Beating Instances through Words Left by the Dead

Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Inspiration Trap

Inside the Red Divine Hall, the bald strong man stared intently at the altar with a solemn expression.

A young man dressed in a superhero blue tight suit came over and said, ”Old Gao, I’ve got this. Take a rest.”

Referred to as Old Gao, the bald strong man rubbed his temples and asked, ”Lei Huo, has there been any energy anomaly within Wanghai City?”

Lei Huo replied, ”The situation is currently stable, and there are no signs of erosion points appearing yet.”

Old Gao’s expression softened slightly and he continued to inquire, ”How’s the evacuation of the citizens going?”

Lei Huo shook his head, ”The situation doesn’t look good. It’s unrealistic to relocate the entire city’s population in such a short time. We can only evacuate as many people as possible to minimize losses when the plane erosion descends.”

Old Gao sighed, silently watching the altar.

Having abilities but only being able to watch as what he guards crumbles before him.

This feeling is unbearably frustrating.

Seeing Old Gao’s gloomy face, Lei Huo tried to console, ”Don’t be too pessimistic, what if there’s a turn for the better? Check the time, it’s already been an hour since the dungeon started.”

Old Gao irritably exhaled a breath of stale air, ”What’s the use of one hour; even if you extend the time tenfold, it wouldn’t be enough.”

”That’s not the right way to see it,” Breaker Cold Mountain interjected from the side.

”The first deadly hour when entering a dungeon is when players are most likely to fail. In 10% of the dungeons, if you can survive the initial deadly encounter, you’ll find a way to survive until clearance.”

Old Gao replied grumpily, ”Of course, I know those statistics, but I’m different from you. I’m responsible for Wanghai City, I can’t be as optimistic as you.”

”If what we are facing isn’t a B-level dungeon with zero survival rate that is about to spiral out of control, and if our Breaker here wasn’t a newbie who just joined the Abyssal Game, I wouldn’t be this pessimistic either.”

Old Gao rubbed his shiny scalp. He knew they meant well, but still, he couldn’t suppress the frustration within.

”Speaking of statistics, not counting the increasing difficulty from an impending loss of control, what’s the fastest recorded clearance in official records for a B-Level dungeon? It’s at level 11! And that was a genius meticulously cultivated by a major organization. My first B-Level dungeon clearance was at level 15.”

”If a rookie can clear Moonlight Sanatorium, I’ll run a lap around White Water Bay naked!”

Inside the dungeon, Wu Chang wasn’t aware of the bets made by those in the divine hall. He was currently holding the Silver Dawn, aiming at a critically wounded Klinton.

As an elite monster or even a mini-boss in a B-Level dungeon, Klinton’s vitality was incredibly tenacious, not even dead despite half of his head gone.

Yet, under the restraint of contract power, Klinton’s life force was rapidly draining.

He seemed to realize something, with unwillingness flashing in his remaining eye, reaching out to grab Wu Chang’s pant leg.

”You set me up, you despicable outsider!”

”Despicable what? If you’re bad at it, just practice more. If you can’t handle the game, don’t play. Why resort to personal attacks,” Wu Chang stepped back, shook off Klinton’s hand, and fired two more shots at his body.

Silver bullets condensed by the Silver Dawn skill, each shot encasing in explosion and scorching flames. Klinton’s body was coated in silvery flames. His body fat served as the perfect fuel, causing the silvery flames to burn fiercely, reaching the ceiling.

As the flames burned, a faint red resentment flew out from the flames and attached itself to him.

This was the first time he saw resentment manifest.

Staring at the resentment, the owner was indeed Klinton, containing scenes from the recently occurred gamble.

However, one thing to note was that Klinton’s message within the resentment was not about losing to Wu Chang at the gambling table, but rather a bizarre message.

”The sacrifice is about to commence, the God is destined to descend, this is fate, inevitable.”

A few minutes later, as the flames extinguished, Klinton’s body turned into a layer of black ash.

The fierce silver flames annihilated everything, leaving only a key and a wooden seal.

Most of the resentment lingering on Klinton vanished, leaving only the last deep red trace, which now attached itself to the key to Klinton’s room.

