As a player, can you be normal?

Chapter 820 The New Life After Shedding Skin

The robotic arm flew back from the debris scattered across Sky City.

Returning to the location of the severed arm in the tea-white robe, it seems as if it has a spirit, it will change direction on its own.

It makes strange noises when connecting.

clap clap.

boom.

Poof.

[Connection complete]

[Energy depleted]

"Iron Fist" can no longer be used.

[Refueling required]

His face was pale and stiff.

"Marge, fuel..."

"Hmph, fuel can be used as fertilizer."

Cha Bai angrily shut down the communication.

Regardless... its power was truly astonishing, actually destroying the enormous Sky City.

You should know that the storm surrounding Sky City is a barrier, and its floating energy is a second protective layer. Destroying this place is not like destroying an ordinary town; its power is at least several times that of the Flame Hammer in the Ghost Back state.

Hmm... [Flame Hammer] is Cha Bai's strongest melee skill.

Looking at her arm that had cooled down, she felt that her evolutionary path from the beginning was flawed. If she had started as a proper robot from the beginning, she might be even more powerful now.

"Back then, I wanted to be a human being, but later I realized that everything is human..."

Cha Bai muttered to himself, gazing at the Sky City that had been reduced to rubble.

Only the ancient dragons guarding this place have their complete corpses. They lost their lives and fell into the sea below. Ancient things will one day return to nature.

"Danger... is still present."

"Nana said."

The tea-white color here doesn't give a noticeable difference.

Her perception was far inferior to that of Nanami and Xiaowu.

"Perhaps in another dimension."

Xiao Wu straightened the levitation device on her back and took out a longbow from her hairband.

She sensed something unusual in a certain direction.

"I'll try to shoot through it. Cha Bai, open a portal."

Just as Cha Bai was about to open the spatial door.

The surrounding air suddenly cooled down.

next second.

A giant hand grasped Xiao Wu in the void, and she was the first to disappear.

Before Cha Bai and Nanami could react, they too vanished from this spot in a mere instant.

"..."

Marger sat calmly in front of the computer, as if observing the affairs of an outsider.

Logically, he should be very anxious.

Nanami likes him.

Xiao Wu is a friend.

Needless to say, tea white is even more so.

But he just felt like he couldn't really worry.

At first, I thought it might be because I trusted too much.

But after thinking it through, I felt... something was wrong, like I had some antisocial personality tendencies.

Cha Bai said he trusted Li Nuo too much and therefore wasn't in a hurry, but in reality he should be anxious because the current situation is truly dire.

His lack of urgency was as if he couldn't be in a hurry, as if he had lost that feeling.

This situation has actually been going on for a while, ever since Li Nuo won the revival match.

"You can't do that."

Marger tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

He could see Suna and Nanami chasing him with a stick as soon as he closed his eyes, but he could never see the nurse in the miniskirt. At that moment, he knew what was wrong with him.

Deification.

The evil god influences many worlds, and those worlds also influence him. Just as dreams are a channel that helps players communicate between reality and the corridor, the evil god's magic is also a channel, and he is also affected by it.

Something has to be done.

Marger thought to himself.

at the same time.

Biandu and his companions were approaching this place.

The camp is now divided into two sides.

Players following Miaham no longer need to take action; there are only two reasons why they would.

1. Just like in Sky City, it was Cha Bai and his group who were causing trouble, so they had no choice but to take action.

2. The World Tree's quest.

Just as Marger had thought.

Bian Du rode his mechanical dragon and flew at high speed towards the island whale against the fierce wind.

"Bian Du, why not use ranged attacks?"

The one speaking was the mechanical dragon he rode.

Can you see that giant whale?

Bian Du munched on some dried meat, his eyes fixed on the distance.

"No."

“I can see that thing has too much blood. Even if we manage to break through it, it will take some effort. It’s better to just charge in.”

"Do you have to go?"

Bian Du chewed for a few seconds, remained silent, and then spoke.

“Sinclair is missing. The Explorers of Redemption may have made their move. Miaham was just using us to break through two eras. She has other things to do now and won’t help us. If this continues, I’m worried that we will all be wiped out.”

