Chapter 567: The Players' Trump Card
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 567: The Players' Trump Card
"Is... is that the Abyssal Demon Academy?"
"How do those guys dare show their faces here?"
"Did the Witch Academy actually send invitations to those disgusting creatures?"
With the auction imminent, the hotel welcomed another set of "heavyweight" guests. Their arrival immediately elicited a wave of instinctive revulsion from those present.
These newcomers were the students of the Abyssal Demon Academy.
Even the students of the Abyssal Demon Academy themselves had found it hard to believe when they received the invitation. Originally, they were just students of what were mockingly called "bottom-tier academies." Blinded by ignorance or misled by their families, they had jumped into these pits of despair, believing their lives were ruined.
But to everyone's surprise, after just one semester, their academy had suddenly risen to prominence!
Not only that, they had consolidated into the "Abyssal Demon Academy," and were even recognized by the Three Top Academies!
In their eyes, the fact that the Three Top Academies acknowledged their merger—and that even the Witch Academy had joined in by posting a public announcement—meant they had finally made it.
They had achieved a feat that even the Beast Academy had failed to accomplish back in the day!
From now on, they could hold their heads high and tell others, "Don't blame me for not working hard; blame your academy for not being elite enough."
Of course, this wave of self-congratulation was mostly confined to the Abyss Academy itself. However, receiving an invitation to this particular Witch Academy auction was tangible proof that their status had truly ascended!
Thus, they felt they had to come. They had to be the last to arrive, and they had to make a grand entrance.
In their minds, the "headliner" who arrives last is the one with the most status.
Though their arrival was met with a chorus of disdain, they were long used to it. In fact, they wore that contempt like a badge of honor.
At this moment, only the receptionists maintained their professional smiles as they ushered the group inside.
The leaders of the Abyss Academy had never been invited to an exchange of this nature before, but under the guidance of the receptionists, they managed to navigate the formalities.
Still, their presence caused a stir. Their aura was utterly out of place, like bandits entering a peaceful village, putting immense pressure on the receptionists.
Fortunately, the preview was almost over, and the auction itself was about to begin.
"I gotta say, first time in the Magic City, and these witches really know how to live it up."
After a brief period of adjustment, they stopped acting like guests. Perhaps years in their academy's environment had completely reshaped their perception of the world.
"Eat up. Take whatever you can carry."
"Wait, aren't we supposed to look at the items? Isn't this an auction?"
"The stuff is all downstairs. Didn't you see it when we came up? Go look if you want, I'm not stopping you."
"By the way, what did the teacher tell me to bid for? I forgot..."
"Something called... the Heart of the Cold Wave? Was that it? Anyway, the leader's worrying about that. Why do you care?"
"True. Come on, keep eating! Damn, when will our academy ever have food this good?"
Watching these boorish characters, several figures standing not far away began to whisper.
"Vulgar creatures, as expected."
"Seeing them like this actually puts me at ease. They're here for the Heart of the Cold Wave too."
It wasn't just the trainee witches of the Witch Academy watching them; the elves and wizards were observing as well.
To draw out the hidden Players, they needed to use special means.
They didn't know if the Players would show up at the auction, but they knew those guys were definitely interested in [Transcendent Knowledge].
Xia Li had already tested that theory with her life. Even if Xia Li wasn't being particularly cooperative in giving them details, it didn't mean they were entirely in the dark.
Right now, the Heart of the Cold Wave was placed in the most prominent position of the preview. Two days had nearly passed, and there hadn't been a single sign of an attempted theft.
If someone did try to steal or snatch it, the witches would laugh themselves silly—it would be like catching a turtle in a jar.
But clearly, no one was taking the bait. Or perhaps... there were no Players at the auction.
Therefore, they needed a "sucker" to help the news break out.
As for the risk of losing the Heart of the Cold Wave and whether the seller could bear it... that was no longer a concern.
Because at this moment, the Heart of the Cold Wave was no longer just an auction item; it was a hook to catch the Players.
This didn't mean it wouldn't be paid for. Once the plan was set, the student representatives of the top academies had communicated with the seller and bought it before the auction even started. None of them were short on cash.
The auction for the Heart of the Cold Wave was now a mere facade. Its ultimate purpose was to serve as the lure for their plan.
One shouldn't feel this was a deception of the other bidders. To those who truly held power, the entire auction process was just a game. They were the ones who set the rules, and the benefits naturally revolved around them.
Furthermore, an item like the Heart of the Cold Wave wasn't something ignorant fools were qualified to bid on anyway. Those who understood its value were already part of the plan.
Its final ownership would no longer be decided by the highest bidder, but by a much purer method: the strong take all.
They had argued for a long time over this and the final distribution of interests, nearly coming to blows. However, everyone compromised at the last moment. Under the witness of all parties and led by the Witch Academy, they had signed a most binding Witch Contract.
* * *
Inside the hotel.
"Hurry! Hurry! She’s almost on this floor!"
In the hotel corridor, a figure was running frantically, gasping for breath as if a demon were chasing him.
For this Player... it wasn't much different.
"Tell me! What's the countermeasure for that monster? You guys have a backup plan here, right?"
"Almost there! Turn left! The room at the end!" the voice of a teammate crackled in the Player's ear.
But just as hope flared, a violent gust of wind whistled behind him.
"What—! Augh!"
The Player only had time to sense the danger; he couldn't dodge.
In that split second, the armor from his game equipment manifested on his body to block the lethal strike.
A massive force slammed into his back. His armor let out a piercing crack as it shattered. The sheer power and terrifying impact sent him flying into the wall.
He felt his internal organs churn. He had to temporarily disable his pain perception just to keep himself from collapsing.
