No More Laughing and Fooling Around

With just ten minutes left before Main Quest 2 began, the alarm the Fatty had set in advance went off.

He jolted in fright and fell off the edge of the table with a thud. Clutching his butt, he scrambled back to his feet—and saw that Grandpa Ye beside him was still sitting exactly as he had the night before, without moving an inch.

"Grandpa Ye, you've been drawing prizes all night..."

The Fatty had only gotten halfway through his question when he noticed that the other man looked off. He hurriedly changed tack. "Y-you okay?"

Following his gaze, he saw a pitch-black box with a mirror shard inside. "...What's that?"

"An Archmage Staff Fragment," Wen Nan said, his voice a little hoarse.

The Fatty's eyes went wide. He looked like he'd seen a ghost—no, even seeing a real ghost yesterday hadn't shocked him this much.

"Th-this, this, this... is it really... really... a gold-tier legendary?!"

"Yeah."

Wen Nan leaned forward, reached out, and picked up the mirror shard, holding it in his palm.

Items and equipment purchased from the shop or won on the prize wheel could be sent directly into the system's built-in Equipment Backup Slot without having to pass through the player's hands.

But this time, Wen Nan decided to take it out himself. Who wouldn't want to feel what a gold-tier legendary was like?

It felt smooth and cool, nothing like a mirror shard. It was more like holding a piece of ice.

The system's voice rang out in his mind—

[Archmage Staff Fragment:

The venerable Archmage Aghanim was one of the three Creator Gods of this world. Before the Holy Ruins fell, his staff shattered into twelve pieces. He gave one of the fragments to his son, Rubick, who refined it and imbued it with the Soul of Replication skill.

By using this equipment, a contestant can replicate any one skill, piece of equipment, or attribute from any map and use it as their own, regardless of level.

Replicated skills, equipment, and attributes remain effective permanently.

This equipment can only be used once. After a single replication, the Staff Fragment will disappear forever.]

[Accept?]

[Accept] [Reject] [Sell]

[Detected that the contestant has touched the equipment. Touching it counts as acceptance.]

[Equipment bound to your account.]

[To retrieve the equipment, simply call out the command at any time—Soul of Replication!]

Wen Nan: ...

Seriously, did he have to shout such a cringey catchphrase to use this equipment? Couldn't he just notify the system in his mind?

"Staff Fragment! Soul of Replication!"

The Fatty's exclamation rang in Wen Nan's ear.

Wen Nan: ...

The guy beside him sure had no qualms about shouting it.

Wen Nan turned to him. "You know what it is?"

The Fatty nodded so hard his head nearly fell off. "An incredible piece of equipment like this? Anyone who's looked at even a little game guide would recognize it. It definitely deserves its gold-tier legendary status!"

After thinking it over, the Fatty couldn't help feeling a little regretful. "But this is only the beginner Trial Zone map. There won't be any awesome skills or attributes here for you to steal. If you were in an advanced or expert map, you'd be invincible, Grandpa Ye!"

Wen Nan: "...Is it really that ridiculous?"

The Fatty waved a hand. "I'm not exaggerating this time. Your replication lasts forever. That means if you copy a one-time or short-lived skill or attribute, your version will last forever. That's ridiculously overpowered.

"Take one of those nine legendary big shots I know, for example. One of them has a time-stop skill, but it only lasts for a very short time—just 0.5 seconds per use. If you used this Staff Fragment to copy his time stop, you could keep the whole world frozen forever!

"Tell me that isn't invincible!"

As he spoke, the Fatty thumped his chest, looking proud as if he had something to do with it.

"Who's invincible?"

"What's this about being invincible?"

Huang Tao and Shao Ling climbed down from their beds one after the other. Hearing the Fatty's words, they both looked toward Wen Nan. The moment they saw the fragment in his palm, they exclaimed in unison.

"Th-this can't be..."

"The Staff Fragment?! Soul of Replication?!"

Wen Nan narrowed his eyes and looked up at the three of them—

So he was the only one who didn't know what this thing was?

Wen Nan suddenly felt out of place again, as if his own chuunibyou levels weren't high enough.

Just then, the familiar clang-clang-clang of an alarm sounded overhead, accompanied by flashing, blinding red lights.

On the floating light screen, crimson numbers began to tick down—

[00:00:59--]

[00:00:58--]

[00:00:57--]

...

It was the final minute before Main Quest 2 began.

"Yikes!"

A scream rang out beside him.

In a horror survival game, players were already on edge. Startled by the scream, the Sports Student Huang Tao leaped straight onto his bed. Shao Ling, the bespectacled one, wasn't that nimble, so he could only dive under the table. Only Wen Nan remained where he was, looking down at the Fatty with half-lidded eyes.

"What's wrong?" Wen Nan asked.

Only then did the Fatty realize he'd acted a little inappropriately. He gave an awkward smile and waved at the two under the bed and table. "It's nothing, nothing. I think a cockroach just flew past."

Huang Tao and Shao Ling looked speechless. Grumbling, they returned to stand beneath the floating light screen.

The Fatty edged closer to Wen Nan and asked in a low voice, "Grandpa Ye, the stuff in my Equipment Backup Slot... was that a gift from you?"

So that was why he'd shouted so loudly? He didn't need to make such a fuss...

Wen Nan shrugged and replied casually, "Yeah. I had some extra, so I sent them your way."

The Fatty could hardly believe his eyes. He opened his Equipment Backup Slot again and saw the system notifications as clear as day—

Xiaoxiao: [Received gift from another contestant: Sleep Capsule x 10]

Xiaoxiao: [Received gift from another contestant: Nutrient Supplement x 10]

Xiaoxiao: [Received gift from another contestant: Safety Bubble x 10]

Xiaoxiao: [Received gift from another contestant: Attribute Trial Card x 4]

Xiaoxiao: [Accept?]

[Accept] [Reject] [Give Away]

Looking at the row of gift notifications, the Fatty was moved to tears.

He hadn't slept for a day and a night, and he was both hungry and exhausted. When he'd woken up just now, he'd been wondering whether to buy a Sleep Capsule and a Nutrient Supplement. But he'd remembered that his pitiful account balance had to be saved for an emergency Safety Bubble, so in the end he hadn't been able to bring himself to spend it. He'd decided to tough it out. After all, he had a thick layer of fat; he could handle it.

And yet...

Forget the Sleep Capsules and Nutrient Supplements—he even had Safety Bubbles now! Ten of them! A whole ten! His butt would never have to worry again!

Happiness had come so suddenly that it felt like a dream.

His Grandpa Ye really was the God of Wealth himself!

At the thought, the Fatty gazed tenderly at Wen Nan. He wished he could turn into a seductive female ghost the next moment and let Wen Nan make him his slave!

"My dear..."

The Fatty was on the verge of tears, but the prompt overhead cut him off before he could finish.

[00:00:03--]

[00:00:02--]

[00:00:01--]

[Beep!]

[New contestant quest received. Please check it!]

Main Quest 2 officially began. A new darkness was unfolding, and there would be no more laughing and fooling around.