Three Towers Game

Chapter 302 Recruiting SSS-level Heroes

A few minutes later, in the town center.

Even just arriving here, Wen Xishu felt a chill all along the way.

There is a chilling feeling of being in the center of vengeful spirits, entangled by countless vengeful spirits, yet unable to perceive their existence.

The number in my field of vision stopped at 19.

The music playing in my ears has changed to something like Black Friday.

Sometimes you can also hear suppressed growls.

If it weren't for Nicole's unique voice, Wen Xishu would have thought that the growl came from inside the art museum.

The art museum is out of place and doesn't fit into the overall town.

Constructed entirely of light gray stone, with clean and simple lines, the huge geometric glass curtain wall reflects the gray-black sky.

Pushing open the massive bronze-textured doors of the art museum, a chilling aura, a blend of cold air and the cool feel of marble, hits you.

Beneath the high, wide dome, the dark walls are illuminated by spotlights, and thousands of paintings are scattered throughout the vast space.

In the center of the art museum, there is a man with his face covered in various paint spots, wearing a warm yellow suit.

He was wearing a hat, holding a paintbrush, and remained motionless.

He had his eyes closed.

At this moment, Wen Xishu received guidance.

[Hidden Quest for Level 3 - Awaken the Painter. Different outcomes will be triggered depending on the awakening process.]

As soon as Wen Xishu stepped inside, she immediately sensed that something was wrong.

19…18…17…16…15……

The numbers in my field of vision began to drop rapidly.

The environment of the art museum remained unchanged, but in Wen Xishu's ears, Nicole's voice had become ferocious and eerie.

At the same time, the thousands of paintings... began to move.

"You're not satisfied with... the current... dream? No problem, I have... many more here, you can choose one..."

The artist's voice was like a murmur, broken and intermittent.

And then the artist's voice faded away.

Please focus your gaze on a painting.

The artist's figure disappeared.

The thousands of paintings began to move continuously, like bats flying around the Wenxi Tree.

The number has dropped to 4.

The things in countless paintings began to distort, as if they would burst out if Wenxi Tree did not make a choice.

Wen Xishu made a choice immediately, and following the guidance, her gaze fell on a painting.

That's a mouth.

The original artwork features very sexy red lips, which the artist uses to express something like desire.

But after the number in sight dropped to four and continued to decline...

The mouth began to grow enormous, and many cracks appeared on its red lips, each crack a potential eye.

It came to life.

It opened its mouth wide, and its once neat teeth had all turned into cold, gleaming metallic blades.

The mouth continues to grow bigger.

It seems to have grown so large that it has surpassed the size of the art museum itself.

Wen Xishu instinctively tried to escape, but it was too late.

"I should have chosen a different painting."

He couldn't escape; huge, sharp spikes rained down from the sky.

Even with Wen Xishu's powerful kick, it was difficult to kick away the enormous mouth that was as big as an island.

That's how dreams are; no matter how absurd they may seem, they are all possible.

Wen Xishu's ultimate kick, though improved in skill, was still swallowed up by the giant, mutated red lips.

The countless cracked eyes on the red lips narrowed, as if mocking them.

The number has now dropped to 1.

This means that the degree of distortion here is almost illogical.

There is no logic here; all monsters here can be magnified by imagination to the point of being invincible.

Sharp, spike-like teeth pierced through Wenxi Tree's heart.

Then, a huge tongue filled with corrosive liquid began to lick Wenxi Tree.

Meanwhile, more and more teeth pierced through the Wenxi tree.

Wen Xishu realized...

This is chewing.

I felt like a piece of meat, being constantly chewed up.

But soon, Wen Xishu discovered something even more outrageous.

"Wait, how come I'm not dead..."

Despite the harsh environment of number 1, Wen Xishu did not die.

His head was pierced, his stomach was pierced, his body was torn apart, his skull was pierced by sharp teeth, and his upper and lower body were separated... all held together by a section of his large intestine.

Even in his condition, he could still think.

Even his mouth seemed off.

He began to chew vigorously, so much so that Wen Xishu felt as if he had been thrown into some kind of blender.

He could even see cracks appearing in the sharp teeth inside that terrifying mouth.

Even with such force, Wen Xishu still didn't die.

unreasonable.

