Three Towers Game

Chapter 296 The Balance Tavern
The elderly were drinking, while Wen Xishu was in the rest area of ​​the Ghost Tower.

Tianyuan area.

Yes, he's started climbing the tower again.

Of course, Wen Xishu's journey wasn't seamless. He didn't immediately activate the login device after returning to the bunker, and then immediately enter the Ghost Tower after returning from the Tower of Slaughter.

He did rest in the bunker for a little while.

But after just a short while, he became very bored and really wanted to go to the Ghost Tower to clear his head.

Upon returning to the bunker, Wen Xishu was told that she needed to prepare for the next lesson.

As the dean of the Tower of Ghosts Academy, he had to start teaching. He already had quite a few students.

The enrollment process is now complete. With the help of the young master William, the Tower of Ghosts Academy is almost becoming a top-tier academy, with its accommodations and food exceeding all standards.

Moreover, the students of the Tower of Ghosts are mentally disturbed enough.

The questionnaire survey revealed that a considerable number of students were willing to be trampled under Tang Rui's feet, and a considerable number of students also had desires for tentacles, eyes, tumors, etc., including but not limited to food.

That's good... but Wen Xishu doesn't know how to teach it.

Some people in this world are actually not suited to be coaches or teachers.

Imagine you are a highly talented football player, and you tell your apprentice how to score a goal—all you need to do is get past all the defenders, and then the goalkeeper as well.

You might think this is achievable, but to players of average ability, you seem like an alien.

Wen Xishu felt that... he should have pretty good aptitude, so he was really not suitable for teaching.

In particular, he's a cheater.

But as he enjoyed the warm towel from the hospital, he heard:
"Students want you to teach them, instead of just letting them experience...experience some perverted things."

"Everything you did in the memoir facility was a bit too difficult for them."

"They want to know the solution to the problem and learn your way of thinking."

"You'd better prepare your first lesson within... well, three days. This will boost everyone's confidence in the Tower of Ghosts Academy."

Wen Xishu found this very troublesome.

Climbing the tower was far easier than that. So he went to climb the tower.

Before climbing the tower, he gave the spirit a task: to find someone who was good at deception.

In Wenxi Tree's previous life, there were many authors with very poor writing skills. Their stories were often not very good, but with a little packaging, they could teach others how to write books. Although they were amateurs themselves, they could analyze various books in a very eloquent way when facing newcomers. Anyway, commenting was always easier than creating.

Wen Xishu needs this kind of person to teach theoretical knowledge.

The spirit of the academy accepted the order to find the great "lecturer".

However, Wen Xishu himself was indeed planning his first lesson.

Perhaps these students should understand something and step out of a misconception.

But that's not his mission right now. He's standing in Tianyuan District, beginning to examine his journey.

Without a doubt, this was a journey toward “clarity”.

In order to achieve the ultimate goal of the Tower of Ghosts, Wen Xishu decided to stop using invitations lightly.

Therefore, he now carefully examines the mission before entering the Tower of Ghosts.

[Task level: 50]

[Task Name: Balance Tavern]

[Task Description: This is probably a place that both Scorpios and Libras love, but whose favor you can ultimately gain depends on your performance in this task.]

Legend has it that there exists a place where a tavern can recruit all sorts of heroes. All kinds of heroes reside there, waiting to be recruited.

Build your hero roster, overcome various challenges, and lead them home.

But please remember, the scales of life will never tip. Good luck.

That's the task description.

Without that final sentence—the scales would never have tipped…

So it looks like a card game – heroes are treated as cards, different cards correspond to different levels of difficulty, build a deck, and successfully pass the levels.

It's a cliché, but Wen Xishu is a veteran at Killing Spire.

But this was my first exploration of the fiftieth floor of the Mysterious Tower, and at this level, the problems were often not so simple.

"The scales will never tip...that's the key point."

Wen Xishu couldn't figure it out, but he wasn't flustered. Once he entered the Tower of Ghosts, many problems would naturally be solved.

It's worth mentioning that, in terms of combat effectiveness alone, the Scorpion Knife is just as effective as the Dice of Madness this time.

The Dice of Madness rolled a combination with very few options—443. Because the options were so limited, Wen Xishu also discovered a new characteristic of the Dice of Madness.

The only option left for Wen Xishu, after removing options like "good things come in pairs" which have no real value, is "incoherent and disorderly".

