Chapter 382
--Climbing the tower.
This illusory tower, standing inside the temple and supplied with Magic Element by atmospheric corridors, offers 10 credits unconditionally by participating in the simplest challenge, and this daily quest refreshes regularly every day.
But here's the scary part: once the challenge starts, there's no Logout Button. To get out, you either have to die, or the boss you're challenging will die.
So, over the past three months, countless clueless newbies have been "slain" by the Mercury Sword in the simplest difficulty level, experiencing the taste of death and truly feeling the majesty of the head instructor.
Even without using any other fancy magic, relying solely on a slender, artistic Mercury Sword, she can wield it with such skill and grace that she can shatter any enemy that dares to challenge her with absolute power.
Theoretically speaking, map-wide attacks can solve the problem of Chu Yuanqing in easy mode.
However, firstly, the magic power is insufficient, and secondly, the structure of the spell is too shallow. Often, before the power can be fully charged, the sword of death flashes in the retina, precisely blocking all the flaws, and no intimidating magic can be released.
So in easy mode, my best time to last was 1 minute and 51 seconds, which is a bit embarrassing.
The temple's Magic Net forum was filled with criticism of the head instructor.
"Waaaaah, can anyone tell me how to beat the head instructor? I finally managed to break her Mercury Sword, hoping to gain an advantage through close combat, but I just got my skull crushed???"
"That's terrifying. I heard the head instructor is proficient in all martial arts, so this disarming technique is completely useless against him. Luckily, this daily mission isn't mandatory, otherwise, even with a 50% reduction in pain sensitivity, it would still be too much of a torment."
"But the credits are really tempting, and if you're in a learning mindset, the head instructor's AI data will even play a few practice battles with you first, so you can really learn a lot."
"But... but this [Witch] senior is really beautiful. I couldn't resist taking another look today, and now my head is still throbbing. Damn it, I must never let beauty tempt me again???"
"Wow, sister, you're amazing!"
Aside from these Little Idol who challenge Emperor Qing Bao for academic credits and beauty, there are also top students who genuinely climb towers to hone themselves and surpass their limits.
For example, Liang Xiaoxiao, who has been diligently practicing the way of the knight since March, fused with the genes of various Calamity Beasts, and set a record of 1 minute and 51 seconds to persist in the tower challenge.
I'd like to recommend a book by a friend.
Brief introduction. "My name is Luo Ling."
"I'm just an ordinary high school student."
"I always thought that way, until one day... I got sick."
"After getting sick, the world seems to have changed a bit..."
The girl stood before the bizarre creature, now only half intact, muttering to herself, while holding the other half in her hand, she leisurely put it into her mouth.
A bizarre creature cloaked in human skin wreaks havoc; a demon devouring flesh cries incessantly, while a mournful Diva sings softly, awakening Him from His slumber in the void.
No one can escape this.
"No one..."
Book Title: <These Strange Things Are All Me>
Volume 1: 355. Individual Progress, [The Wise King]. (5K)
The sacred temple, the Tower of Mirrors.
This illusory tower, crafted by the pure Emperor himself using the Morpheus system, casts a nightmare that shrouds the hearts of Magical Girl, tormenting countless Little Idol, for the sake of credits, would force themselves to go through with tears in their eyes, for three months.
Although the initial 10 challenges are during the beginner protection period, and the pain sensation will be reduced to only 10%, for someone who grew up in peacetime, even a reduction to 1% is still shocking and feels like a near-realistic death.
The only good news is that the AI that recorded the Pure White Witch's combat data acted very quickly. Even if you twisted her skull open, it wouldn't have time to connect to the pain receptors. The sensory feedback was just a sudden blackout, followed by watching herself being "killed" from a third-person perspective, which was quite gentle.
Therefore, for the Little Idol hasn't even "Lighting Up" yet, doesn't even know the rudiments of her Destined Magic, and has only learned local spells by relying on her life essence that is transforming into Idealistic Being, the process of completing this task is simply to go in, cast a few spells, watch a "cutscene," and then exit the Tower of Mirrors.
This kind of "speedrun" operation has both advantages and disadvantages.
