Chapter 175
Kaguya glanced at the remarkably calm Yuki, and said with a forced smile, "No need, I can handle it perfectly well."
Kaguya was putting on a brave face, while Yuki had mixed feelings. Emotionally, he had never been the center of attention in either of his two lives, and he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
It's not just a matter of losing control of emotions; players with weaker mental fortitude might even buckle in the knees or become so hot-blooded that they lose their bearings.
On a rational level, however, he felt something was amiss. This kind of spiritual erosion was continuous, and the Quiet Dew might not be enough to drink. If he actually went on stage, there was a risk of things getting out of control.
"Hiyori, have you found anything?"
"Yes, around two o'clock." The girl's eyes gleamed as she sipped the dewdrops, activating her special abilities and skills, scanning tens of thousands of different faces like a scanner.
"First, the population density here is extremely high. I've already seen dozens of people banging their heads together, and countless people spitting on each other's faces. This would be enough to start a bloody battle outside."
With meticulous observation and supercomputer-like analysis, Yuki also discovered this point, but he couldn't compare hundreds of sets of data together.
Yes, why hasn't a fight broken out? Based on what I've observed over the past half day, a fight should have broken out below long ago, and there should be a chaotic melee above as well.
"Secondly, the audience seats and the ring are very close together, and the fighters are very strong. Aren't they afraid of accidentally injuring each other?"
Yuki had already noticed this; he had already seen a fierce battle taking place on the arena.
Five warriors were fighting in the middle, one of whom had appeared in Hiyori's Notebook and whose codename seemed to be Bull Demon?
Just then, the warrior wearing the horned helmet leaped up, reaching a height of about twenty or thirty meters. As he landed, the black giant hammer continued to expand, eventually reaching a diameter of at least ten meters.
That was a heavy blow.
Yuki watched his hammer strike, the air seemed to contract like liquid before suddenly exploding outwards.
Boom--
The sound waves surged like a tidal wave, whipping up large amounts of rubble and dust, obscuring everything from view. Yuki instinctively raised his hand to defend himself; in his experience, this shockwave was enough to level the entire deathmatch arena.
But he felt nothing; all his power was confined to the center of the ring, and even the spectators in the first row showed no intention of dodging.
Such precise control over power?
Yuki lowered his hand and saw a large crater appear on the arena, with shockwaves sweeping away both sides.
The Bull Demon landed and, without hesitation, charged straight at the enemy who had not yet regained his footing, his hammer, now back to normal, aimed directly at the chest.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Muffled thuds followed one after another, chest plates dented, some people were sent flying and died on the spot, others were engulfed in blood flames and their bodies were rapidly carbonized, but in return they gained even greater power.
The fighting continued, with no one retreating, until everyone was killed.
"Hiyori, did you see that just now?"
"Yes, there's something wrong with those pillars. The power was restricted when it spread out, and the warriors who were thrown out bounced back." The girl's heart was pounding. She looked around, but hid behind Yuki.
"I don't know, but this must be some kind of protection. Otherwise, such powerful strength would cause rivers of blood to flow in an instant." Yuki stared intently ahead; this was definitely 'Transcendental Grade' strength.
Strangely, the two sides were not evenly matched, and the opponent was obviously much weaker, yet he did not retreat even a single step until his death. He even realized that the gap in strength was too great, and used his secret technique to burn his life without hesitation for a second.
There was absolutely no need for this Bull Demon to use his ultimate move; wouldn't it have been better to just take them down one by one?
A bunch of reckless brutes, all with performative personalities?
Yuki raised an eyebrow and looked at the audience who had fallen silent for a moment.
The entire arena seemed stunned by the immense destructive power, and after a brief silence, erupted into even more frenzied cheers.
"Bull Demon!"
"Bull Demon!!"
Tens of thousands of people were roaring and cheering hysterically, raising their fists and their eyes were red, they really looked like a swarm of wriggling insects.
The exhausted warrior stood solemnly in the middle of the crater, arms outstretched, savoring his glory. He smeared the blood of the defeated on his black armor, as if painting some kind of totem.
At that moment, he raised his head and saw Yuki staring at him from the entrance. He extended his thumb and lightly drew a line across his neck, his killing intent impossible to conceal.
Yuki was bewildered and subconsciously took a step forward, with only one thought in his mind:
Damn it, I'll kill you.