Wen Xishu felt that it was unreasonable for the sexy red lips in the painting to become a gaping abyss.

Even the abyss's gaping maw felt it was unreasonable that Wenxi Tree, who had intruded into the dream, could not be killed.

After a while, Big Mouth seemed to get tired.

Countless strange, black, vein-like things appeared on his lips.

This means that Big Mouth is already very tired.

But Wen Xishu just won't die.

Wen Xishu's body soon began to slowly... like the statue of a great man not long ago, to begin healing itself.

The shredded flesh began to sprout tiny tentacles. The torn intestines also began to show signs of life, constantly contracting, causing Wen Xishu's upper and lower body to rapidly approach each other.

Wen Xishu himself was quite surprised:
How did I become such a sanity-degrading person?
But he knew, more or less, why he couldn't kill it.

He possesses a power, a passive ability, that grants him random rule-based immunity when encountering certain dream-based enemies.

The rule exemption that Wen Xishu received at this time was that he could not die in dreams.

Furthermore, since the level of rationality has become 1, it is practically non-rational, so even if the Wenxi tree is bitten to pieces...

He can also survive.

After all, the mouths in your paintings can turn into giant maws of the abyss, and I, Wen, can still live even after turning into rotten flesh, and can still think even after my skull is bitten open. It makes perfect sense.

After figuring this out, Wen Xishu felt there was nothing to be afraid of.

He launched his ultimate kick.

Yes, although his lower body had not yet been stitched up, when he gave the command, his legs rose up like Optimus Prime and launched an attack on the inside of the giant mouth.

Proficiency +1...

Proficiency +1...

Proficiency +1...

After an unknown amount of time, the inside of the enormous mouth had been completely shattered by Wen Xishu's kick.

A lump of rotting flesh crawled out from the gap in its mouth, its body covered in blood and the saliva from its large mouth.

vomit!
Wen Xishu's body began to heal little by little.

"Thank goodness, it was all a dream, all a dream."

Wen Xishu comforted herself.

He looks so disgusting that if there were a mirror, he would feel nauseous.

A painting was torn to shreds by Wen Xishu.

That painting depicts red lips.

After one painting was torn apart, all the paintings seemed to feel a sense of disbelief.

They were still flying everywhere, but for a moment, they no longer stopped the Wenxi Tree.

Next, Wen Xishu took several steps toward the painter.

Nothing stands in the way.

The prompt finally appeared when he reached the sixth step.

Please focus your gaze on a painting.

The second round begins.

Wen Xishu was much calmer this time, his gaze slowly sweeping over each painting.

Many of these scenes depict small-town settings.

For example, there is a painting of a street vendor in a small town wiping away sweat in the sunlight with a smile, which is very heartwarming.

But in the environment of number 1, the boss's smile is distorted and ferocious, and the stall is no longer filled with fruit, but with wriggling tumors.

For example, there is another painting of several adults playing mahjong in a small town's card room.

The atmosphere was harmonious and joyful, and it felt very warm and welcoming.

But now, it has turned into four evil spirits attacking each other.

For example, on the street leading to the school, many students lined up to enter the school gate. This painting looks very vibrant, with countless children appearing energetic and full of life.

But what Wen Xishu saw at that moment was countless children lining up and jumping off the school rooftop, their heads repeatedly hitting the ground.

All the warm, beautiful, and happy paintings began to become distorted in this dream.

Wen Xishu quickly chose the second painting.

Because of the immortality granted by the Nightmare Pardon of the Weird Sequence, he felt that none of this was scary.

Moreover, his ultimate kick has reached level two, allowing for multiple attacks.

With the Ultimate Kick: Starlight, Wen Xishu could also see the effect of the third level.

Ultimate Kick - Starfall, besides inflicting multiple attacks, can also deal critical damage. To increase proficiency, reach level three, and see the level four effect, Wen Xishu chose a painting of a bustling street.

This painting should have been full of lively atmosphere, but because it's a bizarre dream, all the passersby have become vengeful ghosts.

Wen Xishu had to admit that Nightmare Pardon was just like Nicole—something that wasn't very useful in everyday life, but could be surprisingly effective in certain special situations.

These evil spirits have different abilities; some can even ignore the body's resilience and slice the Wenxi Tree like tofu.

