Chapter 59: First Spell Sword
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
After the new announcement from the Valor Peak hunting ground, there was no further sound. The only thing appearing in front of Su Mo was a countdown to the final hunting ground and an abstention channel. The new hunting rules (game rules) were already lying in his backpack.
Due to multiple regular matches, there were only 95 people in the final hunting ground. The main brain opened the Replacement System, selecting 5 players from the leaderboard based on their best scores to make up 100 people for the final hunting ground. In addition to this, it also randomly selected 500 players, granting them special hunting rights.
The new hunting rules could be said to have canceled all previous rules, turning the hunting ground into a free arena. The 100 players with the final hunting rights were both hunters and prey, with no restrictions, fighting until there was only one person left in the hunting ground.
Several hidden rules were added during this period.
- The output skills of healing profession-related players would be supplemented with a healing percentage bonus to increase the competitiveness of the healing profession. All professions would undergo attribute value adjustments, and players whose equipment cultivation level was below the average would receive a certain limited-time bonus attribute to ensure fair hunting.
- All player IDs were hidden, the hunting ground’s public chat frequency was closed, and third-party perspectives were disabled.
- Special elimination mechanism: During the last 10 minutes of each hour, a special hunting time would be opened, during which 500 special hunting rights players would be added to the entire Valor Peak map. These players would be evenly distributed among the remaining players on the field and would besiege and hunt the final 100 players. Once killed, they would be eliminated. (Special hunting rights players only existed for 10 minutes)
- During the special hunting period, the Valor Peak map would undergo proportion adjustments.
…
“So, it’s basically a free arena,” ClearWind said after listening to Su Mo explain the rules, still feeling confused. “Then why add these 500 people? Couldn’t they just wait until the end of the free arena?”
ScarletFruit added, “Most of the final 100 players are big shots who broke in with their strength, but there are also players who got in by hiding and scavenging. And just now, it mentioned in the announcement about preventing cheating. The original mechanism provided enough freedom, resulting in guilds forming alliances to enter the hunting ground, prey players reporting each other’s positions, and so on. It might be related to this?”
With 500 people being evenly deployed, it was highly likely that each person would go through a 1v5 process within 10 minutes, or evade and survive under the pursuit of 5 people. This restricted players who were trying to take advantage of the situation and accelerated the pace of the game. Moreover, these were not environmental units controlled by the main brain, but game players. Their actions were not restricted by game rules, and their skills and operations were all random, adding a certain level of difficulty.
Su Mo felt that the rules were more or less the same. Celestial Horizon was a game that flexibly changed based on the rules, which is why various challenge star ratings were assigned based on the degree of change and difficulty. This time, it even reserved a 3-star abstention channel for players.
But these were not the focus. The focus was that the hunting battle would start at 7:30 tomorrow night. According to the regular sessions and time consumption, if the competitors were strong enough, even with the special hunting mechanism added, the hunting battle could possibly last for five hours or more.
It was fine to log in at 7:30, and he could negotiate with Lele about meal and medication times. But the key point was that he would be cut off from the loader by Lele at 11:00, and since he had been to the hospital once, there was no negotiation about staying up late.
Yu Zhen turned his head, noticing Momo’s expression.
It seemed that after learning about the new rules, his mood hadn’t risen as before.
“Let’s not think about these things, just do it,” ClearWind said to Momo. “Bro! After 7:30 tomorrow, I won’t do anything else. I’ll just watch the live stream through the link. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely be the most supportive viewer in the live stream link.”
ScarletFruit became interested upon hearing this, “Hey, don’t forget, my big brother used to top the hunting leaderboard, right? Those guys on the forum are all talkative players, one saying my brother was at the top of the list by luck, saying his strength wasn’t as good as ReturnToSimplicity’s… Oh, ReturnToSimplicity’s score was from the first round of the hunting leaderboard, my brother’s performance in the middle was able to achieve that result, which means his strength is far better than ReturnToSimplicity’s, right?”
He looked at Su Mo and Yu Zhen with a bright smile, “Apart from being the top on the wealth leaderboard, ReturnToSimplicity doesn’t have any other advantages, PvP is about strength, not wealth, right, bro?”
Su Mo was speechless. Deeply aware of the truth, Su Mo couldn’t help but glance at the people involved beside him, only to collide with the deep eyes of the latter. He paused slightly, and at that moment, the game notification he had set sounded.
Su Mo said, “I’m logging off first. If there’s anything, you can discuss it in the group.”
ScarletFruit said, “Hey, wait!”
But Su Mo had already vanished into thin air in front of everyone.
ScarletFruit muttered, “I was about to say, take the money before leaving. I haven’t received today’s shop dividends yet.”
He couldn’t help but complain, “Whose fault is it that my brother has developed the habit of logging off on time? Which parent is so heartless to their child, sticking to the old tradition even when playing games? Don’t they know that games can also promote the physical and mental development of teenagers?”
Yu Zhen was speechless.
***
After removing the loader, the house returned to silence. Su Mo had logged off in advance, and Lele wasn’t in the living room. He hesitated for a moment before going to find the robot. He found Lele in the lab, wearing an apron and cleaning.
