Genius Chapter 29: New Mechanism

Chapter 29: New Mechanism

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The wind inside the room grew stronger and stronger, and the number of people left on the task list gradually dwindled from 50 to 40. The four people in the room were divided into two groups. As the attacks intensified, it became increasingly difficult for them to control the area with their skills. The summoner’s opinion quickly became the primary consideration for the team. Was blocking the exit the idea of trapping that trash inside the collapsed bed and preventing it from getting out?

ClearWind understood. “This is great! If we block it, it won’t be able to come out, right?”

“Block it? How?” ScarletFruit saw a glimmer of hope but thought this idea seemed a bit far-fetched. “Our position is too difficult, and in a blinded state, we can’t see the skill effects. We can’t judge the timing of our teammates’ skills either.”

Relying on one person’s skills to continuously control was definitely not enough. In the blind state, they couldn’t see the skill effects or the duration of the effects on the enemy monsters. In the end, they were fighting blindly up to this point.

Su Mo had naturally considered this issue.

The summoner had a lot of control skills, but very few strong control skills that could restrict the enemies effectively. For example, Solitary Wolf’s stun, the bear’s taunt, and SpectralFox’s charm and sleep were all targeted strong control skills that couldn’t be used right now. Currently, the only skills he could use were confusion and slowing, but these were soft controls, merely transitional skills to slow down attacks, buy time to dodge skills or counterattack, but not to completely immobilize the monsters.

So, if they wanted to trap the monsters inside, his skills could only serve as transitions. The main method relied on other people’s skills in a cycle.

“The array master has three area strong controls: stun, immobilize, and fear. Stun lasts 3 seconds, immobilize 4 seconds, fear 3 seconds. Except for immobilize with a 15-second cooldown, the other two have a 12-second cooldown,” Su Mo continued while dodging skills. “The healer’s dream flower has a group sleep effect, sleep for 4 seconds, cooldown 10 seconds. The physical Swordsman has stun and knockback, cooldowns around 12 seconds.”

“Wanderer 10 seconds, ScarletFruit 4 seconds, ClearWind 8 seconds, a total of 22 seconds of continuous control, the skill cooldowns can keep up.”

Yu Zhen calculated all the cooldown times and confirmed it was as momo said, they could fully link together. “But this skill cycle is too tight, with a low tolerance for errors.”

Low tolerance for errors meant one person’s mistake could cost the whole team. Moreover, they were too close to the collapse, so the attacks they received would be even fiercer.

“I’ll be responsible for listening,” Su Mo corrected him in time. “If your skill cycle breaks, I’ll use slowing to buy time. The physical Swordsman’s skill has knockback, enough to make up for the displacement caused by slowing.”

Yu Zhen asked, “There’s still 2 hours and 13 minutes left, are you sure?”

“Just commanding and sound positioning,” Su Mo said succinctly. “I have high mental power, don’t worry.”

Yu Zhen was surprised at the summoner. In such a chaotic environment, most people would consider how to avoid skills to their maximum advantage, but the summoner’s thoughts were different. This person was extremely calm, calm enough to clearly recall the room layout, calculate the best path, and solve the problem from its root in an emergency.

Bold enough and adventurous enough, yet it was the most efficient solution, a one-and-done if successful.

“The bed beam hasn’t broken yet. According to your judgment, its length facing us is about 2 meters. Casting in the middle, right?” Yu Zhen took over part of the work voluntarily. “I’ll judge the casting distance. I’ll handle the first cycle. Ten seconds is enough for you all to find the right positions.”

Su Mo also agreed. The array master was a very reliable teammate, daring to lead almost all extreme operations.

He reminded again, “From the previous attacks, I roughly calculated its attack frequency. In the first 10 minutes, it was once every 5 seconds. In the last 10 minutes, it was once every 3 seconds. Its attack frequency will change, but every 5 minutes it will shrink back into the collapse and stop attacking for 3 seconds.”

Yu Zhen was surprised, not expecting the summoner to remember even the attack frequency. He then asked, “Alright, what’s the next time point?”

Su Mo said, “2 hours and 10 minutes, we have 2 minutes to adjust.”

