anovelconsole Chapter 12 The Living God-Slayers: Only Two Remaining
Chapter 12 The Living God-Slayers: Only Two Remaining
"I was hunted once."
Wang Yan went over those words in his mind.
The literal meaning is clear. But in the context of a game that has only been open for three hours, it becomes unclear.
Either he's a madman bragging, or he's someone who had contact with the Council of Gods before him.
Wang Yan leaned towards the latter.
The fluctuation data provided by divine perception doesn't lie. That faint layer of divine remnant was branded on, and it's been there for some time.
"You bear the remnants of divinity," Wang Yan said, cutting straight to the heart of the matter without responding to the other's words. "The judgment mechanism of the Council of Gods leaves a mark on its targets. You have been struck by the blade of the Judge."
The Abyss Walker paused for a moment.
Then he laughed. This time, the laugh was more genuine than before.
"Divine perception?" The Abyss Walker leaped off the rock, landing almost silently. "You acquired that talent from the Arbiter. I didn't have that kind of luck back then."
He did not deny it.
Zhuang Bugui silently took half a step, blocking the iron pot and Qiqi.
The Abyss Walker stopped ten meters away from Wang Yan. Not too close, not too far, just the right distance to either negotiate or take action.
"Introductions are a waste of time. I'll get straight to the point." The Abyss Walker's voice lowered by half an octave. "There are twenty-one Godslayer series swords in total. Nineteen have been confirmed dead so far. The living ones, including you—"
"Two," Wang Yan finished for him.
The Abyss Walker paused for a moment.
Wang Yan stared at him: "Which number are you?"
The Abyss Walker extended his right hand, palm facing up.
A cloud of black mist condensed in his palm, vaguely forming the outline of a dagger. The shape lasted only a second before shattering, and the black mist dissipated.
"The ninth weapon. Godslayer - Afterimage." The Abyss Walker withdrew his hand. "It was destroyed by the Third Sequence Judgment of the Council of Gods three days ago. The weapon is gone, but the remnants of the Godslayer inscription remain on me. Not enough to kill a god, but enough for their perception to mistake me for one of their own and let me pass."
three days ago.
The game hadn't even launched three days ago.
Wang Yan grasped this contradiction, but did not immediately pursue the matter further.
He reviewed his memories of his past life in his mind. The underlying code structure of the Eternal Plane, the code level of the God-Slaying series, far surpassed any weapon in the public beta version. He had suspected this even before his rebirth.
The public beta server's architecture is cluttered with things that don't belong in the public beta.
"The game will launch its open beta on August 31st." Wang Yan's voice was flat. "But the code structure of the Godslayer series is at least two architectural levels higher than the open beta version. The underlying data wasn't written in the same batch."
Wang Yan looked into the eyes of the Abyss Walker.
"There was another server before the public beta. You came from over there."
The Abyss Walker was genuinely silent for two seconds this time.
How do you know about code-level stuff?
"I have my own channels," Wang Yan said, not intending to reveal his secrets. "Go on."
The Abyss Walker gave him a second look. Something new flickered in his eyes as he reassessed the man before him.
"Closed beta," said the Abyss Walker. "The open beta and closed beta run on the same set of world rules and share the underlying data. The Council of Gods, the Weavers of Fate, the Abyss Watchers—they are not content designed for the open beta."
"They are remnants from the internal testing."
Wang Yan didn't reply, but another piece of the puzzle in his mind came together.
For the past ten years, the official team of Eternal Dimension has never acknowledged any form of closed beta testing. All public information points to the same conclusion: August 31st is the starting point of this game's existence.
But if the underlying technology of the public beta server is the same as that of an earlier closed beta server—then everything he experienced in his previous life over the past ten years might just be the surface of a game.
"You want to get me to cooperate." Wang Yan suppressed his thoughts and only offered his conclusion.
"Cooperation." The Abyss Walker nodded. "I have no guild, no power, just a life and half a brain full of intelligence."
