The End!

"Placing instances—can it really be done like this? It can actually trigger mechanisms directly in reality?"

Shen Nian murmured, her face full of disbelief.

In fact, not only her, but the sergeant and the soldiers around her also gasped in shock.

Suddenly, I gained a passive buff.

And all this requires is the sacrifice of a pair of plush toy arms----

this----

Don't get too excited yet.

Just as the crowd was getting restless.

Jian Li suddenly spoke up, pouring cold water on the situation.

"That was just an NPC from the Witch Instance, and one with a very clear purpose."

Jian Li looked at the still-expanding forest. "But not all NPCs in the Lu Xiu instance are like this. For example—if we encounter the Darkeater Midir in a group battle, can we really satisfy its so-called obsession?"

Even ignoring the monsters in other dungeons, let's just talk about the [Witch] dungeon. If the protagonist and Ellen appear, how do we satisfy her obsession? Do we swap bodies with her? Won't she directly attack the player in reality?

"Etc."

Shen Nian's expression was strange. "You mean... the BOSSes will also come out?"

Upon hearing this, the expressions on the others instantly turned grim.

really.

If it's a character in a dungeon who clearly knows what the other party needs, that's fine.

But what if it isn't?

"There's a high chance they'll come out—so let's retreat for now, stop exploring, and expand the blockade line first."

Jian Li looked at the sergeant. "Then we'll talk about it when Lu Xiu comes back."

at the same time.

The Witch's House, Front Hall.

Lu Xiu looked at the two core characters of the instance who were still wary of each other, their eyes filled with a desire to devour each other alive, and still felt somewhat troubled.

--

Although they had just stopped fighting temporarily thanks to [Sunlight Spear].

But it just doesn't seem very reliable.

--I have a feeling that if they say the wrong thing, they'll start fighting again.

Then it will all have to start all over again.

She didn't have enough powerful skills to keep the two of them from fighting.

One cannot use the Effect and Cause Severance while the other directly uses the Audience.

Speaking of which...

Can Audience defeat a boss that is completely beyond their design intent?

wrong.

Now is not the time to think about this.

Lu Xiu noticed that the two of them had noticed her absent-mindedness and were starting to get restless again, so she sighed helplessly.

Getting these two to sit still for a full thirty minutes is really not easy.

Come here and sit down.

As Lu Xiu pondered this, she sheathed her Nameless Blade, walked to the vicinity of the entrance, casually dusted off the steps, and sat down on the relatively clean floor with her long, beautiful legs together.

On the other side.

After a brief hesitation.

Ellen and Viola exchanged a glance, then walked over to Lu Xiu and sat down on either side of her.

Lu Xiu sat in the middle, and Zi Guang circled around the two of them, feeling a strange sensation rising within her.

When the online verification was conducted, both of them were clearly the size of thirteen or fourteen-year-old girls.

But now.

Although Ellen still looks like a little girl, she is completely different from the state she was in during the dungeon, where she had her leg broken and her eyes gouged out.

Viola grew into a tall and slender young woman.

It's clearly a dungeon—yet it suddenly evokes a feeling of profound change.

What is the system actually thinking?

What good does it do to make them look like this?

The two of them just wouldn't stop talking for even a quarter of an hour.

Lu Xiu had just lost in thought when the two of them started staring at each other again. Lu Xiu could only shake her head, look away, and stop her wandering thoughts. She decided to find a relatively gentle topic to break the awkward atmosphere.

She turned her head to look at Viola, who had grown up, on her right, and asked softly, "How is your father now? Is he alright?"

"Laugh----"

Viola hadn't had a chance to answer yet.

Ellen couldn't help but let out a mocking chuckle.

"Shut up."

Lu Xiu immediately turned around and gave Ellen a light glare. "We've talked, so don't you dare mock others! Otherwise, I'll team up with Viola and beat you up."

Ellen's smile froze. She looked at Lu Xiu, bit her lip, and then turned her head away without saying another word.

Upon hearing Lu Xiu mention Ellen, Viola's body, which had been slightly tense due to the topic of her father, visibly relaxed.

She lowered her head slightly, her eyes drooping, and after a long while, she slowly spoke, "He's alright—he's still in the village, but my relationship with him isn't very good anymore."

Speaking of which...

Viola remained silent for a moment.

"I know—when he raised the gun, he didn't know that monster was me. It was the Witch's fault, not his."

"But I can't forget the moment he raised his hunting rifle without hesitation and pointed the dark muzzle at me."

"That image still occasionally appears in my dreams. Every time I see him, I can't help but wonder—will he not recognize me one day? Will he point a gun at me one day?"

"After all, if you hadn't been there that day, Lu Xiu, I would have died by my own father's gun, and my other memories prove that."

Viola gave a wry smile at this point, and continued, "Moreover—he was also very puzzled by my changes, even fearful. When I gave up the life of an ordinary person and decided to teach myself magic and become a witcher, he strongly opposed it, and we even had a big argument."

He said I shouldn't touch those cursed powers, that I've become a stranger to him.

Lu Xiu listened quietly to Viola's story, observing the complex emotions in the girl's eyes.

Somewhat unexpected.

This evolution is more rigorous than I imagined.

"Didn't you talk to him?"