He was the butcher in the small town, a master at cutting pork. In his dream, overwhelmed by depression, he chopped up his entire family and fed them to the pigs.

Some evil spirits can transform into the appearance of Wenxi Tree and even use its abilities.

There are also evil spirits that can summon the dead people from Wen Xishu's consciousness.

They were a makeup artist and a funeral home worker in the town.

If these people were in the real Roaring Tower, their abilities would be at least at the level of the Red Room.

But in the nightmare, none of them could kill Wenxi Tree.

Wen Xishu was tormented to no end, but after experiencing being bitten to pieces and then resurrected, he had become completely indifferent to all harm.

After the monsters finally began to tire, Wenxi Tree began to pass through the third painting.

The fourth painting.

The fifth painting.

The sixth, seventh, and eighth paintings.

He has no special skills, relying entirely on his ultimate kick and immortality.

After practicing the proficiency of several paintings, I finally reached level four with the ultimate kick.

Since level 5 proficiency requires 9999 attempts, Wen Xishu indeed has no way to reach level 5.

Now, Wen Xishu's ultimate kick can create multiple afterimages and attack multiple targets.

It also possesses critical strike capabilities, and the target hit has a certain chance of being inflicted with an "armor break" status.

Finally, he arrived in front of the painter.

The artist is still asleep.

Wen Xishu's method of waking up the painter was also very simple: he kicked the painter's head with full power.

The defense-breaking effect activated, and the artist's body was violently sent flying, crashing into the dark walls of the art museum.

His head began to move slowly, and his eyes began to open slowly.

"Who...who are you? How did you get here?"

Wen Xishu suddenly realized that he could not speak.

In the dream, in a region where there is almost no logic and the number drops to 1, he is now facing the artist and cannot speak.

But the guidance gave him three options.

Option A: Incorporating people into the painting is not the correct answer. You have lost control of the evil within the painting's world. Let me purify everything.

Option B: The world in the painting is illusory. Everything in the dream is fulfilling, but if we return to reality, it will ultimately be like a flower in a mirror or the moon's reflection in water, and everything will only become more depressing.

Option C: I am here to destroy the curse of the scales.

Wen Xishu is unable to freely organize her thoughts; she can only choose one of three options.

Your actions within the painting, and your choices at this moment, will determine the direction of the story.

The guidelines provided a final reminder.

The artist struggled slowly, managing to extend his body out of the wall, and at the same time, a paintbrush appeared in his hand.

Wen Xishu must give an answer when he finishes his new painting, otherwise things may change.

After all, just because he can't be killed doesn't mean he can't be imprisoned.

A flood of information flashed through my mind.

Wen Xishu quickly made a choice:

"I don't yet know the truth about the curse of the scales, so this statement is probably not enough to stop the conflict between me and the artist."

“Yes, if I were to kill the artist… then there would be no need to make a choice.”

"Based on the clues from the second level, the mad scientist turned living beings into mechanical beasts, but the mad scientist is not an enemy; he can even be recruited by the tavern..."

"Although I cannot abandon Devon and the others... there is no doubt that Devon and his group know very little about the Curse of the Balance."

"Only the most powerful heroes can know the truth about the curse."

"Both the first and third options involve killing the artist..."

Wen Xishu suddenly had the answer:

"The world in the painting is false, and everything in the dream is fulfilling. If we return to reality, it will ultimately be like a flower in a mirror or the moon in the water, and everything will only become more depressing."

"You painted a dream that devoured everyone, but... it was all just your dream. Your guilt, your cowardice, your sorrow are all twisting your dream."

"You drew everything you remembered: the streets, the school, everyone in the town..."

"You think that by locking them in your dreams, everyone can live happily ever after?"

"But you know very well that it's all fake. They're just things in your dream, like things painted with a paintbrush."

"They are not real."

"Everyone is dead. The Curse of the Balance has killed everyone. They died in reality. What lives on in the painting is merely your longing for them."

"You should wake up."

Wen Xishu was surprised; he hadn't expected that after option two was mentioned, there would be a long dialogue following it.

But it seems he made the right choice. What followed was like defeating a boss in a game; Wen Xishu saw the CG animation after the boss's defeat.

The artist fell to his knees with a thud. It was just like when Conan found the murderer, and the murderer began to explain his tragic past and the reasons he had no choice but to kill.

