novelraw Chapter 293: Interpretation Rating of the Fifth Difficulty, The Secret of Soul Enhancement
Chapter 293: Interpretation Rating of the Fifth Difficulty, The Secret of Soul Enhancement
Lin Xun returned to the library and, without another word, immediately opened his panel to check his own condition.
Before teleporting back to the library, he had been stared at by the grotesque face in the firmament, and the game text had clearly displayed [You are about to fall into Extreme Evil…]
The panel text appeared. In the Shell Slots, the prefix ‘Fire-Worshipping’ on the Saio Chisoku-hime shell still existed.
The healer’s shell status was also completely normal. The prefixes and statuses of the other shells were all normal as well, and the scene of a whole row of ‘Extreme Evil’ prefixes did not appear.
Lin Xun let out a breath of relief. It should have been thanks to the timely teleportation, or perhaps the power of the library had blocked the germination of the corrosion.
The shells in the Shell Slots were all in normal status, but several shikigami were in a state of death awaiting resurrection.
After using the onmyoji forbidden technique Filth Purification Rebirth, even if a shikigami does not die in battle, once the forbidden technique’s effect fades, it will still perish.
“What a pity. Fusion shikigami are only temporary. Even Shuten Doji could not escape the fate of falling into Extreme Evil…”
After confirming that all the shells were normal, he carefully recalled and began to review the flow of this chapter.
After thinking for a long time, he discovered that the Evil God world was the highest difficulty he had experienced so far, yet it was also the easiest chapter to clear.To complete the final event ‘When the Cherry Blossoms Wither,’ an Apostle did not even need to do anything. Even if one stayed on Tisi Island doing nothing, it would still be possible to clear the chapter.
Because as long as the condition that all deities of Sakura Falls had fallen into Extreme Evil was met, the chapter could be cleared.
The little emperor in the Grand Residence had already completely fallen into Extreme Evil. According to the chapter’s flow, the next tool to summon a deity would be Saio Chisoku-hime.
At the latest, when the next envoy of the Vermilion Empire arrived at Sakura Falls and the Great General confiscated the Vermilion Ceremonial Scepter, that would be when the final event opened.
An Apostle could even proactively hand over the Vermilion Ceremonial Scepter to complete a rapid clear. It was just that in such a case, the interpretation rating for clearing would be abysmally low.
As for the ninja master who wanted to destroy the Vermilion Ceremonial Scepter, the ninja teacher should already have discovered the signs of the Great General falling into Extreme Evil long ago.
However, Sakura Falls was in a state where the whole world seemed drunk. Even if the ninja master alone remained awake, he could not resist. All he could do was instruct his disciples that if they seized the Vermilion Ceremonial Scepter in the future, they must destroy it and absolutely must not hand it over to the Great General.
But according to the normal plot, the ninja master would die in the battle to rescue the senior sister, so naturally he could not intervene in the subsequent plot. Therefore the Great General would ultimately confiscate the Vermilion Ceremonial Scepter.
Whether or not the Great General was killed, the final event would descend sooner or later. The more an Apostle struggled, the more it would accelerate the time node of the apocalypse’s arrival.
Lin Xun even guessed in despair that even without confiscating the Vermilion Ceremonial Scepter, the evil god would have means to make the only remaining Dance Goddess fall into Extreme Evil, just as He had corrupted Enma and the Dragon God.
Perhaps the Vermilion Ceremonial Scepter was merely the most convenient and effortless method…
“It really is a despairing world…”
“But my efforts were not entirely useless. At least the senior sister who went to the Vermilion Empire to seek aid escaped a calamity.”
Lin Xun did not know how much longer the Vermilion Empire could hold out, but if the plot was left to develop on its own, then even if it held to the very end, it would ultimately fall as a nation.
Even if Apostles joined later, they would not necessarily be able to save the world. It might even accelerate the world’s destruction, just as he had experienced in this chapter.
He shook his head and banished distracting thoughts. The Evil God world was one among many apocalyptic chapters.
Given the number of apocalyptic chapters, the probability of randomly entering a subsequent chapter of the Evil God world was lower than winning the lottery.
So long as he did not deliberately court death by using the ‘Anchor Bookmark’ to designate entry into a subsequent chapter, he was basically impossible to encounter the subsequent chapters in the future.
It was so with the Evil God world, and likewise with the Blood Sun world and the World of Omniscience.
“Next, let’s settle the interpretation rating.”
[The gigantic Book of Salvation floated at the center of the library. Beneath the enormous tome, a kindly white-robed old man looked at you with a smiling expression and offered you applause…]
[Powerful Apostle, congratulations on successfully interpreting yet another apocalyptic world.]
[Your performance in the apocalyptic chapter was excellent. He has not paid this much attention to an Apostle for a long time.]