When Wen Xishu first chose "good things come in pairs," he received an interesting hint—

The current options are insufficient to guarantee all outcomes, therefore, this round of dice rolls will include an additional option based on the user's preferred choice.

The most favored option is the one that is selected the most times.

This option is Trinity Force.

Therefore, Wen Xishu's choice for this round is the power of the three phases, and the topsy-turvy.

The "Disorderly" attribute is quite abnormal; it can turn the losses caused by four wrong actions into gains, and it can also turn three negative effects into positive effects.

With the addition of the three phases, the Dice of Madness performs as well as ever, practically a bug or cheat code, but this time the Scorpion Knife's attributes are also excellent.

Compared to its previous lack of presence, Scorpio Knife finally had a high level of presence.

The game benefit that this knife brings to Wen Xishu in this round is the "proficiency system".

In many games, skills gain proficiency with each use. Real-world insights, understandings, and plateaus don't exist in games. Repeated use of a skill increases its proficiency, eventually leading to a higher level.

This is exactly what happened to Wen Xishu this time—

"All skills used will gain proficiency when they hit enemies in the current scene (defensive skills require taking damage from enemies). If the proficiency progress bar is exceeded, the skill will be strengthened. The progress bar effect will vary depending on the strengthening effect. Note that if you perform well in clearing the stage, there is a possibility that the evolved skill will be permanently retained. The higher the clear rating, the higher the possibility of permanently retaining the attribute."

This is truly god-tier support.

"If I master the Tower of Horrors level, I might be able to make the Ultimate Kick, or the enhanced effect of another skill, permanent, instead of just a feature specific to this level."

Wen Xishu felt motivated because she could now improve her attributes.

Whether it's a perfect parry, a barrage of attacks, an ultimate kick, or the power of repentance, he feels that the journey is worthwhile as long as he can upgrade these abilities.

"But all skills require that proficiency only increase when the enemy hits the enemy, so almost only combat skills can be enhanced."

"My magic resistance stat, thanks to several high-level monsters, should be up to standard, but even so, there will probably be quite a few powerful monsters. After all, the monster arrangement logic of the Tower of Ghosts is different from that of the Tower of Slaughter."

Wen Xishu pondered. He knew that there was a lot of help this time, but he did not underestimate his opponent because of it.

After waiting in the rest area for a few minutes, Wenxishu realized that since it was late at night and few people chose to climb the tower at this time, she didn't encounter any acquaintances.

He didn't delay any longer and started the login device.

The sixteenth exploration of the Mysterious Tower has begun.

……

……

In an unknown land, at the Balance Tavern.

"Oh, Commander, we've finally waited for you. You're more handsome and younger than we... well, we imagined."

A rough male voice rang out. Wen Xishu's vision gradually cleared. What came into his view was the bar counter under the warm yellow lights of the tavern. The bartender was mixing drinks, and next to the bar counter was a burly man looking back at the door. The burly man had a broom-like hairstyle comparable to Guile from Street Fighter, and his muscles were very well-developed.

Wen Xishu spotted it immediately: some gamified panels.

[Qualification: C+]

[Name: Colonel Devon]

[Description: A warrior skilled in firearms and twenty-three different fighting techniques from around the world. Passionate and enjoys drinking.]

This game panel doesn't come from any power-ups or items, but rather from the rules of the levels.

Wen Xishu immediately detected a strong "Scorpio scent".

"Welcome to the Balance Tavern." Colonel Devon walked towards Wen Xishu and led her to the bar.

Wen Xishu noticed that there were three other pairs of eyes looking at him.

"Oh, let me introduce you. This is Calvin, a sniper whose marksmanship is much better than mine."

[Qualification: C]

[Name: Cavendish]

[Description: A sniper who doesn't talk much, but is always reliable in crucial moments and will risk his life for his teammates. He is often criticized by Colonel Devon for being too "emotional."]

Calvin was a young man with his head down, one eye covered by his hair, leaving only one eye visible.

He said somewhat timidly:

"Commander, hello. We hope you can lead us away from here. Thank you very much. If there is anything I can do, please give us your orders."

Wen Xishu felt something was off.

Does this game... require absolutely no social interaction?

What kind of scene will it be in the Tower of Desire? These people seem to have immediately gained my favor.

From the very beginning, it was already able to serve itself.

