Chapter 88: Charm Attribute Showdown
Wood, Zuiyasi, and the others walked out of their rooms one after another. Molei and Yueshitu had even changed into their pajamas, completely letting loose. Since they weren't "streaming" today, they went with whatever was most comfortable.
"We almost cleared it, Yueshitu, you noob. Your hands are clumsier than your feet."
"You're the noob. Your whole family are noobs."
Yueshitu vehemently denied being a noob. Molei gave a "contemptuous" smile, pulled out a deathmatch terminal, opened a puzzle game, and handed it to Molei, as if to say, "Bro, come suffer with me."
"That fat bastard Pi, I'm not playing his game."
Yueshitu gritted her teeth in frustration, her little mouth muttering sweetly like honey-coated curses.
Su Xiao glanced around at the group. Just then, a door from the Holy Light Paradise side opened, revealing a pair of mechanical eyes. After a moment, the door closed again, as if the person inside wasn't planning to come out.
"I've got some good news for you all…"
Before Su Xiao could finish, his hand suddenly pressed down on his sword hilt, his Blade Domain ready to activate at any moment. He sensed someone approaching within 10 meters of him.
Needless to say, within 10 meters, no one had better perception than a close-combat technique-type. Perception-specialists were mere amateurs in comparison. As for beyond 10 meters, that was a completely different dimension compared to perception-types.
An invisible person, undetectable beyond 10 meters, stepped into Su Xiao's perception range.
"Hello, everyone. I'm the newly arrived, Hidden Shadow."
A voice that was neither male nor female spoke, clearly altered by some device.
"A voice-changer hermaphrodite."
Molei spoke aggressively. Contractors from Apocalypse Paradise and Holy Light Paradise always had a mutual disdain for each other. During World War events, they'd be itching to tear each other apart. Strangely enough, if the Reincarnation Paradise was involved in a World War, contractors from Apocalypse and Holy Light would band together, eager to sacrifice some Holy Land Paradise zealot first, then swear brotherhood.
But in normal times, these two sides couldn't stand each other. One side thought the other were mining idiots, while the other side thought they were weak healer noobs—a pathetic back-and-forth that was oddly amusing.
The main reason was that when conflicts arose between them, unless it was a blood feud, they'd back off once things got serious.
If you pissed off a Death Paradise contractor, you'd be dealing with a group of assassin rangers with barcodes on their heads. The outcome was predictable. As for Holy Land Paradise, those zealots were relentless to the death.
As for Reincarnation Paradise contractors, just glance at them wrong. If you hit a nerve, they'd walk over with a smile and suddenly rip your throat out. The madmen of Reincarnation were no joke.
The Hidden Shadow from the Holy Light Paradise camp—no one knew if they were male or female. Their stealth ability was top-tier, likely a 24/7 continuous skill.
Contractors like this seemed strong but had one major weakness: they were fragile. If you managed to land two hits on them, they'd die on the spot.
But it had to be admitted, Hidden Shadow was a top-tier healer.
Fake healers: Delicate-looking cute girls with gentle or lively personalities. If you managed to win one over, you'd lose at least twenty years of your life. They were slow, afraid of assassins, very afraid of assassins, especially afraid of assassins.
Real healers: You had no idea what they even were, let alone their gender. They weren't afraid of assassins because, when needed, they'd stack a bunch of buffs on themselves, use their stealth to circle behind an assassin, raise their healing staff, and whack the assassin's head with all their might. Then came a flurry of blows, a full combo that left the assassin incontinent.
"Does Apocalypse Paradise even qualify for the Scroll War? Isn't Apocalypse Paradise just a mining company? Void Tree must have made a mistake, right? Definitely, right?"
Hidden Shadow's opening words made it clear they were a seasoned provocateur.
Molei fell silent. As a civilized, slightly foolish girl, "You're a dog" was the extent of her insults. Going up against a provocateur was asking for humiliation.
"Bai Ye, do you know who we are?"
Wood spoke, wearing a black robe with gold trim, revealing his skeletal frame. His bone structure differed from humans, making him look not emaciated but naturally suited to his form. His darkish skin gave him an aura of inevitability.
"I've got some good news."
As soon as Su Xiao said this, Zuiyasi turned to leave. He'd rather believe a donkey would shake hands with him in peace than trust Su Xiao's "good news."
"Zuiyasi, interested in this potion?"
Su Xiao tossed a bottle of [Sun Holy Elixir] to Zuiyasi, fully displaying its attributes. During the war, with Void Tree's verification, Zuiyasi could see the potion's stats even though he wasn't from the Paradise camp.
Su Xiao had brewed nearly a hundred bottles of [Sun Potion], yielding only two perfect-grade ones, named [Sun Holy Elixir]. He drank one himself, and the Blazing Sun Lord kept the other.
