Chapter 31: Third Talent
After reviewing the content of the second ring of his main quest, Su Xiao felt a very ominous premonition. The completion level of his first ring of the main quest was too high, having exceeded the limit.
Because his initial status in this world was too high, the initial difficulty of the main quest was already very high, requiring the elimination or containment of one S-class dangerous object and two A-class dangerous objects.
When Su Xiao dealt with Dangerous Object S-173 (Calamity Bell), if he had made a single wrong move, he would have died on the spot. This was still a dangerous object with a sequence number after 150. The lethality of S-class danger was truly formidable.
According to the quest requirements, if Su Xiao dealt with one S-class dangerous object with a sequence number around 190, plus two A-class dangerous objects, he would achieve an above-average quest evaluation, without needing to risk handling Dangerous Object S-173 (Calamity Bell).
The problem was that dangerous objects were not easy to find, and he didn't want to keep waiting, so he took the risk to deal with Dangerous Object S-173 (Calamity Bell).
The issue lay right there. The Calamity Bell led to the Mermaid, and then Su Xiao began his struggle with Kingsley over the Mermaid.
As things developed to this point, Dangerous Object S-173 (Calamity Bell) had become the weakest dangerous object Su Xiao had ever handled, causing the quest completion rate to explode, leading to changes in subsequent quests.
Seal the Abyss Passage — such a simple and clear quest message. What is this thing? Where is it? Any clues? None at all.
This reminded Su Xiao of the Apocalypse Paradise quest he received in the previous world. In that main quest, there was a ring that almost gave him satellite positioning, telling him where the Holy Maiden Shataye was.
Apocalypse Paradise's quests were indeed easy to complete, but the subsequent rewards were too lackluster. It really was just about finding the Holy Maiden Shataye, with nothing else after that.
Compared to that type of main quest model, Su Xiao preferred Reincarnation Paradise's main quests. Although the prompts were too simple, they could lead to many secrets. More secrets meant more substantial gains during the quest completion process.
Su Xiao even felt that Apocalypse Paradise's main quests were like: the quest rewards are just those, don't overthink it, finish the quest and go to sleep, just don't die.
Whereas Reincarnation Paradise's quests were: the higher the quest difficulty, the more tempting the rewards. Compared to these tempting quest rewards, the gains during the quest completion process were even greater. If the quest completer had strong abilities, the next ring of the quest would immediately enter hell mode, with difficulty exploding and rewards exploding.
Su Xiao looked at the Death Chalice on the stone platform. According to the confidential archives of the Containment Institution, 817 years ago, the Death Domain once covered a quarter of the continent's area. Within that range, only a very few intelligent beings survived by chance, with a probability lower than 0.0001%.
To enter the Death Domain, pick up the chalice, and drink the liquid inside — perhaps only a Chosen One could accomplish this.
Su Xiao never considered himself a Chosen One. He was usually unlucky in ordinary times. Chosen One, his ass. If he could have good luck for a period, his mood would be quite good.
Not having the qualifications of a Chosen One didn't matter. Su Xiao had technology — this was the crystallization of human intelligence. All living things that entered the Death Domain would die? No problem. Lifeless machinery wouldn't die.
Su Xiao took out a survey vehicle about two meters in length from his storage space. Holding the remote control, he maneuvered the survey vehicle into the Death Domain.
Hiss~
The surface of the survey vehicle seemed to decay, becoming rusted and mottled. The wheels creaked as they turned.
He controlled the survey vehicle to reach the front of the Death Chalice. A metal probe extended out, dipped into the liquid inside the Death Chalice, and sucked the liquid into a storage tank. When the survey vehicle drove back, it had completely rusted into a lump of iron.
Seeing this, Su Xiao took out a second survey vehicle, drove it into the Death Domain, and dragged the first survey vehicle out of the Death Domain.
Su Xiao didn't immediately remove the storage tank from the survey vehicle. On this vehicle, he sensed a strong death aura, but fortunately, this death aura was quickly dissipating.
After waiting for a whole morning, Su Xiao sensed that the strong death aura on the survey vehicle had dissipated. He wrapped his left hand in a crystal layer, and his right hand pressed on the sword hilt at his waist. If anything was wrong, he would immediately cut off his own left arm.
Su Xiao's fingertip, wrapped in the crystal layer, touched the survey vehicle. Nothing unexpected happened. He pulled open the storage tank and poured the liquid inside into a crystal bottle used for holding potions.
As long as he drank this liquid, Su Xiao's third talent would temporarily awaken. Then, by using [Ancient Will], he might be able to permanently awaken his third talent.
Su Xiao didn't immediately drink the liquid. He brought Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha to leave the containment vault, took the elevator, and arrived at the secret room on the third floor of the office.
Pushing open the door to the secret room, Su Xiao went downstairs and sat behind the office desk. He had a very crucial matter to handle.
He picked up the phone on the desk and dialed. The sweet voice of the operator girl came through. Through the operator, Su Xiao contacted Dean Victor.