The good thing is that it doesn't discourage most Little Idol. In fact, because it's so fast that it doesn't hurt, it even led to some fans on the Magic Net forums wanting to play the Tower of Mirrors multiple times just to see more of Qing Bao's black stockings.
The downside is that there's not much progress; you can only coast along for credits.
However, the Tower of Mirrors was never intended for most people. Ninety percent of its computing power was spent on those who truly needed its services, namely the Captain-Class Witch took turns challenging it.
For ordinary Magical Girl, the Tower of Mirrors is a tool to help them debut early and rack up points, while also giving them a chance to practice what it's like to get crushed in real combat, thus tempering their inflated egos after learning magic.
Liang Xiaoxiao is the type stuck in the middle. She has the determination to become stronger and is willing to challenge the majestic Pure Emperor with 100% of her full potential.
Unlike the Captain-Class Witch who also received Chu Yuanqing's instruction, her natural talent was too weak, even with the Blood Throat gene granting her abilities such as bullet time, muscle manipulation, mental enhancement, multitasking, and control of calamity energy.
Rather, setting aside the element of calamity, everything else can be replaced by the Magical Girl's Supernatural Senses, and she may even evolve and surpass them during her growth.
The first puzzle piece that Chu Yuanqing carefully selected was only enough to temporarily put her on par with the Magical Girl. To catch up with or even surpass these unreasonable girls, she would need to pick up more puzzle pieces.
That is, the genes of the 79 types of Calamity Beasts selected by the other party.
"The time-manipulation technique is underway, zero-point power activated. Soul remains, turbid calamity energy, and excess flesh have been filtered out, and the calamity gene has been extracted. It will be formally injected into the spinal cord in 10 seconds to conduct the 18th transplantation experiment."
Deep within the White Chalk Tower, a research institute built by Dilia herself and home to the empire's finest alchemists, the whispers of the intelligent beings echoed from a tightly sealed laboratory.
The girl lay in the glowing incubator, her slender body completely naked. Her long, gray hair, which hadn't been thinned in a long time, fell like silk, and crystal-clear silk threads wrapped around her skin, concealing her abs and gradually seeping into her.
This process is amazing, like an empty bubble being squeezed in, or like a nanoscale scalpel silently cutting into the skin, passing through the gaps between cells, trying to tear the whole body apart.
--The Cocoon of Time.
In the worldview of the Golden Sea, Time Magic is the authority of the World Consciousness, and only those who have received His many blessings and favors can obtain the power to manipulate time.
It can be said that before the appearance of the Divine Emperor, no human had ever been born who could manipulate time. It was his favor that allowed the consciousness of the Golden Sea to favor the tower master of the White Chalk Tower throughout the ages, thus maintaining the inheritance of Time Magic.
As Divine Sentient Body that has achieved symbiosis with the Golden Sea and can be considered an aggregate of the world and all living beings, it naturally possesses far greater authority over the element of time than Dilia, the tower master.
The cocoon silk that has now merged into the other's body is using time segmentation to record and freeze the limbs, blood, cells, and even everything else, in order to facilitate genetic collapse, or to restore it to its original state after deciding to discard this Calamity Beasts gene.
As the countdown ended in 10 seconds, the cocoon silk was completely fused together.
At this point, the genes of calamity surged in through the branches that pierced through flesh and blood.
An hour later, the humanoid figure inside the cabin crumbled into a pile of mud. Just as the time cocoon was about to begin reversing, intense activity instantly wove together a complete skeleton, restoring it to its original form in a terrifying and shocking process.
"Record: 19th experiment, time taken 67 minutes and 19 seconds. Successful fusion of the Calamity Beasts's genes. Subjects, please proceed to the training ground for testing and comparison with real-world combat data."
The Magic Element liquid in the warehouse receded like a tide.
The girl awoke as if from a dream. Standing on the cold ground, she was still reeling from the phantom pain of the gene fusion. The spiraling currents in her eyes seemed to be imbued with the power to bewitch the mind, tinged with strange colors.
"Finally... we succeeded."
