Three Major Theories About Why Deceivers Are Public Enemy Number One

The Red-robed Cult Master watched Qin Shang digest what he had just heard, then gave a light laugh.

"Stop hesitating. Don't you want to know why the Deceiver profession is the public enemy of everyone?"

"Eighty percent of newbie Deceivers probably have this exact question weighing on their minds!"

"You must have encountered other players in the dungeon..."

"To have survived, you probably killed them in return, right?"

Killed them in return?

That wasn't the case...

That bastard, Eagle of Justice, had most likely left the dungeon alive.

Qin Shang thought coldly, but his expression remained calm as he picked up the conversation.

"Actually, I think I know a little about that."

"Is it because killing a Deceiver allows other players to complete a hidden quest?"

"For the sake of the reward, their most primitive desires are stirred up, so they choose to push Deceivers into the position of public enemy number one?"

At this, the Red-robed Cult Master looked at Qin Shang in surprise.

"Looks like you've had quite a bit of contact with other players."

"Once newbie players understand this, they'll most likely have to stay in the dungeon. After all, other non-Deceiver players won't take the initiative to tell a Deceiver about that hidden quest."

"I didn't expect you to make it out alive. Looks like you're a promising one."

Qin Shang ignored the exaggerated praise and narrowed his eyes as he asked,

"Are there other reasons?"

The Red-robed Cult Master nodded.

"Of course!"

"There are three widely circulated theories among the players. They're also the three theories everyone in the Divine Path game has pieced together from clues found in some Background Story hints."

"They aren't necessarily correct, but they're highly plausible..."

The next moment, the Red-robed Cult Master curled her red lips.

"Have you noticed that many of the professions in Divine Path sound like foreign profession names?"

"For example, Deceiver, priest, doctor, hypnotist, mechanic, and so on..."

Qin Shang nodded blankly.

"They do have a foreign feel to them!"

Put plainly, aside from the "teacher" profession, all the others sounded as if they had been introduced from foreign countries.

So, were the developers of the Divine Path game foreigners!?

Qin Shang kept his mouth shut and suppressed the thought.

"Have you seen Leonardo da Vinci's painting The Last Supper?"

"The painting depicts the last meal shared by Jesus, the Christian savior, and his twelve disciples."

"After that meal, Judas betrayed Jesus, the founder of Christianity, as a traitor."

"Each of his disciples was a member of Christianity, and each had their own role. Among them were a teacher, a priest, and a doctor."

After saying this, the Red-robed Cult Master's rosy cherry lips moved as she held a cigarette between two slender fingers and exhaled a puff of sweetly scented secondhand smoke.

"One popular theory is that the Divine Path authorities made Deceivers public enemy number one because Deceivers correspond to Judas in The Last Supper."

"Judas, who betrayed Jesus, the Christian savior, was a liar."

"A traitorous liar. That was why everyone denounced him and countless people despised him."

"So from the moment a player became a Deceiver, they had to guard against everyone, lie constantly, and protect themselves through prudence. That was because Judas was the traitor among the believers, and the Deceiver symbolized that traitor."

At this, the corner of Qin Shang's mouth twitched.

"Isn't that just smearing me?"

I'm not even a Christian.

Why should I become a profession that's the public enemy of everyone?

"Don't rush. I haven't finished. There's also a second theory: the distribution of Character Cards corresponds to the player's fundamental personality. For example, the teacher profession, according to its modern, more official interpretation, symbolizes someone who imparts knowledge and teaches others."

"But in the past, this profession symbolized erudition."

"Being learned, eager to study, and the ancient saying about not being ashamed to ask those beneath you are enough to prove that."

"Many people who receive the teacher Character Card may look unremarkable, but they all have the habit of lifelong learning. They're good at learning, eager to study, and well-read. That's their fundamental personality—they're dissatisfied with the status quo and diligent in study so they can achieve great things."

"And so they become teachers..."

Qin Shang felt a headache coming on as he listened. This theory was practically no different from seeing everything through a corrupted lens.

This line of reasoning was like seeing a woman dressed provocatively and radiating charm, then immediately concluding that she was a woman of the night.

"So now you're going to say it's because of my fundamental personality? Something like the MAOA Gene?"

