Chapter 386
I couldn't see or hear anything. That momentary disorientation felt somewhat familiar, a bit like entering a dungeon. So the person swallowed by the darkness vanished without a trace; this was simply not in the same spatial dimension.
A thick black veil enveloped his vision, and a cold smell filled his nostrils. He licked his lips, and the tactile feedback told him that this was not a deprivation of his five senses.
I am still alive, but this is a strange space.
Yuki stroked the hilt of his sword, his mind as calm as still water. Most monster-level players transcend the five senses, and when they truly enter a state of combat readiness, the sheer darkness brings little fear.
It's like an ordinary person groping their way through unfamiliar territory in the dark; having a stick in hand makes them feel much better psychologically. Not to mention someone like Yuki, walking in the dark with a Gatling gun, they'd probably be hoping some monster would crawl out so they could physically exorcise it.
"It's pointless to just confine me to the darkness." Yuki lifted his foot and landed steadily. All his senses except for sight began to radiate outwards, and his brain processed the information like a supercomputer.
Five times the gravity, almost no air, empty space all around, no sense of boundaries, the feel of sand beneath your feet.
This is equivalent to a dead end for players below the Transcendental Grade level, so trying to trap him with this alone is wishful thinking.
Moonlit Ghost Step.
Yuki used the Transcendental Grade skill he had just learned; although he couldn't see the moonlight in the darkness, he could feel the power of space spreading out.
Transcendental Grade skills are available, and the space is not locked, meaning that players with spatial abilities can concentrate their efforts to break through the darkness.
Clatter.
He suddenly stopped, hearing a 'whooshing' sound in his ear.
The sound of the wind?
How could there be wind in a place with almost no air? The heartbeat finally began to slowly accelerate. Players can ignore the darkness, but they absolutely cannot ignore the monsters that can physically destroy them.
Yuki listened intently. The wind was blowing from left to right and from top to bottom. Without Transcendental Grade skills like sound localization or intuition, he couldn't pinpoint the exact location. He hesitated for two seconds before decisively drawing his sword.
Be brave when you need to be brave, and be timid when you need to be timid. There's no need to risk your life to experiment.
Bloodline Skill: Demon Possession.
He decisively transformed into a demon, and the Red Lotus Fire that ignited on his body were like a candle lit in the darkness. The flickering flames illuminated the surroundings, and in just a moment, Yuki frowned.
On the one hand, illuminating the night costs ten times more than outside; he felt as if a water pump was frantically sucking away his soul energy, and maintaining the burning process was extremely costly.
On the other hand, vision is the most direct of the five senses; the red eyes narrowed as it saw its surroundings.
The fire of the soul can illuminate a range of ten meters, beyond which lies endless darkness, while within...
Brush.
A scythe made of black mist slashed in front of him, the sound of the wind was more like an illusion, the real danger had already approached silently, and the force was quite terrifying.
The Defense Force's electromagnetic protective field was sliced through like paper, grazed across the chest, leaving dazzling sparks on the black scale armor, and finally disappeared into the ground before Yuki could counterattack, vanishing without a trace with a 'whoosh'.
The monster-level attack power is so strong that defensive items below level 4 are completely ineffective against it, and players of Transcendental Grade level are not qualified to participate in the dungeon.
Yuki glanced at the scratch on his chest; it was intentionally inflicted by the other party. His reaction speed was measured in milliseconds, so he certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to test it with his hand.
Then there's the environment.
His eyes swept across the surroundings, taking in everything. Where the flames could illuminate, he could see billowing black smoke, as if he were standing on a black sea of clouds, surrounded by a dark and menacing night.
The black mist churned and coalesced into several black stick figures, some wielding knives, some axes, and some spears. They needed no power and attacked him from all directions.
Speed has a level 7 physique.
Yuki judged the speed, drew his Hunter's Blunderbuss, and blasted them to pieces with a single shot.
Its defenses are very weak.
The stick figure exploded, turning back into wispy mist, which then coalesced again, transforming into spears that pierced straight at his chest.
Ding ding ding.
The Bloodblade -stained blades flying. The black scythe, which had somehow materialized in the night, slashed down directly at Yuki's head.
Splash--
A gaping hole, hundreds of meters long and several meters wide, was cut open in the ground, but the cloud-like surface quickly closed up again. A silver light flashed, Yuki appeared a dozen meters away, raising an eyebrow slightly.
This is the real killer move, the only thing that can pose a threat to me.
Observe, evaluate, and summarize.
