Chapter 384
It worked! I knew this wasn't just a simple team formation; it must involve some kind of higher-level authority.
At the same time, Yuki clenched his fist. He had seen from Frieren what kind of team could bring 'Aether Particles' players to his side without any cost, and could even use different factions in the same team to gain rating points.
Why does Wizard's Tower seem 'simple'? It's because its scoring system is separate, allowing this lone wolf to consistently remain at the top of the player base.
Is Yuki really going it alone? In the entire game, there are probably few companions more reliable than her seniors.
"In this way, Mena Ryougi can also be considered as part of the inner circle. With the contract of servitude in place, there shouldn't be any major problems."
Yuki wasn't worried. Her background was more complicated Frieren's, but Frieren requirements were also much stricter. She was just being cautious and putting her through more tests.
This is a nested doll, with Yuki himself at the core and the rest of the team members on the outside. For both safety and team harmony, everyone must be careful.
Sigh, I'll explain it to my senior later. Mona's quite clever and shouldn't disrupt the team's harmony.
Yuki felt uneasy, but he had to withdraw his energy once he entered the instance. He looked out the porthole, but the speed was too fast and the ground was pitch black, so he couldn't see anything clearly except for the starlight reflected in his red pupils.
This must be the Soul Lamp.
Even the Devil's Vision couldn't penetrate this thin glass, and sound was also blocked. Yuki could only rely on intuition to judge, and then do math problems in his head.
Flight speed multiplied by flight time, this Dark Night Continent exceeds fifty million square kilometers?
The stage was indeed large enough that even an epic-level player would find it difficult to grasp all the information, let alone Yuki never intended to fly at high speed in the sky.
It's starting to slow down.
Yuki gripped the back of the chair. With such terrifying acceleration, the high-backed chair seemed glued to the floor, not moving an inch—enough to make Newton jump out of his coffin and die again.
Fortunately, he was already used to the 'science' of the Reincarnation Game, and only stared at the landing pod not far away, seeing the starlight on the ground getting closer and closer.
The Dark Night Continent was truly as black as ink. Even though the altitude had dropped to below a thousand meters, no outlines of any objects could be seen outside the window. One could only make a preliminary judgment based on the 'starlight' passing beneath one's body.
They're gathered together, not many people; is this a small town?
A few seconds later, as they were about to land, the starlight finally provided illumination. Yuki saw the wooden house and the endless forest, and then subconsciously lowered his center of gravity.
Thump--boom--
Trees were crushed, walls disintegrated at a visible speed, and Yuki, assuming an impact-resistant posture, blinked and took a step forward due to inertia.
With the staff in his hand, the landing pod that had just enveloped him completely disintegrated, turning into a long string of fragments that scattered behind him, while a long string of fragments also appeared in front of him, much like the diving team of a certain country.
Elegant, precise, and seemingly breathtaking, yet perfectly balanced.
This is completely different from the 'Global Insect Calamity'; that high-tech landing pod was left for the Defense Force to study.
Yuki instinctively thought, staring at the girl crouching in front of him with her head in her hands, when dawn broke the moment he stepped out of the landing pod, and endless light dispelled the darkness.
Dark green forests and distant mountains came into view. To the left of the two dark tracks was a wooden house, and a bearded man was peeking out with a hunting rifle, staring in disbelief.
The last moment of a certain night.
Visitors from outer space landed on the mainland.
Chapter Two: The Dark Night Continent
Dark Night Continent, Western Black Forest, Oak Town.
Yuki fiddled with the lever-action shotgun; the technological level of this world was equivalent to that of Earth in the early 20th century.
A map was posted on the wall of the room. Judging from the scale, the Dark Night Continent was about 1.5 times the size of Eurasia. The oval-shaped continent was surrounded by oceans, and scattered around it were islands like pearls. Such a huge area would be like finding a needle in a haystack for more than a hundred players.
As for the kingdoms, empires, and republics on the Dark Night Continent, they were not in his consideration. As an extraterrestrial visitor, Yuki immediately entered a strategy mode upon landing and then methodically gathered intelligence.
"I've asked enough questions. What do you want to hear?" Mona walked over wearing thick glasses. This rich little woman certainly had mental power tools. In an instant, she controlled hundreds of residents in this small town and could even find out the color of their underwear.
Yuki took a bottle of wine from the cupboard, sat down in the mayor's seat, and crossed his legs.
"Just pick out the important details, especially the background information on the dungeon, the Night Watchers, and famous landmarks."
"Alright, elder brother." Mona curtsied, seemingly getting into character, and changed into a black and white long dress, looking like a young lady from a noble family.
The inhabitants of the Dark Night Continent loathe the night and are filled with fear. There are many versions of the myths about them, but they all have one thing in common.
"The night can eat people. This isn't some ghost story to scare children. I just looked at the data for Oak Town. Almost every year, dozens of people go missing. Considering the town only has about a thousand people, that's a terrifying ratio."
"Yes, and the cannibalism follows a pattern, mainly targeting the elderly and children. Those who lose their Soul Lamp, or whose light is too weak, will disappear." Yuki hadn't looked at the data, but he had guessed most of it.
