Chapter 403: A Game?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 403: A Game?
After putting Qiu Ruxin's gemstone pendant into my storage equipment, I began trying to attach the rune for my Reverse Summoning Spell to a physical object. This was a different beast entirely from my previous method of simply solidifying a spell to enchant a room.
Those enchantments weren't permanent; they would fail within a few days for various reasons, or they were strictly one-time use. How could I possibly rely on that?
So, I decided to employ other means—specifically, Alchemy.
* * *
In an unknown world.
"Customer service! How many days has it been since I've been waiting for your feedback? Why can't I log into my account? It keeps saying 'login anomaly.' Do you have any idea how much money I've pumped into this damn game? I’m a prestigious V3 Member!"
A young man was currently lying inside a massive, sci-fi-looking capsule pod. The semi-open hatch revealed his furious face, while a translucent floating window in front of him displayed the status: "In Communication."
"We sincerely apologize, esteemed V3 Explorer. Our records indicate that your account for Star of Sin was permanently deleted due to improper operations. The Terminal of Myriad Worlds reminds you: please do not interact with malicious bugs or system loopholes during gameplay. As this is your first offense and your credit rating is 'Good,' the Terminal of Myriad Worlds will not pursue further action regarding your damage to public property."
"Bullsht! Your crappy game is the one riddled with bugs! I ran into a hidden plotline! Do you understand? And you're holding me* responsible? What kind of logic is that? Huh?!"
"You only possess usage rights for the various gaming platforms provided by the Terminal of Myriad Worlds. We only provide gaming services; accounts and their virtual data are considered public property. The Terminal of Myriad Worlds is now providing you with an automated legal briefing."
"Get me a human representative!"
"The issue you are currently experiencing has not reached the threshold required for a transfer to a human representative..."
"I don't care! My brother-in-law is a Game Architect!" the youth roared in anger.
"Sending request for personal information access. Once your identity is verified, we can transfer you to the required—"
"Stop, stop, stop!" Hearing that the damned AI was actually going to go through with it, he hurriedly cut the connection. If he actually bothered his brother-in-law over something like this, his older sister would probably skin him alive.
After shutting down the customer service interface, he remained in the capsule pod, seething.
However, his mind was filled with the image of that powerful girl he had encountered in the game a few days ago. She had called herself the Calamity Witch and claimed to be a traveler from another world!
That was a textbook hidden quest!
Now that his account had been suddenly deleted, the missed opportunity felt like an itch he couldn't scratch. For the past few days, he had been writing a strategy guide for Star of Sin. Though he called it a guide, it was really just a way to show off. Star of Sin was famous for being a 100% realistic open-world game where all players shared a single massive map. Any quest or hidden plotline was non-repeatable, and tasks could even be intercepted by others halfway through.
He had only managed to get his Star of Sin account through his brother-in-law's connections. Accounts issued by the Terminal of Myriad Worlds weren't something just anyone could register for; the slots were limited. Especially when a game first launched, the number of slots could be in the single digits, granted only to true gaming titans.
As for the membership tiers, ranging from V1 to V10, they weren't something you could reach just by spending money. One had to hit a certain spending threshold and meet specific gameplay contribution requirements to rank up.
Although Star of Sin was an old game that had been out for decades, its cryptic completion conditions had never been met. Even when a legendary big shot and his team started a world-scale war within the game, dragging in numerous nations and nearly turning the entire world into a literal "Star of Sin," they still failed to trigger the ending. That spoke volumes about the game's difficulty.
Currently, the official bounty for beating the game was an astronomical sum! It wasn't just about the money anymore; it was about the membership rank. The reward included an unconditional two-tier increase to one's rank limit!
That temptation was enough to make even those who knew they stood no chance yearn for it. It represented a leap in social class.
The youth paced his thoughts back and forth before finally taking his frustration out on the pod's hatch, kicking it.
Then, the scene of that hidden plotline flashed in his mind again. Unable to swallow his pride, he pulled up a transparent display and opened his contact list.
He was going to contact his brother-in-law directly. A private chat was a completely different matter than a transfer through the Terminal of Myriad Worlds!
