As a player, can you be normal?

Chapter 817 This is a game concerning the present, future, past, and higher dimensions, so it scared

Chapter 817 This is a game about the present, future, past, and higher dimensions, so it scared me to death.
The First Age, Elden.

Compared to the bizarre events and explosive growth of life in the latter two eras, the first era was conservative because gods ruled this place.

Although the supreme will behind the gods had already died in the impact of Bahamut.

But the world of Elden remains forever in the time when it entered the Second Age, and is forever stuck in its final days, endlessly wandering, a place of dreamlike memories created by the influence of the Third Age and the World Tree.

A "shattered war" centered on the struggle for control of this place once took place.

One of the overlords lived in the volcano's official residence.

The master of this place, the great serpent Lakkad, lies in the lava.

The player who killed him, Sinclair, is sitting in a room in the Volcano Mansion.

Inside the European-style stone room, Sinclair sat on a carved wooden chair, her eyes glued to the dark blue screen.

He held a cup of instant coffee, the steam rising in the cold light of the surveillance screen.

Of the sixteen players who followed Miaham, one died while conquering the Second Era, leaving twelve remaining here.

Now, apart from their leader, the heads of the rest of the people appear on the monitoring screen as cartoon dolls.

"What exactly is Bian Du doing?"

Sinclair issued a harsh rebuke.

Half of Elden's "dream" was destroyed.

Bian Du's avatar glowed, and his words appeared on the screen as a "comic dialogue box," directly confronting Sinclair.

"Malger dropped a strange bomb, the kind that could kill us all. If Quasimodo hadn't used [Focus], we would all be dead here."

At this moment, the avatars of other people on the screen also light up and display dialogue boxes.

"Where are Marger's group?"

"...Why don't you take a look at what the outside is like? Only the Volcano Residence is on higher ground... the rest of the area is a sea of shit."

"A raging sea of maggots... There really are people with such terrifying skills..."

"It's okay, as long as we keep them and Li Nuo at a distance."

These players have three objectives.

1. Follow Miaham to the Borderlands and gain the knowledge and power to challenge the administrators.

Originally, there were sixteen people who followed Miaham. The first one to follow was Sinclair, who represented the depth of intelligence of "The End" and knew about the past of the Great Demon and the Demon God.

2. To create a one-on-one environment for Miaham against Lino, it is necessary to keep Marger and his group under their noses. The most terrifying enemy is the one who has disappeared.

The invitation letter to Li Nuo is an ability of the "Focusor," which cannot be refused.

The person using the "Focusor" this time is Quasimodo, the bell ringer of Les Misérables. His breadth in the literary world far exceeds that of Cha Bai, and he possesses the "halo of a tragic protagonist."

Cha Bai's "protagonist aura" couldn't suppress Quasimodo.

Fortunately, Quasimodo's "Focusor" only went up to version 2.0.

Led by Sinclair, this group had to bring in all the players who could change the game, including Cha Bai. Therefore, Li Nuo, Xiao Wu, Ma Erjie, and Cha Bai would inevitably appear here.

This place is called the border area.

At the center of the border area stands a massive golden tree.

Miaham was in the shade of the golden tree.

Sinclair is observing an area called "Lake Lienia".

Biandu's long-range artillery capabilities forced Marger and his group to "Lake Lienia," a place far from the Golden Tree. Meanwhile, Sinclair's volcanic mansion was situated on high ground, making it easy to intercept them.

In summary.

As long as they wait three days, Sinclair and the others don't care whether Miaham succeeds or not. After all, the faction missions in the "World in the Painting" have been completed in all corridors, and Sinclair and the others have already broken through the MAX trial at level 99.

All that awaits them is... the arrival of the next script.

If that were all, Sinclair and his team might have had better ideas, but there was another important reason.

3. Regardless of life or death, it's fun anyway.

Of the sixteen, three are "immortal" and the other is "death".

The player who died, "Death," was deliberately killed by "The End" because Sinclair and the others felt that a player named "Death" should die to live up to the name.

This implies that these guys are a bit abnormal.

They like to create a game world for themselves, then join in and risk their lives playing it; they've already gone beyond the norm.

They now consider it a "tower defense game".

The golden tree is the core they must protect.

The traps left behind from the first and second eras, and the demons that carry the player's soul, are the enemies encountered on the road.