"Bian Du, do you remember what we agreed on?"

"Remember, if I lose, you eat me. Right now I'm very, very strong, and I'm a delicious meal for you, aren't I?"

The dragon carrying him laughed.

Move your wrist to the side.

"I never think about what to do if I lose. If I die, I die. But things always have to be done by someone."

He laughed, revealing his bright white front teeth.

"The revenge for the death of our comrade must be taken!"

The truck's observation and positioning can reveal trajectories with similar dimensions.

"..."

Marger lit a cigarette.

"call……"

Smoke billows.

The retina reflects points on the map on the screen that are close to the edge.

Reason told him it was best to hide, but now he needed to be emotional.

The chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) spirit in his heart kept him from settling down.

"If indifference is a psychological illness caused by being in a high position for too long, the only cure is to take a step forward, a step that puts you ahead of everyone else and puts you in front of everyone. That cure is the passion of youth."

He decided to take matters into his own hands.

Advanced.

……

Tea White rose from the cold stone brick floor.

As far as the eye could see, there were massive, fractured and weathered stone pillars, silently piercing a gloomy, leaden-gray sky.

The biting cold air seemed to freeze in the air.

The entire space was so empty it was suffocating, filled with a desolate and deathly silence that seemed to have been forgotten by time, like a graveyard abandoned by the gods.

"This is where the Dragon King resides..."

It was Xiao Wu who spoke; she was standing behind Cha Bai.

This is the battleground for the hidden boss, Dragon King "Platon Sanks," in the Elden Ring.

The Dragon King was the first King of Elden, a place where the rule of gods and kings intersected. No one knew who his god was, and this guy's power in the story was off the charts.

Suddenly, a crack appeared in the air, and Nanami burst out of it, scraping the ground before crashing into a stone pillar before coming to a stop.

A very rare scene unfolded.

Nanami is injured.

She bit her lip, drew blood, got up, and stared ahead.

"very painful……"

"what happens?"

Tea White asked.

“I…fought with them, no, I fought with her.”

"Nana said."

There is no concept of time here. When Nanami was captured, she activated the [Boundary of Reason] to prevent herself from being captured. However, a woman with silver needles appeared, and in less than a few seconds, Nanami was beaten up. She had almost no strength left to fight back.

This is not a venue issue.

It is a real gap in strength.

"Do you still remember Lennon...?"

Nanami touched the bloodstain at the corner of her mouth.

“That Lennon was over level 99. I was able to suppress him with a full-force strike back then, so I thought I could at least fight against someone who was above level. Why is it that this time…”

Xiao Wu finally understood why Li Nuo and Mal Jie always called Nanami "mentally challenged".

"Because Lennon is not oversized."

She got straight to the heart of the matter. A woman's voice echoed from the void.

"Over-specification... Ha, there is such a thing in theory, but it is no longer applicable to us who have advanced."

A woman wearing an off-the-shoulder kimono slowly appeared in the distance, her squinting eyes beneath her bangs giving off a half-smile.

Nanami pointed at her and yelled, "This bitch hit me!"

“I should really sew your mouth shut,” the woman said. “My daughter, Huizi.”

Huizi then said, "You guys have gone too far. You've actually destroyed our hiding place. We didn't want to cause any trouble."

"Bullshit!" Nanami roared, "Even if we don't make a move, as long as that 'Miaham' succeeds, you'll still have to find a way to get rid of us. Besides, even if you don't get rid of us now, you'll have to get rid of us in the next scenario!"

Huizi was taken aback: "This girl doesn't seem as foolish as the rumors say."

Nanami: "Huh?"

A door opened in the air.

A man named Leonia came out: "She was just guessing."

Following behind him emerged an extremely ugly man, Quasimodo, the bell-ringer from Notre Dame in Les Misérables, who stared silently at Cha Bai.

"Before we start fighting... may I ask you one question: why are you here?"

Cha Bai suddenly asked.

She secretly took out the "sealed artifact" that Lino had gotten from Lennie from the magic grid.