While he couldn't guarantee his brother-in-law would help him recover the account, he was technically reporting a nasty bug. It could be considered a contribution to his brother-in-law's performance review.
"Hello... Hello? Brother-in-law?"
"Murphy? Why are you calling me now? Didn't I tell you not to bother me unless it's something important?" An impatient voice came from the other end.
"B-Brother-in-law, I really have something this time! I swear! I'm not asking for a new game!"
"Go on then..." Hearing the sincerity in the boy's tone, the man calmed down. "If this isn't important, your sister is going to deal with you when she gets home!"
"Of course, of course! Um... Brother-in-law, do you remember that Star of Sin account you gave me?"
"What about it? Did something happen?"
"Well... Brother-in-law, I ran into a hidden quest in the game, and then my account was forcibly deleted. Is that some kind of bug? There wasn't even a system notification."
"A hidden quest? Your account was deleted?" The man's voice jumped an octave, sounding as if he had heard something utterly impossible.
"Y-Yeah... B-but the Terminal of Myriad Worlds didn't come after me! Really! I didn't cause any trouble..." Murphy repeatedly emphasized his innocence, terrified by the sudden change in his brother-in-law's voice. He was starting to regret making the call.
"What hidden quest did you trigger? Tell me everything, right now! Don't leave out a single detail! Hurry!"
"Huh?" Murphy blinked, stunned by the reaction. He had thought he was in trouble. "Um, Brother-in-law, this hidden quest... it's not some internal player exclusive, is it?"
"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask! Do you hear me? Just tell me what happened!" The voice on the other end was commanding and laced with urgency.
Murphy caught on quickly. Seeing his brother-in-law this desperate meant he had actually stumbled onto something huge.
Maybe... he could even ask for a limited-edition game license as a reward. Just the thought of it made him giddy.
After giving a brief summary of the situation, Murphy let out a long sigh of relief. It felt good to get it off his chest.
In essence, the whole thing boiled down to him meeting a girl who called herself the Calamity Witch, who then used some mysterious method to force him offline.
"Um... Brother-in-law... those rumors can't be true, can they? About game AI gaining consciousness, or NPCs..."
"You've gone through compulsory education; how can you still believe that nonsense? I've got the gist of what happened. The rest has nothing to do with you."
"Wait! Brother-in-law, my account... can you use your connections to... you know, unban it? Haha..."
"Unban it? You're lucky they aren't holding you liable! Forget about getting that account back. In fact, don't even think about touching that game again. What a mess... I'll get you an account for a different game later. Now stop bothering me."
With that, his brother-in-law hung up, leaving no room for negotiation.
Staring at the "Call Ended" screen, Murphy's mind was stuck on one phrase: Forget about getting that account back!
Without an account, what was the point of a hidden quest? He felt a physical ache in his chest. That hidden quest might have been the key to cracking Star of Sin!
But fantasy was just fantasy. If even his brother-in-law was powerless, he knew he was finished. To compensate for his loss, he logged onto a popular game strategy forum. He was going to write a new guide!
A guide for a hidden plotline!
Even if he had been penalized, the chance at a hidden quest would drive countless people wild. He set the post to "Pay-to-View" and used "Hidden Quest" as the keyword in the title.
Since he couldn't play anymore, he might as well make a quick buck. Who knows? Maybe someone else would find that "Calamity Witch" and get their account nuked too.
And if some big shot actually completed the quest, he might be able to use his status as the discoverer to build a connection.
After all, he was the first to find it. Only he knew the details. Well, he didn't actually know many details, but he was great at making things up! He was a veteran guide-writer with a decent fan base, after all.
Soon, a post titled Hidden Quest Discovered in Star of Sin! Calamity Witch May Be the Main Storyline Breakthrough! appeared on the crowded forum, immediately drawing a massive audience.
— "What is this? The fee is this high? Is this guy insane for money?"
— "Wasn't Star of Sin just a generic game? How does it have anything to do with a Calamity Witch?"
— "Exactly. It's an open world with an alien tech-side civilization. The art style doesn't even match, does it?"