Fortunately, Hiyori held his hand tightly. After noticing the problem, the girl kept her eyes on the ground, focusing most of her attention on reading the floor pattern.
Yuki turned to look at her, paused for a few seconds, and the manic expression on his face instantly disappeared.
What a terrifying form of mental erosion! Just like the saint in the story of "the Bystander Is Blind is blinded by their own perspective," it silently influences the player's emotions.
In that instant, Yuki felt as if he were clutching his own heart, causing it to beat rapidly, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw his eyes begin to twitch.
The cheers stopped at some point, and tens of thousands of spectators were staring at him.
A deathly silence; tens of thousands of different faces, as if copied and pasted, all with the same expression:
Endless instigation, and boundless anticipation.
Yuki Sorajima: We players have all been through thick and thin, so please don't lose points!
Yes, yes, keep it up.
Good for you, go and kill him!
No one spoke, but Yuki felt like he had become the elven lieutenant. This feeling was a hundred times stronger than the scene itself. After all, there were tens of thousands of people stirring things up. In this situation, hesitating for even a second was a crime and a loss of face.
No wonder I almost yelled 'TOM' and charged in to fight just now.
Yuuki, who was somewhat socially awkward, felt a chill Yuki down his spine. He wasn't afraid of the enemy; in terms of performance, that Bull Demon was still somewhat inferior to him. However, as a professional player, he knew that there was one thing most precious in these dungeons:
Stay calm, absolutely calm. True players shouldn't be played by the game.
He immediately mimicked Hiyori, burying his head in the floor and lowering his voice. "Distract yourself, don't let it affect you, don't disrupt our plans."
Without him saying anything, Mai Sakurajima and the others had already shifted their attention, just like gold diggers making an excuse to pee when it's time to pay the bill after a meal.
"You all saw it, right? This instance is designed to make us rush in and fight recklessly." Yuki swallowed, as if trying to save face. "I'm not afraid of killing, but I think it's a vicious cycle."
"Yes, if you kill him, the audience will become even more frenzied. There's a famous saying, 'Praise is the most potent poison.' Keep fighting, and you'll push your Limit." Hiyori quoted a classic text and also noticed the problem.
Mai Sakurajima was somewhat worried. "We've been less affected, but it seems like most of the attention is on you?"
"I might be the only man." Yuki finally realized what was happening; being stared at by so many people wasn't a pleasant feeling. "We need to think of something quickly; we can't let ourselves be led by the nose like this."
Demon Possession already has the side effect of causing rage; if these people fan the flames, things will get really out of control.
Immediately, I thought of hint six:
Battle and bloodshed are both glory and poison.
It now appears that it contained mostly poison.
"What's this guy doing? Is he chickening out?"
"Why isn't he saying anything? The Bull Demon has already challenged him. Hurry up and go fight!"
"Pah, is this what you call a warrior?"
The voices of doubt and disdain came through, like demonic whispers, and they actually broke through the shield of the Spirit Particle Communicator, meaning that covering your ears was useless.
A person lives for their reputation, just as a tree lives for its bark. Yuki's breathing also began to become heavy, as his pride and reason clashed.
I either bury myself in the work or I turn and run. I can't just stand here and be scorned. But wouldn't it be stupid to bury myself in the work? But if I turn and run, I'll have a psychological aversion to it later.
Caught in the eye of the storm, Yuki in a dilemma and unable to concentrate on thinking. Just then, a gentle voice came from behind him.
"I have a way."
"Speak quickly." Yuki felt he couldn't hold back any longer.
Shiina Hiyori quickly sped up her speech. "A battle is unavoidable, as it involves the Cult behind us, but we cannot accept the challenge according to their wishes."
"What's the difference? Don't the other opponents and the audience stir things up too?" Yuki's tone was very unpleasant.
"Yes, but since they're spectators, if we don't let them see the fight, there's no reason for them to be so enthusiastic."
Don't let them see the process?
Yuki's eyes lit up. That's right. Judging from what I just observed, these spectators were cheering for the brutal and bloody battle scenes, completely enjoying the process.
What if they weren't allowed to see the process? To use an imperfect analogy, if adult films didn't have visuals, would anyone still direct them?
"Coincidentally, I have a tool that can do this." Just as his patience was about to reach its limit, Yuki suddenly raised his head.
