Differentiation, Homogenization

"Bro! Dad! Grandpa! Ancestor! I finally found you!"

"Come on, come on, take a look at this—it packs a serious punch! Perfect for someone as handsome and free-spirited as you!"

[Name: Forbidden Scroll: Boom Tn's! Type: Magic Side · Disposable Consumable Effect: Gathers ultra-high concentration fire elements and a trace of the "Concept of Yang" to form a high-density magical fireball fifty kilometers in diameter, unleashing a large-scale destructive magical strike plus a micro solar flare bombardment. If unblocked, it can pierce through the planet's mantle layer, triggering a chain reaction of geological structural changes until the surface ecosystem is completely destroyed. Creator: Player: I'm a Magical Girl Overall Evaluation: B+]

"A great deal at a great price! I feel like I've known you, ancestor, forever—let's both be sincere here."

"Final offer: 3 B-Rank Source Crystals plus 58,888 Paradise Coins. I'm practically taking a loss just to make a friend!"

The dramatic Gothic Lolita gritted her teeth, tilted her little head to the side, and squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to look at her own arm holding the scroll, as if this transaction was bleeding her dry.

Meng Yi opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. After a moment of thought, he probed, "Are you selling your related knowledge of the magic system?"

"Huh?"

The Gothic Lolita whooshed the scroll back onto the small table, bristling as she cursed, "Dream on! Buying someone else's foundational system? What are you even thinking? Pipe dream!"

Meng Yi frowned slightly. "Not even the basics?"

"Scram, scram, scram, scram! Go as far as your thoughts can take you! I don't have time to argue with you!"

"You've made it to Tier 5 and still don't get this? Hope you reincarnate out of this Shit Pit Paradise soon!"

The irritable little girl waved her hand impatiently, as if annoyed that Meng Yi was messing with her business, or maybe she figured there was no oil to squeeze in the Tier 5 Area.

So she swiftly packed up her stall, summoned a Mist Vortex leading to the Tier 4 Leek Field, slung her bundle over her shoulder, and hummed a tune as she fled.

If she couldn't sell the B-Rank Forbidden Scroll she made, she could always use it herself or stockpile it.

Worst case, she'd sell more D-Rank and C-Rank cheap stuff and try to win through volume.

Seeming bored by the lack of entertainment, the sly old silver coin players clicked their tongues and scattered.

Since they'd seen Meng Yi, the "new neighbor," in the residential area not long ago, and he'd just helped him out of a jam, one of the parties involved, the Cthulhu Expert, slithered over on his tentacled body.

"Little bro, what's your name? You're a newbie who just hit Tier 5, right?"

Dozens of mouths on the Cthulhu Expert's body spoke at once, the overlapping, piercing noise as grating as it gets—nails on a chalkboard times a hundred couldn't hold a candle to it.

The Tentacle Monster extended a relatively clean tentacle, probably to shake hands with Meng Yi as a token of minor gratitude.

"..."

Psychological discomfort plus physical discomfort—Meng Yi followed his gut and didn't dare take the deformed tentacle covered in over a dozen eyes.

"Just now I heard them call you 'Old Xu.' Today I'll presume and call you 'Brother Xu,' if that's alright."

'Old Xu' upgraded to 'Brother Xu,' and the Cthulhu Expert was in high spirits.

"Brother Xu? I like that! Call me that from now on!"

"And what should I call you, little bro?"

"Come on, let's head to the 'Comprehensive Leisure Area.' I'm in a good mood today, so I'll treat you to the joy of a hundred magical girls!"

Is this Tentacle Monster never going to let magical girls go?

Meng Yi silently grumbled, then politely declined the Cthulhu Expert's free-and-easy invitation with a vague, apologetic lie.

"Brother Xu, just call me 'Black and White.'"

"My cultivation system requires me to stay away from women. I can't engage in yin-yang union until my technique is complete."

Everyone was showing off.

Meng Yi, who spoke ghost language to people and human language to ghosts, didn't reveal his real name, not even his game ID, "White Devil."

The Cthulhu Expert swung a tentacle and smacked his own third head clean off, the severed part rapidly sprouting two brand-new octopus heads.

"My bad! My bad! Almost forgot."

"Cultivation and fantasy systems are such a hassle. All that mystical mumbo-jumbo about techniques, and in the end, isn't it still the same?"

Too much talk meant too many mistakes. To avoid slipping up, Meng Yi changed the subject and probed curiously.

"Why did you, Brother Xu, think I was a 'newbie'? Is there some reasoning behind it?"

The Cthulhu Expert, who had plenty of time to spare in Paradise, rarely met a fellow player of the same tier he could chat with, so he felt like shooting the breeze.

"This isn't the place to talk. Let's find a spot, and I'll fill you in on the unspoken rules that Tier 5 players all follow."

The Tentacle Monster flicked his deformed tentacles, signaling Meng Yi to follow him.

The "Free Trade Zone" wasn't just a commercial street with pawn shops and auction houses—it was also dotted with all sorts of miscellaneous rest stops, eateries, and drink spots.

They arrived at an exotic-style restaurant run by a long-eared elf player, and the two of them casually ordered some of their favorite foods.

Meng Yi, needing a favor, knew to read the room. He found an excuse to stand up and pay the bill—just over a hundred Paradise Coins was within his budget.

Dishes from different worldviews arrived at the table.

Meng Yi steered clear of the dark, unappetizing-looking dishes. He tried some of the more normal food, and the taste was surprisingly good, even having a faint nourishing effect on his D++-grade Body Strength.

"Brother Xu, how about you tell me? What are these unwritten rules for Tier 5 Players?"

The Cthulhu Expert stopped his gluttonous feasting, eager to show off. He snickered slyly. "Bro, the promotion instance from Tier 4 to Tier 5 wasn't easy, was it?"

Meng Yi, now a Drama King, tilted his head up at forty-five degrees, clenched his fist slightly, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably. He closed his eyes and sighed empathetically, as if the past was too painful to recall—all left unsaid.

Old Xu laughed even more heartily. "Black-and-White Bro, times have changed!"

"According to the High-Level Beasts up top, Tier 5 is the first real threshold. Trash can't make it to Tier 5—even if they f*cked the Goddess of Fortune, it'd be useless!"

"Since Black-and-White Bro passed the promotion instance, you must have developed your own system, not just followed the rules like those losers."

The Cthulhu Expert cleared his three or four throats.

"Let me give you an example. Say someone wants to buy the system you painstakingly developed—would you sell it or not?"

"Even if you only sell the basics, what if someone uses your foundation to research a counter specifically targeting you?"

The Tentacle Monster jumped down from his chair and spoke earnestly. "Black-and-White Bro, knowledge in Paradise is the cheapest, yet the most expensive."

"Paradise doesn't mind players taking what they need from Derivative Worldviews. Certifying a ton of knowledge costs next to nothing. Paradise also doesn't stop players from trading their core systems with each other."

"But!! Paradise wants 'differentiation,' not 'homogenization.'"

"Every Tier 5 Player who traded their system ended up dead in instances. I haven't heard of anyone thriving."

"Maybe the high-level Great Sword Graves above Tier 10, the Super Ultimate Beasts, are different—but that's beyond me."