As the white light pooled, Feng Bujue soon returned to the log-in lobby. On the touch screen, the scenario’s rating review appeared.
“The scenario has been completed. Calculating the reward.
“Obtained EXP: 120,000. Game Coins: 100,000.
“Obtained Equipment: None
“Completed/Accepted Quests: 3/3
“Completed Special/Hidden Quests: 0. Unlocked World-building: Mental Imprisonment.
“Time of Terror Points Increase: 0. Highest Terror Points: 0%. Average Terror Points: 0%.
“Your Terror Rating is: Embodiment of Valor. Extra rewards obtained, can be selected later.
“Obtained Skill Points: 3,580
“Additional Rewards from Skill Point Modifier: 35,800 EXP, 100,000 Game Coins
“Scenario Cleared Reward: A random, learnable skill card.
“Calculation complete. Please continue.”
At the same time, the system said, “You have reached level 29. Maximum Stamina Points increased to 2,900/2,900”
“Eh… Finally got to level twenty-nine,” Feng Bujue commented as he looked at the menu. The process with which he and his three teammates left the Detective Club was hard to believe. After the Count of Script flew away, they took one minute to recover from their shock and broke the silence. The four discussed the current situation, and Feng Bujue told them in brief his interaction with Billy as an explanation to what the Boss said in the end, but there were too many mysteries regarding this hidden boss that confused the players.
They picked up the book the boss had dropped and wanted to see for themselves what this ’backdoor’ meant. When they opened the book, they were transported into a twisted and chaotic space and got the announcement that they had completed all the main quests and would be teleported away in 180 seconds.
“Hmm… Shouldn’t have opened that book so early,” Feng Bujue said with regret. “There was plenty of information to be collected at that Detective Club…”
He had a feeling this Count of Script had an important role in Thriller Paradise, perhaps one bigger than the four Pillars of Divinity. At that moment, a few notifications came, and Feng Bujue’s attention was pulled back to the screen. Friend requests came from Autumn Zither and Weighty Words. Ambitionist really did not plan to add Brother Jue as a friend. It looked like he had a similar personality in part to Feng Bujue.
Feng Bujue thought about it before accepting it. His friend list would shock and awe. Combined with the previous Shiva, Seven Kills, and King of Shadows, he could form an all-star group.
After accepting the friend requests, he walked out of the elevator to head to the storeroom to get the other reward. But he took few steps, and he was suddenly reminded of something.
“Wait a minute… the hidden event seems to have been disrupted by Billy.” He tilted his head. “According to the Count of Script, he only let us go because Billy pleaded for mercy on my behalf. Without Billy’s help, the Count of Script would have appeared in a hostile form or not appeared at all.”
Feng Bujue frowned with thought. “Under those circumstance, we would have had to depend on ourselves to solve the puzzle and materialize the keys to escape from the club. Or locate the Count of Script and kill him.”
That was how Feng Bujue’s brain worked; it did not seem to know its own limit…
Actually, Billy had done him a big favor. Obviously, between defeating the real boss or escaping from the Detective Club, only the latter would work. X-23 had already told them about the power level of the Count of Script. He was second only to the four Pillars of Divinity. He could be considered a world boss in Thriller Paradise. His data was unique and deeply connected to the gaming world. To deal with this kind of boss, six extremely powerful players at maximum level and with legendary equipment would be needed. At the current stage of the game, even a team formed from the top six players on the combat stat ranking would not win against the Count of Script.
And Feng Bujue’s intention to kill the Count of Script was just imaginary. Brother Jue would think this way because he had not faced any real defeats in-game before; he had not been traumatized when faced against boss-level creatures like Sam Montier and Billy. Therefore, he had this wrong belief that all the monster mentioned in the quest could be killed.
In reality, the number of bosses that the players would not be able to kill was as large as the sea. Most of the time, the players would not even have the chance to challenge them. For example, there were the Pillars of Divinity. Since the open beta, not one player had faced the Four Pillars of Divinity in battle.
While there were many threads on the forum that discussed the overarching plot of the game, many people mixed up various hints and clues to come up with the descriptions of the four Pillars of Divinity… but that was all hearsay. No one had crossed paths with them before. When the scenario was generated, the system would not allow a player just over level thirty to challenge the four Pillars of Divinity. At most, they would be mentioned in the scenario, or they had some cameo role. For example, when Feng Bujue encountered the Master of Time, he only heard his voice. Even if, at the time, he was desperate to attack the Master of Time, he would not have known where to start.
…
“Okay, time to find out what the prize is this time.” Feng Bujue came to the first glass tube and drew the normal reward for clearing the scenario. His mastery level was generally high, and ’learnable’ skill cards could be for any mastery, but of course, Feng Bujue wished for a summoning skill at the moment. But as always… luck was not on his side.
———
Name: Rotten Egg ’Bullet’
Card Property: Active Skill, One-time Use
Skill Type: Marksmanship
Effect: Launch a rotten egg at a target and draw a large amount of resentment to you. (One has to be equipped with a shooting-type weapon when activating this skill. The type of weapon is not restricted.)
Consumption: 1 Stamina Point
Learning Requirement: Marksmanship D
Remark: Cannot be used against other players. P.S. Many people tell me that I must be crazy to have come up with a skill like this, but Bob from the technical department told me it is not so bad, so I kept it. In any case, no data will be generated, and perhaps no one will ever see this sentence.”
———
“What kind of junk is this…” Feng Bujue could not help running his mouth. “This kind of horrible effect… and it is one-time use only? Could this get any worse?”
He felt like throwing the card away, but then again, since it was one-time use, the skill would not occupy his skill tab for too long. Furthermore, the effect was so horrible that no one would want to buy it. Thus, he decided to learn it. He had nothing to lose anyway.