"Because deep down, I'm inclined to revere violence and believe in using violence to counter violence, so I received the Deceiver Character Card?"

The Red-robed Cult Master rolled her eyes at him. The glance was filled with such bewitching allure that it seemed like a lover was coquettishly acting spoiled toward him.

The displeasure rising in Qin Shang's heart vanished in an instant.

But he quickly regained his clarity and put a little more distance between himself and the Red-robed Cult Master.

This woman was like a fully ripened peach, constantly radiating mature feminine charm, as if a single squeeze would make juice drip out.

The two of them had only known each other for less than half an hour, yet this woman was already flirting with him. What that implied was self-evident.

He wasn't so conceited as to think it was because he was handsome and dashing, or that his domineering aura had conquered her.

The only explanation was that she treated everyone this way.

He had to be extremely cautious when dealing with such a seductive vixen.

If he let a single glance take his soul, she might eat him until not even his bones were left, while he happily helped her count the money.

The next moment, the Red-robed Cult Master saw that Qin Shang's expression remained unchanged. Only then did she glance at him in surprise and say with a light laugh,

"Don't be so impatient. I haven't finished yet. The third theory about why the Deceiver profession became public enemy number one is based on the players' conclusions. In confrontational dungeons, Deceivers are often double agents. You should understand what that means, right?"

"Traitors!"

Qin Shang nodded.

It wasn't as though he had come out of some backwater mountain village.

"In confrontational dungeons, Deceivers are often assigned roles that require them to sabotage not only the enemies but also their teammates."

"Often, if you let your guard down for even a moment, the Deceiver teammate beside you will stab you in the back at a critical moment. Who could withstand that?"

"That's determined by the profession's attributes."

"Deceiver, Deceiver..."

"As you guessed, put plainly, they're just liars. How could a player whom even the Divine Path system has judged to be a liar gain anyone's trust and become a teammate worthy of having your back entrusted to them?"

At this, Qin Shang more or less understood why Deceivers were called the public enemy of all Divine Path players.

Put plainly, the biggest reason was still human nature, because killing Deceivers provided ordinary players with benefits substantial enough to tempt them.

The second reason was that Deceivers as a group were often in opposition to the other players inside dungeons...

"Any other questions?"

The Red-robed Cult Master didn't rush him. Instead, she gave Qin Shang roughly three or four minutes to digest what he had just heard.

Only then did she continue asking with a smile,

Qin Shang grunted.

"Of course."

He didn't know much about the Divine Path game, and the Red-robed Cult Master happened to be a ready-made crash course for beginners.

Naturally, Qin Shang wasn't going to pass up the chance to fill in the gaps.

"What's the level system for?"

"Also, what do the Order Realm, the Order Realm, and the Rule Realm you mentioned earlier mean?"

The Red-robed Cult Master lifted her red lips. "They correspond to levels!"

"As for what levels are useful for—well, raising your level comprehensively improves a player's physical attributes. Although the Deceiver isn't a profession known for hand-to-hand combat, as your experience gradually increases, you'll slowly feel the benefits of leveling up."

"For example, basic stamina, physical strength, agility, reaction speed, observation ability, and resistance to blows. Beyond that, there's mental power, vitality, resistance, and recovery ability."

Qin Shang froze slightly. It sounded rather ordinary!

"Do basic physical attributes improve by much?"

"If someone is a high-level Divine Path player, does that mean their physical abilities can crush world-class athletes?"

At this, the corner of the Red-robed Cult Master's mouth twitched.

"Dream on!"

"You think high-level Divine Path players can overwhelm athletes who have trained painstakingly for decades?"

"How could that be? Many athletes have developed their cellular activity to the extreme. Their metabolic efficiency isn't necessarily inferior to that of high-level Divine Path players."

"Besides, they trained one step at a time. Their control over their various basic attributes, which far exceed those of ordinary people, is much stronger than that of ordinary people."

"It's like giving you a sniper rifle. You still might not beat a professional shooter holding a tiny pistol."

"They'll surpass you several times over in aim, accuracy, prediction, and reaction speed. You think having superior weapons means you can beat them? Where in the world could things be that easy?"