Lele had autonomous learning skills. Since downloading the intelligent plug-in online, it occasionally made some human-like movements. “Su Mo! I’ll get your medicine for you now.”
“You need to take your medicine before bedtime,” Lele nagged as it went to get the medicine.
Su Mo followed behind him. “Lele, I have something to do tomorrow night. Let’s have dinner earlier, okay?”
Lele opened the medical drawer and systematically poured out the medicine from the bottle. “Sure, what do you want for dinner tomorrow night? You can place an order for Monday.”
“Anything is fine.” Su Mo followed him and saw that the slot representing Lele’s power was full. This meant that even if the charger for the home smart machine was turned off, Lele’s current power level could last for three days and nights.
Lele quickly brought the medicine and urged Su Mo to finish it. “Time for bed.”
“Last time when I replaced the external parts, I forgot to check the part number. Let me see the System,” Su Mo said naturally, beckoning Lele over. “Come a little closer, not close enough.”
Lele walked over without any defense, opened the permissions, and stood in front of Su Mo. “Did the synthetic skin we ordered arrive?”
Su Mo said, “It will take some time. I bought the highest-grade one. They said the highest-grade imitation System is just like real skin. When it arrives, you’ll be able to ingest food and convert it into operational energy.”
Lele’s display screen brightened at the news, but after a while, it expressed concern, “Is it on sale? If it’s not on sale, we shouldn’t buy it.”
“Of course, it’s on sale. Don’t worry,” Su Mo said calmly, observing Lele’s softened attitude. He casually asked, “Can I play games a little longer?”
“Okay… no!” Suddenly realizing he was being deceived, Lele exclaimed, “You used to promise me four hours of gaming time per day, Su Mo! Now you’re asking for eight hours!”
And the time is getting later and later. When there’s no class, he just stays at home playing games, even less time for chess! Lele retreated a few steps vigilantly, but Su Mo didn’t give it a chance.
Su Mo grabbed it and skillfully touched Lele’s display screen, opened the System settings, and said, “Just once tomorrow. I have a very important competition, and it requires an internet connection.”
Feeling a bit wronged, Lele said, “You always lie to me!”
“I didn’t lie to you. I’m being honest with you. How can honesty be called lying?” Su Mo found the item associated with the loader in Lele’s permissions and changed the time with the highest authority. However, he found that some parameters of the loader had been modified after returning because it was bound to a third-party System. If he changed the parameters here, both the operator of the loader and the medical System would receive notifications.
He couldn’t change it…
The medical safety index of the loader after returning was the highest.
“Hmm.” Su Mo pondered for a moment.
Feeling hindered by having its permissions opened and unable to move, Lele said, “Su Mo!”
Finding another way around, Su Mo modified Lele’s internet connection time and some parameters, causing the entire System’s time to be shifted back by two hours. Originally, the loader’s disconnection time was 11 p.m., but now he temporarily changed it to 1 a.m.
However, this setting could only last for one day. Once the time was up, Lele’s parameters would automatically correct themselves. Lele looked at him with a sense of grievance. It was always like this. He used to secretly change its settings when he was in the lab.
It was always when its parameters automatically corrected themselves that it realized something was wrong. This time, it was even more excessive, changing them right in front of it!
Su Mo skillfully confirmed the changes. “I’ll play for eight hours. I’ll move the time I don’t play during the day to play at night.”
“I didn’t lie to you.” Su Mo touched its machine head. “Look, I only play for eight hours a day. I haven’t exceeded the time.”
Lele: “!!!”
The news of the final hunt at Valor Peak spread, and the 500 players selected for special hunting rights were almost spread across all levels of the game, including top-ranking players with excellent equipment and those with average equipment. However, none of these players were friends or guild members of the 100 players in this final hunt, minimizing the possibility of cheating.
To encourage the special hunting rights players to actively hunt and kill, the mainframe also offered them additional rewards. Getting a kill would earn them a 2-star treasure chest, from which they could choose any one reward among gold coins, experience elixirs, or demon points.
The Valor Peak hunting event boasted rich rewards. The rewards from the regular matches had already motivated many players to participate. Moreover, the 100 players who ultimately made it to the final hunt were guaranteed a minimum reward. Since the start of the quest event, most players had a chance to win rewards in the Valor Peak hunting ground.
Now, as the event was nearing its end, the final hunt gathering the strongest professionals from Celestial Horizon was about to begin.
It wasn’t even seven o’clock yet, but the God’s-eye view live broadcast room created by the mainframe was already packed with people. Countless players were eagerly discussing as they waited in the live broadcast room. When the list of participants for the final hunt was released last night, it caused quite a stir. It was like a gathering of top players from various professions, and even more top-ranking players were present.
Before, the hunting leaderboard was a competition among the top-ranking players themselves. But now, it was like putting all the big shots together for a fight, a scene that might not even be seen in an arena.
[Didn’t someone say that BrokenOracle surpassed the big shot ReturnToOrigin? It’s time to witness the showdown.]
