Three Towers Game

Chapter 297 The Truth Behind the Curse of the Balance

After Wen Xishu initiated the "attack this round" plan, it was immediately agreed upon by all team members.

Wen Xishu even unlocked an achievement called "Working Together".

Teamwork: When all your team members instantly enter a state of combat readiness and agree to attack, you will gain 15 points of favorability from all team members and gain the Battle Spirit Burst state. In the following battle, your skill intervals will be halved.

It sounds... pretty simple. All you have to do is agree on entering a state of combat readiness as soon as possible before setting off.

Logically, this should be a very powerful buff, but Wen Xishu always felt that it was easy to obtain.

However, he didn't have time to think about this sense of incongruity.

Because the surrounding scenery began to change.

This is a town on the outskirts that has been reduced to ruins. Everyone appeared in the town's supermarket, and the door to the supermarket's storeroom was already open.

Wen Xishu felt that this scene was familiar, but the next second, a monster with long hair but only one head floated in the air and crashed into him.

"Commander, be careful!"

Its head resembled a lantern suspended in mid-air, with long, flowing hair, giving it an eerie feel.

The moment it crashed into him, Wen Xishu reacted, but he didn't need to, because Colonel Devon smashed the head open with a single impact.

"Colonel Devon, are you alright?" Elsa immediately began to check Devon's wounds.

To prevent the eerie monster from still being alive, Cavendish behind him fired a shot at the monster's head with a silenced pistol.

The three worked together seamlessly.

"I'm fine, Commander, please be careful. According to the instructions, we need to pass through each level. Each level has a different scenario. After clearing all the levels, we can go to a place unaffected by the Curse of the Balance!"

"There will be many more strange and unusual things to come, so don't be intimidated by them."

With just a collision, he could severely injure a strange creature. Wen Xishu had to admit that the C+ card was quite powerful.

"Let's go." Wen Xishu nodded.

The weapon in his hand was a Scorpion Knife. Using a soccer ball wouldn't be necessary for him yet.

"Actually, I'm not bad either. If there are monsters next, you don't need to worry too much about me. Focus on dealing with the monsters around you first."

Wen Xishu didn't want his teammates to steal his chance to kill monsters. He needed to grind for experience points.

Outside the storeroom, in the supermarket's shelf area, there are many wandering "guests".

Their bodies had already mutated. After sensing the presence of Wen Xishu and the others, their bloated and disgustingly large bodies rushed over with extraordinary speed.

Further away is another creature whose size rivals that of a giant, and whose movement causes the supermarket to sway slightly.

It was a four-meter-tall lump of flesh, with its hands barely visible, but its feet were completely obscured. Due to the disproportionate size of its hands and body, it looked like a lump of flesh without limbs.

It seemed to be moving by crawling, at a slightly slow speed, but without a doubt, it was an elite monster in this area.

Outside of it, dozens of swollen monsters, their flesh turned purple, charged toward Wen Xishu and the others.

"Cavan, you deal with that lump of flesh. Devon, the two of us will hold off the monster's attacks and make sure Elsa isn't caught in the crossfire!"

Wen Xishu immediately issued the order.

His current combat power is not low, and with abilities such as perfect parry and ultimate kick, he can charge in with a knife.

Devon was amazed by the commander's formidable fighting prowess.

He saw that those swollen monsters couldn't even touch the hem of the commander's clothes, and that the commander's sword-wielding movements were full of errors and his power was not perfect...

However, if you lack skill but have too much skill, one strike will decapitate the monster.

Moreover, the commander's legs are very strong, extremely strong.

Most of the time, the commander doesn't actually use a knife; instead, he chooses to kick, a kick that can send large, fat monsters flying!

"That's incredible! No wonder he's the hero who saved us! I can't fall behind!"

[German affinity +10.]

[Caventim's favorability +10.]

Elsa's affection level +10.

[Team Reputation +10.]

Is this data meaningful?

Wen Xishu couldn't help but think. Things that are too easily obtained always seemed... worthless to him.

Of course, his attention is elsewhere right now.

