Mini World Game Console

"After the test results come out in two days, we'll officially start our holiday. Teacher Dong, could you take me along for Cultivation then?"

"Sure, but don't you have summer homework to do?"

"Summer homework? Hmm, you'll be in for a big surprise then, Teacher Dong!"

As Gu Yueyan spoke affectionately with Dong Chengling, he kept an eye on Ren Suo, who was eating quietly beside them. Suddenly feeling mischievous, he pointed at Ren Suo's head and exclaimed, "There's a spider on your head!"

Ren Suo was also startled and pointed with his chopsticks at Gu Yueyan's bowl of rice, "There's a cockroach antenna in your rice!"

"What!?"

Gu Yueyan was so scared he fell off his chair, while Ren Suo put down his now empty rice bowl and said, "Thanks for the meal, I've got to go now."

Ren Suo glanced at Gu Yueyan. "I'll wash the dishes at noon, so tonight it's your turn."

"You—" Gu Yueyan struggled to get up, only to find that Ren Suo had already slipped away. Angrily sitting back down, his mood was instantly lifted by Dong Chengling's smile-filled yet concerned gaze.

"Forget it, seeing as he knows to leave early, I won't hold it against him."

"Here, I gave you my Spicy Fish Kid and milk, so don't hold a grudge against me, okay?"

Ren Suo apologized to the Black Cat downstairs with a smile, but the Black Cat was too lazy to bother with him and just kept its head down, eating spicy food and drinking milk.

But Ren Suo didn't mind and cheerfully headed home to continue "Mage Under the World Tree."

At that moment, Red Hood saw the Magician standing there for a long while, doing nothing, and couldn't help but tease, "If you don't have the Courage, then don't take on the responsibility! What, are you planning on having me cut off a piece of flesh?"

Suddenly, the Magician said, "Let me show you what real Magic is!"

He took out an old piece of Clothing and pulled a red box from inside it!

The aroma coming from the box drew the attention of all the hungry commoners and Red Hood, who couldn't take their eyes off the red box, staring intently.

Though saliva was drooling from the mouths of the hungry commoners, they didn't dare to rush forward and snatch it until the Magician put the red box in front of them, opened it, and let them see the irresistibly crispy Golden Crispy Chicken and spicy wings inside!

"Eat."

Then the Magician took out a second red box. "There's plenty more, no need to rush."

With these words, the hungry commoners finally couldn't resist reaching out with both hands to gorge themselves, and the Magician took out a total of six red boxes, ensuring they had more than enough to eat their fill!

At that point, Red Hood grabbed the Magician apprehensively and asked with a ferocious look, "Did you make a wish to the Holy Grail or something?"

"What wish?"

The Fried Chicken Combo pulled out by the Magician was, of course, equipped for him by Ren Suo in the "Equipment Interface." Initially, Ren Suo was just trying it out. Although it's said that game characters can equip Abilities and props, the effects often change due to game settings.

Unexpectedly, the "Unlimited Fried Chicken Set" and other ability props could all become "Offerings!"

Moreover, when the Magician took out multiple servings of the Fried Chicken Combo, it didn't require him to use extra Magic Power or Life Value. Instead, it just increased the cooldown time of the Fried Chicken Combo.

After the Magician took out six servings of the Fried Chicken Combo, the corresponding cooldown time extended to 72 hours, but he could continue to pull out more—the cooldown time would just increase accordingly.

However, it seemed this perk was exclusive to game characters; Ren Suo couldn't even equip the "Unlimited Fried Chicken Set" now, having to wait for the cooldown to end.

It was only in the game that the "Unlimited Fried Chicken Set" truly felt somewhat 'unlimited.' The cooldown restriction seemed specifically aimed at Ren Suo. Perhaps it was to prevent him from becoming a fried chicken fast-food tycoon and living a wonderful life, counting so much cash his hands cramped.

"Humans turn into Demons because they made a wish to the Holy Grail," stated Red Hood. "The Holy Grail grants people's wishes, but it plants the seeds of Despair within Hope and twists them into the shape of Demons."

"Causing hungry people to devour any living creature they see, those who yearn for immortality to turn into Stone Monsters who live forever, lovers to become Demons with conjoined hearts... Isn't this power of making something out of nothing coming from the Holy Grail?"

The Magician said, "Of course not, look how delicious they find it."

Red Hood turned to see the hungry commoners had finished off every bit of the Fried Chicken Combo, leaving not even a bone behind, all with greasy lips and expressions of euphoric satisfaction, emitting a pure white glow.

They approached the Magician, said nothing, only patted the Magician's left hand with their own, then quietly vanished one by one.

And the Magician's left arm emitted a Holy Light; he had astonishingly leveled up, now becoming "Holy Hand Level 7"!