[Haha, the first divine battle since the server opened, and it’s being broadcasted live across the network.]
[I’ve been waiting for half an hour already. Why doesn’t the mainframe hype up the live broadcast?]
Soon, it was half-past seven in the evening, the time for the participating players to take their positions and enter the field.
Su Mo logged in right on time, without bothering to greet ScarletFruit and the others. The hunting ground system prompt appeared as soon as he was in position. Just as he confirmed, he suddenly saw a flashing email reminder from his friend system, seemingly from ReturnToSimplicity.
Before he could open the email, the countdown announcement for the hunting ground began.
ApexMind’s voice echoed in the ears of all the players, solemnly announcing the countdown progress.
“All players are in position, with no forfeits. Valor Peak final hunting ground loaded, please prepare yourselves.”
“Countdown—”
“3, 2, 1…”
“Loaded. Wishing you victory.”
[Welcome players to the Valor Peak final hunting ground.]
[Hunting ground: 100/100 players, special hunting player NPCs: 500/500. Special hunting time countdown: 00:49:12]
In sight was the lush forest of Valor Peak, the thunderstorm still raging, the wind shaking the trees, giving off a sinister atmosphere.
At this moment, a sound of a sword piercing through the air came from the forest, followed by a series of fierce attacks targeting Su Mo’s arm.
Long-range sword skills, a magical swordsman!
The moment he entered the field, the battle erupted!
Su Mo quickly retreated a few steps, taking cover behind a tree in the forest. His gaze focused on the mini-map, only to find it disabled. All positional judgments had to rely solely on the players’ eyes.
The attacking magical swordsman didn’t let up on Su Mo. While Su Mo dodged the attacks, the magical swordsman swiftly changed positions, constantly seeking new angles of attack.
Just as Su Mo avoided one attack and summoned a summoning beast, the magical swordsman’s sword skills came crashing down the next second.
Among the various magical professions of Celestial Horizon, the magical swordsman was also known as a mobile turret. This profession primarily relied on long-range sword skills as its main form of attack. Although its range was second only to that of a marksman, its skills were powerful and had a longer casting time. Once the magical swordsman created distance, they gained a significant advantage in sword skill output.
Su Mo hurriedly evaded the attacks, choosing to dodge and buy time to understand the terrain of the final hunting ground. There were no additional special rules indicated within the field, indicating that the rules should be consistent with those in the hunting manual. However, the environment of the entire map had increased in difficulty compared to the regular hunting grounds. The rain and wind intensified, visibility decreased in the forest, the ground was muddy affecting movement speed, and jumping became more challenging…
At that moment, Su Mo summoned three summoning beasts, while the magical swordsman found the best attacking position.
The magical swordsman’s attacks became even more fierce, forcing Su Mo to make rough judgments and concentrate on assessing his opponent carefully.
In several rounds of attacks, the magical swordsman’s sword skills almost overlapped with Su Mo’s movements, predicting each of his distances moved. If it weren’t for Su Mo’s fast movement speed, coupled with the dim lighting of the hunting ground, he would have probably fallen victim to the magical swordsman’s combo long ago.
This opponent was formidable.
Outside the field, since the return of the innkeeper to the Desert Inn, the inn was bustling not only with bounty board business but also with beverage sales.
With the start of the final hunt, the inn was packed. ScarletFruit, ClearWind and ZenSlasher, among others, had secured positions in the Desert Inn early on, thanks to some prestigious VIP privileges.
As the hunting battle had just begun, ScarletFruit was still busy with various tasks, not paying attention to the battle. ClearWind was still searching for Momo’s location in the God’s-eye view. The viewing angle needed manual adjustment, as the IDs were hidden within the game, but visible outside. Therefore, they could use the displayed IDs in the viewing angle to find their viewing targets. “What are you doing? Help me find where the big brother is.”
ScarletFruit confirmed, “You don’t understand. This is the time to make a big profit. How many rounds have been opened in the forum? Now’s the time to make a big profit, or else we’ll lose big.”
ClearWind urged, “Hurry up. Just bet on the big brother. The odds, winning, it’s all big profits. Hurry up.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m here. How can you rush making money? It’s a big deal.” ScarletFruit looked mysterious and turned to ZenSlasher, “Has ZenSlasher bet? If not, I’ll help you strategize.”
ZenSlasher was still searching for IDs in the viewing angle. When he saw a certain ID, his eyes widened in shock, “Found it.”
ClearWind leaned over, saying, “Where is he? Let me see.”
“Holy crap, why is my big brother at only 90% health!?”
“Didn’t it just start? Who’s messing with my big brother?”
In the viewing angle, amidst the dim forest of Valor Peak, Momo stood behind a tree with only 90% of his health remaining.
Three people watched nervously. Not far from Momo, on a tall tree, stood a swordsman dressed in a resplendent cloud robe. Several sword skills floated around the Swordsman, clearly indicating him as a magical swordsman specializing in spells from the Mountainless Blade Sect.
And this magical swordsman was currently the top-ranked magical swordsman in Celestial Horizon.
ID: FirstUnderHeaven
Oh wow; this won’t be easy!