Lin Xun was startled. He did not know what he had done to draw the attention of the administrator’s true body.
[T/N: Quick reminder but the Librarian is the administrator, the author uses both names to refer to the Librarian.]
“Could it be that I obtained an SSS rating on a Hell chapter?”
He could not help feeling somewhat excited.
As soon as Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto appeared, she directly one-shot the Great General who was transforming into the third stage.
Strictly speaking, Lin Xun had not even seen the Great General’s third form. He did not know whether this would lower the interpretation rating.
[The Librarian smiled and shook his head, explaining to you that you misunderstood his meaning. What he called excellent did not refer to your Salvation experience, but to your outstanding performance after his avatar’s dereliction of duty.]
“The administrator avatar’s dereliction of duty…”
Lin Xun instantly recalled how he had obtained extra profits in the trial illusion, had extorted the administrator’s avatar, and in the end had even gaslit him into leaving with gratitude.
His heart gave a jolt. He had a bad feeling like being caught in the act.
[The Librarian seemed to see what you were thinking and continued smiling as he explained. Powerful Apostle, his avatar allowing you to obtain an extra location coordinate during the illusion trial was indeed a dereliction of duty.]
[This situation is absolutely not permitted and would certainly be punished.]
[However, you quickly corrected the avatar’s dereliction and made him give you the greatest reward within reasonable rules. He has to say, it has been a long time since he has seen an Apostle who would proactively uphold the rules.]
[You ask the administrator how that avatar is doing now.]
[The Librarian stated clearly that punishment for the avatar was necessary, but it did not count as severe. After all, the error of dereliction was immediately corrected.]
[As he spoke, he extended his hand, indicating that you should hand over the Librarian’s Monocle, to further raise your invasion permissions.]
The Librarian seemed to be merely chatting with Lin Xun, yet from the text he discovered some additional information.
Although the administrator’s avatar had erased the location coordinate of Great Kyo-no-Oeyama that he had learned, it had given him a hint that the Grand Residence hid clues to the three great yokai.
Relying on this hint, he found the Nine-Tailed Fox and Shuten Doji.
If one were to speak of extra profit, this was an even greater extra profit than merely obtaining the coordinate of Great Kyo-no-Oeyama within the trial.
But the administrator’s true body glossed over it with a single sentence, not placing it in his heart at all, and seemed only to care about the extra profit within the trial. Moreover, because he had corrected the avatar’s dereliction, the true body praised him as an Apostle who ‘proactively upheld the rules.’
Did this indicate that the Librarian strictly executed a certain set of rules, and as long as the taboo zone of the rules was not touched, then even if extra profit was obtained from the avatar, the true body would not pursue it.
“What kind of existence is the administrator’s true body? A reasonable guide? Or a rigid enforcer of rules?”
[…]
[Your invasion permission level has increased. Current invasion level: 3]
[After an Apostle is defeated during an invasion, you will be able to obtain one item from the enemy Apostle by specifying a type, such as specifying the equipment category, item category, material category, and so on.]
[Due to your rise in invasion level, when you exchange bookmarks from the Librarian, there is a very small probability to refresh rare bookmarks. The refresh cycle is one complete interpretation of a chapter.]
Lin Xun was delighted and quickly opened the Librarian’s exchange list.
At a glance, the bookmarks were still the same three old ones. Invasion Bookmark, Guardian Bookmark, Revenge Bookmark. The small-probability rare bookmarks did not appear.
He was somewhat disappointed, but the rise in invasion permissions was still beneficial. It changed from the previous two random drops from an invaded Apostle to the current specified drop of a certain large category of item.
At last he could make the dung-sifting drop phase become targeted.
[…]
[You step forward and touch the Book of Salvation. Your powerful soul resonates with the book…]
[Do you wish to settle the chapter interpretation rating for Chapter 63942575?]
Lin Xun took a deep breath and pressed the option ‘Yes.’
[Settling interpretation rating…]
[In this chapter you defeated Fire-Worshipping Heartless Flow Chunin. Interpretation rating rises…]
[In this chapter you defeated Fire-Worshipping Heartless Flow Swordsman. Interpretation rating rises…]
[In this chapter you defeated Origin-Tracing Karasu Tengu. Interpretation rating rises…]
[…]
[In this chapter you completed the hidden quest Rescue Tsukishiro Murasakiyo. Interpretation rating rises…]
[In this chapter you completed the hidden quest Request of Amateru Sakiina. Interpretation rating rises…]
[…]
A dense barrage of [Interpretation rating rises…] continued to scroll.
[In this chapter you defeated Extreme Evil Great General. Interpretation rating rises…]
[In this chapter you completed the final event When the Cherry Blossoms Wither. Interpretation rating rises…]
[Settlement of this chapter is complete…]
[Congratulations. Powerful Apostle!]