[Ultimate Kick, Proficiency 25/99. Current Level 1. No additional effects. Next Level Effect: Ultimate Kick - Starlight, your Ultimate Kick will have a splitting effect at level 2.]

After hitting different targets with 25 consecutive kicks, Wen Xishu realized that he could start practicing his Limit Kick level.

The second level allows for multiple attacks, so what about the third level?
He was full of energy and high spirits.

In the eyes of his teammates, he was an exceptionally competent commander.

boom!
With everyone's help, Cavendish's sniping intervals have decreased.

He also used his most powerful weapon, a heavy sniper rifle.

The fleshy monster in the distance did not stop writhing despite Cavendish's attack. But Cavendish was not discouraged; he was calculating his opponent's weaknesses.

This is another of his abilities: finding "weak points," or headshot points.

Monsters are different from humans; many monsters no longer have their head as their weak point.

Long-term sniping has also allowed Cavendish to evolve an ability to understand the weaknesses of monsters.

However, it will take time to observe.

Normally, he wouldn't be able to find a weakness when the fleshy monster arrives nearby, but this time, he felt stronger.

Under the commander's guidance, he was more focused than usual.

"found it."

Without further hesitation, Cavendish fired at the fleshy monster!
Wen Xishu suddenly received a notification—Caventim has evolved, class: Sniper, evolving into Weakness Striker.

Aptitude C, evolves to B-.

Wen Xishu was astonished.

Then, he saw the monster in the distance, which was at least an elite species, being sniped and killed with a single shot.

The enormous mass of flesh suddenly began to disintegrate, its flesh bursting open. Countless drops of pus gushed out.

In the narrow, partitioned shelf area, Wen Xishu and the others didn't have time to dodge before Devon instantly rushed in front of Wen Xishu:
"Commander, retreat!"

A massive figure suddenly appeared in Wen Xishu's line of sight, and then Wen Xishu saw Colonel Devon's pained expression.

The pus that erupted after the fleshy monster died poured onto his back.

Wen Xishu seemed to see it all: the opponent's health bar was dropping rapidly. At this rate, Devon would have to give his last words in just a few seconds.

But the next moment, Elsa's appearance slowed down Devon's rate of death.

"He's badly injured, I'll take over!"

Elsa rushed forward decisively, her palms radiating a healing light.

Wen Xishu nodded:
"Okay, it's up to you!"

A deadly football has appeared beneath his feet.

Although Wen Xishu felt that... these guys had an inexplicably high level of affection for him, which was a bit strange, he also knew that Devon was genuine and would risk his life to save him.

These three men truly regarded themselves as extremely important commanders.

Therefore, Wen Xishu must also respond.

The proficiency level of the Ultimate Kick has reached 64.

Although it hasn't been enhanced yet, the state of rage has caused another rune of Wenxi Tree to take effect—Rage Stacking.

He was like a Sagittarius at that moment, each arrow more ruthless than the last.

Each kick is stronger than the last!
A powerful kick touches the killer soccer ball, sending it bouncing across the shelf area like a laser beam piercing through all the shelves.

Countless monsters were being relentlessly blown apart.

But then Yuuki had a sudden thought: the killer soccer game was back.

He kicked it a second time.

Then came the third kick, and the fourth kick.

Seven consecutive shots pierced through all the monsters in the shelf area with a terrifying, deadly football.

Not long after...

The entire area fell silent.

This scene left Cavendish speechless.

"Commander...you're too strong! That's amazing, that's amazing!"

Cavendish was so moved that he cried.

Wen Xishu couldn't understand this emotion, while comments appeared above Cavendish's head.

"Great! We can leave this place! The commander really is taking us to our new home!"

Wen Xishu leaped over and touched the barrage of comments.

But this time, the "Mixed Feelings" rune failed, and the comments section seemed to be "denied access".

(You cannot obtain plot clues outside of the affinity system.)
Wen Xishu's methods were actually blocked by the rules.

However, Cavendish's favorability rating has increased.

Wen Xishu received a hint—you can unlock more information about them at the "Tianping Tavern".

Wen Xishu understood. Everything had to go back to the Balance Tavern.