Upon landing, they encountered a hunter who gloated that the two wouldn't survive three nights. Yuki, too lazy to argue, simply had Mona use her psychic item.
And that is the Soul Lamp.
Yuki's gaze fell on the desk, where there were dozens of objects of different shapes and sizes, some resembling brooches and others lanterns, but all burning with snow-white flames inside.
The flames are not particularly bright during the day, but at night, the light is like starlight. If you hold it in your hand and examine it closely, you can see that it burns continuously even without fuel.
Switching to the Devil's Vision, you can see that each lamp flickers with a soul, connected by a dotted line to the men, women, and children standing in the small square.
This item is bound to another object and cannot be stolen or consumed. It will extinguish if it goes out of a certain distance. Without mind control, stealing someone's light is equivalent to murder—no, the worst kind of murder—and will result in an attack from the entire town.
"The lights for the elderly, children, and patients are relatively dim, but they still match up with the missing persons list. And people here may not carry money, but they still have to wear the lights on their bodies. Do you know why the designs are different?"
"The shape is crafted by artisans; the smaller and easier to carry, the more expensive it is." Mona had already inquired about this, and pointed to a man in a black uniform, wearing a tricorn hat, and with a stubble beard:
"These are the craftsmen, found in every human settlement, who forge the Soul Lamp for every newborn native— the Night Watchers from the backstory."
Yuki glanced at him, then looked at a lotus-shaped Soul Lamp, the one whose light was the most brilliant and stable.
"Like pastors and churches?"
"They're not in charge of proselytizing, tsk tsk, but you don't know he's the real king of the town, taking whatever he wants from the residents." Mona wrinkled her nose, looking quite disdainful.
Yuki, on the other hand, thought it was perfectly normal. Why wouldn't he use his power? The Night Watchers truly held the power of life and death. If someone had a baby, he could either prevent it or delay it, and the infant wouldn't survive the first night.
Picking up the documents beside her, Mona had already gathered all the relevant information.
First, the Night Watchers is a transnational organization with offices in every human settlement.
Secondly, the Night Watchers's job is to forge and maintain the Soul Lamp and to explore the secrets of the night, though the latter is beyond the capabilities of the Night Watchers of this small town.
Third, the oath that the Night Watchers do not marry, have children, or hold office is not very binding.
Fourth, the Night Watchers possess Transcendental Grade powers, divided into levels 1-9. This level 9 Night Watchers is roughly equivalent to the Extraordinary level. Their main weapon is a firearm, and their attack method is very similar to that of Hunter's Blunderbuss, where they split their own soul to fill the bullet and fire it.
"That's strange. Since the Soul Lamp is proportional to the individual's strength, why is our light so weak?" Mona pointed to the silver badge on her chest, inside which a faint flame of soul flickered.
Yuki glanced at his own badge as well; it was black and red, and its design Taiyi, but the light was equally dim.
I glanced at the bizarre and Soul Lamp on the desktop. I couldn't tell which ones were players just by looking at them, since the mayor's lamp was more exquisite and extravagant.
The more money you spend, the more detailed the craftsmanship becomes, which to some extent represents social class. No wonder this girl wanted to change into a noble dress.
"Because the Reincarnation Game requires us to kill each other, and this instance has no time limit, if we're not afraid of the dark, we can just find a place to hide, and how will others find us?"
"That makes sense, otherwise we could pretend to be sick and avoid being searched by other players." Mona tilted her head, then her eyes lit up. "Oh, there's another important piece of information: the Night Watchers can only repair the Soul Lamp, not make them brighter, but we players can."
This is written in the background story; Yuki also took advantage of the hunter, but he couldn't steal his brighter lamp, nor could he integrate the light into his own.
"As I said, the game doesn't allow players to hide. If they do nothing, the lights will go out after two nights at most, and they will fall into darkness before the tide comes in."
"Oh right, and the Dark Night Tide. That's another horror story. Wherever it appears, thousands of people disappear, like a plague." Mona's little face scrunched up as she lazily lay on the table, sighing.
"What do we do now? The Dark Night Tide will probably blow out our lights in no time. Are we really going to break free by brute force? And I'm so worried about Illya. Invincible Mr. Raymond, think of something quick!"
True love manipulates people; even though they are intelligent enough, they are unwilling to use their brains.
Yuki rolled his eyes. Mena Ryougi was immature, let alone composed. She was just like a young lady from a wealthy family. It really did matter how much a player was born into; someone like him had no one to protect him.
"Be patient. Conquering a dungeon is a process of unraveling the mystery step by step. Do two things first."
"First, I need to find a way to make this soul fire function at a normal level. I don't want to pretend to be sick and weak, and I don't want to be watched by the natives."
"Second, we'll use props to alter their memories, erasing the sound of them landing and implanting new memories: that we are noble children traveling here, staying for one night and then leaving."
If conditions permit, hiding among the natives is the safest option, which is also an advantage provided by the game. Yuki made this decision after discovering that he did not have the 'Chosen Tower Explorer Aura'.