ScarletFruit and ClearWind were both confused by what they heard. These two were discussing skill cycle continuous control, and even precisely down to the skill time and recovery time, so many seconds. Without seeing the skill effects, were they supposed to rely on mental calculation!?

“Aren’t you two overestimating your teammates?” ScarletFruit said with difficulty. “The skill cycle is enough, but how will you grasp the timing for casting skills? We can’t see the skill effects, this is too hard to judge!”

Su Mo paused at this. “Why count seconds? Isn’t there a countdown?”

That countdown in the task list, accurate to the second, wasn’t it a perfect clock?

ScarletFruit, “…Oh, right.”

After hearing these explanations, ClearWind was a bit eager to try and asked, “Should we charge now?”

ScarletFruit quickly stopped him, “Wait, let me see where my dream flower is.”

ClearWind, “You need to wait for just one control skill!?”

ScarletFruit said, “What do you know? I need to place it where I can use it immediately.”

Su Mo announced the final order, “Skill cycle: Wanderer stun, fear, immobilize; ScarletFruit sleep; ClearWind stun, knockback; save the knockback skill for last.”

As time ticked by and it approached 2 hours and 10 minutes, Yu Zhen moved first. At 02:09:59, the wind in the collapse stopped. The array master took three steps forward, tapping the bed with the judge’s pen to determine its position by moving it left and right. He then shifted half a step to the left, determining the casting position in less than two seconds. He cast the first array just in time, successfully trapping the wind about to emerge. “56.”

Su Mo prompted, “ScarletFruit, 46 seconds. Are you in position?”

“Here I come.” ScarletFruit ran forward, groping around. At the critical moment, Yu Zhen grabbed his hand.

Yu Zhen instructed, “Face my direction and cast forward.”

ClearWind took two steps and crashed into the table, then climbed up, enduring the pain. “Is this the right spot?”

ScarletFruit said, “Yes, but can you stop stepping on my foot? Move a bit forward.”

Amidst the chaos, the four of them successfully gathered in front of the collapsed bed. Watching the countdown timer in the task list, they initiated the first cycle precisely on time. As momo predicted, one skill cycle was enough to keep the wind trapped within the collapse, unable to escape.

“34,” Yu Zhen called out the seconds.

Su Mo promptly instructed, “ScarletFruit, 24 seconds, get ready.”

ScarletFruit and ClearWind followed orders precisely, relying on the exact timing called out by the two leaders. They cast skills accurately according to the countdown, and the wind’s howling stopped around them, the sound seeming to be blocked just half a meter away in the collapse. The team’s health stopped dropping.

Time flew by. In the tense atmosphere, casting skills became a habitual operation. ScarletFruit and ClearWind, recovering from their initial panic, could calculate their turns without Su Mo’s reminders.

“This is much easier. No need to be so tense,” ScarletFruit sighed in relief. “Honestly, if the leader hadn’t come up with this solution, we would’ve been worn out in that chaos. It even attacked from above! If I hadn’t quickly cast a protective shield, I might’ve been done for.”

The monster emerging from the collapse had no discernible form, like a cold mist, but it hit harder than a whip. Moreover, it was incredibly agile, attacking from all directions once out of the collapse, fiercer than the misty whips they encountered in the Mist Sea. At least they could see the mist back then, unlike now, fighting blindly.

[Desert Inn, Second Stage: Remaining players 30/88, remaining teams 8/20, countdown 01:15:45]

Su Mo glanced at the time. With roughly an hour left, only 8 teams remained.

The mechanism of Desert Inn had its pros. As long as one person in the team survived, the entire team could fully revive after the stage ended. But it gave no loophole for exploiting, with no option for a four-man protection strategy at this stage. The indiscriminate attacks in the dark not only confused players but also fluctuated their emotions.

For example, anxiety.

“ClearWind!”

“Damn!”

At that moment, Dream Flower’s sleep effect ended. The wind, which had been suppressed by control skills, seized the gap and shot out, rushing straight at the nearest physical Swordsman. Just as it reached ClearWind, a slow effect hit it. ClearWind snapped out of it and followed up with a stun, successfully controlling it!

“Follow up with a knockback,” Su Mo instructed.

ClearWind focused, casting a knockback skill at the precise moment, driving the wind back into the collapse. The cycle resumed, with the array master’s control skill continuing the rhythm. “Don’t get distracted.”