Wen Xishu originally thought that the difficulty of the Balance Tavern this time would mainly lie in two aspects. The first aspect, of course, was the battle, which involved using the right people to overcome various obstacles.

But this leads to the second challenge: how to make good use of them? The answer is recruitment. Past experience shows that the obsessive NPCs in the Tower of Ghosts are all flesh and blood; if you tell them to die, they really won't, and they might even treat you as an enemy.

This time, however, Wen Xishu's entry point was directly the "commander".

Moreover, judging from Colonel Devon and Cavendish's attitudes, they seemed to need him very much and were very obedient, just waiting for his order.

The third person was the same; the third person was a woman.

[Qualification: C+]

[Name: Elsa]

[Description: A gentle yet resilient girl with some healing abilities. Please protect her. She can provide basic healing on the battlefield, and her healing amount is increased during tavern turns.]

Wen Xishu first needs to figure out what the situation is.

"How did you know I was the commander?" Wen Xishu asked Devon.

Devon laughed:

"Because the first instruction we received after the three of us arrived here was that the next person to appear would be the one who could lead us out of the Forbidden Grounds of the Balance."

"You are our hope, Commander. Although I have always been the one giving orders, I trust you and will unconditionally obey all your arrangements. So, please lead us out of the Forbidden Zone of Balance!"

Wen Xishu was puzzled:
"Why is this place called the Forbidden Ground of the Balance? Is there any story behind it?"

German shook his head:

"Ah...this is troublesome. Actually, we don't know what's going on here. All we know is that this place is rife with disasters, and we have to leave, or we'll die sooner or later."

"But we cannot leave here on our own."

"We need a commander to leave."

"This is all absurd, but this is the guidance we received. And you, my friend, our hero, you are that commander."

Elsa stood up:

"Commander, take us away... We don't want to stay here and wait to die!"

Some socially awkward Cavendish also said:

"I...I will contribute my strength from behind and shoot down those leaders. Please lead us through that monster-infested place."

Wen Xishu sensed it; they truly longed to leave.

"But it's safe in the tavern, isn't it? You can even drink happily there."

Colonel Devon shook his head:

“But we can only stay for a limited time, Commander. We come from the area that the Curse of Balance is about to affect. If we go back there, we will only be waiting to die.”

"Besides, the guidance tells us that once we muster the courage and accept the tavern's offer of recruitment, then..."

"We only have two possible outcomes. The first is that, under your guidance, we will reach the Pure Land."

"Second, we could die during the breakout. Either way, in my opinion, it's better than staying put and waiting to die. If I'm going to die anyway, at least... I can kill a few more monsters."

This character... is actually quite likable.

Wen Xishu couldn't detect any pretense in these people; they all longed to leave this place and go to a place free from the curse.

"What exactly is the Curse of the Balance?"

Colonel Devon still shook his head:

"I'm sorry... we don't know either. We only know that the disaster is called the Curse of Balance, but we don't know why it's called that."

"But I can tell you that once the curse descends, we will die... with no chance of survival, not even the ability to resist."

Absolute death?
Wen Xishu became increasingly confused.

With a ranged attacker, a melee attacker, a healer, and yourself as the all-around commander, the earlier levels shouldn't be too difficult.

But he had a feeling that if the game was just like that, it would be too cliché.

Leading a few people to break through the encirclement would be more suitable around the tenth floor of the Ghost Tower, which is now the fiftieth floor.

Just as Wen Xishu was wondering, he also received guidance.

[Current team maximum (4 members). All members are now available. New members will be unlocked in the next tavern round, but you will need to complete the first stage. Do you wish to start the first stage now?]

[Note: If you do not challenge it, the Curse of the Balance will appear in the tavern.]

A new UI appeared, and Wen Xishu noticed that a curse countdown had appeared above everyone's head.

An hourglass with a skull printed on it appeared above their heads. The countdown began: 3,600 seconds.

In other words, if the journey does not begin within an hour, a curse will be triggered.

All three of them said:

"Commander, let's charge!"

Colonel Devon said:

"I will give my all, Commander. Let's leave this place together and find a peaceful land!"

Wen Xishu had a feeling that things might change, but there were too few clues at the moment, so he could only say:
"Come on, let's set off."

In any case, the second tavern round should reveal the game's secrets, Wen Xishu thought to himself, before starting the first challenge.

He always felt that Libra and Librans were closely related, and Scorpio seemed to have their eyes on this place of obsession.

(End of this chapter)