Differentiation, Homogenization

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

"Come, come, take a look at this! This thing packs a serious punch! It's perfect for a handsome and dashing person like you!"

[Name: Forbidden Scroll: Boom Tn's!

Type: Magic Side · Disposable Consumable

Effect: Gathers Ultra-High Concentration fire elements and a faint Concept of Yang to construct a high-density magical fireball fifty kilometers in diameter, unleashing a large-scale, devastating magical strike + miniature solar-flare bombardment. If unobstructed, it can pierce through a planet's mantle, triggering a chain reaction of geological structural changes until the planet's Surface Ecosystem is completely destroyed.

Creator: Player: I'm a Magical Girl

Overall Evaluation: B+]

"What a great deal! I hit it off with my ancestor at first sight, so let's both be sincere."

"One price: three B-Rank Source Crystals + 58,888 Paradise Coins. Consider it a loss on my part to make a friend!"

The drama-queen Gothic Lolita clenched her teeth, turned her little head to one side, and squeezed her eyes shut, not daring to look at the arm holding up the scroll, as if this deal had left her suffering a huge loss.

Meng Yi wanted to speak, then stopped himself; he stopped, then wanted to speak again. After thinking for a moment, he cautiously asked, "Are you selling knowledge related to your magic system?"

"Huh?"

With a whoosh, the Gothic Lolita tossed the scroll back onto the small table. Her hair standing on end, she cursed, "In your dreams! You want to buy someone else's fundamental system? What kind of nonsense are you thinking?"

Meng Yi slightly furrowed his brows. "Not even the basics?"

"Get lost, get lost, get lost, get lost! The farther your thoughts go, the farther you can roll! I don't have time to argue with you!"

"You've made it to Tier 5 and still don't understand something this basic? May you escape Shit Pit Paradise and reincarnate soon!"

The irritable Lolita waved impatiently, apparently annoyed that Meng Yi had disrupted her business—or perhaps she felt there was no profit to squeeze from the Tier 5 Area.

And so, she swiftly packed up her neatly arranged stall, summoned a Mist Vortex leading to the Tier 4 Leek Field, hoisted her bundle onto her shoulder, hummed a tune, and ran off.

If her B-Rank Forbidden Scrolls didn't sell, she could still use them herself and stockpile them.

At worst, she could sell more cheap D-Rank and C++ goods and try to win through sheer volume.

Perhaps finding it boring, the devious Old Silver Coin players clicked their tongues and scattered in all directions.

Since he had recently seen Meng Yi, this "new neighbor," in the residential area, and had just helped him out of a tight spot, one of the parties involved, the Cthulhu Expert, wriggled his tentacled body over.

"Little brother, what should I call you? You're a newcomer who just advanced to Tier 5, right?"

Dozens of mouths on the Cthulhu Expert's body spoke at once. The layers of shrill noise were unbearably unpleasant—scratching fingernails across a blackboard a hundred times over still wouldn't compare to one ten-thousandth of the Cthulhu Expert's voice.

The Tentacle Monster extended a relatively clean tentacle, apparently preparing to shake Meng Yi's hand and express its insignificant gratitude.

"..."

Psychological discomfort plus physiological discomfort: Meng Yi followed his instincts and didn't dare take the mutated tentacle covered in more than a dozen eyes.

"I heard them call you 'Old Xu.' I'll presume upon our acquaintance and call you 'Brother Xu.'"

With "Old Xu" upgraded to "Brother Xu," the Cthulhu Expert was delighted.

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

"What should I call you, little brother?"

"Come on, follow your big brother to the Comprehensive Leisure Area. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll treat you to the pleasure of trying a hundred Magical Girls!"

Had this Tentacle Monster really spent his entire life obsessed with Magical Girls?

Meng Yi silently complained. Then, with a hint of apology, he spouted nonsense and politely declined the Cthulhu Expert's dashing invitation.

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

"My Cultivation System requires me to abstain from women. Before my cultivation reaches completion, I can't engage in that yin-yang dual cultivation."

Everyone, human or ghost, was showing off.

Meng Yi, who spoke human words when facing ghosts and ghost words when facing humans, revealed neither his real name nor even his game ID, "White Devil."

The Cthulhu Expert swung a tentacle and smashed apart his third head. The severed portion rapidly grew two brand-new octopus heads.

"My fault! My fault! I almost forgot."

"The systems of the immortal-cultivation side and the xuanhuan side are such a hassle. All those mysterious cultivation techniques, and in the end, aren't they all the same?"

The more he said, the more likely he was to make a mistake. To avoid exposing himself, Meng Yi changed the subject and cautiously asked with feigned curiosity, "Brother Xu, why did you assume I was a 'newcomer'? Is there some particular reason?"

The Cthulhu Expert, who had plenty of time left in Paradise, had rarely encountered a fellow Tier 5 Player he could actually chat with. Thus, he felt like making some small talk.

"This isn't the place to talk. Let's find somewhere and have a proper chat. I'll tell you about the unspoken rules that Tier 5 Players tacitly follow."

The Tentacle Monster shook his mutated tentacles, signaling Meng Yi to follow him.

The Free Trade Zone contained more than just commercial streets, the Pawn Shop, and the Auction House. Many assorted places for resting, eating, and drinking were scattered throughout as well.

They arrived at an exotic-style restaurant run by an elf player with long ears and casually ordered some dishes they each liked.

Since Meng Yi needed something from him, he was very observant. He found an excuse to get up and pay the bill. The little over one hundred Paradise Coins was within Meng Yi's means.

Dishes from different Worldviews were served.

Meng Yi kept his distance from the dark-themed dishes whose appearance defied description. After sampling some more normal-looking food, he found that the taste was indeed not bad. It even provided a faint nourishing effect to his D++-Rank Body Strength.

"Brother Xu, tell me about it, will you? What are the unspoken rules among Tier 5 Players?"

The Cthulhu Expert stopped wolfing down food and drink, clearly intending to show off. He gave a sleazy chuckle and said, "Little brother, the advancement dungeon from Tier 4 to Tier 5 wasn't easy, was it?"

With his drama-king persona fully activated, Meng Yi tilted his head forty-five degrees upward, lightly clenched his fist, and let his shoulders tremble uncontrollably. He narrowed his eyes, sighed with deep empathy, and let the unbearable past speak for itself.

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

"According to the High-Level Beasts up above, Tier 5 is the first great watershed. Trash can't survive to Tier 5—even if they screwed the Goddess of Fortune, it wouldn't do them any good!"

"Since Black-and-White Bro made it through the advancement dungeon, you must have forged your own system instead of following the rules like those pieces of trash."

The Cthulhu Expert cleared three or four throats.

"Let me give you an example. Suppose someone wanted to buy the system you painstakingly pieced together, little brother. Would you sell it or not?"

"Only sell the basic parts? What if someone uses your foundation to develop methods specifically designed to counter you?"

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

"Paradise doesn't mind players extracting what they need from Derivative Worldviews. It recognizes that vast amounts of knowledge aren't worth much money. Paradise also won't stop players from trading their respective fundamental systems with one another."

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

"Every Tier 5 Player who traded their respective systems ended up dying in a dungeon. At least, I've never heard of anyone living a flourishing life afterward."

"Perhaps the advanced Great Sword Graves and Super Ultimate Beasts above Tier 10 are different. I wouldn't know about that."