abnormal mutation

Chapter 47 The Hunter, the Spider, and the Knight

“Hunter.” Roland walked up to the group, pointing first at Caius, then at Wright and Walter. “Spider, Knight. Remember your codenames, and don’t mention your real names here.”

Every morning at dawn, I will send out invitations to everyone via a key. You can respond or decline; it's entirely voluntary.

After a brief explanation, Roland once again produced a glimmer of spiritual light: "The challenge you face is a strategy game, a realistic simulation of battle, eight players versus eight, the winner takes the reward..."

The three men's expressions changed noticeably. To ordinary people, everything in the mysterious realm was incredibly alluring. Roland decided to collect more magical items in the future to use as bait for even more sophisticated purposes.

"Next, I will explain the rules of the strategy game to you. I will only say it once, so the three of you should listen carefully. The battle flag..."

He ignored their reactions and began to speak to himself, keeping it brief; how much they understood depended entirely on their comprehension abilities.

Caius was pleasantly surprised. The guide hadn't chased him away, which meant he could listen to it again. This gave him an advantage.

The knight and the spider looked troubled, but dared not interrupt. They could only concentrate on listening and trying their best to memorize and understand.

"Alright, I'll give you five days to think it over, then we'll begin immediately. I won't answer any of your questions during that time." Roland leaped up and landed on the command platform of the chessboard.

The hunter fell into deep thought, his eyes vacant, seemingly having gained some insight. The knight and the spider looked bewildered and at a loss.

The spider hesitated for a moment, trying to get closer to the hunter, but the hunter turned and walked away, not giving him a chance at all.

Time flowed quietly, and a few minutes later, the chessboard suddenly began to vibrate. The bubbles expanded rapidly, and the edges kept stretching out, giving the group a sense of panic as if they had been abandoned.

Before the three could react, a huge circular floating platform appeared in the center of the bubble.

Then, chessboards of various shapes materialized around him, floating and sinking around the central platform. Including the one under his feet, there were eight in total.

A giant countdown appeared in the sky, and the changing numbers brought everyone an unprecedented sense of urgency.

"It's about to begin, all you chosen ones, please get ready." The chubby fire dragon's憨憨 (simple and honest) voice rang in their ears.

A few seconds later, the text disappeared, and the three were pulled to the central platform by an irresistible force. There were five other figures around them, some animals and some people, each occupying a corner.

Roland did not participate this time; five of the eight were simulated robots, and he focused his energy on the data of the other three.

[Hunter - Caius, Health: 140, Spirit: 15]

How many points did he have last time? Roland thought for a moment and found that Caius's spirit had decreased by 4 points and his life by 3 points. This was after Caius had rested for two days.

'Could it be due to excessive energy expenditure? Has it caused any irreversible damage? Can you see the limits of its physical capabilities?'

His idea had barely formed when the player data in the simulated match flickered a few times, indicating a slight change.

[Hunter - Caius, Health: 140/142, Spirit: 15/19]

His mental limit remained unchanged, but his life limit decreased slightly. There are two possibilities: one is that Caius is getting old and his body is declining, which is a normal physiological change. The second possibility is that his mental exertion caused permanent damage.

'What a waste.' Roland muttered to himself, then quickly checked the data of the other two.

[Spider-Wright, HP: 134/134, Spirit: 30/30]

[Knight - Walter, Health: 172/172, Spirit: 25/25]

His mood instantly brightened. Both of them had strong mental attributes, and based on the calculation that each game consumed 10 points, they could each play two games in a row. But he wouldn't do that. Even working people have rights, and besides, too much energy consumption would lead to slow recovery.

Wright's physique is a bit weak, while Walter has been strong since childhood, so a physique of 172 is reasonable. 'Let me check my own attributes.'

Roland, Life: 188/193, Spirit: 81/81

His mental attributes remained unchanged, and his life force increased slightly, but this was not yet his limit. Once he recovered from his injuries, he could reach an astonishing 193.

This is clearly unrelated to the original owner. The original owner was 1.9 meters tall, while Walter was 2 meters tall. In fights, the original owner lost more often than he won, and his victories were all due to his dirty tricks. His physique was probably weaker than Walter's.

The current changes are likely due to an abnormal mutation, and the continued evolution of the Twin Wolf Mercenary Beast will further strengthen its body.

At this moment, three circular halos appeared on the central platform, each containing a different symbol.

The three looked at each other, completely at a loss for what to do. This was not what the guide had told them.

"Please stand on one of the portals and choose the desired buff. The game will begin soon," Roland reminded them, adding that time was running out.

Unlike the game, the effect of the portal can only be determined by standing on it. The five robots had already been chosen, and the three could only follow suit and randomly select one, yet they all ended up occupying one without prior agreement.

The new version of Magical Mayhem is here! Let the game begin!
Wright will cover the costs of this simulated match.

The ensuing battle was a complete mess. He had explained everything about runes, equipment, pieces, synergies, battles, and drafting, but the three of them couldn't understand it at all.

Wright performed the best because he understood that the core of the game is synergy. He picked a powerful-sounding Demon Messenger and played it hard. He didn't just randomly select enhancement runes. He didn't panic when he lost in battle and knew how to control the economy. He looked quite professional.

Walter was just messing around, only picking expensive pieces without understanding the probability of different cost pieces appearing at different levels. His economy completely collapsed, it was a mess.

Caius had played it once and memorized the synergies and some powerful heroes, but he couldn't find any familiar heroes or synergies after searching for a long time, and he wasted a lot of gold, which made him so frustrated that he questioned his life.

'What is this random staff? I have absolutely no recollection of it.' His mind was a complete mess.

Roland chuckled to himself. This time, he had secretly changed the game version, the bonds were different, and the gameplay was different too.

No matter how hard Caius racked his brains, he never imagined that he would be betrayed by the guide! The group was completely absorbed in the moment and had no mind to think about anything else.

Soon, Caius was eliminated, as Walter was incredibly lucky, drawing a two-star, four-cost Berserker Olaf, making him a one-man carry. Roland relegated Caius to the central platform to continue his solitary confinement, forbidding him from spectating.

At the same time, a faint spiritual light suddenly appeared in the chessboard's energy pool. Roland confirmed it was true after several attempts and was overjoyed.

He didn't jump to conclusions and continued to wait. Sure enough, shortly after Walter was eliminated in seventh place, another spiritual glimmer appeared in the energy pool, and his extraordinary qualities also increased slightly.

This result undoubtedly confirms his speculation: the dream enhancement and simulated battles can create a powerful energy aggregation effect, enhancing the convergence effect of the chessboard.

A few minutes later, Wright was eliminated in fifth place, thanks in part to luck, and the match continued. Just before the first place was decided, another spiritual glimmer appeared in the energy pool, bringing the total to three, including the previous two.

'The rewards for each simulated battle are directly related to the number of players,' Roland speculated. He guessed it also depended on the players; those with extraordinary abilities were definitely far stronger than ordinary people. He regretted not participating earlier; perhaps he could have gotten one more reward.

He checked Wright's attributes; his spirit dropped to 21, costing him 9 points this time, less than last time, which was undoubtedly good news.

The game content will likely not be described in detail later; this is just a transitional section.

Dear readers, please support me by adding this to your favorites and voting!



(End of this chapter)