The players in the corridor, led by Marge, are the "bad guys" who are trying to win them over.

Behind them is the Bulma Merchant Guild, a hidden boss. As soon as the guild's army appears, Sinclair and his men will immediately surrender.

But there are exceptions.

Bian Du really wanted to kill Cha Bai; he wanted to see how many times Cha Bai could dodge the electromagnetic destructive beam.

But this action was stopped by the "immortal" Shirley.

Do you know what you'll face if you kill her?

"The Revenge of the Remaining Bloodlust".

Do you know why Anmi lost?

"..."

At this moment, a player hanging upside down from the roof beam asked, "Where is Puzang?"

Puzang is their leader.

"He was chosen as a guard by Miaham."

"That's not fair. That guy is the only one who didn't break through the MAX trial."

"Because his trial goal is the most difficult."

You can choose your own trial target; the more difficult it is, the stronger the power you will gain after breaking through.

"Li Nuo".

"Yes, he wants to fight Li Nuo."

"Idiot, you've walked right into a trap."

“Puzang could clearly be the guy who challenges those seven people.”

Those seven people specifically refer to the seven players who were closest to killing the demon god.

At this point, Sinclair laughed.

“Don’t you understand? Puzang had to do this because he saw himself as destined for it.”

Just then, Sinclair crushed the coffee cup in his hand, and a bizarre scene appeared on the monitor screen.

"Holy crap... what is this?"

Half of the “Lake Lienia” region was covered in gold.

Island whales leap out of the dung sea.

A swish sound...

The island whale leaped into the sky and entered the sea of clouds.

The island whale's back is covered by a lush green forest, which grows even more vigorously after being cleansed by the sea of dung.

Under the shade of the trees, Emil's wagon miraculously remained untouched by any excrement or urine.

The explosion just now destroyed the back of the truck. At that time, there were two choices: Cha Bai could use [Ancient Blood] to open a portal to leave the danger zone, or use [Magic Crystal] to summon the Island Whale. The latter was definitely the safer choice.

At this moment, Cha Bai was kneeling on the grass, and Xiao Wu was supporting her shoulders with concern.

"What happened? Your eyes..."

"do not know……"

Cha Bai touched her eye socket; her left eye had just suddenly disappeared.

Nanami kicked the truck in a panic: "Marje! What do we do now!"

A voice came from inside the car: "People always say that flying is the curse of the world, but at the end of the sky, there is an island in the sky, a refuge sought by every cursed person."

Cha Bai translated: "Malje means... that we, the players who are cursed to follow, must go to a higher place, such as Sky City. There happens to be a sky area in the world of Elden Ring, so we can go there."

Xiao Wu was shocked. She had been neighbors with Malje for so long, yet she still knew nothing about these cringey expressions. Sometimes she felt ashamed of her identity as a Japanese person.

Nanami sat down next to Cha Bai and took out the electronic surveillance camera she found in the car to install it for her.

"There is something terrifying in that place."

The terrifying thing she was referring to was the Dragon King.

"Just listen to Marger."

Unbeknownst to them, Sky City had already merged with another terrifying region, where not only the Dragon King resided, but also a Valkyrie. The instigator was Quasimodo, the Focuser, and his friends.

Cha Bai still has a trump card that he hasn't used yet. It's a skill that can only be used once in the script, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

After clearing the grand dungeon of "Cairo Adventure Village," each of the trio gained a "non-combat" ability.

Marger's "Demonization".

Li Nuo can still use the screenwriter's touch twice.

Cha Bai is... [Arale's Summoning Technique].

Everyone has their own calculations.

Marger locked himself in the carriage, the computer tower humming restlessly.

The screen displays the "STEAM" icon.

There's only one eroge (adult game) related to succubi that's played all over the world. It utilizes the feature of players controlling a single character in a game. This game may soon be swept away by the tides of history, but it will leave its mark.

If a fourth era truly exists, the people of that era would also find signs that this game once existed.

Another reason for going to Sky City was that Marje wanted to use the "signals" established by the players who had already conquered it to ensure that the game's main server could also run there.

The real source of this game comes from "Cairo Adventure Village." That time, Marger acted as a boss, using his in-game persona. This time, he wants to make the game interfere with reality, which is not impossible. Miaham's faith in this world is lost because of the "succubus" in the game, and her strength is affected. This indirectly proves to Marger that this method can be used.

