Chapter 440
Shattered Moon?
The moon was scattered with fragments of all sizes, and its body was riddled with large holes. This spectacular relic made Yuki raise his eyebrows, bend down, pick up a piece of gravel, and slowly and forcefully crush it into powder.
"In a high-magic world, those with physiques below the Transcendental Grade level cannot survive for long. In a sense, this world is already destroyed."
"The gravity is eight to ten times that of ordinary planets. If physics is correct, this planet must be enormous."
"Perhaps due to long-term permeation by energy particles, the strength of ordinary rocks is 10-20 times greater than that of Earth. It seems that relying on physics in the Reincarnation Game is too naive."
Having just arrived, Yuki didn't have time to admire the scenery. Instead, he spent some time studying various details. Although he couldn't see a single person, he was certain that the strength of this world far surpassed the Nighttime Murder.
This is inevitable. As a hunting mission, the natives in Nighttime Murder cannot be too strong, otherwise Yuki's skills would have been invincible long ago.
"The representatives of the top two races are definitely epic-level, and there may be more than one. The mid-level races are slightly weaker, but they will definitely have epic-level strength. Correspondingly, the players will also go from weak to strong."
Yuki began completing a cloze test to assess the strength of potential enemies; the pattern wasn't hard to find.
He turned his head and saw several figures climbing up the cliff behind him. They were about 1.8 to 2 meters tall, holding strange weapons, wearing linen cloaks, and high-tech gas masks with blood-red eye sockets. They looked like a group of refugees, covered in dust and dirt.
These people remained vigilant, yet sensed no hostility; they looked at each other and slowly moved closer.
The Heat wind lifted the cloak, revealing silver armor underneath. Its design resembled the powered exoskeleton of the Defense Force, but the combination of high technology and a tattered cloak looked bizarre no matter how you looked at it.
"Honorable sir, are you an assistant?" the leader asked, a strained electronic voice coming from beneath his mask.
"Nonsense, if you weren't, you'd all be dead."
Yuki turned around, his intuition telling him that these people weren't strong, and the leader couldn't possibly be stronger than Monster II.
Having arrived in the Crimson Moon World less than five minutes ago, from their very first meeting, Yuki had already completed the cloze test, because--
He was assigned to the lowest of the low, the human race.
Chapter Two: Because I Came
Humans, the tenth-ranked lower-ranking race.
They are weak, their main way of life is scavenging, and their sphere of influence is the entire world.
They have very little understanding of the Divine Torch, no desire for it, and their main wish is to survive to the end, even if it means becoming a slave.
Yuki recalled the data. The game was indeed fair; he was close to Epic II. If he were assigned a superior race, wouldn't he be able to easily conquer dungeons while enjoying hotpot and singing songs?
Humans are quite peculiar; they are few in number, weak in strength, and know nothing about the Divine Torch. Even if they send a powerful figure over, they won't gain any advantage in the early to mid-stages.
You have to investigate almost from scratch, and you also have to protect these weak people from being wiped out. If you had a mustard seed space or something similar, you would want to put all the burdens inside.
The players are all ruthless and incredibly intelligent. You might not be able to beat them, but you can take care of their kids.
"From a design perspective, it is indeed fair; it's like having a bunch of garbage stuffed into your hands, and you still have to manage it."
Yuki sat in a chair, legs crossed, looking at the densely packed people in the hollow. They were ragged, with dull eyes, as if they had exhausted their strength in the endless escape. The crowd was mainly composed of middle-aged and young people, their faces dirty, like a group of refugees.
No, they were refugees to begin with.
When the gods departed, this world originally had nearly a hundred races, with humans initially ranking in the middle. After a long war, only ten remain.
This is a vicious cycle. As can be seen from hints 5 and 6, the strength of a race will continuously weaken due to defeat. For example, the demon race was wiped out because of the successive deaths of several demon kings.
Humans are not considered strong, and their lives are even more miserable, yet they have inherited one characteristic from all other beings in the world:
They are incredibly resilient. Even after all that, they are still alive. They have scattered into several settlements and wander around. Their technology has long been lost, and their energy affinity has been weakened countless times. Yet, they can still scavenge useful items from the battlefield wreckage and continue to prolong their lives.
Survival was difficult enough; Yuki didn't even dare to hope they would find clues to the Divine Torch, let alone participate in the Great Race Game.
"Its only advantage is that the weaker it is, the more obedient it becomes. If it's both weak and demanding, it'll drive people crazy."
Yuki managed to find some strengths: these people respected him, and their long wandering had even caused them to lose their history, but the rules of the Great Game would be stored in the minds of every representative.
These rules can correspond to the prompts received by the player, for example:
1. Helpers cannot attack their own race, nor can they secretly collude with other helpers.
2. Those who assist their own race must provide appropriate rewards.
3. When an assistant reaches a certain level of intimacy with a race, they can acquire the qualification to sign a contract on behalf of the race, and such a contract cannot be broken.