"Bai Ye, what's the matter?"
Dean Victor's voice showed fatigue. Dean Victor only used this tone when chatting with acquaintances. Outside, Dean Victor was a gentle yet dignified middle-aged man. Recently, his hairline had been getting higher, and he had many worries.
"I've contained the Mermaid here."
Su Xiao glanced at the wooden box on the desk. The residual ashes of the Mermaid were inside.
"I already knew about this last night. You're calling to tell me you've already dealt with the Mermaid?"
"Yes."
"In such matters, we all follow your choice. Now that I know about this, it's good that you've formally informed me."
Dean Victor's tone was calm. By saying this, he had already understood Su Xiao's meaning, clearly guessing what Su Xiao intended to do with the Mermaid's residual ashes in his hands.
Dean Victor would become a witness to this matter. Even if Su Xiao was caught with evidence while using the Mermaid's residual ashes, Dean Victor would firmly support him. The Containment Institution wasn't actually rigid. They turned a blind eye to the use of dangerous object residues. Otherwise, the [Lacerating] gloves wouldn't have appeared. Aichi was still using that thing.
"By the way, before the Mermaid died, it attracted the Death Chalice. I've now contained the Death Chalice."
"This is a 'surprise.' Last night, the mayor of Youke City contacted me. My old friend nagged me until the early hours. If he hears this news, he should be very 'surprised,' right?"
Dean Victor smiled, not worried about the Death Chalice causing problems in Su Xiao's hands.
The call with Dean Victor was very brief. This was the benefit of working with an old schemer — things didn't need to be said too clearly.
Su Xiao contacted the operator girl again. This time, the person he wanted to contact might not have returned to the Southern Alliance yet.
The call was connected, but when the operator girl reported the location of the other party, Su Xiao felt surprised. Thinking about it carefully, it was actually normal. That person was handling the aftermath of the Mermaid incident.
On the call, the other party didn't speak. Su Xiao also remained silent. This silence lasted nearly half a minute.
"You're contacting me to ask if I'm dead? Unfortunately, after taking that kick from you, I'm not dead yet."
Kingsley's voice came from the receiver. That's right, Su Xiao was now communicating with Kingsley, whom he had been fighting to the death with not long ago. The other party had returned to the Southern Alliance by some means.
"I've established a containment vault in Youke City."
"Expected. You're contacting me this time, planning to?"
"Make a deal."
"A deal?"
Kingsley coughed lightly as he spoke, his voice weaker. On his end, faint sounds of pleading could be heard. Kingsley continued, "Is it about the Mermaid?"
"Yes."
"What do I need to give?"
"The method to control that golden lightning."
"Impossible. Neither you nor I can control that lightning. I only attracted that lightning."
"Then trade the secret technique for attracting lightning."
"Is it that simple? Attracting that lightning is useless for you. I have the Black Emperor, so I can use that lightning to harm enemies. You, this unlucky guy, will only get struck by lightning if you attract it. Don't think about it. Unlucky people will have trouble after attracting lightning. Besides, just the secret technique for attracting lightning, and you're willing to offer the Mermaid? That's the Mermaid's residual ashes, right? What a pity. Such a rare dangerous object was dealt with by you. It'll take more than ten years before it appears again."
Kingsley's tone only showed regret, not anger. He had indeed fought to the death with Su Xiao, but no one stipulated that only Kingsley could kill enemies while others couldn't kill him. In Kingsley's view, battle was like this — life or death.
"So, you're refusing?"
"Of course... no. Let's meet. I'll bring the secret technique for attracting lightning, and you bring the Mermaid's residual ashes. There's something I need to tell you. About the 'Tayatu Civilization,' how much do you know? It's inconvenient to say more on the phone. We'll talk when we meet. The location is the Alliance's Parliament Hall. I'm here now. I've already killed a few councilors."
Click. Kingsley hung up the phone. Su Xiao's identity had previously killed one Alliance councilor. This time, Kingsley was even more ruthless, killing six. This time, the Alliance Parliament probably couldn't pull off any more mind-numbingly stupid stunts.
Su Xiao picked up the crystal bottle on the desk. The liquid inside would lose its effectiveness within at most 14 hours after leaving the Death Chalice. The institution's experimental personnel had tested this multiple times.
Pulling out the stopper, Su Xiao drank the liquid from the crystal bottle in one gulp. The cool sensation of the liquid seemed to make Su Xiao's chest and abdomen feel clear, as if a muffled thunderclap exploded in his ears.
The natural elements near Su Xiao all gathered toward him, floating around him.
Directly above Youke City, a vortex formed by natural elements of various characteristics churned.
Inside the office, the natural elements around Su Xiao were dense enough to be visible to the naked eye. Since this was only a temporary awakening of the third talent, the entire process took less than ten minutes. He temporarily acquired a talent ability, named: Element King.
PS: (Two chapters today, taking a break. My night owl constitution is acting up again.)