— "The guy above seems to know a lot. Do you have a license for this game, big shot?"
— "I'm just a humble launch-day player."
— "Senior! My apologies!"
— "Old-timer! Since you're a launch player, you must be getting up there in years. Hurry up and hand your account over to me!"
— "Is there anyone with a big enough 'package' to pay and see what's inside?"
— "I'm the sucker. This guy is just scamming money."
— "A scam? I'm out, I'm out..."
— "The guy above is an idiot. If someone tells you not to buy it, it's probably because it's the real deal and they don't want to share. Use your brain."
— "Are you stupid? He's saying that so he's not the only one who got scammed."
— "Fine, fine, you guys want to play it like that? Do I look like I'm short on cash?"
— "If you don't want your money, give it to me. I'm short..."
Murphy watched the comments multiply with every refresh, alongside the notifications of credits hitting his balance. He was over the moon. But then, thinking about the rewards for beating the game, everything suddenly felt dull...
He knew he didn't have the ability to clear it, but he still had that "what if" lingering in his mind.
He wondered which lucky bastard would end up with this quest. He hoped that person would also get their account trashed by that Calamity Witch!
He hopped out of the game pod. Between the argument with customer service and the lecture from his brother-in-law, he was in no mood to keep playing.
With a wave of his hand, a video screen flickered to life. The default interface was playing the news, but he was planning to catch up on some anime.
"...The Real Protection Association has once again committed a group offense, interfering with the National Strategy Team and causing significant resource losses. We once again urge everyone: game data is virtual. Please do not become overly obsessed with the virtual world or harm the interests of others to satisfy your own selfish desires..."
* * *
Inside the small world.
After several days of research, I finally completed the production of this alchemical item!
Although its only effect was to automatically use a pre-set rune to unfold a summoning ritual, you couldn't say it was useless, could you?
Furthermore, to ensure that Qiu Ruxin—who was still an ordinary person—could use it, I had built in a "charging" structure. However, this structure was somewhat unstable, so even I didn't know how many times it could be used.
I had originally thought about adding an auto-recharge function, but I found that implementing it would be a bit difficult. It wasn't impossible, but it would have cost me far too much time, which wasn't worth it.
I looked at the little trinket in my hand, now a finished alchemy item. It was just a decorative piece from a hotel room.
"Let's test the effect." I pinched it between my fingers and gave it a slight shake. Transcendent energy radiated from it as a rune manifested on its surface.
Immediately, the complex patterns of a ritual were sketched out around it. Without hesitation, I tossed it into a spatial channel.
Sensing the anchor point I had just teleported elsewhere, I captured its clear "coordinates." This was the resonance between the ritual's activation and the Reverse Summoning Spell.
I raised a hand and cast the Reverse Summoning Spell. A force wrapped around me, pulling at my body, as the summoning array beneath my feet erupted in a brilliant light.
This was where the difference between a Reverse Summoning Spell and a Teleportation Spell became apparent.
With a Teleportation Spell, I could choose whether to go through or what to send through. But with this Reverse Summoning Spell, once the spell was cast and the effect "captured" the target, they would "be" summoned. The process was irresistible; if one resisted too strongly, they might even fall into the spatial turbulence.
In the next instant, I appeared on the top floor of the hotel.
The decorative trinket sat right in the center of the summoning ritual at my feet.
I picked it up. It seemed the experiment was a success.
If even a fragile hotel decoration could withstand this level of alchemy, then Qiu Ruxin's pendant should have no problem at all.
With that thought, I waved my hand, opening a spatial portal in front of me. Stepping through, I returned to my guest room.
Short-distance teleportation really was more convenient with this spell.
As for the Reverse Summoning Spell, its effect was honestly quite niche. Its only real highlight... was likely its ability to cross the Void and travel between two worlds.
I sat back down at the desk that had become my workbench and took out the green pendant Qiu Ruxin had given me.
But as the pendant sat in my hand and I examined it closely for the first time, I suddenly realized something was wrong!
"What's going on... my Spirit Vision is..."