Liang Xiaoxiao muttered to herself as she manipulated her gray-white scales to stretch out like fabric, forging them into a hideous suit of armor that concealed her skin and curves. She left this nightmare land that had tormented her repeatedly for the past three months, changed her clothes, and headed straight for the Tower of Mirrors to start the challenge mode.
Three minutes later, the ethereal, dreamlike mercury blade sliced through the scales around her neck. The instant it touched flesh, it transformed into magic, seeping into her flesh and solidifying into solid mercury, allowing her to exit in an extremely horrifying way.
The girl's undergarments and bangs were soaked with cold sweat. She looked at her trembling hands, her delicate face showing no fear of being tortured, but instead an intense, even frenzied, joy.
"Teacher, on the 879th time, I finally touched the hem of your clothes."
"You are right. Only by acquiring more pieces of the puzzle can one gain the right to wield power and influence, and to touch upon... the ethereal realm of the Martial God."
-- B-Class Calamity, a Replicated Labyrinth.
This colossal, labyrinthine Calamity Beasts, having just occupied a city on the empire's border, was frozen and sealed away by the Chalk Tower Master, Dilia, using Time Magic. It was hidden in the tower as a specimen, and through the diligent research of the Divine Sentient Body and all the alchemists in the empire, a wisp of its genes was extracted.
After a month of fruitless training, and after watching videos of other Captain-Class Witch challenging their teachers, Liang Xiaoxiao decided to choose the Calamity Gene, which was extremely difficult to fuse and ranked in the first tier.
For this, they fought tooth and nail 19 times.
The first ten times, her consciousness completely collapsed midway, causing her body to go completely berserk and out of control, multiplying into a maze-like Meat Mountain that nearly engulfed the entire laboratory. Each time, she was saved only by the rewinding of time through the cocoon of time.
After the first failure, he lost his mind for a week, entering a completely numb and isolated state. Only with the care of Lin Bao'er and the other teammates did he gradually recover.
After that, Liang Xiaoxiao spent several more days adjusting her mindset, made up her mind, and continued to repeat the process.
It could be said that although only three months had passed, she truly felt like each day was an eternity. Other Magical Girl, on the other hand, could easily make several times, or even dozens of times, more progress simply by studying, attending school, and occasionally performing dances.
Liang Xiaoxiao, who has been unable to integrate the Calamity Gene for a long time, has not only sensed that Holy Radiance has become stronger after taking the stage multiple times, but has also failed to learn a single spell. Her training at the Tower of Mirrors has only resulted in being tortured, and she has not even reached the minimum level mentioned by Chu Yuanqing.
But now...
I saw it.
"Just like the teacher said, whether it's calamity or magic, it's just a special kind of energy."
Liang Xiaoxiao whispered, still remembering what the other person had said that day.
Magic is a miracle of the mind, while calamity is a conceptual puzzle piece that integrates the genes of life.
If one wants to walk the path of a knight, one must fill oneself with the genes of calamity, and then restrict one's body and restrain oneself with the framework of idealistic life.
Therefore, Martial God Skill are an essential path.
Liang Xiaoxiao didn't think she could learn that kind of thing.
Rather, the mere requirement to become a Martial God is already outrageous enough.
In Purgatory Mode, the Pure Emperor, in a state of perfect harmony with nature, merges with himself while transcending all things. This is precisely the state of stepping into a state of selflessness and detachment, peering into the gaps between all things, and reaching the realm of gods with the help of a mortal.
Even Captain-Class Witch couldn't last long with [Full Bloom], which was already too overpowered, to the point that no one could understand it.
Liang Xiaoxiao's current goal is to understand the complete realm.
Even if she could understand just a little bit, she would definitely be ten or a hundred times better than she is now.
The ability to replicate the maze, granted by this B-Class gene, significantly enhances dynamic vision, comprehension, analytical speed, and even the ability to copy some concepts.
This ability was fused into those eyes that could spiral backwards, much like the magical eyes in alchemy, which were specifically used to inscribe spells on the eyes of magical puppets.
However, the difference lies in the fact that its abilities far exceed the limits of Imperial Alchemy in this regard, possessing the ability to see through, copy, understand, record, and recreate genes, flesh and blood, memories, subconsciousness, and soul!
