Settlement

The sound of a violin circled back and forth. Accompanied by a powerful sensation of weightlessness, Xia Lun regained consciousness once more.

He opened his eyes and discovered that he had returned to the cramped space where he had been when he entered the dream.

Xia Lun slowly rose to his feet. The fruits representing memories of every color suddenly grew larger in the distance, then flashed continuously before his eyes like slides.

A raging sea, a long, narrow ship, the cramped, dark cabin filled with the stench of blood.

Torrential rain poured down as the black Monster swung its sharp tentacles, looking terrifyingly imposing.

Gunfire blazed. The cold, vicious face of the first mate in the cabin was blown apart by a single shot.

The sea breeze was gentle. One ticket after another was tossed into the box, and then several drops of blood spattered across the ballot box.

The gunner, the old man, the priest, the Black overseer, the Black first mate, the brown-haired pirate, the red-haired pirate—figures both familiar and unfamiliar flashed past one after another.

At last, the montage of images froze on Captain Geliide's face. She grinned, exposing yellow teeth, while before her stood a gunpowder barrel with its fuse nearly burned out.

Boom!

The next moment, the images exploded and turned into a string of deep-blue characters that rippled like seawater.

Xia Lun blinked. He did not rush to keep reading, silently mourning his fallen friends before looking down again.

It was time to tally his gains!

[Settlement Summary!]

[Existing game rounds: 0]

[Scenario Name: Sea Battle Royale]

[Scenario Objective: Survive for 6 days]

[Objective Completion: 100%]

[Base Scenario Rating: F]

[Special Performance!]

[Special Mystery Solved: You uncovered the secret of the rainstorm!]

[Scenario Completion Rating: F → F+]

[Special Relationships: You gained the pirates' reverence; you gained the fear of "Mentor" Abyssal Hand.]

[Scenario Completion Rating: F+ → D!]

[Special Kills: You killed the first mate; killed the gunner; slaughtered the Deep-Sea Walking Corpse horde; killed "Mentor" Abyssal Hand!]

[Scenario Completion Rating: D → A+]

[Special Exploration: You reached Perilous Earth Island; found the hidden treasure of "Mentor"!]

[Final Scenario Completion Rating: A+ → S-!]

[Overall Rating: Unbelievable!]

[Behavior Pattern Rating: An all-powerful aesthetician of violence!]

[Current scenario "Memory Manifestation Permission" increased! Memory Point rewards increased!]

[Note: A higher scenario completion rating will increase the number of Memory Points you receive, as well as your "Memory Manifestation Permission."]

[Current "Memory Manifestation Permission": 200% (maximum reached)]

[Note: Memory is what makes faded things vivid again. Based on your "Memory Manifestation Permission," you may manifest things you have seen—or have not seen—in your scenarios beside you or even in reality.]

[Items manifested through Memory Points can be stored in an illusory storage space and retrieved at will, without needing to be carried on your person.]

[Memory Manifestation Permission at 100% means that you can use Memory Points to manifest every non-sentient thing you have seen in a scenario; Memory Manifestation Permission at 200% means that you can even manifest things you have never seen!]

[Based on your final scenario completion rating, you received 800 reward Memory Points!]

[Current total Memory Points: 3400!]

"What a haul." Seeing how much he had gained, Xia Lun gradually grew excited. "Now I can learn Geliide's Nonhuman Toughness specialty."

But after pondering for a moment, he did not immediately inspect the "Manifestable Item List." Instead, he checked his other progress first.

His gaze shifted as he swiftly skimmed through the "Manifestable Item List" and found the section he wanted.

[Specialization Progress!]

[Through arduous battles and adventures, you have gained new insights into the use of firearms!]

[Firearms Use (Mastery) 26% → 28%: You are an undisputed expert in the use of firearms. Whether it is routine maintenance, component assembly, reloading, or aiming, you are highly proficient. Even when firing rapidly, you can perform close to the weapon's limits.]

