Chapter 20: A Knight Ahead
Inside the large stone house, Su Xiao felt the enhancement state bestowed by Dudu Gugu. This sensation differed from the enhancement states of healing-type abilities.
Most healing abilities leaned toward holy and life attributes, while Dudu Gugu leaned toward no attribute, resulting in enhancements with virtually no repulsion.
Indeed, enhancement states also had repulsion. For example, a powerhouse with dark characteristics, upon receiving a light-attribute enhancement state, would not only gain no benefit but would instead suffer a debuff.
"Dudu, gugu."
Dudu Gugu’s small bone finger tapped the stone plate, indicating it had no further demands.
In this situation, it was possible to continue trading with Dudu Gugu. Whether it would be profitable was the question. If the item was something Dudu Gugu requested, it would offer a high return. For ordinary exchanges, the return from Dudu Gugu was uncertain and could sometimes result in a loss.
If the loss wasn’t too severe, Su Xiao would let it slide. If it was particularly bad, he could still trade back.
For example, if Su Xiao offered Item A and received Item C, leading to a huge loss, he could use Item C to trade back for Item A. However, after that, he would need to toss Dudu Gugu a Soul Crystal (Small), or else it would hide away and sulk.
Su Xiao checked his storage space and began searching for items that were about to be phased out. He placed these items on the stone plate, feeling that Dudu Gugu was like a little junk collector.
Su Xiao took out a total of [Burning Heart], [Shampoo ×2 Bottles], [Fate Gold Ingot], [Floral Water ×1 Bottle], [Glass Ornament], [Divine Energy Condensate], [Famous Watch ×5 (with a certain adventure group logo)], [Warm Soul Solid], [Bubu Wang Wood Carving], [Amu Wood Carving], [Baha Wood Carving], [Beini Wood Carving]...
Among these items, [Divine Energy Condensate] was obtained by Su Xiao in Source: Divine Village. He had acquired a considerable amount before, but most were used to enhance the growth value of the [Divine Judgment] ring. Only one piece remained. As for the [Divine Judgment] ring, what it lacked now wasn’t the residual Primordial Life Force left by evil gods after death, but other things.
After placing a pile of items, Dudu Gugu first took the [Fate Gold Ingot]. This was obtained by Su Xiao after killing a World Child in a derivative world. For a long time, he thought it was a good item and didn’t exchange it for a Soul Crystal (Complete). Now it seemed he should have traded it earlier.
With a clatter, a large pile of Soul Coins landed on the tray. Seeing these Soul Coins, Su Xiao confirmed one thing: Dudu Gugu had indeed signed a contract with the Void Tree, and it had happened recently.
Su Xiao was so certain because, during the last trade with Dudu Gugu, the latter used [Crude Soul Solid] as currency, which could be exchanged for Soul Coins in Reincarnation Paradise. This time, Dudu Gugu directly offered Soul Coins.
[You have received 853 Soul Coins.]
Seeing the number of Soul Coins, Su Xiao felt this trade wasn’t particularly profitable. Just then, Dudu Gugu’s two small bone hands reached out from the wall. One hand held two [Scroll Fragments], while the other held a [Overlord Essence].
"Dudu."
Dudu Gugu raised its left small bone hand, which held the [Scroll Fragments].
"Gugu."
Dudu Gugu raised its right small bone hand, lifting the [Overlord Essence] higher.
This was a choice: pick 2 [Scroll Fragments] or the [Overlord Essence].
Dudu Gugu was quite capricious. It naturally understood how to measure the value of items, but if it encountered something it liked, this measurement mechanism would tilt.
What exactly Dudu Gugu liked, Su Xiao wasn’t sure. He had just taken out a pile of items, even placing a bag of tissues on the stone plate.
If Kaisa encountered Dudu Gugu, that guy might even take off his socks and put them in the stone plate during the trade. At that point, Dudu Gugu would be done for.
In the past, Su Xiao would naturally choose both. But considering he might encounter Dudu Gugu again, this kind of all-accepting trade was something he had only seen with Dudu Gugu.
[Scroll Fragments] were most beneficial for the current situation, but the [Overlord Essence] Dudu Gugu offered was too large.
[Overlord Essence] had no grade distinction, but that didn’t mean it had no quality difference. Three [Overlord Essences] could be randomly exchanged for one Overlord-level equipment in Reincarnation Paradise. The rating of the obtained Overlord equipment depended on the overall size of the three [Overlord Essences].
Killing a first-rank Overlord creature versus an eighth-rank Overlord creature naturally yielded different [Overlord Essences], with significant differences.