Next, he was the one frantically harvesting everything. After leaving the supermarket area, the group came to the street, where Wen Xishu was harvesting the monsters on the street.

My proficiency has finally broken through the limit, and my ultimate kick, which used to only hit one person, has become an area-of-effect attack.

The third-level effect is also unlocked: Ultimate Kick - Starlight - Thunder.

After unleashing the ultimate kick, the target has a certain chance of entering a "stunned" state.

Compared to numerical values, this is a real, tangible special effect.

Wen Xishu exclaimed in amazement, "The Scorpion Knife is really amazing!"

The last time they were this helpful was on the Ark.

Could it be... that Scorpio has some ulterior motive this time?
Wen Xishu didn't think much of it, because soon, the key information appeared in his field of vision—the door.

"I see the door!" sniper Cavendish exclaimed. "Great! That means we've passed the first hurdle!" Elsa exclaimed in delight.

Her healing abilities were insufficient to restore Devon to health.

However, if you return to the Balance Tavern, the tavern's "Rest" option will allow Devon to recover based on a percentage of his maximum health and will also grant him immunity to many negative effects.

Wen Xishu also understood:
"So, this first hurdle was that simple?"

Devon said weakly:
"No... it's actually very difficult, Commander. Your combat strength is much stronger than we expected. I'm sorry... I've become the one who's dragging us down."

German was full of self-reproach.

Wen Xishu couldn't help but feel a bit of goodwill towards soldiers like Devon.

"Enough with the talk. Since my mission is to get you to safety, I will do everything in my power to accomplish it."

"Let's go back to the tavern."

Wen Xishu really intended to complete the game perfectly because he wanted to try "divine justice." In fact, he had always had the option of "summoning archers" in his mind.

But he couldn't choose because his tower strength wasn't high enough, and his current level rating was too low.

Although he successfully passed the first hurdle, it is clear that the journey is still long.

At this stage, Wen Xishu cannot afford the high cost of summoning archers.

……

……

Tianping Tavern.

After Wen Xishu and the others passed through the door, they returned to the Tianping Tavern.

And Wen Xishu also saw the guidance—

[Congratulations! All members survived. Victory achieved. Battle rating: S.]

[Reward: 30,000 Tavern Currency.]

[Tavern Currency: You can use the tavern to buy better equipment for your teammates. For example, you can buy armor for Devon, a medical item pack for Elsa, and a sniper rifle with upgraded attributes for Cavendish.]

Of course, you can also choose to upgrade the tavern's various abilities. Or you can use tavern currency to recruit rare heroes.

[The equipment NPC, Punk, has been unlocked.]

[S-rank bonus: Clue to the next level.]

[In the second stage, you will travel to the Mechanical City. It's best to have a hacker in your team, otherwise you'll find it very difficult to progress.]

The first level was very simple; Wen Xishu's personal strength allowed him to easily pass it.

But it seems that there are many ways to play in this tavern, and a lot of levels. Wen Xishu probably won't be able to pass it easily.

But with 30,000 tavern coins in hand, he was confident in facing the challenges ahead.

Wen Xishu checked and found that the 30,000 coins could not currently upgrade other attributes of the tavern, such as increasing the chance of recruiting rare heroes, or ensuring that the recruited heroes were in an awakened state, or that the recruited heroes were in a high favorability state.

This information made Wen Xishu understand something...

It turns out everything is random.

In other words, the heroes recruited are not necessarily like Colonel Devon and his men, who immediately placed great trust in them upon arrival.

The affinity level fluctuates randomly. It's possible that a recruited hero doesn't have an affinity with you, which could lead to them not carrying out your commands.

At the tavern, you can also buy equipment, and everyone's equipment is different.

You need to specify a character before purchasing equipment.

For example, Devon can only buy melee weapons and armor, while Cavendish can only buy ranged weapons.

Gifting weapons can increase your favorability with others.

The last area where money is spent is recruitment.

"Considering the next stage requires hackers... I'd better spend the money on recruiting hackers."

Recruitment is divided into two types: regular recruitment (2500 tavern coins) and advanced recruitment (7500 tavern coins).

And targeted recruitment - 25000 Tavern Coins.