[You have obtained an SS interpretation rating!]
[This interpretation rating is the chapter’s second-highest rating. You will receive a settlement reward!]
[You have obtained Type-V Ultimate Source of the Apocalypse – Extreme Delusion Fruit!]
Lin Xun was taken aback.
“It actually isn’t an SSS rating?”
“Damn. I even beat the Great General into the third stage and still cannot get a 3S rating?”
He thought carefully about whether he had missed some location that had not been explored.
“Could it be that I should wait for the senior sister to return with aid and join with the Vermilion immortal to slay the Great General so that the Dance Goddess does not fall… No. If the Dance Goddess does not fall, the final event cannot be completed.”
A flash of inspiration suddenly streaked through Lin Xun’s mind.
“Could obtaining the highest rating have something to do with the ‘Nurarihyon’ who wished to become a deity through incense power?”
“Creating a new deity that does not belong to any faction. Would that change the direction of the plot?”
He did not know whether his idea was correct. Perhaps only the Librarian knew how to obtain an SSS rating.
“If I run into that avatar next time… forget it, this is certainly something that cannot be spoken of.”
He clicked the Book of Salvation again and chose to Solidify Relic.
[Do you wish to solidify Type-V Ultimate Source of the Apocalypse – Extreme Delusion Fruit into a Relic?]
[Note, this solidification operation is irreversible. Please choose carefully!]
[Solidifying…]
[Solidification successful!]
[You have obtained Type-V Ultimate Relic (Extreme Delusion Fruit)!]
Lin Xun directly equipped the newly acquired relic.
[You have equipped Type-V Ultimate Relic (Extreme Delusion Fruit)!]
[This shell receives soul enhancement. Shell strength increased by 50%!]
[Accumulated soul enhancement: 170%]
[Your soul has become stronger!]
[Your soul strength has been raised. Current soul strength is 2/5!]
At the celebration banquet after the last Easter Egg chapter, Lin Xun had engaged in deep exchanges with several elite Apostles, Shangguan Yu, Du Cheng, and Yin Linlin, and thus gained a concrete understanding of the concept of soul enhancement.
Even if ordinary Apostles could advance to the next difficulty, they would remain at the current difficulty for a long time, repeatedly entering other chapters at that difficulty to accumulate more equipment, items, and levels, in order to reduce the number of times they got stuck when advancing difficulty.
The several elite Apostles, by staying at a difficulty, were basically able to obtain an S rating in chapters of the Normal difficulty, thereby obtaining Sources of the Apocalypse and solidifying Relics.
Through his exchanges with them, Lin Xun learned that soul enhancement was not an imagined 1+1 increase.
Unless an Apostle possessed an omnipotent perfect shell, they could not fully benefit from the soul enhancement bonus.
For example, a 100% soul enhancement is not simply doubling every attribute. Doubling all attributes would make one’s power terrifying. Conservatively estimated, it would multiply combat strength several times over.
Soul enhancement raises the overall strength of the shell. Spreading a 100% enhancement across each attribute definitely does not reach the level of doubling. It might be that merely increasing each attribute by twenty or thirty percent would be enough to achieve a doubling of overall combat effectiveness.
However, although the panel of this hellish game does not display attributes specifically, according to official Apostle testing, the attributes contained in a shell are numerous, including but not limited to Strength, Constitution, Endurance, Agility, Intelligence, Spirit, Charisma, Luck, and many more.
The most maddening part is that the values spread to each attribute by soul enhancement are the same.
The hellish game will not, because an Apostle’s shell is a warrior template, give more increase to Strength, nor will it grant extra Intelligence to a mage shell.
This leads to the result that a 100% soul enhancement does not increase a shell’s combat strength by anywhere near double.
Because raising Strength, Constitution, and Endurance has limited effect for a mage, and similarly, increasing Intelligence, mental power, and Charisma (summoner) has very little improvement for a warrior.
Every shell has a career-type related template. The effective attributes are only a few.
The growth in power that soul enhancement reflects on each shell is not identical. Simply put, the more effective attributes a shell has, the greater the increase in strength it receives.
Therefore, unless an Apostle possesses an all-rounder shell, they cannot fully enjoy the value indicated by soul enhancement.
Lin Xun currently had 170% soul enhancement. If he could obtain a shell that cultivated both magic and martial arts, he would be able to overwhelm the other shells of the same tier in his Shell Slots.
The Greedy Wolf Star Lord template had potential in this regard, but a Star Lord seemed to be a sword cultivator and did not have a cultivation system that also trained bodily sanctification or qi-school arts.
Otherwise, even if he could not fully enjoy the 170% enhancement, he could still reach the degree of doubling his strength.
After solidifying the relic, Lin still had a large heap of work to do.
The first thing to do was to check the bountiful rewards dropped by the Great General.