The screen suddenly went dark for a moment.

After it lit up again, a message appeared.

[Unknown virus invasion]

This virus does not belong to the present or the past; eliminating all impossible factors, the final answer is "something from the future."

The other party signed it "Glasses".

Marger's brow relaxed.

"Humph……"

It's just a few kilometers below the island whale.

One of the players who has been in contact with Sinclair is observing from here.

"What a huge whale... It has so much health, I should give it a try."

This person was preparing to make a move. After all, he had broken through to a higher level, and even if he failed, he was confident that he could protect himself from death. The only problem might be that he might alert the enemy.

Just as he took his first step, a strand of golden hair appeared from behind him.

"Don't move."

“Hey… wait a minute, nobody said anyone in the ‘Redemption Corridor’ has already broken through to a higher level.”

"I'll say it again, don't move."

A sharp knife was pressed against the man's back.

"This feels so familiar, have we met before?"

The man holding the knife hilt let out a lewd laugh.

“It’s you…Zeref.” Meanwhile.

Sinclair couldn't contact the player, but the "End" principle was... no interference.

He was contacting Quasimodo in Sky City, unaware that a figure wielding a fire-wielding sword was appearing in the portrait behind him.

……

Thousands of years later at the same time.

The Fourth Age.

On the bloated street stands an abstract-style building, and today the entrance is packed with media personnel.

There's a game launch event today.

The huge press conference venue was simply decorated, with reporters crowded together, cameras pointed at the stage, and millions of people watching the press conference online.

Gardevoir walked out from under the large screen on the launch stage.

She bowed slightly, dressed in a white gown, holding a pair of glasses, and used telepathy to tell everyone.

"The press conference is beginning."

The noise at the scene reached its peak, and the camera flashes created a blindingly bright atmosphere.

Soren stormed out from backstage, snatched the glasses from him, put them on, coughed lightly, and then walked to the center of the arena.

"The press conference is beginning."

Someone shouted from below, "Didn't we just say that?"

Soren pointed at the people speaking below the stage and roared, "Anyone looking for trouble who dares to come up here? I'll beat you to death!"

Gardevoir immediately blocked Four-Eyes from behind. This guy was too irritable and showed no signs of the composure that a [Explorer] should have.

At this moment, the "STEAM" icon lit up on the screen.

Sauron immediately got to the point: "This thing was left behind in the late Third Age. We discovered that it was a kind of online game for mass entertainment. Of course, this isn't an archaeological press conference, but rather a discussion about the theory behind a game's creation. We all know that current technology can no longer satisfy everyone's desire to adventure in a fantasy world, so what if we could go back in time?"

The lights shone on a painting hidden in the shadows of the stage, unseen by anyone, but even if they had, no one would have been amazed.

"The world within the painting, since the technology for its creation appeared in the Third Era, has become an 'explorable entertainment television' for nearly a thousand years. However, because entering the painting is dangerous, it has now become an old relic that is only circulated on the black market."

"If... we combine the 'STEAM' signal from the end of the Third Era with it, and then use the 'Dream Glasses' to bring it in, it will become a time-travel game that is almost without danger."

There was silence.

Then there was an uproar.

Soren clapped his hands: "I know what you're all thinking. How dangerous! What an idiotic move! You think no one's ever done something like that before, you morons! Right?! You'll regret it if you keep cursing me!"

Gardevoir kicked him.

Soren: "I have two employees here operating on-site. Follow me and watch the big screen. You'll understand after you see it."

The scene changes.

In the dimly lit control room backstage, Zeref and Ark, wearing the [Mage-made Eroge-themed Mewtwo Glasses], sat on a sofa, the glasses' wires connected to the painted world on-site.

These two, as the "King's Wings" of the host club, are entering the painting in another way.

The "First Age" of "Elden" was projected onto the large screen on the stage.

At this moment, Gardevoir picked up the last pair of Mewtwo Glasses and put them on. Her consciousness entered the painting, and her body involuntarily went limp, lying on the waterbed that had been prepared beforehand.

Gardevoir, as a "psychic" Pokémon, can use its psychic powers to switch between different regions of the world at any time.

Her consciousness arrived at the border of Elden, and she immediately used [Teleport] to hide in the "Island Whale" forest, taking out a pair of Sauron's spare glasses from her skirt and putting them on.