The effect of precise recruitment is that you will definitely recruit heroes who will be useful for the next level.

Wen Xishu did not choose to strengthen his team members because his own combat strength was clearly stronger than theirs. At this stage, he could handle the enemy on his own.

The only thing he needed to solve was certain special rules, so he chose targeted recruitment.

At the moment Wenxi Tree made her choice—

There was a knock on the tavern door.

"Ah, I never expected to be drafted! That's wonderful! Although I don't know who the commander is, I salute you!"

A man's voice came from outside the door.

Cavendish opened the door:

Welcome, new friend!

Cavendish opened his arms and embraced the mohawk-haired, red-sunglasses-wearing hacker-Borg with purple lettering outside the door.

Even Elsa smiled:

"Commander, he must be really amazing, right?"

Wen Xishu nodded:

"Yes, with him around, the next level will be much easier."

Although Devin's injury hadn't fully healed, he still readily extended his hand:

"Welcome to join us, friend. We just had a big win."

[All characters' favorability increased by 5. Talking to anyone can trigger a memory.]

Wen Xishu received a notification.

Clearly, his command was effective, which earned him everyone's trust.

Wen Xishu thought for a moment and then spoke with Colonel Devon.

"Are you alright? Are your injuries serious?"

"Once we get to the tavern, don't worry, Commander. I'll recover quickly and become your solid shield."

German indeed began to sigh:
“My men used to protect me, but they all perished in the apocalypse. Now… I’m not afraid of death anymore.”

"When I was sprayed with that monster's liquid, I even thought, 'Great, I can go see my men now.'"

"But unfortunately, I will not be able to see you lead those few to a pure land far from the curse."

"Hahahaha, I'm being a bit sentimental, but please don't mind... I won't let these emotions affect me on the battlefield."

Devon then began to recount his past experiences as a fugitive.

Everyone listened attentively.

In the hours following the completion of the first level, they can communicate freely and slowly recover in the tavern.

There are two hours left until the next level.

During those two hours, Wen Xishu learned about Cavendish and Elsa's past, but not about "Hacker Borg's" past.

Because of insufficient affinity, the dialogue cannot be triggered. And Borg is unwilling to discuss it.

Although Borg respected himself as a commander, he refused to talk about those past events.

Cavendish had a sister who died during their escape from the apocalypse because he failed to hit a monster's weak point.

This is something that Cavendish has always felt guilty about.

Elsa wasn't actually a great doctor. After the apocalypse, she watched many of her loved ones die and began to regret why she hadn't studied medicine properly.

Everyone was torn apart by the apocalypse.

Everyone arrived at the cursed land.

More clues will need to be unlocked in the next round.

Wen Xishu guessed. The Tower of Desire was probably a regrettable tragedy, a story of a team with various extraordinary individuals ultimately failing to escape the cursed land.

That's why this place has become such a place of obsession.

He guessed part of it correctly.

Then, when they reached the second level, Wen Xishu began to realize the cruelty of this cursed land.

After a short rest, the group received instructions again.

[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 second stage. Would you like to start the second stage now?]

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

A one-hour countdown appeared above everyone's heads.

The malice brought by the curse of the scales finally manifested itself at this moment.

[Note: Due to the current number of participants exceeding the limit (five people), please have one person leave the team. This person will be unable to participate and will be subject to the "Scales Curse."]

This guidance came into everyone's view.

All the laughter came to an abrupt end at that moment.

Cavendish said:

"It's...it's a lie, right? Commander...this means..."

He began to tremble.

Elsa, usually so resilient, was filled with fear in this moment:

"Does one of us have to die?"

Colonel Devon fell silent at that moment.

A flood of information rushed through Wen Xishu's mind. The Scales of Life, the Curse of the Scales...

In that instant, Wen Xishu understood his significance.

He looked at all the team members, and fear was evident on their faces.

He immediately realized... this was a game that required sacrifices, because the scales would never tip.

But in this case, will he still be able to achieve a perfect clear of the Tower of Horrors?
With one hour remaining, he either has to find a way out of this impasse, or he has to choose the person to be sacrificed.

(End of this chapter)