Quadruple split.

Chapter 2624 Comprehension

It was not a phantom pain arising from associating oneself with 'oneself' due to a disastrous sense of direction, nor was it a rhetorical device used to lament when encountering some terrible problem.

It is a real headache, from the inside out, that is very close to a physical headache.

Although it was only described as a 'slight headache,' the excruciating pain, which felt like his brain was trembling, was enough to force an ordinary player to disconnect. However, for Mo Tan at this moment, this level of pain was far from enough to make him lose his composure.

Even though he tried his best to hide his pain, Ji Xiaoge still noticed that his right hand had trembled slightly due to the pain, and she grabbed his wrist without hesitation, asking with a serious expression, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure I do have a bit of a headache, but I'm also sure it's not a big problem."

Mo Tan gave Ji Xiaoge a reassuring smile, then turned his gaze to the dark, deep passageway in the distance, which resembled the gaping maw of an abyss. He narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Speaking of which, I think we might be in the right place."

"That's right. I've always been good at finding the right way since I was little. Whether I'm playing games or traveling, I can usually find my destination without any problems."

Ji Xiaoge chuckled, then adjusted her goggles to night mode. As she quickly followed behind Mo Tan, she said seriously, "There shouldn't be any real threat ahead. Although the atmosphere is a bit strange, I haven't detected anything that's 'activated.' We should be able to continue."

"Take care to protect yourself."

Mo Tan nodded and continued walking forward with a steady pace. His purple eyes, which had turned into vertical pupils, were bright as lightning. Although he had learned that there should theoretically be no hostile units, he, who never really trusted 'theory', still maintained his fighting spirit and was always ready for battle.

He knew very well that since the system had given a time limit of 'five hours' for the 'Queen's Legacy' quest, and that the two of them would likely face a terrible chase if they didn't complete the quest from the fifth hour onwards, then at least for the time being, he and Ji Xiaoge should not encounter any enemies.

However, an enemy is an enemy, and danger is danger. Mo Tan never believed that these two concepts could be equated. As someone who was well-versed in the 'art of language' of the [Innocent Realm] main system, he knew very well that even if this [Ascension Fortress] would not begin to clear out the uninvited guests until the fifth hour through some kind of erroneous program, it did not mean that it was safe.

"Well--"

The moment he stepped into the gravity disorder zone, he regained his footing, only to be captured by the chaotic gravity, which was like a gravity trap. In an instant, he was subjected to dozens of times the force of gravity and knelt on the ground with a 'thud'. With a very solemn expression, he leaned on his [Dawn - Ruthless Sword] and said without turning his head, "Don't come any closer, there's something wrong with the gravity here."

Bang!
In the next instant, the [Ruthless Sword] in Mo Tan's hand transformed into the [Asura Halberd], which was filled with ferocity. Just as he was about to forcibly increase his strength attribute by instantly activating [Rage] again, trying to escape from this strange gravity in a short time, he suddenly felt his body lighten and regained his mobility.

"Wait a moment, I'm adjusting the parameters for the current cabin section. But before that, I've activated the backup balance control system. It's not very useful anymore, but it should make you more comfortable."

Ji Xiaoge, who had somehow crouched down in front of a pipe not far behind Mo Tan, was rapidly scribbling on a rectangular magic crystal board attached to a small port. Without looking up, she said, "Hold on for three minutes. Don't resist. I need a relatively stable environment to build the anchor point. After that, I can directly apply this model to solve the problem if I encounter this situation again."

Mo Tan looked at the girl's current appearance, which was completely different from her usual cute and carefree demeanor. She was very focused and gave people a great sense of security. A faint smile appeared on her lips. She then looked away before she could lose herself in the beauty of her profile and focused on maintaining her own composure.

The ferocious halberd in his hand seemed to be in sync with its master's will, calming down and drawing back the demonic power that had begun to devour the surroundings, thus maintaining the stability of this space.

[So there's another way to use it...?]

Looking somewhat surprised at the halberd in his hand, which, while certainly not 'peaceful,' was surprisingly 'stable,' requiring little effort to suppress its violent aura, Mo Tan suddenly realized that as his objective strength increased and he gained control over those 'erroneous' domains, [Akatsuki] seemed to have undergone some subtle changes.

Thinking about it carefully, whether it's being able to easily 'keep up' with the companions behind him while ensuring his own position; being able to use the [Tai'a - Slaying Whale] as easily as he used to; or being able to completely restrain the demonic power of the Shura Halberd at this moment, it's all a brand new, subtle change.

Moreover, as his control over power increased, even without frequently relying on [Reverse Scale: Full Release] and [Herrscher's Resolve], Mo Tan, who was already at the pinnacle of high-level power, felt more clearly that both [Akatsuki] and those beings residing within [Akatsuki] possessed power and depth far exceeding his previous imagination.

This wasn't because Mo Tan looked down on Jian Po and the others, but because he simply couldn't imagine the higher levels of scenery before he truly reached a certain stage.

Now, after the "Debate on Guilt," the character 'Mo' in the game, after enduring numerous setbacks and accumulating strength, has finally reached a height that those who have played for several times longer but are stuck at the Epic tier can neither see nor touch.

[So I've become this strong.]

Suddenly realizing this, Mo Tan blinked, and his originally hunched figure straightened up silently. Even though Ji Xiaoge had not yet completed the final parameter adjustment, he had already stood up again without relying on the [Asura Halberd], as if the gravity that could instantly kill an ordinary high-level player did not exist.

at the same time
On the public space's [Individual Combat Power Ranking], the user ranked 32nd on the second page, with the "Troublemaker" trait, Mo-Lawful Good-Light Knight, vanished without a trace in an instant, only to reappear at the very top of the page—

No. 21 [Troublemaker Type]: Silent - Lawful Good - Knight of Light
That's right. Although Mo Tan didn't do anything at this moment, and didn't get any real improvement, he did become stronger in a real way.