"Compared to last time, the specialization only rose by 2%, but the specialty description changed from 'precise shooting can bring out a firearm's ultimate performance' to 'rapid fire can also bring out a firearm's ultimate performance.'"

Xia Lun analyzed it instinctively.

"But it seems that the higher the specialization level, the slower it improves. In that case, the mastery level is already extremely high. That also explains why the pirates' specialization memories only went as far as proficient."

He could not help shaking his head before continuing.

[Specialization Progress!]

[Through a terrifying fight to the death, you gained extraordinary experience in exerting force, and you achieved enlightenment!]

"Enlightenment?" Xia Lun was startled. "How did I not know I'd achieved enlightenment?"

He hurriedly looked further down.

[Through a special experience, you have gained an extremely unusual understanding and made progress in the application of force with cold weapons!]

[Cold Weapon Use—Swords (Proficient) (28% → 55%): To you, a sword is ultimately no more than a lever, and your body and the earth are levers as well. Thus, the sword becomes an extension of your body.]

[Your understanding of swordsmanship has given you a special way of exerting force. Now, you can transmit most of your body's strength to the sword tip with extremely low loss, making the blade irresistible!]

His sword specialization had risen by a full 27% in one go!

Xia Lun blinked in shock, then began to think carefully. As he thought, he realized that the so-called "special experience" referred to the Heightened Focus he had activated.

In the Heightened Focus state, both his perception and thinking speed had increased tremendously.

During his fierce battle with the Monster, amid every swing and dodge, he could clearly feel power being transmitted through his muscles and joints—flowing, shifting, even catching with the faint resistance of rusty gears. Guided by instinct, he naturally adjusted his posture whenever he sensed that resistance.

And those adjustments were precisely the so-called "special way of exerting force"!

At that thought, Xia Lun's eyes lit up, and his mind immediately became active.

Right now, merely subconsciously adjusting how he exerted force had brought enormous progress to his sword specialization. If he carefully refined those methods further while in Heightened Focus, would his swordsmanship not soar again?

An intense sense of curiosity and anticipation filled his mind. But this was a time to tally his gains, not to experiment or train, so he suppressed his excitement and continued reading.

[Specialization Progress!]

[Through your seafaring life aboard the lifeboat, you have gained a new understanding of navigation.]

[Navigation (Beginner) 92% → 99%: In any era, this is a profound and complex field of study. Fortunately, you have now entered the field, but there is still one threshold to cross before you reach a comprehensive and systematic foundational level.]

"It seems there are bottleneck-like thresholds between different specialization levels." Xia Lun guessed, "Breaking through to the basic level probably requires a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the relevant knowledge."

Compared to the huge leap in his sword specialization, the improvement in navigation was naturally welcome, but it was only marginally useful. After all, the scope of that specialization was still too narrow.

Xia Lun shook his head and kept reading.

He had thought that was the full extent of his specialization progress, but in the next moment, he discovered another new entry!

[Specialization Unlocked!]

[Through firsthand practice, you have grasped the basics of stealth!]

[Stealth (Beginner 15%): You already understand that stealth is about misleading attention. You understand that light and shadow, sound and silence, rhythm and tempo all require attention if you wish to move stealthily. However, you only understand these things in theory for now. In practical application, you have yet to make full use of them.]

Looking at the specialization description, Xia Lun immediately fell into recollection. A moment later, he realized that he really had done quite a lot of sneaking in the scenario.

Whether it had been stealing the Prayerbook of the Drowned from the Monster at the beginning, ambushing the first mate's group later on, or sneaking through the thick fog at the end, he had indeed unconsciously picked up certain stealth techniques.

At that thought, a smile appeared on Xia Lun's lips.

Unlike navigation, stealth was clearly a highly useful specialization. After all, most people in this game seemed to be glass cannons—fragile but powerful. In that case, gaining the initiative through stealth was crucial.

And even if stealth was useless in the game, he might still need it in real life. After all, public safety in Whitewash City, where he now lived, was quite poor.

He took a deep breath, drove those irrelevant thoughts from his mind, and continued reading.

[Specialty Progress!]

