NOVEL NEXT Chapter 73 - Poverty Calms A Person
Chapter 73: Chapter 73 – Poverty Calms A Person
By the time the chubby main character walked out of the range, she already had a level 2 helmet and a level 2 armor, as well as a red dot scope “SCAR of the Rain”, a 4x scope “98K Holy Light”, and a collection of tonic supplies.
“Inferior Broken Saint Seiya Combat Helmet (level 2 helmet): Inferior helmet made with inferior materials that provides effective protection against healing miracles. Healing -40%, durability 150. Turns into “Real Saint Seiya Combat Helmet” after excessive rounds of healing.”
“Multicolored Saint Seiya Combat Armor (level 2 armor): Inferior armor made with inferior materials that provides effective protection against healing miracles. Healing -40%, durability 220, mobile bag +5. Turns into “Real Saint Seiya Combat Armor” after excessive rounds of healing.”
“SCAR of the Rain: Modified healing assault weapon devised by the Ruler of the Wind, Rain and Snow. The SCAR of the Rain was a common weapon used and favored by the special army of priests with its high precision and low recoil. Uses 5.56 mm Saint’s Healing Bullets, 5 accessory slots, and holds up to 30 rounds. Has 2 healing modes: Single/Automatic. Reload time: 0.096 seconds.”
Different maps had different battle gear names, and even battle gear from the same map could have different names as well. For example, Rensuo recalled that the combat helmet and armor he received from the map White Snow Land could have been named according to the Marvel series.
However, the durability and healing resistance were the same regardless of the names. There were three levels in total and Rensuo categorized them as such: level 1 helmet, level 2 helmet, level 3 helmet, level 1 armor, level 2 armor, level 3 armor.
On the other hand, the healing weapons generally had the same names, although different maps had weapons of different specialties. In general, the most commonly used guns could be found in all the maps.
Rensuo felt that the equipment he received was bulky and had not expected the battle range to have so many items. He was just missing some accessories to have a fully equipped range of healing weapons.
Outside the range, Rensuo saw a snow sled pulled by two reindeers. Although there was no carriage attached to it, it was still a means of transport and hence Rensuo controlled the character to sit on the sled.
Rensuo looked at the map. The area “Enjoyment Zone” was now shown on the map and it was just below the battle range, not far from where the character was currently at. It was essentially situated at the center of the entire map.
The Enjoyment Zone was a circular zone, outside of which was the “Healing Zone”. The biggest difference between the Enjoyment Zone and the Healing Zone was naturally that the Healing Zone had healing miracles in effect at every single moment. As long as the character remained within the Healing Zone, her health would slowly increase.
Nonetheless, according to the game introduction, the tonics appeared to be able to be used only when they were used within the Enjoyment Zone. If the health-depleting tonics were used in the Healing Zone, they would taste like wax and be unable to be consumed.
Indeed, the Enjoyment Zone meant that any item that was consumed would be extremely tasty.
However, the in-game character was the one that would be consuming the tonic and not Rensuo himself, hence such a game setting was completely meaningless to Rensuo.
The speed of the snow sled was decently fast and the reindeers barely slowed down while travelling uphill. Rensuo controlled the game character to search for items as she entered the Enjoyment Zone.
But this was just the first checkpoint, and most of the trainees in the game only jumped down at the back of the Ice Dragon. Rensuo’s in-game character had jumped down at the beginning and so she did not see anyone throughout her journey, allowing her to pick up a bag full of accessories without hindrance.
Furthermore, during her journey, Rensuo encountered a round of “Angels’ Grace” where a six-winged seraph flew across the sky and dropped healing bullets and one or two boxes of tonic supplies. When the seraph flew across the sky, sounds resembling hymns of praise also echoed in the sky, allowing trainers along the flight path of the seraph to be able to hear the sound of it flying by.
As there was no other trainees around at that point in time, there was no competition and he easily retrieved a 8x scope, a “Holy Light AWM”, and a “Pure White Priest Suit”.
At this juncture, the audience watching Rensuo play the game must have understood that the “healing weapons” were in fact real-life weapons with an added recovery spell that allowed the weapons to shoot healing bullets which would then turn into healing miracles.
Moreover, the strength of the healing miracles would depend on the size of the holy healing bullets and the length of time the barrel had been blessed. The longer the barrel, the longer it would be blessed, and naturally the better the healing ability.