Yuki kept flashing as he sprinted at several times the speed of sound, but the black mist followed him like a shadow, sometimes creating stick figure-like monsters, sometimes transforming into swords and spears. No matter how fast he ran, it would suddenly dart out from the darkness.
It is confirmed that this subspace has no boundaries.
In just half a minute, he had moved dozens of kilometers, but nothing had changed around him, so he simply slowed down.
Aside from that black scythe, it possesses monstrous attack power, but the problem is that it's endless and never-ending.
In addition to the energy consumed to maintain the Soul Flame, no one can stay here for long.
"Lock someone in a dark, sunless cage and slowly grind them to death?"
Yuki finally experienced the terror of the night, but this contradicted the game's hints: if there was no exit, how could he break free by brute force?
He stood still, letting the flames subside, illuminating only three meters around him, holding the knife in one hand, using the force of light to crush it.
Swish, swish, swish.
The attacks from the Yoruichi were all shattered, and even the black scythe was blown apart several times. Gradually, he began to notice some clues.
The surging darkness was slowly subsiding, and the scythe's attack power was not as strong as it had been at the beginning. Yuki's eyes lit up.
Clang!!
The Night Scythe slashed down again, but Jie Cheng caught it in his palm, and a moment later, crushed it with his bare hands.
The dissipating black mist instantly formed swords, spears, and halberds. The swordsman remained unmoved, taking a deep breath, his eyes bloodshot.
So, in the final experiment, is it possible to peel away space itself during the process of Spatial Severance?
The Night Furnace Domain. (Expand)
Why isn't he out yet? With his strength, he shouldn't have died in the dark.
Mona was pacing anxiously. Yuki's adventure was very beneficial to her, at least it allowed her to test the strength of the dungeon.
She may seem timid, but she's actually extremely clever. Putting aside the player-versus-player battles, she had already figured out that the dungeon's main threat was 'nighttime'.
'Players are inevitably drawn into the darkness. Li Dan, ugh, Yuki's strength is close to epic. If even he can't escape, what chance do we have?'
'That shouldn't be the case. The minimum requirement for this dungeon should be Monster II, but even ten Monster II couldn't beat that idiot.'
'Why hasn't it been released yet? How much brute force does this game require?'
Mona paced back and forth, and after a while, the anxious expression on his face melted away like ice and snow, and he suddenly became excited.
"You're back! How come it took you two hours? Are you hurt!?"
As night deepened, Yuki, like a ghost, stepped from the darkness into the illuminated area, wearing the Soul Lamp on his body. Seeing the chattering Mona, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, but he quickly returned to normal.
"This is a rare opportunity. We conducted more experiments. The intensity of the darkness isn't that great, but it shouldn't be underestimated."
"Why?" Mona felt that this question was somewhat contradictory.
"It's not difficult to escape by brute force; all you need to do is violently soothe the wounds of the night. The real challenge is that night after night falls, and even an epic-level player will be worn down to death."
Mona glanced at the Soul Lamp on his chest and immediately understood. Without it, even if he escaped the darkness and returned, he would fall into another darkness, and even an iron man would be ground to dust.
"Can we buy time during the first night, until morning?"
"No, if you don't attack, the monsters inside will keep attacking you, and you'll just wear yourself down, unless you're some kind of player with an absolute defense like steel." Yuki shook his head. He had already tried it. Of course, the Night Furnace could only buy him an hour's time.
By Spatial Severance, one is naturally immune to the darkness of night. However, such props are extremely rare, and even this little rich woman, Mona, doesn't have one.
It's troublesome, but is it possible to fight back?
Mona stroked her smooth chin, feeling that she had made the right choice in clinging to this powerful patron. She had obtained important information without any risk, but before she could even smile with joy, Yuki reached out and placed his hand in front of his chest.
"W-what are you doing?" She took a half step back, crossed her arms over her chest, and blushed. "How... how can you just grope a girl's breasts like that?"
Who the hell is planning an airstrike on the airport?
Yuki rolled his eyes, somewhat unable to keep up with the girl's train of thought. He reached out even faster, and with a scream of "Ah!", removed Mona's Soul Lamp, then stared at the dazed girl.
"Alright, the precautions have been explained. Now it's your turn to conduct the experiment."
Ah, it would have been better to just attack.
In Mona instant, his heart raced, and the corners of his mouth began to twitch.
"Is... is this really necessary?"