Wu Chang clasped his hands together, bowed to the spot where the resentment dissipated, muttering softly:

”May you draw a good lot in reincarnation and be born to a good family in your next life.”

The disappearance of many ordinary resentments didn’t bring him any reward, yet it doesn’t mean they were without value.

On the contrary, these numerous ordinary resentments provided Wu Chang with a wealth of information.

For instance, a player skilled in dungeon exploration triggered Klinton’s private night gambling, once started, Klinton would only defeat players within the gambling circle;

Three players fought back when attacked by Klinton, during the battle Klinton transformed into an inhuman monster, exposing his weakness to fire.

The inhuman monster combined with the fire weakness was perfectly countered by the Scorching Bullet of the Silver Dawn.

The intelligence tested by these players at the cost of their lives led to tonight’s great success in Russian Roulette.

After expressing gratitude to the ”Strategy Group” members, Wu Chang examined the wooden seal dropped by Klinton.

The wooden seal was a palm-sized round token, with a crescent-shaped eye carved on the surface, slightly closed, seemingly about to vanish into moonlight, plunging the world into darkness.

”Item Name: Traveler’s Talisman.”

”Item Type: Dungeon Item (Dungeon Items cannot be taken out of the Dungeon Plane).”

”Item Skill: Shelter.”

”Skill Description: When equipped, Will -2, Inspiration +10, and gains a layer of Spiritual Barrier that can resist minor curse types and mystical class attacks. Activating the Shelter seal temporarily strengthens the Spiritual Barrier, resisting intermediate curse types and mystical class attacks; after activation, consumes one Will per hour.”

”Note: The merciful Lord will shelter His devout followers, allowing us to walk in darkness, unafraid of being lost to malice.”

Again with reducing Will and increasing Inspiration.

Looking at the Traveler’s Talisman, Wu Chang recalled the special medicine issued by the sanatorium.

Both enhance the user’s mental resistance but decrease Will and increase Inspiration.

According to the description in the Attribute Panel, Inspiration is an extremely important attribute for intelligent beings. It can be understood as the spirit’s activity level or another sense detached from physical organs.

Science, theology, art, and even politics, humanity’s understanding of the world in various fields is inseparable from Inspiration.

Just like Newton struck by an apple discovering gravity; Meitzu wielding the Falling Cherry Blossom Divine Axe discovering weapons surpass rhetoric.

Countless flashes of Inspiration have allowed humanity to stand out from countless animals, evolving into what it is today.

For players, the active thinking brought by Inspiration, in practical use, allows players to learn and master skills faster, and easier to discover unknown clues in dungeons, more easily understand various mystical concepts and new ideas...

However, Inspiration is a double-edged sword; an exceptionally active spirit can make one see things ordinary people can’t.

Moderate discovery creates geniuses, excessive discovery creates madmen.

When discoveries from Inspiration subvert or even destroy the discoverer’s cognition, Inspiration becomes the trigger for self-destruction.

Because of this, exploring the unknown through Inspiration and maintaining one’s essence with Will should be elevated together, like walking on two legs.

Yet everything within the Moonlight Sanatorium leans towards reducing Will and increasing Inspiration.

It’s as if something exists in the void, using Inspiration as a trap, enticing people in the sanatorium towards it.

And that existence is eager to show its presence to people.

As this speculation formed in Wu Chang’s mind, he felt a gaze fall upon him. He quickly looked up towards the corner of the ceiling following the gaze.

The feeling of being watched fleetingly passed, as if it was just his imagination.

The Dungeon BOSS, huh? Dare to come out and fight, then you’ll know what real trouble looks like.

With his mind calming down, he mimicked Klinton’s move and hung the Traveler’s Talisman on himself.

Before wearing the Traveler’s Talisman, relying on over fifty points of Inspiration, even without the Admission Notice reminders, he could feel the immense danger outside the room.

After activating the Traveler’s Talisman, the danger felt significantly diminished. He opened the door and left the room, only feeling a slight chill in the air, besides that, nothing else seemed abnormal.

Using the number on the key to Klinton’s room, he quickly found it.

Inside an iron box under Klinton’s bed, he found a white key.

The moment he obtained the key, the deep red resentment previously attached to Klinton disappeared.

Another reward received.