This is actually not difficult to understand.

First, in the world view of [The Realm of Innocence], in addition to the more obvious hard power enhancements, such as strength attribute +3 and constitution attribute +5, there are also relatively subtle soft power enhancements. Among them, the most representative is the well-known Snowfall Sword.

In fact, judging solely from character attributes and equipment, Mu Xuejian, as the top fighter of the [Clown Card], can be considered first-rate, but compared to the strong fighters of the same level in the [Questioning and Debating] stage, Mu Xuejian actually has no advantage.

For example, compared to the top new generation professional players 'Hanguang' and 'Xueran' from the [Red Constellation] team, Muxuejian is at a complete disadvantage in terms of character attributes. However, if they were to actually fight...

To put it bluntly, even if those two young guys from the Crimson Constellation attacked together, Mu Xuejian, a casual player who is also young, could kill them in at most twenty moves.

So the question is, where does the difference lie between the two sides?

The answer is simple: talent, both literally and literally. After all, in the Realm of Innocence, these two terms are essentially the same.

With the three talents of [Sword Heart], [Sword Soul], and [Sword Spirit], Mu Xuejian can unleash combat power far exceeding the character's stats at almost any time, whether she is wielding the sword or the opponent is wielding it!
This leads to another very noteworthy point: the evaluation criteria for the [Individual Combat Power Ranking] always seem somewhat 'mysterious'.

For example, the top three on the homepage right now—No. 20 Rune Daystorm, No. 19 Office Worker, and No. 18 Rebecca—are undeniably strong. However, even someone like Mo, who was ranked No. 31 just a minute ago, could likely defeat them head-on by using [Reverse Scale: Full Release], [Herrscher's Resolve], and [Domain: Rage] consecutively. In this case, the ranking method seems somewhat awkward.

Furthermore, considering that Mo Tan, who just jumped directly to No. 21, is almost identical to when he was ranked No. 31, this makes the whole situation even more intriguing.

However, in the eyes of many high-end players and professional data teams in studios or clubs, this is not actually a difficult problem to solve.

In their analysis, the most crucial factor determining someone's position in the "Personal Combat Power Ranking" was structured into a complex and dazzling formula. However, if we look beyond the surface and get to the essence, it is actually about assigning different weights to constant combat power and ultimate combat power, and then comparing the results of adding them together.

Therefore, even though it is also a talent, Mu Xuejian, who can integrate it into every action and can even maintain a state of extreme performance at all times, naturally ranks extremely high.

While Mo Tan, who can only use [Herrscher's Resolve] to a limited extent and never dares to unleash [Reverse Scale: Full Release] outside of special scenarios like interrogation and debate, has a high maximum combat power score, his overall ranking is naturally far lower than the former due to his ridiculously low weighting.

However, just as he realized that he had indeed become very strong, this self-awareness directly caused Mo Tan's ranking to approach that of the homepage gatekeeper. It can be seen that this guy's recent progress has been quite terrifying, to the point that he, who has a rather fragmented online time, even needs to adapt to this power of 'himself'.

Of course, this would not make Mo Tan, in his current personality, feel regretful. On the contrary, although he could not 'digest' this power immediately for various reasons, he was very glad that he could grasp this power that originally belonged to 'himself' when needed.

"Okay, this should work... wait?!"

After finally finishing her work, Ji Xiaoge wiped her sweat, then paused in surprise when she noticed Mo Tan's natural, even slightly relaxed, posture. She exclaimed, "How come you seem completely unaffected!"

Mo Tan smiled and continued walking deeper into the area, saying with a smile, "How could that be? That unusual gravity just now was quite uncomfortable. If you hadn't been quick, I probably would have lost a lot of health."

"Indeed, that was far too dangerous."

While cautiously peering around through her precious goggles, Ji Xiaoge muttered to herself, "Logically, this shouldn't be the case. I remember my mentor saying that in most facilities equipped with gravity generators, additional insurance and at least triple safety protocols are standard features, because if such devices malfunction, it could lead to catastrophic consequences, so the safety should be higher than in other places."

Mo Tan nodded slightly and said softly, "Perhaps Master Lu Wei is right. Do you remember where we first met? It felt almost like a ruin. If that was the true atmosphere here, then this relatively stable section is only barely intact because of the safety measures."

Ji Xiaoge paused, then hesitated and said, "If that's the case... then it might actually make a rough explanation."

"Ok?"

Mo Tan keenly noticed that the girl's expression had turned somewhat unpleasant and immediately asked, "Is there a problem?"

"There's no problem."

Ji Xiaoge shook her head, her expression somewhat subtle, and said, "I just suddenly realized that if this barely usable passage is just an 'exception,' then the condition of this [Ascension Fortress] Valhalla is probably already beyond redemption."

Mo Tan nodded slightly and recalled, "I remember the rewards for the entire quest chain of [Glory of Valkyrie] were two legendary quests that required repairing the 'Forge District' and 'Repair District' of Valhalla Fortress, and a legendary quest chain that required repairing the 'Power District'."

"Help--"

Ji Xiaoge gently patted her forehead with the magic crystal panel in her hand and said with a wry smile, "I really have no clue right now. If the entire fortress is in such a hopeless situation, even if I had a year, I wouldn't be able to repair even one district!"

"So outrageous?"

"That's a conservative estimate! You have no idea, it's practically..."

"Om-"

"What is this?"

"Wait, did you hear something?"

"That buzzing sound?"

"A buzzing sound?"

"Om-"

"here we go again!"

Chapter 2615: The End