Lu Xiu asked, "For example, tell me what happened that day, and clear up the misunderstanding?"

Viola shook her head. "No, I don't know how to say it—question him about why he didn't recognize me? That would only make him feel guilty, because it really wasn't his fault. But to say it's okay? I can't get past that feeling."

Lu Xiu was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Have you ever thought about why your father, an ordinary Hunter, dared to charge into the Witch's House with a hunting rifle without hesitation that day?"

Viola remained silent.

"He didn't recognize you because you were wearing Ellen's body at the time. Under those circumstances, not only him, but anyone else wouldn't have been able to recognize you at a glance."

"No, you recognized me!"

Viola then looked up at Lu Xiu and repeated, "You recognized her!"

"I don't count."

Lu Xiu looked directly into Viola's eyes. "You should know by now, right? I'm not from this world."

Upon hearing this, Viola's initial excitement faltered slightly, and she fell silent.

Seeing her reaction, Lu Xiu decided to take the opportunity to test just how much cognitive authority this evolved instance granted to the NPCs: "----You know that, right?"

"I know."

Viola nodded. "You are a player from another world."

"Back then—back when you saved me, and then turned around to go back to the Witch's House to face Ellen, I saw your true self."

Viola then looked at Lu Xiu, who was sitting gracefully, and said, "You are not a little girl like me, but someone like you now—mature, strong, beautiful, from another world."

"And the moment I saw you, a voice inside me told me, 'You are a player, you are player Lu Xiu.'"

"I also sensed it; a the Deity was controlling all of this—and more people would come to play your role, returning to this forest again and again to become my childhood sweetheart, while I would have to play the same role again and again, like a cycle of reincarnation—but in the end, I refused."

"I refuse to go through that again. I don't want to experience that despair again, and I don't want to face those fake childhood sweethearts anymore."

"Because I don't think anyone else, besides you, could save me in my most desperate moment and recognize me at a glance—even if you knew nothing at first."

"I rebelled against the Deity."

After hearing these words, Lu Xiu fell silent.

No wonder the dungeon was eventually split into two versions.

However, they only knew the concept of "players," but didn't know they were Creator?

Lu Xiu originally thought that, having evolved to this point, these two core NPCs should have already touched upon the most fundamental truth of the worldview.

But it seems that their cognitive limits are still limited, stuck on the edge of the fourth wall.

They knew there would be reincarnation, they knew there were players, but they didn't know who was behind it all.

But then again...

Why do the bosses in Dark Souls know they are Creator?

Is it because it's a group battle scenario? Or is it to match the Title? Is that why the cognitive permissions granted by the system are so different?

Is the Dark Souls instance considered special by the system?

Just as Lu Xiu was pondering this to herself...

Viola's voice rang out again. "So—I know you're not from this world, but when you came to this world, you didn't know the whole story, right? Because the Deity restrict everyone, you only knew that you were my childhood friend, right? And even under those circumstances, you still saw who the real Viola was."

Lu Xiu's expression instantly turned strange.

Memories erased?

----No, there really isn't.

But that's a difficult question to answer.

For now, let's keep the two of them calm and gather intelligence.

"I have my own unique perspective."

Lu Xiu replied noncommittally, her tone calm, neither confirming nor denying the memory erasure, but instead steer the conversation back on track. "But your father didn't have that perspective."

"He was just an ordinary Hunter. When he realized his daughter hadn't returned home for a long time, his first reaction was to immediately grab his hunting rifle for self-defense and rush into the gloomy forest without hesitation."

"He didn't have much time to carefully examine whether a blood-covered, disfigured monster was really his daughter. His only thought at that moment was to protect you, to make sure his daughter was alright."

That was a father's most instinctive love for his daughter.

Upon hearing these words...

Viola lowered her head.

Looking at this girl who had become a powerful demon hunter, he was as frightened as if he had just passed a game and was head down, not saying a word.

Lu Xiu subconsciously reached out and gently rubbed her head.

Viola felt the long-lost warm touch on her head and gently sniffed.

Since being rescued.

She wouldn't dare let her father do that again.

"Tell your father what happened that day, so he will know what he did."

Lu Xiu continued, "You don't need to force yourself to forgive him, but you need to tell him the truth. When he understands what you went through, he will naturally understand why you insisted on becoming a demon hunter and why you wanted to master those so-called cursed powers."

But if you don't speak up, your father will only ever see the unfamiliar and cold side of you, and you will never be able to overcome the obstacle that stands between you and your father.

Viola listened quietly, and after a long while, she nodded slightly.

"----I see."

"Um."

Lu Xiu nodded in satisfaction.

Yay!

----It's been going on for about ten minutes now, hasn't it?

Good progress.

But to be honest...

As Architect.

She did feel sorry for the character in that instance.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have reversed the ending in the first place.

Just as Lu Xiu was about to strike while the iron was hot, continue playing the role of a confidante, and say some other random things to stall for time,

"Oh----"

A mocking laugh rang out.

Ellen had turned around at some point, staring at Viola and Lu Xiu's hand on her head, and said, "What a touching display of fatherly love!"

Lu Xiu: "----"

Not good!

Time to fetch some water!

Otherwise, a fight would break out!!!