A single shot from the submachine gun produced a weak healing effect on targets concentrated nearby; a single shot from the assault rifle produced a moderate healing effect on most targets nearby up till a distance away; a single shot from the sniper rifle produced the strongest healing effect but also had the most restrictions, and could generally only heal targets who were further away.
It appeared that the healing system was perfect: priests who charged forward first were in the most vulnerable position but would be able to quickly heal weakened targets concentrated nearby with the submachine gun;
Priests who remained at the back would adapt to the events that occurred at the front and be able to take care of both nearby and faraway targets, healing them when necessary;
Priests who hid themselves within the battlefield would only save targets who were about to die with their sniper rifles. After aiming with their magnification scopes, they would save the target with one snipe, effectively refilling the health of the target!
There were even more powerful item supplies like the Holy Grenade and the Healing Fog…
Trainees were generally allowed to carry two main types of weapons with them, as well as a small healing pistol and the Holy Grenade. They could also bring along a physical recovery weapon like the “Heavenly Ascension Mace”.
When Rensuo saw the detailed description of the game, his first reaction was: how was it possible to play with such settings?
Nonetheless, although the setup of the game was slightly peculiar, the gameplay was still a decently positive experience. Otherwise, Rensuo would not have continued playing until he fell asleep on the couch the previous night. In fact, it was simply a special shooting game where the player had to win 99 other contestants.
The AWM in the game was hence as powerful as it was in real life. Each shot of the AWM could be devastating and it was a weapon Rensuo received through the “Angels’ Grace” drop, so he naturally equipped himself with the AWM.
“Holy Light AWM: This is a modified far-ranged weapon devised by the Master of the Holy Light. It has astounding healing capabilities, allowing the priest user to heal targets outside of his/her range of vision in a safe environment. Uses .300 Magnum (7.62x67mm) holy recovery bullets, 4 accessory slots. Holds up to 5 rounds. Healing mode: Single. Reload time: 1.850 seconds.”
On the other hand, the “Pure White Priest Suit” did not seem to have any specialized effects. It appeared light and came with a hood, allowing the trainee user to be completely disguised in the snow.
Rensuo arrived at the third Enjoyment Zone. The encompassing circle was already very small with only 50 people left, and that was where Rensuo encountered the first enemy in that round.
As Rensuo’s in-game character headed towards the third Enjoyment Zone atop the snow sled, Rensuo heard whooshing sounds from beside him. He looked in that direction to see a middle-aged man wearing a Saint Seiya suit, riding rapidly through the snow on a polar bear!
Rensuo immediately controlled his character to dismount the sled and used the “SCAR of the Rain” to shoot the middle-aged man and the polar bear!
There were different means of transportation in the current map, including polar bears, reindeer sleds, pumpkin horse carriages. All of them made use of animals to move but were not much slower than the four-wheeled vehicles used in real life.
However, unlike the trainees in the game, after the animals were healed, they would sleep soundly at their original position and would not wake up. It was nonetheless a way to hinder an enemy’s movement through the snow.
Rensuo did not bother getting a clear look at the skin color of the middle-aged man and immediately swept him down from the polar bear.
After being shot a few times with recovery bullets, the polar bear laid lazily on the ground, its body emitting a white glow. The polar bear touched its face with its paws and looked in confusion at the middle-aged man who was rising to the sky, then turned around to Rensuo’s character and opened its arms, as if wanting a hug.
Rensuo’s character did not react, but Rensuo himself was quickly flustered.
Just as Rensuo was about to control his character to search for items in the middle-aged man’s bag, a white glow emerged from beside his character and Rensuo started to hear the sound of the 98K from behind him.
There was someone there!
Quickly, Rensuo controlled his character to run back to his snow sled and leave the area. He could not afford to interact with the polar bear and look through the middle-aged man’s bag any longer.
…
By the time Rensuo reached the fifth Enjoyment Zone, the circle was extremely small with only 18 people left.
Donning the Pure White Priest Suit, Rensuo’s game character laid on the ground and was virtually hidden in the snow. In fact, Rensuo had shot another trainee who happened to pass by and gained a sniper rifle silencer and an assault rifle silencer from that trainee’s bag.