Then, using his superpowers, he extracted the remaining [Explorer] magic factors from the glasses and began to explore the "notable" places in this world.

Her gaze traveled across the island whale's body as the camera rapidly zoomed in.

Until they arrived at the foot of the Golden Tree, they suddenly plummeted and entered the shadowy land of the Golden Tree.

at this time.

In Soren's time, the reporters and spectators gasped in amazement.

This was the first time they had ever seen the magical scenes of an ancient civilization.

It's like... watching a movie.

The screen suddenly went completely black.

The computer in the background is calculating a set of data.

[We have contacted "Dream Signal"]

The technological level of the Fourth Age was advanced enough to transform the dreams of the ancient gods into a form of communication signal.

The continent of Sumeru in the Third Age was essentially a large-scale dream.

[Verifying the level of dream intensity]

[It can extract things from the dream]

Conversion rate: 0.01%

[Conversion time remaining: 19 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds]

Just now.

As soon as Sauron snapped his fingers, the game's name appeared on the big screen.

— *Light of the End Fantasy: Hero vs. Succubus*

Gardevoir has captured the first critical point.

On the big screen, a face appeared that seemed to be favored and loved by the Pope.

Soren pointed at the screen.

"Let me introduce the main character of this game within a picture!"

……

"Li Nuo, don't move."

Miaham inserted the amber eyeball into Li Nuo's left eye, and the two eyeballs merged together.

The walls of the room were made of reflective steel plates. Through the blurry reflections, Li Nuo could see that the scar running through his left eye was no longer the silver demon eye; the pale blue pupil meant that it was now a tea-white eye.

"If you die, she will die too. That way, you'll be able to handle things properly from now on."

After Miaham finished doing all this, she stood up and stepped back, where a simple chair appeared behind her, which she sat down on.

The succubus's sitting posture is always seductive, her two long legs coiled like white snakes, one hand resting on her chin, the corners of her mouth turned up, smiling happily.

Li Nuo placed his finger at the corner of her left eye, feeling the lingering warmth.

[Suffering from an "unsolvable shared fate"]

[You and player 5950 are linked by life]

If the left eye, which serves as the connection point, is destroyed, player 5950 will die.

"So, what do we need to do?"

Li Nuo remained seated on the ground, clutching his cane as if it were a great sword capable of slaying demons. Miaham observed this and sensed that Li Nuo's actions and reactions indicated tension, though there was another possibility as well.

"Stop pretending."

"Ok."

With a clatter, Li Nuo put his cane on the ground and leaned back against the weapon case.

"Tell me quickly, what do you want me to do? I only have 24 hours to kill you."

"That's what I wanted to ask you."

Miaham countered with a question.

"Why are you so determined to kill me?"

"If I follow you, I'm doomed. If I don't, you'll still drag me into your clutches. What am I supposed to do if I don't kill you?"

Li Nuo did not reveal the agreement regarding the other side of the World Tree.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Then why did you insist on bringing me here by kidnapping?"

Li Nuo's question touched on the core of the problem: if he did nothing but wait for the mission to end, Miaham would still bring him over.

From the very beginning, this was a game that couldn't be avoided.

"I like you."

Miaham's voice was alluring; any normal creature, regardless of gender, age, or race, would kiss the instep of her feet at that moment.

"I love my wife."

Li Nuo was not normal, so at this moment he pulled out the gun and pressed it against his chin. If he was bewitched by Miaham, he would shoot himself.

Miaham hadn't expected this guy to be so resolute, ending his charm spell the instant Li Nuo drew his gun.

"Okay, I'll be honest..."

At this moment, Miaham became serious; in other words, she chickened out.

"A superior soul can amplify my power and allow me to regain my primal strength. But it requires the 'Gate of God' in the world of Elden, which is a fusion device."

Miaham nodded slightly.

"I will make you a part of my body, but until then, you are still too weak."

She glanced at the small passageway to the side.

"I don't necessarily have to choose you, but it's best to have you. If you're not good enough, I'll choose someone else. Come out, Puzang."

The small door in the passageway opened.

A man dressed in a black casual suit walked out from inside.

He is Puzang.

Li Nuo slowly got up, leaning on his cane.

"Looks like it's a one-on-one fight."

Pu Zang exuded a level of danger unlike any other player; his appearance even made Li Nuo's hair stand on end.

"Yeah, one-on-one."

Puzang replied simply.