor" she knew.
Xu Lu was indeed studying Cheng Shi. While pretending to casually glance at him, she recalled what Xie Yang had told her about Cheng Shi.
"There's a Mage named Cheng Shi on the rooftop of the building next door. He looks pretty ordinary and is a little fat. At a glance, you can tell he's a shut-in. He begged me for a long time to help him out, so I took pity on him and casually ran an A-grade Weapon dungeon to get him a weapon."
"Don't be fooled by his ordinary appearance. He's actually pretty loyal and knows how to show gratitude. He gave me a bottle of A-grade healing medicine..."
"It didn't drop from a dungeon. He must have picked it up in a trial. Anyway, it's definitely worth less than the weapon I gave him."
"My score is high, and I have plenty of methods. I have no use for it, so I'll give it to you. Keep it to save your life. This medicine is... decent, I guess. No need to thank me."
Clearly, the Cheng Shi sitting across from her was rather different from the one Xie Yang had described. At the very least, this Cheng Shi was not ugly. Not only was he not ugly, he was even somewhat handsome.
Furthermore, he was a Priest.
That did not match a Mage either.
As everyone knew, one's class was the hardest thing to fake.
So perhaps they simply shared the same name?
She just did not know whether he believed in Memory or its opposite... Time.
Before you continue