"This is called a controlled experiment. Don't worry, with your strength, there's not much danger. Besides, don't you want to try whether 'Manas Consciousness' can escape, or explore the dungeon to obtain an epic achievement?"
Oh, this.
The encouraging look left Mona speechless, so she could only nod reluctantly. She was a player too, and couldn't rely on Yuki for everything.
"I'm going now, you stay here and wait for me, and you're not allowed to go anywhere."
"Alright, alright, I'll wait for you here. Just take two steps forward and you're done. Stop dawdling," Yuki said impatiently. Then he saw the girl turn back every few steps, step out of the range of the Soul Lamp's light, and disappear instantly.
Well, being swallowed by the night means being pulled into a subspace by the rules.
Yuki's eyes were playful. The experiment he had just conducted had yielded many clues, at least clarifying what it meant to be pulled into the night. For players of Monster III and above, escaping the night was not difficult, but the challenge lay in avoiding entering another night from one.
[Hint Four: Every two days, the heavens will drop a powerful Soul Lamp outside the tides and notify players within a 1000km radius.]
This tip is valuable. Based on current intelligence, the Soul Lamp won't last long against the Dark Night Tide. Of course, you can also plunder other players to increase your strength.
Yuki glanced down at Mona's Soul Lamp. This thing was disproportionate to the player's strength, yet it could merge two flames into one, which would likely increase its resistance to darkness.
"The worst-case scenario is losing this soul fire and plunging into endless darkness. Of course, there are solutions; at least I can last for twelve hours."
Time is consistent both inside and outside the space, which is a mercy of the game. Breaking free from the darkness will reward you with an enhancement point. Whether this can be repeatedly obtained remains to be verified.
Another unconfirmed clue is the gaze from above when one breaks free from the darkness.
My fingertips lightly tapped my thigh. Repeatedly farming like this was something I couldn't try, nor should I. This dungeon had no roundabout ways of doing things.
[Tip 5: The King of the Night will watch every player, seeking a target to hunt. He will only appear in the night and will only die in the Eternal Night.]
This is the real Boss, the Boss who could appear at any moment. Yuki doesn't know His criteria for choosing prey, but he's certain that anyone who dares to treat the night as Big Bird Bank will definitely be targeted.
"I'm back!!"
Just then, a relieved scream came from the darkness, Mena Ryougi quickly jumped into the range of the Soul Lamp's light.
Her gothic Lolita dress was slightly torn, but overall she wasn't seriously injured. She brandished her crystal dagger, looking quite excited.
"Hmph, nothing special. The darkness can indeed be weakened, and then it reaches a certain level. I used my Manas Consciousness to select the future I wanted to escape to, and whoosh, I was out!"
Have you grasped the levels of intensity?
"Don't underestimate me. The error is no more than 5%, and I have it under precise control. By the way, do you feel a single gaze upon you?"
"Yes, can you see what that is?"
"I can't see it, but it must be an epic-level boss." Mona's face showed a hint of fear. In fact, she didn't dare to look at it at all. It was a foolish provocation for the weak to covet the strong.
Of course, she wouldn't say something so embarrassing. She took a light step forward, concealing her nervousness perfectly. When she reached for her Soul Lamp, Yuki gently dodged it.
You...
Mona's eyes widened instantly, and some unbelievable thoughts popped into her head, but before she could even let her mind wander, Yuki had already taken down her own Soul Lamp.
"What are you doing?" Mona breathed a sigh of relief at not being betrayed, but an ominous feeling made her uneasy again.
"Of course, it's the third experiment. This time, we'll do it together."
"Wait a minute, at least let me rest for a while."
"Rest? What do you mean, 'rest'? Don't you look relaxed?" Yuki with a friendly smile, dragging Mona into the night without further ado.
At eight o'clock, with the first ray of dawn breaking, the continent returned to light from the dead of night.
Just as mentioned in the background story, there is a clear dividing line between night and day. The deathly silence is broken by noise in an instant. Less than five minutes after dawn, the street outside the hotel window is already bustling with traffic.
Shops opened one after another, hunters entered the forest, and the only one resting was the Night Watchers.
"They're all top-notch 8 AM workers, never working overtime or being late." Yuki muttered. The players were even more miserable than the Night Watchers, working all night and having no way to rest during the day, but fortunately, they reaped a rich harvest.
First, one can indeed break free from the darkness with brute force, but what is truly terrifying is stepping from one darkness into another.
Secondly, the so-called being swallowed by the darkness is actually being dragged into a subspace. When you come out of it, you will appear in the same place in the real world.