abnormal mutation

Chapter 13 Battle of Two Cities
At night, the boys were all fast asleep, but Roland was not sleepy. After adding charcoal to the fireplace, he quietly went into the yard.

The sky was dotted with stars, clear and high, with the outline of a huge dark moon hidden in the depths of the night sky, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

Today is Darkmoon Day. If Roland remembers correctly, Darkmoon Day has lasted for a week. If nothing unexpected happens, tomorrow should be Double Moon Day, when the crimson double moon dominates the night sky, and the dark moon and stars disappear.

In this world, there are three moons at night: the Dark Moon, the Purple Moon, and the Crimson Moon. Legend has it that the Purple and Crimson Moons are sisters, always appearing at the same time, and can never coexist with the Dark Moon. Therefore, the two moons and the Dark Moon always alternate in an irregular manner.

Summer days often have two moons, while winter days often have dark moons. Dark moons are often accompanied by stars, hence winter is also called Starry Winter.

It was so cold in Glacier Town at night that Roland wandered around for a couple of hours, but his body felt a little stiff, so he quickly went back to his room.

In February, the nights in the North are very long, with only about nine hours of daylight and the other twenty-one hours being complete darkness. Apart from procreation, there are almost no entertainment activities. It's really hard to imagine how the people here adapt.

On the other side of the fireplace, four boys were fast asleep, huddled together on the large bed. After Roland filled the fireplace with charcoal, he lay down on the bed and felt utterly bored.

"Let's play a game." He remembered that the chessboard had a simulation function, but he didn't know how it differed from a real game.

The moment the thought arose, the familiar suction force arrived as expected, and in an instant, he entered that bizarre and wondrous world.

Horrifying and bizarre things that only exist in his imagination flashed before his eyes, and he vaguely heard soft murmurs in his ears, like prayers or dream talk, which made him feel dazed and unable to distinguish between reality and dreams.

Only when he entered the giant bubble containing the chessboard did the chaos disappear, and a sense of security enveloped him once more.

'Could this really be the legendary dream world?' In ancient legends, there are indeed stories of people getting lost in dreams.

He felt he needed to consult someone knowledgeable about extraordinary things, as it was too dangerous to study it in isolation.

As soon as Roland entered the chessboard, he noticed something amiss. Looking down, he saw two black wolves appear on his chest and abdomen, swimming back and forth on his skin, lifelike. Sensing his gaze, they kept blinking at him.

'So you were attached to my soul.'

With a wave of his hand, the two wolves transformed into giant wolves and landed one after the other, majestic and indistinguishable from those outside.

Unlike Roland, the two wolves adapted very well to the environment and moved freely, as if they belonged here.

Roland suddenly remembered yesterday's nightmare. If the two wolves hadn't been keeping watch in the real world, could they have protected him? He just didn't know if they could have defeated that "monster".

He decided to bring them with him whenever he came here in the future, as the dangers here were much greater than in the real world.

He let the two wolves roam freely while he familiarized himself with the chessboard. A day later, everything remained the same, except for three glimmers of energy and a tiny bit of extraordinary trait, a far cry from his high expectations.

He felt that he could seek external channels to supplement it; otherwise, relying solely on the self-assembly of this broken chessboard would take forever.

But there's a paradox here: if he doesn't become extraordinary, he can't enter that circle and get extraordinary resources. Without extraordinary resources, he can't easily step into the extraordinary realm.

Let's take it one step at a time. If we can't figure something out, we should put it aside for now and study the simulation battles first.

This function is not complicated. Under his mental command, the chessboard quickly changed, the cracks disappeared, the scene changed, and a brand new golden-red chessboard appeared inside the bubble.

'This is the Arena of Valor Awakening skin; it has too many Earth elements. Let's change it to Fugen Tavern.'

The next moment, the chessboard transformed, instantly becoming the Fugen Tavern from the Battle of Two Cities. 'That's much more understated. Let's use the Battle of Two Cities version for the multiplayer mode.'

As soon as the command was given, the large bubble outside the chessboard began to expand rapidly, becoming at least dozens of times larger than before. The chessboard floated alone in the bubble, appearing very small.

After the bubble stopped expanding, a huge circular floating platform appeared in the center of the bubble. Then, a series of chessboards of different shapes materialized around it, floating and sinking around the central platform. Including the one under Roland's feet, there were eight in total.

This isn't a game; it's a complete recreation of a real-world scene, cool and magical.

"It's like a real person stepping into a game." Roland's eyes widened, his heart filled with shock.

At that moment, a giant countdown appeared in the sky. After ten seconds, he was pulled to the central platform by an irresistible force. There were seven blurry figures around him, some animals and some people.

Games start!
Everything that followed was exactly the same as in the game: serendipitous encounters, enhanced runes, monsters, equipment, chess pieces, synergies, battles, leveling up, drafting...

Roland's experience was completely different from the game because it was so realistic. The heroes were alive and would wink at him; the battles were incredibly exciting, with flashing swords and dazzling magic; even the spilled blood had warmth and a pungent smell.

He was in the midst of it all, inevitably becoming immersed in it, his emotions rising and falling wildly, unable to control himself.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he was sent away by a streak of light. Old Eight was eliminated, and everything returned to an illusion, quickly returning to normal.

"Hey, that felt so good." It took him a while to calm himself down.

Virtual reality, which I had never experienced in my original world, was realized in such a fantastical way after I traveled through time.

The game is fun, but it comes at a price; each round costs one Energy Glimmer. These items are very useful, so we can't just waste them.

Even so, he couldn't resist starting another game. This time he did a bit better, managing to finish sixth. It was a simulation match, and there were no rewards for winning, so he didn't feel any regret.

'My life shouldn't be too lonely from now on.' Roland lay on the chessboard, lost in thought. 'It's a pity that they are all high-level AIs. It would be great if we could bring in real people to play together.'

He wasn't afraid of losing; he was genuinely considering how to combine the chessboard with the extraordinary!

If this were a dreamlike space, his idea might actually come true. With proper development, making money or even reaching the extraordinary wouldn't be just empty talk.

In simulated battles, participants can not only act as players to command battles, but also participate in battles as pieces, thereby improving their combat experience. The application scenarios are much broader than imagined.

What's currently lacking are Energy Glimmers and Extraordinary Traits. One hundred Energy Glimmers can be combined into one Energy Essence, and one Energy Essence plus two Extraordinary Traits is needed to summon a one-cost piece, the combat power of which is unknown.

At the current rate of aggregation, it would take nearly a month to gather an energy essence, and as for extraordinary qualities, that's another story.

There is another way to increase the aggregation speed: move the chessboard, leave this desolate area, and ascend into deep space to a more dangerous region with a higher energy concentration.

Roland didn't even consider this plan; he'd rather delay his extraordinary endeavors than put himself and the chessboard in danger.

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(End of this chapter)