[Mass Murderer (Locked) (7/100 → 10/100)]: Corpses litter the ground, blood flows like a river! You kill as easily as cutting hemp, making it easier for you to inspire fear and submission in others when intimidating or threatening them. Furthermore, after obtaining this specialty, you may physically harm spirit-type ghosts. At the same time, this specialty can very slightly increase your mental strength over time.]

Seeing the change in the number after Mass Murderer, Xia Lun fell into thought.

"I killed three more people?" He carefully recalled. "The red-haired pirate was one, Daolunte with the rotten face was another, and who was the third? Hmm... I know. The Monster! I never thought the Monster would count as a person."

"But judging from this, kills within dream memories, as well as the Deep-Sea Walking Corpses that died and came back to life, probably do not fall within this specialty's count."

"Then again, killing a hundred people is way too messed up..." Xia Lun could not help complaining. "Uh, though I seem to have already completed 10% of it."

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly as he continued reading.

[Through new training and experiences, your specialty Reflexive Evasion has gained new progress!]

[You will now develop a reflexive instinct to evade slashing attacks from tentacles and direct shots from flintlock muskets. At the same time, your neural reaction speed and muscular explosiveness will increase slightly further on top of the original specialty.]

[Note: As your experience grows, you will gain more conditioned reflexes capable of triggering evasion instincts.]

"This specialty is way too useful." Xia Lun nodded in satisfaction. This made him even safer, considering how frequent shootings were in Whitewash City.

His eyes shifted as he continued downward.

[Special Memory Preservation!]

[Special Memory: Courtly Tournament (1/1)]

[This special memory will be preserved until you begin the next scenario. During this period, you may enter dreams at any time to experience this special memory.]

[Note: When you fulfill the wish of the person from whom a memory originated, you may obtain a "Special Memory." A "Special Memory" is a possibility derived from the memory itself. By completing a "Special Memory," you may gain additional specializations, specialties, or even skills.]

"No need to enter that dream memory yet. These dream memories are too damaging to the mind." Xia Lun scratched his head. "I need to rest first and recover my strained nerves..."

"But then again, it's time to exchange Memory Points for that."

With a thought from Xia Lun, an incomparably huge golden fruit extended directly toward him from ahead.

[Specialty Memory]

[Nonhuman Toughness]

[Category: Specialty]

[Description: Due to certain extremely special experiences, your toughness has reached an inhuman level. Even if you are gravely injured and on the verge of death, you can still act as though uninjured—until you die completely. At the same time, your pain shock threshold greatly increases, and over time, your endurance, recovery ability, and muscular explosiveness will greatly improve!]

[Source: Recognition, Reverence (Pirate Captain—Geliide)]

[Available Memories: 15/15]

[Note: In theory, you need 15 complete dream experiences to fully master this specialty.]

[Memory Point Cost: 2500!]

"Geliide was seriously wounded at the end, yet she could still hold off the Walking Corpse horde because of this specialty. If she hadn't held them back then, it would have been hard to say how the battle would have gone..."

Xia Lun thought to himself.

"Even without considering the boost to physical attributes, this specialty's effect is basically equivalent to the 'Relentless Endurance' ability in the DND-like games I played in my previous life."

"In short, this is an extremely powerful specialty."

"And it pairs remarkably well with Transcendent Regeneration. Transcendent Regeneration can quickly repair my injuries, while Nonhuman Toughness can keep me in peak condition at all times. Together, their effect will definitely be greater than the sum of their parts."

"Even if someone tries to assassinate me in reality, I can force myself to stay alive with this specialty, then survive through Transcendent Regeneration..."

The next moment, Xia Lun willed it, and the enormous golden fruit instantly blossomed. Its golden peel and flowerlike, dazzling flesh slowly spread apart.

[Memory Points paid. Current remaining Memory Points: 900.]

[Specialty Memory preserved.]

[This specialty memory will be preserved until you begin the next scenario. During this period, you may enter dreams at any time to experience this specialty memory.]

Xia Lun nodded and continued reading.