Liang Xiaoxiao was able to survive half as long in easy mode thanks to the combat bonus provided by her eyes. Her joy stemmed from finally understanding some of the seemingly ordinary but actually extremely complex techniques her teacher employed.
In other words, the pure white shadow in Simple Mode, aided by this new ability, will become her best mentor.
"If I die a dozen or so more times, I should be able to try and recreate some of my teacher's sword techniques. But before that, I should first go to Martial God Mode and test the limits of these eyes."
After thinking about this, Liang Xiaoxiao rested for a while. Once the "anti-addiction" period of the Tower of Mirrors was over, she used the permissions granted by Chu Yuanqing to enter the Martial God Mode.
But...
She had just stepped inside when everything went black, and in a dizzying, spinning motion, she was instantly pulled back.
"No, we have to reduce the attack desire of the Martial God Illusion to the lowest level, otherwise it won't even be qualified to see the teacher."
Liang Xiaoxiao's head was throbbing with pain, and a wave of fatigue washed over her from the depths of her soul. The Holy Radiance of the [Seed of Light] then released a cool sensation, which made her feel a little better. She rubbed her temples and closed her eyes to rest.
Half an hour later, she lowered the attack desire of the Martial God Illusion to the lowest level, added the requirements of the guidance battle, and then stepped into it with a solemn mindset of seeking knowledge. She died again after 37 seconds and returned to reality.
"It cannot be replicated. If we try, the amount of information will be so overwhelming that it will be eye-popping, and the replicated genes that were fused together will also collapse."
Liang Xiaoxiao concluded that it wasn't surprising. The replicated maze was a B-Class calamity. Before she fused with this wisp of gene, she only had the initial E-Class calamity gene and the D-Class gene from Blood Throat.
This fusion, spanning two stages, was able to remain within the suppression range of Holy Radiance purely because she "communicated and negotiated" with the other party during the process, establishing rules for coexistence that caused the replicated genes to self-limit back to C-Class, or even lower.
If a complete realm is copied without a proper big data framework, it will naturally overload the system. Forcibly pulling back to the peak power of B-Class will directly cause the body to be unable to withstand it, the Holy Radiance to be unable to harmonize, and the genes to completely collapse.
Liang Xiaoxiao did this simply to test her limits and figure out the specific range of force she could apply in the future, so as to prevent herself from getting her head split open if she tried to learn it in actual combat later.
Thinking about this, she suddenly realized the role and value of the Mirror Tree. If one couldn't recklessly court death inside, the only way to measure this kind of data was through slow exploration and familiarization.
Now, you can find out most of the information just by dying in a tree, which saves so much time.
"The Tower of Mirrors is truly a magnificent creation. Could the teacher who created it also possess alchemy that surpasses human limits, just like the Emperor's character?"
Liang Xiaoxiao sighed inwardly, and after resting for a short while, like a child who had received a new toy, she turned on easy mode with great anticipation, faced Chu Yuanqing's phantom, and began to learn the art of stealing his skills with official authorization.
This time, she certainly won't let her teacher down.
Meanwhile, the other Magical Girl staying in the utopia also underwent changes during their three months of growth.
Having recovered from the aftereffects of her degeneration and fully healed from her injuries, Iris has returned to her prime Dragon Witch. She plans to challenge the Tower of Mirrors a few more times before returning to the real world to visit Sister Ellie.
Kiriwake Yayoi's mastery of the [Perfect Law] grew, she developed the first branch skill of her Destined Magic.
-- Idol Domain
--Effect 1: Corrects, optimizes, and enhances everything about the idol, such as dance, singing, smile, and charisma, and provides specialized effects for the stage.
--Effect 2: Any element that interferes with, disturbs, or affects the idol's stage will be regarded as a hater, forming a conceptual protective field. Its strength is directly related to belief, Idol Power, magic, and the surrounding radiance.
--Effect 3: Idols should be perfect, especially Magical Girl idols. Therefore, magic can also receive the bonus of Effect 1, and will have an additional gorgeous modifier (maintain elegance under pressure).
Well, it's called a new branch, but most of it just summarizes the abilities previously displayed by the Destined Magic into one group, similar to Liuli's Soul Manipulation.