"It matches the hint perfectly, which is good. It saves me time explaining and also prevents me from encountering scoundrels who do things without giving me any benefits."
Hint 2 requires players to grind reputation, but this process can be skipped for Yuki. The reason is simple: humans are too weak and have no right to test him.
They brought the most sumptuous food and the most beautiful girls, showing the utmost courtesy. After Yuki refused and asked for some quiet time, they immediately obeyed and no one dared to disturb him.
As long as someone is obedient, they have a reason to live.
Yuki consoled himself, saying that the game's limitations weren't significant for him, because at that very moment, the other two groups were frantically pushing the plot forward, exploiting loopholes in the game's design.
Therefore, Yuki was not in a hurry to find any Divine Torch and clearly divided the mission into two phases.
The first stage involves resolving the Judge.
This stage is unrelated to the content of the instance and will not affect the interests of the other nine races. It only requires completing a few steps while ensuring that humanity is not wiped out.
First, we need to find the wanted player. There's no rush. Everything that exists leaves a trace. Humans hide like rats, but the Angels and Monster Race will participate in the war. No matter which race He belongs to, He will be exposed.
How to make contact, how to gain trust—whether to appear before or after the Judge finds Him—these questions lingered in Yuki's mind until a humble voice sounded in his ear.
"Merciful sir, the food you brought has been distributed. Thank you so much."
A middle-aged man with a mustache, bald head, and bronze skin knelt on one knee; he was the representative of humanity, and his title was 'King'.
With Monster II's strength, it's no wonder they couldn't protect their kind.
Yuki glanced at him and casually asked, "How many days can you hold out?"
"You don't need to go out scavenging for three days. You've saved many people, but every time you scavenge, there's a price to pay. If you encounter elite soldiers from other races, you might even face the danger of your entire race being wiped out."
He began to ramble on, explaining that the cost of survival was enormous, and that if the scavenging team encountered elite troops, they would all commit suicide, for fear of attracting the enemy.
Only three days.
Yuki frowned. He couldn't possibly carry a large amount of food in his storage space, nor was he a 'Mechanical Believers' who could lead humans to farm and advance technology.
The air in this godforsaken place is so thick it can kill you. People are being 'eliminated' every day. Yuki has already seen the list. As the main human settlement, there are eight thousand people here, nearly half of the remaining human population.
As for the remaining humans, they split into many settlements ranging from several hundred to a thousand people, scattered across the edges of the world.
Have you thought about how you're going to leave in three days?
"Follow the mountain range northwards, trying to avoid the battlefields of the Dwarves and the Undead, and find a cave to hide everyone."
The man lowered his head, knowing that the players were assistants, not guardians, even though humans had no intention or right to participate in this game.
"Please rest assured, we will never be a burden to you, we only ask that you provide a tiny bit of support while we achieve our goal..."
"Alright, alright, I never said I was going to abandon you." Yuki waved his hand to interrupt, casually asking, "What's your name again?"
"Slott, my lord."
"Alright, Slott, take me with you next time you go out scavenging. This area is in the Orcs' territory, right? I want to see what they're made of."
The bald man was taken aback, then burst into intense joy. Humans did have records after all, and he had never truly believed Yuki.
Even though the two groups look identical and appear close, the helpers don't care about the survival of their race and thought that sharing food was the greatest act of kindness.
"It seems I have met a kind and benevolent person."
This thought gave him a sigh of relief; the burden of the race's survival had almost crushed Slott.
"I'll make arrangements immediately. Those Orcs are already tracking us. It would be best if you could give them a warning."
Yuki nodded and let him go. Now he had plenty of time to slowly experience the world and wouldn't rush around exploring.
He tapped the armrest lightly with his fingers, looking at the numb faces. Slott's intentions were impure; to put it bluntly, he just wanted to use him as a bodyguard. But Yuki didn't care about those petty favors.
The hint didn't explicitly say it, but he had already guessed it.
To touch the 'Divine Torch', one must possess an identity, which naturally cannot be that of a player. Therefore, the Human card is useful, but it is too weak to be worthy of being played at the table.
He looked at some well-equipped scavengers, and some mechanics with all sorts of strange devices, constantly repairing broken things, especially the latter, who could make even a piece of armor plate into something fancy.
Orcs? The race ranked last in the middle?
Let's use you as a test subject.
The pink flowers were vibrant, the air was sweetly purified, and exquisite buildings were everywhere under the semi-transparent dome. Some handsome men and women with wings on their backs and halos on their heads were flying in the air. They cast curious glances at the players who were walking on their feet.
The Angels is incredibly powerful.
The ranks from one to nine rings represent status, military rank, and strength; even the lowest-ranking angel possesses Transcendental Grade abilities.
They were a nation of soldiers, a veritable machine of war, and in terms of overall combat strength, they were at the pinnacle of all races.
They are arrogant and rational, with little knowledge of anything beyond warfare, yet each individual is also very curious and interested in all things new.