With a population exceeding 100 million, the Dark Night Continent naturally needs to make good use of this advantage and hide itself in the shadows.
Mona nodded, took out a pin and put it in Yuki's breast pocket. Sure enough, the Soul Flame were much normal. This was just a simple illusion, which couldn't fool the Devil's Vision. Those with Transcendental Grade skills were either Night Watchers or players.
Hmm, this rich girl has a lot of strange and unusual gadgets, and she's quite clever, so she's somewhat useful.
Yuki showed a satisfied expression, then looked at the girl who had gone to have her memories implanted, who turned around with a look full of distress.
"What's wrong? Don't worry about that Night Watchers; even extraordinary-level strength can't withstand a level 5 item."
"No, it's not that. It's about how our relationship is defined in my memory." The girl's fair face gradually flushed red. She clutched the hem of her skirt and asked hesitantly, "Should I fill in 'siblings' or 'husband and wife'?"
His red eyes narrowed slightly. Yuki, dressed in a sharp suit, sat upright for several seconds before finally uttering a few words through gritted teeth.
"Casual."
Enter the instance, explore the instance, and immerse yourself in the instance.
As a seasoned player, Yuki completed the above steps in just a few hours. The town returned to its bustling state, and he and the Gothic Lolita walked openly down the street without attracting any strange looks.
They are now nobles of the Fran Kingdom, as evidenced by the Soul Lamp worth at least two hundred gold pounds, and they are still using their real names, which allows their companions to quickly come and join them.
Because of the first prompt, the player's Transcendental Grade communication is unusable, Hiyori is also unavailable, making it impossible to test whether the feature is effective. Furthermore, the technological level of the Dark Night Continent itself is too low, with only telegraph as a means of long-distance communication, and the nearest city is more than 100 kilometers away.
Yuki didn't rush off; his plans were unfolding methodically, including some experiments that could only be conducted in this remote town.
Everything was going smoothly, except for that little brat.
Husband and wife? How could you even think of that?
Yuki turned his head slightly and saw a girl in a black and white dress running around in the market, showing great interest in the forest's specialties.
"Brother, look, this mushroom is bigger than my face!"
"Hey, why is this wild boar all black, and it has six legs?"
"Brother, brother."
The vendor responded with a friendly smile. Who wouldn't like a girl who is of noble birth, beautiful, lively, and clever? Because of her fixed background, this can no longer be considered acting skills.
Damn it, he's clearly older than my senior.
Yuki gritted her teeth softly. She was used to her senior's maturity and Hayasaka's composure, so it felt a little strange to see a chattering little girl like this, yet she had to admit that it wasn't an act.
A loli's appearance, a loli's heart, yet a seasoned gamer—what a strange combination.
Yuki was truly dizzy from the noise, and reached out to grab Mona's collar. "Alright, don't forget the family motto of 'elegance,' don't bring shame to the family."
"Huh? That family motto is from the Tohsaka Family. What does it have to do with the Ryougi Family? By the way, do you know Rin?" The girl turned around, looking suspicious.
I know her, but I don't really know her. Wait, Rin Tohsaka, that guy who's obsessed with legs, is a player now?
Yuki was taken aback, suddenly realizing why he wasn't annoyed. As a fan of the Moon, he had always had a fondness for Valhalla.
"If I say so, then so be it. Anyway, let's keep a low profile; we're not here for tourism."
"You were the one who said we should quietly bury our presence in the dungeon, right? Fine, I'll apply to be adopted into the Tohsaka Family when I get back."
"Who asked you to be adopted!"
"But the Ryougi Family doesn't have any 'elegant' family rules." Mona winked mischievously, then pounced on Yuki and hugged his hand. "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. Go eat dinner, my stomach is already growling."
Monster-level players can survive in space without needing to eat!
Yuki wanted to say that, but she knew that Mona would definitely refute her with a strange reason, so she waved her hand helplessly and let her be.
Oak Town has only one restaurant. Because the Mona are 'minors', the owner specifically moved a square table to the entrance to prevent the vulgar hunters from corrupting the children. This left Yuuki, who had hoped to Yuki information from the hunters, quite helpless, so he simply chose another angle.
The townspeople never sleep during the day, cherish their time, and the world is perpetually overcast; the word 'sun' has never appeared anywhere.
The sky was overcast, more like some kind of self-illuminating ceiling, gradually darkening after the sudden brightness of midday.
An important clue: take some time to go and check out the sea of clouds.
Yuki was thinking to himself when he felt a touch on his knee. He regained his composure and looked at the girl in front of him.
Why do you seem so happy?
"I'm already very happy." Mona swung her legs, humming a song softly as she ate the tender wild game. "Each instance is different; you can see many interesting stories and eat lots of delicious food."
So you're saying you actually enjoy it?
"The dungeons are certainly brutal, but the more brutal they are, the more you have to find enjoyment in them. Try to find places that make you happy, so you won't have a long face every day." Mona picked up a tender and juicy black pork leg, stuffed it into her mouth, and showed an expression of enjoyment.