Seeing this, Red Hood released the Magician, nearly turning to leave, but then turned back again. She turned her head away, not looking at the Magician, and said in a low voice, "I want a set too."

Ren Suo quickly checked the new Offering he had received.

There were a total of seven commoners, all giving the same Offering. It seems this was the greatest benefit of the "Redemption" path.

"Holy Light Orb: Fires a pearl-sized beam of Holy Light, which causes minor Healing when it hits humans and minor damage when it hits Demons, consuming the user's own Health Points upon use."

By merging all seven Offerings, though the Holy Light Orb had not yet upgraded, it did undergo a slight change:

"Holy Light Orb: Fires a pearl-sized beam of Holy Light, which causes minor Healing and enhances Defense when it hits humans and inflicts minor damage and reduces Defense when it hits Demons, consuming the user's own Health Points upon use."

This Offering caught Ren Suo's eye immediately, and he quickly equipped it as his main combat Offering.

Such a Skill that could act both as a Healer and a cannon and also continuously upgrade was a bug-level existence in a game, practically allowing Ren Suo to use "Spell Healing" in real life that not only healed but could also be shot out like the Turtle Wave Qi Technique.

It took the Magician and Red Hood more than three hours to almost complete clearing the Monastery of Demons.

Although the Magician's Attack power increased, the Magic Power consumption did too; Red Hood also had to rest from time to time for Magic Power recovery. Moreover, the Demons deep in the Monastery became stronger, and the frequency of humanoid Patchwork Monster appearances increased—however, Ren Suo managed to exchange a few Holy Light Orbs for fried chicken.

Holy Hand had also reached level 15; it seemed that leveling up was especially quick in the early stages.

Just as they were about to clear the last group of Demons, Red Hood stopped the Magician.

"Your strength has gained my recognition," said Red Hood. "Therefore, I shall impart to you the Forbidden Techniques of a magician."

Forbidden Techniques?

"The only two Forbidden Techniques I know are Flame Skin Breath and Iron Chain of the Finger: both are emergency Spells that shouldn't be used until the very last moment."

Red Hood's voice was very calm. "Spells all require Offerings, and the Offerings for Forbidden Techniques..."

She pointed at herself and the Magician. "It's us," she said.

The screen on the right side added two new Skills—crimson backgrounds with writhing Black Flames indicated that these two Skills were not to be trifled with.

"Flame Skin Breath: Burns away all the user's skin to blast out a massive Fireball to Attack the enemy, causing significant damage. However, the user will also be severely injured from the burn, the defensive power reduced by half, and the skin will not regenerate; this effect is permanent."

"Iron Chain of the Finger: The joints of one hand's fingers break, turning into tenacious iron chains that tightly bind an enemy for 20 seconds. Afterwards, the fingers will be completely disabled, and any close-contact Offerings damage will be halved; this effect is permanent."

"...?" Ren Suo twitched the corner of his mouth. "With such severe side effects, who would use them... And the character would become ugly, which would make playing quite uncomfortable..."

However, at this point, a Holy Grail appeared at the center of the screen. It was boiling with black liquid, and its walls opened countless eyes and a mouth, which said, "You possess something I desire... Well, I'm not against partaking in a 'fair' trade with you."

A game prompt appeared: "You have triggered a trade with the Cup of Evil."

"You can trade with the Cup of Evil in a non-combat Status."

"① Perfect Recovery: 10 Merit Points;

② Minor Recovery: 1 Merit Point;

(Perfect Recovery can heal all side effects of Forbidden Techniques, as well as restore Life Value and Magic Power)

(Minor Recovery can suppress the effects of a specific side effect, and it takes seven uses to completely remove the side effect)"

Ren Suo hadn't expected in-game purchases to pop up at this time, and they were directly linked to 'Forbidden Techniques' no less.

Generally, in-game purchases aim to reduce game difficulty. In "Mage Under the World Tree," the purchases were for treating the side effects of Forbidden Techniques. This suggested the Forbidden Techniques must be truly terrifying. Merely allowing Players to use them multiple times by removing side effects could disrupt the game balance!

If one were to use Forbidden Techniques in every level, that would burn through 60 Merit Points (it doesn't matter if you're crippled in the last level anyway). But with nearly 300 Merit Points about to come in, Ren Suo wouldn't mind splurging a bit if he could clear levels using Forbidden Techniques.

Ren Suo saved the game, cleaned up the last batch of Demons with Red Hood, and waited for the Monastery's boss to make an appearance!

At this critical moment, Red Hood suddenly looked toward the Monastery's main gate and said, "Someone's coming."

Ren Suo was startled and asked, "People? Didn't you say that aside from you and me there were only Demons left?"

"They are like you, outsiders," she said.

The screen shifted to the Monastery's entrance where Ren Suo indeed saw several people.

They were from the Mysterious Country!

Among them were even acquaintances he recognized!