Genius Chapter 83: Detection Tools

Chapter 83: Detection Tools

Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

Players who clicked into the thread were shocked to find that it was actually a guide thread.

[@Guide Section Moderator, Moderator, someone posted in the wrong section.]

[Before posting, check the rules of the guide section!!]

[Take a screenshot before it gets deleted!]

[Wait, is that Momo the one I think it is? The one who got the first clear?!!]

[Wait, comrades… look at the 2nd floor, this seems like a real guide!!]

The main post seemed very unserious, like some sort of promotional post from a marketing account, but starting from the 2nd floor, it became more serious. Or rather, the tone in the detailed guide on the second floor was completely different from the main post. The guide elaborately explained the detailed mechanics of the four bosses in the Departed Souls dungeon. Any player who had firsthand experience would surely understand the textual explanations in the guide. The guide thread on the 2nd floor explained the mechanics in simple terms, and by the 3rd floor, it evolved into various team compositions, positioning requirements, and skill combinations, illustrated with graphics and text. It was a comprehensive, step-by-step tutorial that was easy to follow and understand.

[“Wow, this guide is amazing!”]

[“After reading it, I realized that my focus in gaming is completely different from the pros.”]

[@LuckyScarletFruit, what’s the ID of the pro’s StarNet account? Will he continue to post guides in the future?]

[“So Eternal Winter can actually indicate direction, that’s so amazing.”]

[“Can Autumn Realm be played like this!? So basically, just go straight to the lake at the beginning.”]

[“I knew I went blind for no reason initially, blame it on the candlestick.”]

[“I better call my guild leader to come and see!! Help! There’s a tutorial here!”]

…..

Towards the end, even CloudTraveller, ChatMasterWu, and Hai Tang left comments below the thread to express their gratitude.

At one point, more and more people came to view the guide, quickly pushing the thread to the top position in the strategy section, causing the number of views to skyrocket. Just as all the players were eagerly learning from the guide, an untimely ID appeared at the bottom of the post—

The latest reply came from System Moderator: “Darling, posting in the strategy section should follow the format, I’ll move your post now~”

Players: !!! Wait, we haven’t finished reading yet! Don’t move it away!!!

***

The strategy section was bustling, and the forum’s announcement section was not left behind.

Detailed rules for faction wars were also released.

Celestial Horizon itself has a guild battle system where different guilds compete for resources within the game. With the introduction of the faction system, there were minor changes in the guild battle mode. Guilds of the same faction began to cooperate to resist guilds from the opposing faction, significantly increasing the competitiveness of guild battles.

Guild battles in the game were scheduled for Friday evenings from 7 to 11, while faction wars occurred on Saturdays and Sundays until all strongholds were captured.

Guild battles mainly involved major game guilds competing for in-game stronghold resources to strengthen their own guild’s power, thereby enhancing player interest. Faction wars operated similarly, but instead of resources, they competed for buffs lasting a week. Four strongholds (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) were designated for faction wars, and whichever faction controlled a stronghold by the end of the faction war would gain its corresponding buff.

Considering the large number of participants, the system adopted a server-wide instancing approach. Control over instancing was vested in the guild that had captured the most strongholds in guild battles within each faction that week, effectively granting them command authority.

In addition to these dynamics, players on the winning side of faction wars received demon points and rewards from random chests. Unlike guild battles, which focused on competition among major guilds, faction wars united all players in common triumphs and challenges.

Players who participated in faction wars received a basic participation prize. Those who performed exceptionally well in faction wars received various awards and chests from the system, with rewards for the winning side being tripled compared to the losing side.

Before the next week’s faction war began in earnest, faction buffs were bestowed upon the Abyss faction. This meant that Abyss players had the absolute buff advantage for the week, enabling them to seize more strongholds in guild battles.

Initially a cause for celebration, ScarletFruit felt concerned after reading the post. He realized that his market base was shrinking.

In the morning when Yu Zhen joined the team, he found ScarletFruit and Su Mo squatting in the main city’s forging area, engaged in what seemed like a serious discussion about the market for new items.

“News about the faction war keeps coming out, but it looks like the difficulty of guild wars in the future will increase due to faction buffs,” ScarletFruit hesitated after speaking, “Do we really have a market for this item?”

Su Mo, busy with final testing, responded upon hearing this, “Why do you think there’s no market?”

ScarletFruit replied, “Since it’s a sure win situation, they won’t spend money to buy our item, at least not this week. Maybe we should postpone releasing the item? … But then again, there might be demand. Normally, where there’s demand, there’s a market. But selling to the Eclipse faction…”

Yu Zhen heard this and asked, “What item?”

Su Mo blinked and saw Array Master flying over to his side. Since obtaining the skill “One-Line Connection,” Yu Zhen had been treating it like a teleportation skill. However, what puzzled Su Mo was that every time he used it, he ended up colliding with Yu Zhen. Yet Yu Zhen seemed to control the skill better and never collided with him.

“It’s a detection item,” Su Mo had just finished creating the basic version of the item and decided to share it with the team.

[Detection Item: A basic detection item that can be placed in any scene. It detects skill event traces within a radius of 50 meters centered on the placement position and marks the corresponding locations. The item lasts for 20 minutes after placement, with 2 detection attempts (0/2) lasting 15 seconds each.]

Yu Zhen paused slightly upon seeing this. It was an item that would be very useful for team battles. “Are you making this for guild wars and faction wars?”