The Ring of Peace

The ring houses the soul of a doctor who treated those ravaged by war without charge, yet was burned at the stake for his strange attire. Even in his dying moments, he pleaded with everyone to stop fighting, for war only brings death, and peace is eternal.

[Effect: All people within the field of vision temporarily cease their disputes, at the cost of... the user's soul will suffer "unreleased rage"]

The ring transformed into an invisible doll, resembling a plague doctor, its reagents emitting swirling currents that pierced everyone.

Hui Zi flicked a silver needle in her hand.

The Ring of Peace is broken.

"There's no need to use that kind of thing. If you want to know, I can tell you."

Huizi withdrew the silver needles and turned her palm over to reveal the soul of the plague doctor who had been contained in the Ring of Peace.

“It’s no secret that you were able to come here. The reason you were able to come is that our agreement with Miaham was to help her bring Li Nuo over. But if we left you guys alone, things would get out of control. So, we decided to bring you all over as well. The best-case scenario is to kill ‘Malger’ directly. So Sinclair and the others are waiting for you at the Volcano Mansion.”

Huizi tilted her head with a smile, simultaneously crushing the plague doctor's soul.

"From the players' perspective, the three of us thought that if you escaped, you would definitely seek refuge in the highest place, which is right here. Unfortunately, Sinclair and the others disagreed. It seems that the three of us were right. Bian Du should be on his way. You are attacked from both sides."

When Cha Bai heard the name "Bian Du", his pupils suddenly contracted.

"Marge..."

"Alright, that's enough." Leonia, wearing a coat and smoking a cigarette, said, "Three against three."

Quasimodo pointed at Chabai and said to the people around him, "I want to fight her alone."

Keiko: "Quasimodo, don't get too caught up in the role. We need to cooperate, cooperate!"

Leonia: "A one-on-one fight is also good. It'll be a good opportunity to test my advanced power. I choose her."

He pointed at Nanami.

"You're treating us like merchandise?" Nanami frowned.

Xiao Wu is so distracted, nobody chose me...

She silently gritted her teeth.

Among the sealed items that Li Nuo and Lennie agreed upon, one was in Xiao Wu's hands. When that void hand grasped it, she activated that item.

[The Deserter's Knee Pads]

Mr. Marklein was a deserter. He deserted more than once, but no one ever found out. This guy always managed to find a way to survive. He was just lucky, until he took an arrow to the knee.

[Effect: In a crisis, it will automatically find a route to escape the danger, at the cost of "being shot and killed immediately if spotted."]

They dared to venture here for two reasons: first, to help Marger find a better signal area; and second, to hunt the Dragon King "Platon Sanks" and complete the final optional piece of the puzzle for advancement. The former was to prepare for dealing with Miaham, and the latter was to help Li Nuo share the burden.

Even more reassuring is that even if they encounter danger, the three of them can immediately advance, although they are missing a piece of the puzzle, but they have accumulated enough "advancement proficiency".

Xiao Wu disappeared from the spot.

"she left?"

Huizi was curious.

Quasimodo blinked: "She... used a tool... to go to the path to break the seal here."

Keiko: "Then she's in trouble. There are things I made waiting for her there."

Quasimodo took a step forward: "Better safe than sorry... They could... advance at any time."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Cha Bai was kicked out.

Nanami turned around abruptly: "Cha Bai...!"

Amidst the rubble, Quasimodo gripped Cha Bai's neck, lifting her high above the ground. Cha Bai, who was impervious to physical attacks, had blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

Quasimodo tightened his grip.

"One-on-one..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he led Cha Bai to the "fighting arena" he had created.

Nanami's pupils constricted: "Hey... damn it!"

"Don't worry about others." Keiko's voice came from behind her.

The next second, Nanami was pressed into the ground, and Keiko used her other hand to manipulate silver needles to pierce the acupoints on the back of her neck, sealing the [Boundary of Reason].

"I won't let you advance comfortably; I'm here to hunt down those little girls who will eventually die."

A giant mechanical puppet appeared behind Keiko, releasing countless fine threads that flowed into the silver needles sealing Nanami.

At this moment, Nanami was completely powerless to resist.

……

Xiao Wu's head fell to the ground.

She picked up her head and put it back on.