"What's your intelligence value?"
"It's worth stopping to listen to me."
Wang Yan looked at him for three seconds.
"explain."
The Abyss Walker raised a finger. "The Second Sequence Judgment is three tiers stronger than the Judge. It's not a rare boss, it's an epic boss. Level at least forty-five. Your current Godslayer prototype can't withstand it."
The second finger. "The Council of Gods' judgments follow a progressive rule. You refused the summons to the Judge. Killing the Judge triggers the second sequence."
"Completing the second stage of the God-Slaying Prototype's transformation before the arrival of the second sequence will give us the power to fight," Wang Yan continued.
The Abyss Walker's finger hovered in mid-air.
"You also know about the transformation mechanism?"
"I told you, I have my own channels," Wang Yan said, his tone unchanged. "Continue with the countdown."
The Abyss Walker lowered his second finger and raised his third. "The countdown to the Second Sequence Judgment is about—"
He didn't finish his sentence.
A new blood-red countdown popped up in the upper right corner of Wang Yan's panel.
[Countdown to the Second Sequence Trial: 11:58:42]
Less than twelve hours.
"Soon." The Abyss Walker lowered his hand. "Even faster than I predicted. You killed the Arbiter too decisively; the Council of Gods has raised your threat level by one notch."
Zhuang Bugui's voice came from behind, cold: "You know a lot. So much that it's uncomfortable."
The Abyss Walker glanced at him. "Are you one of his men?"
"I am his knife."
"A fine blade." The Abyss Walker turned his gaze back to Wang Yan and said, "Within twelve hours, you need to find enough divine materials to feed the God-Slaying Prototype to the second stage. I know where the nearest divine material spawn point is."
"The price," Wang Yan said, uttering only two words.
Nobody gives things away for free. Especially not someone who lays their cards on the table.
The Abyss Walker remained silent for a moment.
Then he took something out of his backpack.
A gold fragment the size of a fingernail, with sharp edges, but a soft luster.
Fragments of divinity.
It's exactly the same as what the Judge dropped.
"I have seven," the Abyss Walker said, handing over the fragments. "Collecting all twelve will unlock a hidden piece of information: the true origin of the Godslayer series, and why the twenty-one Godslayer Swords were forged."
He paused.
"Also, about the true purpose of this game."
Wang Yan stared at the fragment but did not reach out.
"You have seven, I have two. That makes nine. We're three short."
"The boss of the second sequence of judgments drops at least two," the Abyss Walker said. "The last one is in a place you're sure to go."
"where?"
The Abyss Walker looked at him. He remained silent for a few seconds.
"The back mountain of the starting village." The Abyss Walker's voice lowered. "Wang Yan, there's a second level below the coordinates where you buried the God-Slaying Embryo."
Wang Yan tightened his grip on the sword.
This person's name is not "Unnamed".
That's his real name.
He never revealed his real name in the game.
"Who exactly are you?"
The Abyss Walker took a step back, and his body began to turn transparent.
Wang Yan moved his right hand, and the prototype of the God-Slaying Sword was drawn three inches from its sheath, the bloodline on the blade suddenly glowing brightly—
But where the sword struck, only a layer of black mist remained. Divine perception frantically locked on, the signal was shattered, and the screen was filled with interference noise.
It can't be locked.
The Abyss Walker's voice had lost its direction, seeping out from the echoes on the canyon walls.
"You'll know in twelve hours. Now remember one thing."
The black fog dissipated. The sound of the wind returned to the canyon.
On the Divine Perception signal panel, the Abyss Walker's mark had completely disappeared.
Wang Yan sheathed his sword and stood still.
Iron Pot Stewed Goose swallowed hard: "...Boss, he said this game isn't a game, what does that mean?"
Wang Yan did not answer.
He glanced down at the blood-red countdown in the upper right corner of the panel.
【11:57:03】
Jumping.