novelraw Chapter 362-2: Angel Mother Nest, Conditions for Obtaining an SSS Rating (2)
Chapter 362-2: Angel Mother Nest, Conditions for Obtaining an SSS Rating (2)
[You pass through rows of bookshelves, following the sound of the old recitation, and soon see the black-robed old man lying in a rocking chair. He wears a monocle. It is the Librarian you have met many times before.]
[This Librarian is wearing a black cloak robe in the style of this world, lying on the rocking chair with a book held up in one hand as he reads and recites.]
[When he sees you approach, he stands up and gives you a slight smile. The wrinkles on his face squeeze into many folds as he says, We meet again, clever Apostle.]
[To be reunited with you among thousands upon thousands of apocalypses is a tremendous stroke of fate.]
[You stare at the Librarian. His tone feels extremely familiar to you, and you cannot help asking the question.]
[The Librarian’s smile grows wider. He spins once in place, and the cloak robe on his body transforms into a black kimono.]
“So it really is an old acquaintance, the administrator I saw in the previous chapter in the evil god world.”
“Wait… Wasn’t this guy punished by the administrator? How is he here?”
[Flanda suddenly asks, Oath bearer, who are you talking to? There is no one on the chair at all… Has your consciousness gone wrong?]
[With a tense expression, she pulls you into her embrace. In the unseen, you once again perceive the web of consciousness. You and Flanda are in a separate, small patch of the web of consciousness, within which there is also the Divine Kingdom Flying Dragon under your control.][Flanda’s powerful consciousness wraps around you, making you feel incomparably warm.]
[Then, you are pulled back into reality. You see Flanda’s face full of confusion as she murmurs to herself that it is strange, your consciousness shows no problems…]
[The Librarian chuckles and tells you that, apart from Apostles, no one else can see him.]
[Before this trial begins, in order to repay last time’s favor, he can answer one question for you.]
[Of course, if it is an answer he is not allowed to give, he will refuse to answer and let you ask another question instead.]
“There is even something this nice?!”
As for information guides on this chapter and the dungeon process, the administrator definitely could not divulge those.
At most, it would be like in the previous chapter, where he had learned some of this chapter’s world history and the past of the divine war from the administrator’s mouth.
Lin Xun had already roughly figured out this world’s background information. Asking about such historical data again would at best net him one or two hidden rewards.
Since this was such a rare opportunity, he could not be short-sighted. His gaze had to be long-term.
What Lin Xun most wanted to ask was how to obtain an SSS rating in this chapter. No, it should be how to obtain an SSS rating in the game.
[You ask the Librarian how you can obtain the highest rating in the game.]
[The Librarian claps his hands in praise and exclaims that it is a great question!]
[Then he shakes his head regretfully and tells you that he does not have permission to tell you the answer to that question.]
“…As expected, it cannot be said.”
Lin Xun let out a long sigh.
He thought about what his next question should be in order to gain the greatest benefit.
[Seeing the disappointment on your face, the Librarian hesitates for a moment, then finally makes up his mind and tells you that although he cannot answer, he can give you a small hint. That would not count as overstepping his duties.]
[However, you must think it through. The hint will still consume your only opportunity to have a question answered.]
[Do you want to listen to the Librarian’s hint?]
Was there even anything to think about?
Lin Xun clicked ‘Yes’ without hesitation.
[The Librarian chuckles, leans close to your ear, and quietly asks, What is this game called?]
The game was, of course, called The Book of Salvation.
“Holy crap? So to obtain an SSS rating, I actually have to save the world?”
“The difficulty is way too high. That is like saying nothing at all.”
“No, that is not right!”
Lin Xun remembered that back in the Blood Sun world, he had completed full-map exploration, cleared all hidden quests, and finally killed the final boss to achieve an SSS rating.
He had not performed any grand feat of saving the world.
Killing the Corrupting Blood Sun was not something a three-difficulty Apostle could possibly accomplish.
In the World of Omniscience, there were still unexplored places and unfinished storylines. Besides the Direct Vision Association that had collapsed before he could explore it, he was originally supposed to go to the Temple of Knowledge at the end and meet the Servant of Knowledge once.
