novelraw Chapter 55 : The Victor’s Reward
Chapter 55 : The Victor’s Reward
Chapter 55: The Victor’s Reward
Time rewound to the moment when the game in Jiang City ended.
When Chen Xiang drew his final breath amidst endless regret and disbelief, the oracle announcing victory rang within Su Wan’s mind.
【Congratulations to the 【Radiance】 faction for achieving final victory】
【Victor: 【Embalmer】 Su Wan】
【Game settlement in progress……】
【Settlement complete. Distributing victory rewards……】
【Reward One: You will permanently retain the transcendent ability of ‘Embalmer’ and may use it without restriction in the real world】
【Reward Two: You will receive an ‘Invitation to the Game of Gods’. You may give this invitation to any non-player ordinary person; the chosen one will automatically obtain a spot in the next round of the ‘Game of Gods’】
【Reward Three: You will receive one additional blessing choice. Please select one from the following three options】
【Blessing One: Identity Ascension】
【Your current identity card 【Embalmer】 will be promoted once. The cooldown time of ‘Coffin of Immortality’ will be greatly reduced】
【Blessing Two: New Authority】
【From the identity cards of all fallen players in this game, one will be randomly drawn. You will permanently possess the transcendent ability corresponding to the drawn card】
【Blessing Three: Item Gift】
【You will obtain a random transcendent item.】
Su Wan stood beside Chen Xiang’s corpse, quietly watching the reward options appear before her eyes.
She did not hesitate.
Ascending 【Embalmer】 would strengthen her survivability and support capability, yet what she currently lacked was offensive power. Therefore, Blessing One was not what she desired.
Blessing Three, the transcendent item, was too uncertain.
But drawing a new identity card meant more possibilities—more hidden cards to play.
“I choose Blessing Two.”
【Choice confirmed. Randomly drawing new identity card for you……】
Eleven cards representing all the fallen players of this game slowly revolved before Su Wan like stars in the night.
【Popeye】, 【Metallurgist】, 【Arsonist】, 【Windrunner】, 【Guardian】, 【Hermit】, 【Cursemaster】, 【Puppet Master】, 【Disguise Master】……
【Draw complete……】
【Congratulations. You have obtained a new identity card—【Shadowbinder】】
At last, the card representing 【Shadowbinder】 descended into Su Wan’s hand and fused with her very soul.
A surge of cold, immense power instantly coursed through every vein and bone in her body.
She could feel an unprecedented, wondrous connection forming between herself and the shadows.
Wherever there was shadow, that place now belonged to her.
On Su Wan’s eternally expressionless face, a faint, complex, and ironic smile appeared.
What a twist of fate.
Her strongest enemy—Lin Lan.
Who would have thought that in the end, they would “become one” in such a way.
“Fate……”
Su Wan murmured softly, then slowly extended her right hand.
The shadow beneath her feet stirred like a living creature, transforming into an obsidian tendril that coiled around her fingertips, caressing them affectionately.
……
A month after the end of Jiang City’s “Game of Gods,” Su Wan arrived in Hai City.
Hai City was even more prosperous—and far more bizarre—than Jiang City.
Wearing a simple black trench coat, she looked like an ordinary traveler walking through this dazzling yet unfamiliar city, quietly feeling its breath.
One drizzly afternoon, when she passed through a secluded alley near the docks, the sounds of punching, kicking, and foul curses drew her attention.
“Damn it! Qi Jiang!”
“You even dared to steal from our Black Tiger Gang! You must be tired of living!”
“Hand over the money! Or we’ll break your legs today!”
“Beat him! Beat him to death for me!”
A thug with a face full of flesh kicked Qi Jiang in the stomach, sending him sprawling to the ground.
“Speak! Where did you hide the money?!”
“Pah!”
Qi Jiang spat out a mouthful of blood, yet a defiant smirk lingered on his face. “Your filthy money? I already returned it to the poor uncles and aunties you conned!”
“You’re looking for death!”
The blond-haired leader kicked him hard in the gut, sneering viciously. “Let’s see what happens to people who meddle in other’s business!”
Su Wan’s footsteps came to a halt.
She watched several thugs surrounding a young man lying on the ground, relentlessly kicking and punching him.
Just then, one of the thugs noticed Su Wan standing at the mouth of the alley.
When he saw her delicate features and graceful figure, his eyes immediately gleamed with lewd intent.
“Well, what do we have here—a pretty little thing.”
The thugs turned around and saw a girl in a black trench coat, holding a black umbrella, standing silently at the alley’s entrance.
The girl was beautiful—pale skin, refined face—but her eyes were unnervingly calm.
“Heh, brothers, looks like we got lucky today.”
The blond-haired leader grinned wickedly. “So?”
“Pretty girl, you look nice and tender. Want your big brothers to show you something exciting?”
Su Wan didn’t speak. She only looked at him quietly with those calm eyes.
The thug felt a shiver under her gaze, but lust quickly drowned out the fear.
He whistled and swaggered toward Su Wan. “Playing cold, huh, sweetheart?”
Then he reached out to touch her face.
But before his hand could reach her, it froze in midair.
To his horror, he saw that the shadow beneath his feet had somehow come alive!
A black shadowy tendril silently snaked upward from the ground, coiling tightly around his wrist like a venomous serpent!
“Wha—what the hell is this?!”
The thug screamed in terror, struggling desperately to free himself, but the shadow only tightened, the sound of bones cracking echoing through the alley.
The other thugs stood frozen, dumbstruck.
And the next instant, their own shadows began to writhe as if alive!
Dozens of inky tendrils burst soundlessly from the ground, wrapping around their ankles, necks, and limbs!
“What the—?!”
The thugs screamed in panic, thrashing wildly, but the shadows only constricted tighter—unyielding as chains of iron.
Then, under Qi Jiang’s stunned gaze—
The tips of the shadowy tendrils sharpened like blades and sliced through the air.
“Psshh—！”
Several heads flew skyward, tracing arcs of crimson before landing in the muddy puddles with soft splashes, sending ripples through the blood-stained water.
The headless bodies crumpled to the ground, their blood painting the entire alley red.
After a few short, piercing screams, silence fell once more.
It was as if nothing had happened at all.
Qi Jiang lay on the ground, staring blankly at the horrifying scene before him, his mind utterly blank.
He thought for a moment that he must have been hallucinating from the beating.
He rubbed his eyes, but the gruesome sight before him remained all too real.
Su Wan slowly approached him, looking down from above.
“What’s your name?”
“Q–Qi Jiang…” the young man stammered.
“Why did you steal their money?” Su Wan asked softly.
Qi Jiang stared at her for a moment before muttering instinctively, “Just… couldn’t stand it anymore. Bullies who only pick on the weak—they’re nothing but trash!”
Su Wan gazed at him for a while, then asked solemnly, “Do you wish to change your fate?”
Looking into her deep, unfathomable eyes, Qi Jiang couldn’t help but nod.
Su Wan smiled faintly, then slowly extended her hand.
A card glowing faintly with silvery light, as if made of starlight, appeared in her palm.
She gently placed the luminous invitation into Qi Jiang’s hand.
“This is both an opportunity and a curse.”
“Live.”
“And then—come find me.”
As she finished speaking, her figure melted into the shadows at the end of the alley and vanished without a trace.
Qi Jiang was left kneeling there alone, blankly staring, clutching the invitation tightly in his trembling hand.