The character crawled slowly towards the hills in the middle of the map, which was where the fifth Enjoyment Zone was located. With natural barriers and a high vantage point, it was easy to shoot tens of targets.
Listening to the incessant gunshots nearby, Rensuo knew that it was now the most challenging moment in the first round.
All the trainees would have been unfamiliar with the game mechanics at the start of the round, but after half an hour of chasing and hiding, in addition to the guidance from the Memories of the Heavens, the twenty of them who managed to survive till the current point would either have been fully accustomed to the game mechanics and was always ready to send any target to the heavens, or otherwise would have managed to survive by hiding for most of the game like Rensuo had been.
After all, the aim of the competition was to be the last one standing on the battlefield, and not to save the most number of trainees.
Eh?
Rensuo thought he saw a figure moving behind the dead tree in front of him.
He took out his AWM and aimed at the area through his 8x scope.
Indeed, there was a young, fat girl who was wearing the Saint Seiya suit. She had slightly crooked teeth and wore a pair of spectacles that made her eyes look small…
“Let me help you regain your beauty!”
Biu ~
With the silencer attached, the sound of the AWM became extremely muted. Through the 8x scope, Rensuo saw the young, fat girl lose her fats and her puffy face became smaller. She rose to the sky as a pretty, young girl.
Rensuo snorted happily as he reloaded his AWM. But at the same time, a green glow emerged from his character’s waist, and at the left corner he saw his health bar increase by more than 10 points!
He was shot by a sniper!
Rensuo immediately controlled his character to run forward. Her health bar was just about to fill up by the continued shots when she reached the tree that the fat, young girl ascended to the heavens. She quickly ate a “Fried Chicken Set”, drank a bottle of “Nuka Cola”, and then ate a piece of “Kinder Chocolate”.
“Nuka Cola: +40 happiness points over 4 seconds. It is the most commonly seen carbonated drink and is called the holy drink of fatties.”
“Kinder Chocolate: +75 happiness points over 7.5 seconds. It is a chocolate made of hazelnut and milk, and is sweet and appetizing.
The Fried Chicken Set was only able to decrease the character’s health to 25 points, and happiness points were required to slowly decrease the health lower than that. The higher the happiness points, the faster the health points decreased, and the trainee’s running speed would also increase.
Rensuo’s character looked at the hills a distance away through the 8x scope of the AWM, remaining in a preparatory state. The moment Rensuo saw a trainee appear, he instantly shot him, causing him to ascend to the heavens.
Just like Ren Woxing, Rensuo’s current game character was also able to be equipped with abilities and props that Rensuo had. After the character was equipped with “Unlimited Energy”, there was only one effect – she could view and aim through the scope for an unlimited amount of time!
Rensuo let out a sigh of relief as he was about to enter the sixth Enjoyment Zone circle as the top ten trainees.
But at this moment, a gunshot sounded from behind him, and his character’s health bar was refilling rapidly!
Rensuo pulled back on his right game control stick as he controlled his character to walk towards the other side of the tree. However, he had still not found who was shooting him when his character’s health bar already filled up and rose to the sky!
The tree he was hiding behind had also started growing new green leaves in the bitter winter after receiving excessive heals…
“Ah! –”
Seeing himself lose without finding out who shot him, Rensuo stomped his foot in his anger and subconsciously raised the game controller –
“It’s okay, there’s no need to be angry,” muttered Rensuo to himself as he calmed down and placed the game controller down.
After all, the Hell 4 game controller cost a few hundred silver and he could not afford to buy another one.
Poverty truly calms a person.
But ramming the right stick of the game controller was not a way to solve the problem either, for Rensuo had already been shot and lost multiple times without him ever finding out who had shot him in time.
Rensuo sighed and walked over to the dining table to eat his takeout meal as he checked his mobile phone. It was only then that he realized You Xulong had sent him a message.
“You Xulong: Every team member must finish watching all episodes of “Over My Dead Body” and record down all the different types of monsters that appeared by next Friday. Note down in detail their natures and abilities, as well as their strength and weaknesses.”
What?
Rensuo quietly opened his video app and indeed, Neisser Ren had uploaded new videos.
Although Rensuo had already expected that, but upon seeing the new videos, he could not help but be surprised, although a stronger curiosity quickly followed.
Was it just a video,
Or a record of events that happened in history?
More importantly… Was the Ren family he created really related to him?