Next came several lines of golden information. This was the information he had not had time to read after finding the treasure and before leaving the scenario.

[Exploration! You found the hidden treasure of "Mentor" Abyssal Hand. Based on your share of the proceeds, you received 1000 Memory Points!]

[Current total Memory Points: 1900]

"Hiss—" Xia Lun sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of that line.

He had only received 800 Memory Points for earning an S- scenario rating. Yet after maneuvering through threats, deception, and slaughter, painstakingly gathering countless resources and finally eliminating that terrifying Monster, he had only received 1500 Memory Points.

And now, simply digging up a treasure had earned him 1000 Memory Points?

"It seems this game does support exploration, puzzle-solving, and negotiation." Xia Lun could not help frowning. "Charging in and fighting from the start definitely isn't the mainstream way to play this game."

He continued downward.

[You unearthed a treasure! You obtained partial memories of the specialty "Treasure Hunter." After obtaining related specialty information three times, you may consume Memory Points in your next dream to obtain complete training memories for the relevant specialty.]

[Treasure Hunter: You possess an almost instinctive perception for treasure. When facing hidden mechanisms, secret chambers, and treasure, you will develop a special intuition. At the same time, this specialty will slightly enhance your perception and mental strength.]

[Note: Even before fully mastering this specialty, your corresponding attributes will increase proportionally over time.]

"Fighting and killing is only good for a bit of fun. If I really want to get rich, I have to dig up treasure..." Xia Lun muttered inwardly. "If every treasure can provide this many Memory Points, then Treasure Hunter is definitely a tier-zero specialty."

As he thought, he looked toward the final few lines of information.

Unlike the other information, the final few lines were a glaring crimson.

[You learned the secret of the Prayerbook of the Drowned through Symptom Reading and obtained the occult specialty Transcendent Regeneration. Because you killed the supernatural Monster "Mentor" Abyssal Hand, your occult specialty gained additional growth!]

[Transcendent Regeneration (Enhanced): A wound is a crack in the surface, and also a shortcut to the depths; every wise person knows that the surface is the depths. But if that is truly so, where is the wound?]

[Specialty Enhancement Effect: You may freely choose whether to regenerate; at the same time, the mental strain and nutritional consumption required for regeneration have both greatly decreased.]

"Killing a Monster gives this kind of bonus?" His eyes lit up. "Looks like fighting and killing do have some special benefits."

Now that he had finished tallying his gains, Xia Lun looked around.

The surroundings were still that shadowy, cramped room, but compared to the first time he entered a dream, its area had noticeably expanded.

To his right was a half-open wooden door, beyond which he could faintly see his basement in reality.

Xia Lun did not leave immediately. Instead, he said softly, "Check Memory Manifestation Permission."

Compared to all the gains above, this was the real big prize from the scenario settlement!

In an instant, countless hazy, illusory outlines surged toward him. At first glance, they looked like towering waves, while Xia Lun was like a small boat about to be swallowed in an instant.

"This is way too chaotic. It would be great if I could view them by category." he thought.

The next moment, as Xia Lun's thought arose, the massive wave formed from countless illusory item outlines instantly collapsed. Then, within seconds, those scattered "spray droplets" automatically sorted themselves, piling up into one small mountain after another.

To be honest, the sight before him was quite spectacular. Even Xia Lun felt a trace of shock.

"This is way too intelligent." He could not help complaining as he looked toward the first small mountain.

In an instant, countless pieces of information surged from the mountain.

[Large Structures]

[Langpeide (Whaling Ship in the Scenario): A super whaling ship converted from a heavy frigate of the Borland Kingdom. It has three masts, a hull length of 75 meters, four decks, a draft of 6.2 meters, and a displacement of 1,400 tons. Its weapons deck carries 32 cannons along with a large quantity of matching weapons and ammunition. Without question, this is an extremely powerful beast of the sea.]

[Required Memory Points: 80000!]

"I can exchange for this thing too?" Xia Lun was instantly stunned. "Isn't that absurd?"