"So, are you ready to accept the challenge?" Abate asked with great interest, and the atmosphere in the room shifted from disdain to anticipation.
"Forget it, he just finished fighting, I won't take advantage of him." Yuki shook his head decisively, which immediately stunned the guide.
Huh? What's the point of discussing this if you're not going to fight?
The atmosphere shifted from anticipation to disdain and boos, but Yuki did not run away, so it was barely acceptable.
"How arrogant! I've seen too many people like you. Just don't come crying out of the ring later. Come with me."
Abate was too lazy to waste words with him and walked down directly. Originally, Yuki shouldn't have fought against the strongest person like Bull Demon.
Phew, it seems like I managed to fool them.
Yuki a sigh of relief, seeing the warrior on the ring grin, revealing sharp, shark-like teeth, as if mocking him.
It's okay, I'll get you sooner or later anyway. I just don't want to be played by this game.
Yuki the smile. He was now more confident and seemed to have increased his resistance to mental corruption. He followed the guide down the stairs, taking in the questioning gazes around him.
There's no way around it, Yuki and the others really do Taiyi style. At least in this city, being tall means being fierce, being strong means being powerful, and preferably wielding heavy weapons bigger than a person, creating a maximum sense of visual oppression.
The players, including Yuki, were all too thin and weak, looking like they lacked purity and didn't have a fierce aura.
Yuki smiled. He didn't care what others thought. He preferred to treat himself like a fly that could be swatted away, and then have his head chopped off the moment you made your move.
Mai Sakurajima and the others' reactions surprised him somewhat. Being questioned by so many fierce people, he felt a little nervous but not too uncomfortable.
"We've already experienced being judged in the Battle on the Raging Seas; it's really troublesome when our styles don't match," the senior student muttered under her breath. Among a group of wild pirates, they did indeed seem like visitors from another world.
I forgot that they have more experience than I do.
The frenzied deathmatch was an unexpected situation, which we'll deal with later; the important thing is to continue exploring.
"Senior, activate your special ability. I'll stomp three times, then use [Light-Covering Prayer Rite] to cool down my skills."
"Okay." Mai Sakurajima didn't know what he was going to do, so she simply disappeared on the spot.
She wasn't completely forgotten, but her presence was extremely faint. However, she didn't step onto the ring, and the people here didn't care what a woman wanted to do.
"Kaguya, Hiyori, you two will proceed according to plan and search for clues later."
"Wasn't it supposed to be a team battle?" the black-haired girl asked in a low voice, the atmosphere here making her eager to try.
"No need. The prompt only says that players can participate in the battle individually or in groups; it doesn't stipulate that the remaining players have to stand by and cheer. Let's see how Abate reacts later."
"Oh well."
After they finished speaking, the group had climbed the stone steps and arrived at the bottom level.
Yuki watched the arena with great interest. The thing had been broken into pieces, but it had miraculously recovered in just a few minutes after he went downstairs. He couldn't help but turn his gaze to the eight pitch-black pillars.
Interesting, this thing is actually alive.
In the Devil's Vision, the cylinder was also pitch black, but Taiyi in Yadu Town, it didn't feel like it was being watched; the flickering black light resembled a burning torch.
Those were just a few pillars, but their color was much richer than that of the Saint and Dean Fukawa. If it weren't for so many people watching, Yuki would have had the urge to chop them down.
Just then, Hayasaka Ai leaned closer again.
"How should we fight later? Should we put on an act or go all out?"
The maid wasn't intimidated by the hammer blow; she was capable of such destructive power herself, and it was within her understanding.
Acting? Going all out?
These are two different styles. Traditionally, we should perform to our hearts' content, thus concealing our true intentions to prepare for future challenges.
Yuki glanced at the figures emerging from another entrance. There were two people, wearing crimson cloaks and pig-snout masks. The one on the left was carrying a halberd, and the one on the right was holding two thin swords.
Their eyes were fierce, radiating a strong killing intent, but with just one glance, Yuki knew that these two were far from being a match for him.
Is it sacred and inescapable?
Yuki muttered to himself, then replied, "I'll activate the Night Domain later and see how the audience reacts."
"OK."
Standing at the edge of the arena, the feeling of being watched was even stronger, but fortunately, the enemies at the other entrance had divided up nearly half of the arena.