ScarletFruit said, “That scared me to death.”

ClearWind apologized, “Sorry, I was a second late in casting.”

The repetitive actions and rhythm could numb emotions and cause errors in judgment and actions. Su Mo was aware of this, so he said, “You can talk. Leave the timing to me, just don’t fall asleep.”

“If the second stage is this tough, what about the third stage? Will it be over the top?” ClearWind wondered, “That shopkeeper in my sheepskin scroll task, could he be the final boss?”

ScarletFruit said, “You mean these tentacles are the shopkeeper’s? That’s too disgusting.”

“Unlikely,” Su Mo analyzed. “From the two stages so far, this event emphasizes player skill and reaction. Also, ‘staying calm in a crisis’ matches the scenarios we’ve faced. The next stage should be the last.”

[Desert Inn, Second Stage: Remaining players 20/88, remaining teams 6/20, countdown 00:05:43]

Finally, the three-hour ordeal neared its end. The AI’s voice echoed in the last minute, and the attacks from the collapse peaked. They could almost feel the floor shaking. ScarletFruit couldn’t contain his excitement, counting down with the timer. As it hit zero, their vision brightened suddenly.

Su Mo instinctively closed his eyes to avoid the sudden brightness, remembering this was a holographic game. When he opened his eyes, he saw a room in disarray. Almost nothing remained intact. Except for fixed tables, beds, and cabinets, everything else was overturned, with several cracks in the floor.

The most frightening part was the middle of the bed, where a bottomless pit lay, all black. If they had fallen in due to a mistake earlier, they would’ve died instantly.

[Desert Inn, Second Stage complete. Initiating battlefield settlement. Remaining players 15/88, remaining teams 6/20. Teams that successfully completed the challenge will fully revive and receive rewards. Failed teams will be expelled and penalized.]

The AI completed the event settlement and then announced, “Dear players, the final challenge of Desert Inn is about to begin. The path to the final challenge is now open. The third stage will be a comprehensive challenge dungeon. Attempts are unlimited, but each failure will result in the entire team losing one level. Success will terminate the dungeon. You are welcome to challenge it at any time.”

[Friendly reminder: 1. Due to the completion of the dungeon with only 6 teams remaining, a special settlement mechanism will be adopted for this comprehensive dungeon. Teams with the right to challenge the third stage can invite additional players to form a team. The maximum number of participants in the dungeon is 10 people, and the difficulty will be set based on the overall rating of the entire team of players.]

[2. Players with the right to challenge who successfully complete the dungeon will receive 2 [Desert Inn Treasure Chests] as the basic reward. Participating players without the right to challenge will only receive 1 [Desert Inn Treasure Chest] reward and will not be eligible for rating rewards.]

ScarletFruit listened to the rules and said, “What does that mean? Does it mean we can form another team of six players?”

“Yes,” ClearWind explained, “It means our team has the right to participate. We can either go ourselves or form a team of six players.”

After the mainframe’s voice ended, the entire room refreshed, returning to its original state. There was a change in the middle of the room, where the endless abyss turned into a sunken stone cave. Looking down from the bed, one could see a stone staircase leading deeper.

[Your team has been detected with 4 people, and 4 players have the right to challenge. Do you want to start the challenge?]

Su Mo saw this prompt and immediately clicked ‘No.’

ClearWind asked, “Are we not going to start?”

“No,” Su Mo replied indifferently, “It’s almost bedtime.”

ScarletFruit seemed smarter this time, speaking up before the big shots logged off, “Can we exchange StarNet accounts? Let’s create a group or something.”

ClearWind said, “I agree!”

StarNet accounts…?

“Terminal accounts then,” Su Mo didn’t have a StarNet account, so he explained, “I don’t often use StarNet.”

ScarletFruit paused, “I don’t mind, terminal accounts work too. I thought StarNet accounts would be more convenient.”

No wonder others couldn’t find big brother’s gaming records on StarNet; turns out, he didn’t play at all!

ScarletFruit said, “The terminal group number is 65484514XJL.”

Su Mo replied, “Okay.”

Yu Zhen hesitated for a moment, then used his alt account for gaming to join the group.