They fought against almost every race, gaining a huge advantage thanks to their superior mobility. Their current representative is Klemisius, the Nine-Ringed Skywing Chief, a powerful being with epic-level strength.
They were very cold towards the players. After meeting us, they asked us a few simple questions and then dismissed us, saying they didn't keep idle people and arranged for us to help out in the intelligence department.
Hiyori walked along the road, observing every detail. Just as she thought, the stronger the race of the player, the safer they were, but the more difficult it was for them to do anything. The Angels race never even considered using their power.
"I wonder how Mr. Yuki doing. I just inquired, and the angels said that humans are just a bunch of rats, with no presence whatsoever."
"That's good news. The first phase of the mission is to eliminate the Judge. The fewer instances that disturb us, the better." Hayasaka Ai stood in front of the huge window, her azure eyes reflecting a spectacular scene.
They moved through the air—no, this was an aerial fleet. Below them was the main ship, surrounded by a dozen or so escort ships, each a kilometer long. They didn't look terrifying; on the contrary, they were full of artistry.
Its hull is semi-transparent glass-like, and you can't see the turrets, missile launchers or anything like that. It looks like a beautiful cruise ship, but if you think it's all show and no substance, you'd be sorely mistaken.
They witnessed a massive magic circle unfold, and golden spears of light spanned hundreds of kilometers, blasting a Dwarves steel fortress into a deep crater. Hiyori calculated on the spot that the destructive power was equivalent to a five-million-ton nuclear bomb.
"A strange race, seemingly wonderful, but actually all war machines." Hayasaka Ai gazed out the window, unsure how to describe it.
A hazy sky, a pitch-black earth, an exquisite aerial fleet, and beautiful angels flitting between the ships as if dancing gracefully.
"They were arrogant yet rational, but thankfully their attitude towards us wasn't bad."
"I've investigated that. Angels prefer beautiful creatures. If we were uglier, their attitude might be different." Hiyori chuckled softly, opening her notebook to write this down. "Also, they're very curious. Remember that eight-ringed archangel?"
"You mean Giles?" Hayasaka Ai turned around, remembering the archangel with long, slightly wavy, milky-white hair who looked very cute.
Eighth Ring means Monster IV or higher, stronger than any of them. She is the coldest war machine, but she is also very innocent outside of battle. When she saw Miss Kaguya taking out her tablet to watch a drama when she had nothing to do, she immediately pestered her.
"Yes, I arranged it on purpose, and I didn't expect it to actually pique people's curiosity. I was thinking that these angels are so curious, and they are constantly engaged in difficult battles, so their lives must be monotonous. Could entertainment be a way to break through this?"
Hiyori squinted her eyes. She didn't have Yuki's cunning and ruthlessness, but she was very good at starting from the smallest details.
Didn't you guys not care about the players? Didn't the background clearly state that the initial reputation was Friendly?
I'm not in a hurry to become a spy and probe for secrets; I'll start by making friends.
Hayasaka Ai thought about it and couldn't find any fault with it. Using any kind of black technology to steal data now would be tantamount to suicide. The Angels seemed indifferent, but in reality, they were monitoring it closely.
But Hiyori took a different approach, starting with the details, studying the characteristics of this race, and then catering to their preferences. There's no fault with that, right?
Even information about 'humans' was obtained by asking questions casually.
"Okay, I've discovered that these angels, besides being very strong in combat, are actually quite dim-witted. Their lives outside of fighting consist of nothing but training and rest; their lifestyle is incredibly monotonous."
"That's why I wrote a book called <Angel Race Life Observation>, observing them from various perspectives. I discovered the problem when I saw the angels eating." Hiyori pointed to the top of the glass wall, where there was a machine emitting a faint light.
The angels spread their pure white wings, lined up to approach, and then opened their mouths to eat the falling orbs of light.
"This is it, an absolutely industrialized food, with no taste whatsoever, just for survival." Hiyori pulled out a gray dumpling.
"So you successfully tested me with a chocolate bar?"
"Hmm, the surprise and infatuation in their eyes can't be faked. Look, you see, more and more angels are taking the bait."
The two looked into the distance, where there was a long bench in the garden. Kaguya Shinomiya was holding a tablet and watching it, surrounded by a large group of angels.
The halos above their heads varied in color, some intricate, some simple, and they all stared intently at the screen, as if they had never seen anything so interesting before.
Another group of people surrounded the senior student, who was frying steak. From a distance, she looked like pigeons waiting for breadcrumbs in a square.
Powerful yet monotonous, it seems easy to fool.
"Looks like I'll have to make some coffee?" Hayasaka joked, surprised that these life skills would come in handy. Glancing out the window at the barren landscape, he felt a sense of unreality.
This war is incredibly brutal, but they live a peaceful life, neither having to risk their lives nor be exposed to strong particle interference, and can even enjoy a group of beautiful angelic girls.
"Miss Hayasaka, could you show me the milk tea you mentioned last time?"
At this moment, an angel with long white hair and red eyes flew over. There were eight halos above its head, indicating that it was a powerful angel approaching the epic level.