"Wait... Calamity Witch... I think we can talk..."
He slid down the wall and struggled to push himself up. Because he had shut off his senses to endure the agony of his ruptured organs, he looked pathetic and slightly ridiculous as he scrambled to his feet.
But as he turned around, I was already behind him, leaning down to pick up my Book in the Box.
"Good quality equipment." I gave the book box a light shake, flicking the blood off it. "Are those your last words?"
"Last words? Wait! I have value! I can tell you..." He stared at the book box in my hand. He knew exactly how terrifying that strike had been!
The Players had all obtained footage of that previous battle. They had identified this Calamity Witch—though she wasn't the one the Game Architects recognized, her strength was undoubtedly top-tier!
But no matter what he said, or what sneak attacks he was secretly preparing, it was all useless in my eyes.
Pfft!
Blood sprayed in an instant...
"What a waste of breath. Killing you yields the same result."
I wiped the Book in the Box again. I no longer felt any burden regarding killing, even in such a bloody fashion.
I hadn't used a spell to kill him, nor did I immediately destroy the crime scene.
Magical power interferes with Ley Line information, as does destroying a scene—though at this scale, the interference wouldn't be massive.
It just made the integration process of the Ley Line Identification Art a bit more tedious.
After some effort, once I had extracted the information, I used a fire spell to incinerate the evidence and followed up with a Cleaning Spell to remove all traces.
No one would ever know a person had vanished here.
However, I didn't leave.
After filtering out the memories of the original host this Player had possessed, I realized that once a Player takes over a commoner's body, the original soul is effectively dead—or rather, they lose consciousness and become a vegetable operated by the Player. They are "dead but not gone," kept that way for better control of the body and for the final step of Soul Essence harvesting.
While a Player is manifested, the Soul Essence and memories remain in the brain. It’s a fascinating state, though quite cruel in a way.
But that wasn't the point. The point was the information this Player had let slip.
Once this shell died, the Player simply logged off. The Player's main body suffered no loss, and the information their main body possessed wouldn't remain behind. Even if it did, my Ley Line Identification Art couldn't interpret data that fell outside my own cognitive understanding.
Even so, I had gained a lot of useful information.
For instance, there were far more than just two Players who had infiltrated this auction. The one I killed didn't know much; he only knew about the one he had been communicating with. That Player was currently in a suite, coordinating with others.
Earlier, I had sensed someone acting suspiciously, as if they were avoiding me. That wasn't an illusion. His escape route had been provided by that other Player. This meant that Player likely controlled the hotel's surveillance—or if not, they had planted a vast number of hidden cameras that were easily overlooked.
Of course, the guy I was hunting couldn't escape. Don't forget I have spatial teleportation; within the short distances of the hotel, I don't even need to set up teleportation marks in advance.
The reason I hadn't killed him immediately was to see if he would lead me to his companions while trying to dodge me.
He hadn't, but it wasn't without its "happy accidents."
I had discovered some of their plans—specifically, countermeasures designed for powerful individuals like me.
Unfortunately, he never got the chance to use them on me.
There was another pity: this Player hadn't managed to squeeze the details of that countermeasure out of his teammate before he died.
However...
I looked toward the left. That was where the Player said the countermeasure was located.
It seemed to be a suite near the top floor of the hotel. I could sense a massive concentration of Transcendent Pixels inside. The Ley Line Identification Art gave me similar feedback, and my Spirit Vision told me there was a terrifyingly high energy level within...
Every sense I had told me that suite was dangerous. But I didn't know exactly what it was. The Identification Art couldn't find a cognitive match, meaning the method inside was beyond my current understanding—a completely new and isolated concept. The only thing I knew for sure was that there were a lot of Transcendent Pixels.
So, I was debating whether to go in. Whether I moved forward or retreated didn't seem to matter much.
Then, I noticed another detail in the information the Player left behind that caught my interest.
To seize this opportunity, they had halted their plans in several other game worlds, freeing up resources from their Terminal of Myriad Worlds just to make a "clean sweep" of this auction.
No wonder they had created such a situation. They were sacrificing the progress of entire world-invasion plans for this one-of-a-kind chance.
Perhaps what lay behind that door was the "ultimate version" of their methods. The only shame was that these Players hadn't described what that method actually was.
The lack of information left me in the dark, but... even if I hadn't killed that Player, he probably wouldn't have been able to reveal such secrets. I remembered that Players didn't have freedom of speech; there was information they couldn't say even if they wanted to.
So... in the end, I made a decision...
I’m starting a livestream!
How could I not share such a thrilling event with the Witch sisters?
Before going in, I'd ask for a Reverse Summoning Spell as insurance. If things went south, I'd leave immediately. A Reverse Summoning Spell could cross between worlds; surely it could escape a trap structured by [Transcendent Knowledge].
And I wasn't afraid of being too slow to escape. After awakening the prototype of the seventh sense, the Time Sense, I no longer feared anything regarding reaction speed.
I now had the confidence to face any danger without flinching. I really was willing to try anything.
But mostly... I was just curious!
What kind of method gave them such confidence that they could restrain me, or even harvest everyone in the hotel?
There was another key factor: if this was something even I couldn't resist, then the crisis had escalated to an uncontrollable level.
In that case, special circumstances would require special measures.
With that thought, I opened the livestream. This was my second time streaming. As the feed went live, the number of watching witches was even higher than before.
"Hi~ everyone. I'm live again. This time, I'm taking you to see the Players' new tricks. I hope they don't disappoint. But before that, would any kind Witch sister mind setting up a Reverse Summoning Spell for me as insurance? If you're bound by the non-interference Witch Contract, you can ask Fool's Dream to help."