But at that time, Lin Xun had not yet comprehended the Soul Secret – The Fire Never Dies. In order to stay alive, he had no choice but to end the chapter.
Thus, it was reasonable that he did not achieve full exploration in the World of Omniscience and therefore did not receive an SSS rating.
In the evil god world, however, he had also fully explored the map and not missed anything. He had even driven the Great General into the third phase and had the Dance Goddess deliver the finishing blow, completing the impossible kill quest.
By all rights, the evil god world should have had the same SSS interpretation rating as the Blood Sun world, but in reality it had only received an SS rating.
“If the precondition for gaining an SSS rating were saving the world, then the Blood Sun world clearly does not meet the standard, yet it still received an SSS rating.”
“If full exploration in the Blood Sun world is taken as the condition for an SSS rating, then the evil god world should not have ended up with only an SS rating.”
Lin Xun mulled it over for a long time, feeling that he was only one step away from the truth.
If he could obtain one more SSS rating and compare it, he might be able to get the correct answer.
[Seeing that you seem to have gained some insight, the Librarian finally gets to the main topic. He tells you that this trial is extremely difficult. Its difficulty is unprecedented, even more so than last time’s Night Parade of One Hundred Demons…]
Lin Xun’s spirits rose.
He knew that the higher the difficulty, the richer the rewards.
[The Librarian continues to explain the content of the trial. He says that the trial’s difficulty level and rewards will be determined based on the oath chosen by the Apostle.]
[This trial is the grandest, bloodiest and most brutal war. It is the war between Desire Wet Nurse and Primordial Firefly at the Divine Kingdom’s border region.]
[There are countless Ascended and aberrated beings there. It is a divine war of racial faith, with no surrender or prisoners, only death or survival.]
[As a follower of Primordial Firefly, you naturally have to help the aberrated side fight against the Ascended side.]
[The Primordial Firefly faction has always been at an absolute disadvantage on the battlefield, so the trial’s difficulty is enormous. To complete a victorious campaign is basically an impossible task.]
[If you agree to the trial, he will send you to the war’s front lines. Only when you complete one small-scale campaign victory will the trial count as cleared.]
[At this point, the Librarian winks at you and then continues, telling you not to worry. The trial will not delay your journey of salvation. So, have you decided to take the trial?]
A thought flashed through Lin Xun’s mind.
“Holy crap? The GM can even help players exploit bugs?!”
The GM was the game administrator, namely the Librarian standing before him.
All this talk about an extremely difficult trial and unprecedented difficulty was just a grandiose pretext.
If Lin Xun had not brought the Extreme Evil factor into this chapter, the front-line battlefield would indeed be exactly as the Librarian described. As a follower of Firefly, he would find himself at a disadvantage everywhere. Achieving even one small-scale campaign victory would be absolutely impossible.
But now, because the Extreme Evil factor had spread, the Wet Nurse had already withdrawn most of her forces from the front line and had even recalled the majority of her offspring and angel warriors, imprisoning the Ascended within the Divine Kingdom and Sacred Nest as her food supply.
Right now, even just thinking about it with his toes, he could tell that the front-line battlefield was dominated by Firefly’s side, and overwhelmingly so at that.
Lin Xun noticed that the Librarian had said he would send you all to the war’s front lines, not send you alone to the front line.
That meant he would be able to bring Flanda and Kim, these two story characters, along for the trial.
Their side was already at a huge advantage, and on top of that, he had two top demi-gods by his side to provide protection. There was simply no way to lose…
According to the administrator’s explanation, the rewards still seemed to be distributed based on the original difficulty, that is, based on the difficulty when Firefly had been at an absolute disadvantage.
Because bringing the Extreme Evil factor into this world was a complete accident, it was not part of the normal game progression at all and was equivalent to exploiting a bug.
“Is this cheat not a bit too outrageous?”
“How are we even supposed to lose… Who is actually losing in this game?”
[Seeing you hesitate for a long time, the Librarian winks again, then coughs twice in mock seriousness and solemnly asks whether you have decided to take this ultra-difficult trial.]
Lin Xun decisively clicked ‘Yes.’
It was rare to get the chance to collude with the GM, no, to work together in exploiting a bug. If he missed this opportunity, who knew how long he would have to wait for the next one.