Low-rank [Overlord Essences] were only the size of a soybean. Previously, when Su Xiao killed a seventh-rank Overlord unit, the [Overlord Essence] he obtained was only the size of an egg. But the [Overlord Essence] Dudu Gugu brought out now was the size of a fist.
Completing this round of trade would reach the trade limit. Su Xiao no longer looked at the fist-sized [Overlord Essence], to avoid getting annoyed by staring at it too long.
He picked up the two [Scroll Fragments], which felt like soft fabric, then placed the Scholar’s Staff in a hidden compartment in the large stone house’s wall. Turning around, he walked out of the large stone house.
The Scholar’s Staff couldn’t be taken too far from the large stone house. The villagers of Holy Land: Chiriad: Desolate Village had confirmed this at a very painful cost. It could only be said that the Fat Clown was lucky not to have taken the Scholar’s Staff too far; otherwise, his fate would have been worse than death.
Dudu Gugu wasn’t scary and had no combat power. The large stone house itself was a terrifying thing—an unconscious terror and horror. Of course, as long as you didn’t provoke it, nothing would happen.
Sensing Su Xiao’s departure, Dudu Gugu’s voice came from within the wall:
"Dudu, gugu."
"..."
As Su Xiao walked forward, he waved his hand behind him at Dudu Gugu and left the large stone house.
"Dudu~, gugu~"
Dudu Gugu’s voice sounded a bit disappointed. Its small bone hands drooped. After a moment, its several small bone hands retracted into the wall, and the glowing white particles floating in the large stone house faded away.
Leaving the large stone house, Su Xiao headed toward the arcade hall. The era feel of the Nightmare World was particularly strange. The slaughterhouse was one thing, but at the amusement park, the furnishings were a patchwork of items from multiple eras.
"Patchwork" wasn’t quite accurate; it felt more like "stitching." Not just the amusement park, but the entire Nightmare World gave a sense of being stitched together.
When Su Xiao entered the Bone House, he was startled to see Zuiyasi wearing only boxer shorts. No need to ask; he had lost badly.
The gambling session had just ended. The Skeleton Gambler pressed a [Scroll Fragment] onto the gambling table. The light and shadow before Su Xiao blurred, and when his vision cleared, he stood on a patch of grass. Ahead was the amusement park’s open back door.
A few minutes later, Wude and Zuiyasi walked over from behind. Zuiyasi had already put on his original priest robe. His heavy loss earlier was likely a deliberate act in collaboration with Wude.
What Zuiyasi had gained, Su Xiao didn’t know, but Wude was clearly in a great mood.
"Suddenly losing the Abyssal Jar feels a bit strange."
Although Wude said this, the smile in his tone was obvious to anyone.
"Behind the amusement park is Doom Town. We must kill the Nightmare King. This world seems sealed. Without eliminating the Nightmare King, we can’t leave."
Zuiyasi walked at the front. Among the three-person team, Zuiyasi’s survivability was undoubtedly the highest, given his Ancient God system abilities.
Exiting the amusement park’s back door, the cawing of crows came from above. Su Xiao looked up and saw a crow with blood-red eyes.
Thick fog surrounded the area. Su Xiao followed a gravel path for several hundred meters.
Dong, dong, dong~
The sound of a bell tower came from ahead. The thick fog gradually thinned, revealing a towering cluster of buildings. These structures were Gothic in style, with tall spires, pointed arches, large windows, stained glass, flying buttresses, and slender clustered columns.
This was Doom Town. A purple moon hung at the sky’s edge, casting an old black hue over the rows of buildings. From a distance, it looked dark, oppressive, and heavy—identical to the scene seen earlier in the "Nightmare Painting."
[Tip: You have arrived at Doom Town. After killing or defeating the Nightmare King and seizing the Scroll Fragment, most areas of the Nightmare World will collapse. You will leave the Nightmare World and return to the Main Painting World.]
[Tip: The Great Knight from the Ancient City is currently in Doom Town. You may attempt to ally with the Great Knight to jointly fight the Nightmare King.]
[Tip: The Great Knight comes from another Inner Painting World. The Great Knight is a high-combat-power unit of the Painting World.]
[Tip: The difficulty of allying with the Great Knight is high. However, if successful, the Great Knight will trust you and fight alongside you against the Nightmare King. After victory, you must share one-third of the spoils (limited to Scroll Fragments) with the Great Knight. In case of defeat, the Great Knight will sacrifice himself to cover your retreat and open a Painting Door, which has a high probability of leading to the Inner Painting World: Ancient City and a low probability of leading to the Main Painting World.]
[People await the knight, but the knight must not return empty-handed—either sacrifice or bring hope.]