At this moment, even Nicole's singing changed, becoming a variation of "If You Were Here," sounding sorrowful and profound.

"Who...who are you?" the artist asked, sounding distressed.

He asked the question, but quickly ignored it, looking at the paintings around him with a struggle on his face.

“I can’t save everyone… My idea is wrong. Everyone’s dreams can’t be connected, and I can’t paint a world for them to enter.”

"My abilities are insufficient to accomplish all of this... The curse of the scales... cannot be broken!"

"Everyone's dead...everyone's dead! This damned curse! This damned curse!"

“They were all saying goodbye to me, they all wanted me to live. I shouldn’t have done this, I shouldn’t have done this… I let them down.”

The artist let out a mournful cry.

Wen Xishu didn't actually feel much about this scene.

After all, this place is far too gloomy.

But he could imagine that all of this was caused by the curse of the scales.

Wen Xishu now had a clear understanding of the entire plot, and based on the guidance, he could roughly imagine the story—

Without a doubt, the artist before us possesses exceptional talent.

He tried many methods to deal with the curse of the scales.

He painted a world, hoping everyone could hide inside it, but he failed...

The painting is in the cursed land, and the world within the painting is also in the cursed land.

The artist failed, faced with the third level of the Balance Curse, and with the townspeople dying off day by day...

The artist even wanted to paint "dreams," so his ability was actually unrelated to dream creation, but rather to painting.

Let everyone enter a dream world that does not belong to this dimension to escape the curse.

But artists can't do that; everyone's dreams are different.

In the end, one by one, the people of the town died, and before they died, they all said goodbye to the painter. Because in their eyes, the painter was a person with the power of miracles.

Such a person must live to the end, carrying the hopes of everyone, and strive to break the curse.

But the artist couldn't bear the pain of everyone leaving.

He painted everyone, and in the end, imprisoned himself in the painting of "dream".

But this dream was not pleasant.

Because of guilt, because of fear, because of repression, because I already knew it was all an illusion...

So everything in the dream soon began to distort; every place in the painting with people and lights was no longer warm and cozy, but terrifying and eerie.

The painter, however, was unwilling to leave the painting, because reality was hopeless; in reality, all his companions had long since died.

Wen Xishu suddenly realized that he seemed to be able to speak.

“Like you, I am a person with special abilities. I am leading my team to try to unravel the mystery of the curse.”

"Would you like to join me?"

"Or do you intend to continue wallowing in your dreams?"

"Wake up, remember the beautiful images of those who have left, and don't let nightmares devour their true selves."

In terms of verbal persuasion, Wen Xishu's skill level is in no way inferior to that of the Guide.

The artist was clearly persuaded and fell into thought.

He cried for a while, then beat himself, and after a while, he slowly stood up:

"You...can you break the curse? Who are you?"

Wen Xishu suddenly realized that although no one knew who he was, they all seemed to know what was going on when the commander was mentioned.

Then Wen Xishu said:
"My name is Wen Xishu. You may not be familiar with my name, but everyone calls me Commander."

“I am the one sent by God to break the curse.”

The artist was visibly startled when he heard the words "commander".

He had heard the legend and seen the guidance, but he didn't believe it.

But now, the commander has stormed into his dream, torn apart many bizarre paintings, and appeared before him with an immortal body, waking him up.

Having done all this, he also began to have expectations for the rumors about the commander.

"But even so... they can't come back. Can they?

"Yes, the dead cannot be brought back to life, but if I were you, I wouldn't want to carry this heavy burden of guilt anymore. Revenge brings me pleasure."

After a slight pause, Wen Xishu said:

"Or is it that you don't want to avenge them?"

The artist certainly intended it; his eyes quickly filled with hatred.
"Let's go! I'll go with you!"

Wen Xishu really liked the artist's gaze at that moment, which resembled that of an old principal.

He could sense that the artist's power was terrifying, and that he was definitely not in the same league as Colonel Devon and Cavendish.

The guidance also happened to appear at that time:
[Completed the hidden storyline – The Painter Imprisoned in the Painting. Successfully recruited the SSS-rank hero, The Painter.]

"Welcome to my team. Now, let's leave this dream and go see the sunshine in reality."

(I've posted this first, but I have things to do during the day.)

(End of this chapter)