“So, when are we going to start the dungeon? Let’s agree on a time so we can gather,” ScarletFruit asked, “This dungeon is tricky; failing deducts levels, but there will definitely be pros clearing it tonight. Our time shouldn’t be too late.”

“How about 8 a.m. Capital Planet time?” Su Mo suggested a time, “Is everyone okay with that?”

The time on various planets differed due to intelligent lighting and adjustments of artificial suns, so there was hardly any time difference on the same planet.

Yu Zhen said, “Okay.”

ScarletFruit added, “No problem, I’m also on Capital Planet.”

ClearWind said, “There’s a bit of a problem; I might just be going to bed…”

Su Mo looked at ClearWind in confusion, “You go to bed at 8?”

ClearWind struggled for a moment, “9! I’ll try… Oh no, I mean, I’ll go to bed earlier.”

The team agreed to start the raid at 9 a.m. the next morning, and Su Mo logged off after ensuring there were no issues. It was the first time he logged off early. He took his medicine and stayed in the lab for a while, then, around 11 p.m., he saw ScarletFruit @ing him in the group chat.

Upon opening it, he found dozens of messages:

ScarletFruit: @mo, bro, are we just going to run it with four people tomorrow? Should we invite more?

mo: We can form a team. Having more people increases the margin for error.

ScarletFruit: Hehe, here’s the thing, I have an idea.

mo: ?

ScarletFruit: What do you think about selling tickets? After all, there are very few opportunities to clear it, and participating players who clear it get a treasure chest. There’s even a limited event quest treasure chest!! These tickets will be in high demand! Even if we don’t clear it, selling tickets will attract a bunch of bosses! We can definitely make money, and if more people come, we can pick professions and see equipment and tactics, then decide whether to join or not.

ClearWind: Hahaha, that’s clever, as long as we don’t end up with noobs.

mo: We can make money?

ScarletFruit: Definitely! Count on it [smiley]

When Yu Zhen entered the terminal group, he saw the chat about buying tickets. ScarletFruit had even drafted a post about selling tickets, and… it seemed like the summoner was strapped for cash. The summoner seemed disinterested in many things, not caring about losing levels or attributes, but whenever ScarletFruit brought up money, he seemed overly concerned, which surprised Yu Zhen.

After reading the chat records, he replied with “No problem.”

On voice chat, 25000 said, “It’s a comprehensive dungeon, and CloudTraveller has decided to play it safe with a few reliable professions. There’s still a spot left; do you want to join?”

Yu Zhen replied, “No, I have my own team. You guys go ahead.”

25000 exclaimed, “What!? You secretly have a team!? Without me!!?”

Yu Zhen said, “It’s an alt account team.”

“What! Even your alt account cleared it?” 25000 asked, “Then why not use your main account? Are you playing on your alt account now?”

“Tomorrow,” Yu Zhen added, “I’m worried you guys won’t finish, and it’ll waste my time.”

“…!!” So you think we’re noobs!!

Yu Zhen didn’t respond to 25000 anymore. After reading the messages in the group, he went on to clear other message logs. When he opened the exploration group, he found that there were more than 10 pages of chat records related to Desert Inn.

The exploration group was bustling because CloudTraveller was preparing to stay up late to clear the dungeon. They could only take up to five people, so the top-ranking players were competing for spots. In the end, CloudTraveller only took five key professions, leaving others disappointed.

After catching up on the latest messages, he saw CloudTraveller @ing him in the group.

CloudTraveller: I heard you have a team? @ReturnToSimplicity.

ReturnToSimplicity: Yes.

CloudTraveller: That’s great; multiple teams can share information. Do you still need more people for your team?

Apple: Does True Bro need more people? Take me! I have excellent operation skills!

FireworksAndLanterns: Take me!!! It’s infuriating that CloudTraveller won’t take a summoner; summoners are so strong!

CloudTraveller: We only need strong professions.

FireworksAndLanterns: You look down on us summoners? Bro Simplicity, do you still have a spot?

Yu Zhen paused slightly when he saw this situation, then after a moment of thought, he switched back to the original group and posted the link to the ticket purchase page that ScarletFruit had just edited—

ReturnToSimplicity: There’s a spot [link], buy your tickets first.

Author’s note: 

Exploration Group: …is there no backdoor? 

ScarletFruit: Pay first before entering.