This bottle of [Sun Holy Elixir] was the one the Blazing Sun Lord had taken. It was found alongside his scroll fragment. The Blazing Sun Lord had enough sense to suspect the potion might be problematic, so he never drank it.
Interestingly, Kaisa had wanted to swipe this potion but gave up for some reason.
After Zuiyasi saw the [Sun Holy Elixir]'s attributes, his eyes seemed to gleam. As a married man, he needed this. He had an Ancient God physique, so he didn't need it? Naive. His wife also had an Ancient God physique. As they say, two negatives make a positive. Who could handle that?
The ox plowing the field was strong, but the field was different.
[Sun Holy Elixir · Perfect Grade Bonus: After consumption, permanently and significantly increases the vitality of all organs.]
The permanent boost to certain key organs deeply attracted Mr. Zuiyasi. He smiled and nodded at Su Xiao, tossing back the [Sun Holy Elixir], looking ready to listen.
"Zuiyasi, this is a Sun-type potion. You're pure Dark-type. Going head-on?"
Baha expressed mock admiration for Zuiyasi.
"Long-term perspective, it's worth it."
Zuiyasi waved his hand dismissively, as if to say, "Basic moves, don't overreact, everyone sit down."
"Tell me more. If it interests me, I'll join."
Lilim winked her left eye at Su Xiao, rare for her to show her succubus side.
"This is the key to the ward. It opens that door."
Su Xiao pointed the key in his hand toward the silver-gray metal door to the side. Everyone had varied expressions.
"Is that a nightmare dungeon? Pfft, pfft, I've been playing too many games. That's a nightmare zone, right? I can feel it without even opening the door."
Molei bit into a chilled melon, turning into a spectator.
Hearing this, the provocateur Hidden Shadow asked, "You know a lot? Have you been in a nightmare before?"
"Yeah, I went into seven or eight in the Sand World. If I hadn't been chased afterward, I'd have gone into more."
Molei glanced at Su Xiao, then took another bite of her melon, feeling a bit of satisfaction.
The provocateur Hidden Shadow was silenced. Seeing this, Yueshitu laughed heartily.
"To enter the Nightmare · Ancient Castle Ward, just having the key isn't enough. You need high sanity."
"How high is the entry threshold?"
Molei spoke. Her knowledge of nightmares was surprisingly extensive. Perhaps that's why she was chosen for this Scroll War.
"Entry requires 430 sanity. After entering, you lose 40 sanity per minute."
"Farewell."
Lilim turned and went back to her room. She didn't want to enter and die instantly.
"This good fortune isn't for me."
Water Brother also left, leaving only Wood, Zuiyasi, Molei, Yueshitu, and Hidden Shadow.
"With this barrel, I'm fine."
Zuiyasi pulled out a sun-shaped barrel and tossed it in his hand. Seeing this, Wood turned and went back to his room, indicating he wouldn't participate.
"Found some patrons. I have a healing ability that can remove a certain amount of madness and restore your sanity. Believe me?"
Hidden Shadow spoke with a smile, no longer provocative. He now saw everyone present as patrons.
Hearing this, Zuiyasi looked surprised. After a moment's thought, he tossed a black egg to Hidden Shadow.
"I'm hiring you. The beneficiaries are everyone entering the ward. Whoever's sanity gets low, you help them recover."
Zuiyasi suddenly became generous, uncharacteristically so. Normally, he didn't do decent things.
Su Xiao knew that Zuiyasi was paying for everyone's sanity recovery as a hush fee. Zuiyasi had his eye on Hidden Shadow's ability and didn't want Su Xiao to interfere.
"Then I'll take this trip. Even though my sanity isn't at 430, I have this."
Hidden Shadow pulled out a strange egg-shaped stone covered in twisted, squeezed-together faces.
"I'm going too."
Molei raised her hand. Seeing this, Zuiyasi asked, "Molei, what's your sanity?"
"867."
Molei said a number that would drop jaws. In reality, her base sanity was 230. The remaining 637 came from a core passive ability that created a "sanity shield." Before this shield was depleted, her own sanity wouldn't be consumed easily. However, the shield wasn't always reliable.
She said 867 because it felt satisfying. This wasn't bragging; it was self-awareness and affirmation of her achievements.
"So, four of us are going in."
Su Xiao walked toward the ward door. His three "teammates" for the Ancient Castle Ward were chosen: Zuiyasi, Molei, and Hidden Shadow.
All three knew that once inside, running fast was important. But they were dead wrong. What mattered more was which monster chose to chase whom.
The lower your charm, the less likely you'd attract the hatred of nightmare monsters. It was like how creatures that weren't strong in reality became incredibly powerful in nightmares, like Pig Brother.
This was a test of charm attribute. The lower, the better. When it came to comparing who had lower charm, Su Xiao had never lost to anyone. Even Ancient Gods were no match for him.