"Luckily, I'm immune to decapitation..."

Her head was gone, which means the side effect of [Deserter's Knee Pads] was triggered, meaning she was seen.

“I remember… the only way to escape this time-frozen area in the game is to hunt the Dragon King, so when I use the [Deserter's Knee Pads], it means I have to face the Dragon King head-on.”

Her teeth were chattering.

"But what are you...?"

The Dragon King was stored in a dark, oppressive space, and now he was right in front of her.

[Side quest triggered: Hunting History]

[Task Difficulty: lv200]

[Quest Reward: Ancient Dragon's Withering Flame, top-tier equipment suitable for your character]

[Mission Details...]

In the prehistoric era before the Golden Tree appeared, the Ancient Dragons were the rulers.

The Dragon King resides in the rift between time and space, at the center of the storm. He was the King of Elden before the Golden Tree, but the gods have already departed.

The ancient dragon's gathering place, the sky city of Famyazra, with its majestic Beast Temple atop the towering structure, inlaid with the oldest shape of the Elden Ring. The Beast Priest "Grangra" leads the orcs day and night, guarding this sacred place that carries the weight of time and space, and the deepest secrets of the past.

In the distant past, the dragon prince rose to power but was ultimately no match for the dragon king. After paying a price, he fled to Spiked Mountain.
After the great war, the Dragon King went to hibernate in the space-time rift.

Changes in the sea.

Ayden is now governed by new laws.

However, the law was broken and war spread.

In the great army, the goddess Malenia is known as the "Valkyrie." She was born with a physical deformity, but this did not stop her from pursuing power.

She used golden prosthetics to replace her hands and feet, demonstrating her unwavering will, and with her exceptional swordsmanship, she apprenticed under the corrupting swordsman Flowing Water, constantly honing her skills.

Time flies.

The world of Dark Souls has arrived.

Gwyn, the Lord of Cinder, wielded lightning to hunt ancient dragons, ushering in a new era. His dragon-hunting thunder was like a god-like flame protecting the world.

Over countless years, the flames gradually faded with the passage of time.

In order to perpetuate the power of fire and to continue the rule of the gods, Gwyn decided to pass on the First Flame with his own soul.

The flame is passed down.

The fire is extinguished.

Bloodborne takes center stage.

The pursuit of knowledge is accompanied by madness.

The eyes of the ancient god peered into all life, and that madness was accompanied by the roars of wild beasts, as if returning to the era of the dragon king "Platon Sanks," with the howls of wild beast priests.

The roar shook the darkness apart.

Xiao Wu's eyes trembled.

The enormous three-headed dragon king emerged from the darkness. Valkyrie Marlenia tore open the middle dragon head, and her massive upper body rose up like a god. The dragon king's two claws transformed into two enormous scimitars, wrapped with the lightning of the King of Cinder. The kingly light dispelled the darkness, and at that moment, the "eyes of the ancient gods" covering the dragon king's entire body opened their eyelids one by one.

Looking at this powerful fusion that spanned "history," Xiao Wu knew she had no way out.

"Marje exchanged 100 trait points for me... Li Nuo has completed the advancement requirements, so I don't actually need to wait for the last piece of the advancement puzzle, right?"

Xiao Wu smiled gently.

"It seems like there's no other choice."

[Has it achieved a "breakthrough"?]

The World Tree posed a question.

The Dragon King's eyes began to tremble wildly, and Xiao Wu's thoughts began to wander uncontrollably.

With her last shred of reason, she answered the World Tree.

"Yes."

Just then, the Dragon King swung his twin blades, which were wreathed in death energy and lightning, and Xiao Wu's body was engulfed by the thunderstorm.

After a few roars.

The Valkyrie's "flowers of corruption" bloomed all over the ground.

Amidst the crimson flowers, Xiao Wu lay on the ground and moved slightly, like a marionette.

Her clothes were completely removed, and there was a tear in the back.

then.

Another completely new Muto Sora, clinging to this crack, crawled out from under the skin.

She was naked, kneeling on her shed skin, staring at her hands, her long hair cascading over her shoulders.

"newborn……"

(End of this chapter)