In outdoor scenes, although player positions can be judged through the red dots on the mini-map, in guild wars scenarios, guilds often prepare assassin teams or stealth teams to achieve ambush effects. With the increasing number of quest items in the current game environment, there are also many stealth items. During the preparation period before guild wars, some guilds spend a lot of money to purchase items to arm their action teams, aiming to support, ambush, and raid during guild wars.

Therefore, in guild wars, the visibility range on the mini-map is only 30 meters around the player’s center, and it shows non-stealth and non-item-using units marked in red. Once the opponent is stealthed or not marked in red, the mini-map becomes completely useless.

However, the detection item made by Su Mo can detect stealthed units by tracing skill usage traces. This means that once the opponent is stealthed or using a state-changing skill, it can be completely detected by this item.

“Yes, I had the idea before, but it wasn’t until today that I completed it,” Su Mo found a secluded spot and placed the item under his feet. “Could you guys try using skills? Array types or healing state skills.”

ScarletFruit immediately activated a skill, and soon the detection item popped up a light screen displaying a map-like interface. A red dot appeared at his location. “It can detect state skills too?! Didn’t you only test invisibility with ZenSlasher before?”

Yu Zhen stepped back about twenty meters and deployed an array right where he stood.

ScarletFruit saw Yu Zhen’s position marked by a red dot on the detection item. Not only that, but any unit using skills in the vicinity also appeared on the mini-map.

“Where did you get this idea from?” Yu Zhen chuckled. Su Mo wasn’t participating in guild battles, yet he could come up with such uses.

“The inspiration came from assassin stealth operations, marksman detection skills, Eagle Eye abilities, and also Daoist priests’ tracking symbols,” Su Mo glanced at the display on the item. “But there are still loopholes in this. It can be exploited. For example, if a few people use skills in different locations, they can manipulate the item’s display…”

ScarletFruit was dumbfounded. “Bro, aren’t you satisfied with this?!”

“This is just a basic effect; it still needs refinement,” Su Mo pointed at the map display. “Haven’t you noticed? It shows traces of skills from all players, which can easily be manipulated. I need to adjust the item’s logic so it specifically targets hostile players. That way, we can accurately deal with enemies.”

ScarletFruit patted his elder brother’s shoulder. “Bro, I think this is already good enough. It’s practically invalidating ambush and assassin teams.”

Yu Zhen examined the item carefully and added, “If you’re worried about the market, I think you don’t need to. In guild battles, each guild fights independently, appearing to cooperate externally while internally competing. Although the Eclipse faction didn’t get the faction buff this time, it won’t be easy for Abyss to completely dominate them.”

Su Mo, who hadn’t participated in guild battles before, didn’t understand much about it. “What do you mean?”

“In previous guild battles, Eclipse always had more strongholds than Abyss,” ScarletFruit explained. “On the surface, both sides seemed evenly matched in strength, but the Abyss faction’s guilds were at a disadvantage in terms of operations, command, and coordination compared to the Eclipse faction.”

Yu Zhen elaborated, “In other words, even with the faction buff, Abyss faction hasn’t reached a point of complete dominance. CloudTraveller and others have long had ways to counter them. In guild battles, where interests clash, strong guilds won’t easily yield.”

Su Mo listened and started to formulate ideas. “Okay, then this indeed needs further refinement.”

Looking at the young man lost in thought, Yu Zhen couldn’t help but ask, “Who are you planning to sell this to?”

According to the design concept, this item shouldn’t be released in large quantities.

Su Mo blinked at the suggestion. “What do you think about Fruit’s gang?”

ScarletFruit had a bright idea. “Bro, I have a better plan. Selling privately won’t fetch a higher price, and ScarletFruit isn’t stupid either. I have a way to use this guild battle to raise the price of our item.”

As Yu Zhen listened to the two discussing how to increase the price, his gaze remained on Su Mo.

Su Mo suddenly noticed Yu Zhen’s gaze. “Bro, do you have any good suggestions?”

ScarletFruit couldn’t help but ask at Yu Zhen’s mention, “I’ve been meaning to ask, bro, how come you started calling Brother Wanderer ‘bro’?”

Su Mo asked in confusion, “He’s older than me, any problem?”

ScarletFruit smiled, “…No problem. My big brother’s big brother is my big big brother.”

“Selling to just one person makes it difficult to achieve a rapid price increase.”

Under Su Mo’s clear gaze, Yu Zhen couldn’t help but reveal their plan, “Guild battles don’t pose a loss for us, and the faction isn’t the main issue. If we want to raise the price, we can expand our customer base. What do you think about adding CloudTraveller?”

CloudTraveller, the top warrior and leader of Eclipse faction’s Human Alliance, and the guild master of Veiled Cloud Sanctuary.

ScarletFruit, with his sharp market insight, added, “Bro, CloudTraveller ranks second on the wealth leaderboard. He’s a big player.”

***

Watermelon was dispatched as the vice guild master of the guild, responsible for procuring items before guild battles. It was a typical Tuesday, and he was planning to reconcile invoices with merchants collaborating with the guild when he suddenly received a message from ScarletFruit, the merchant.

WhatAHugeWatermelon: ? 

ScarletFruit: Bro, interested in buying items? 

WhatAHugeWatermelon: What kind of items? 

ScarletFruit: An item that can help your guild regain its dominance. Considering your guild has been a loyal customer, I’ll send you a few to try out first. If they work well, remember to repurchase!

Upon receiving the [Detection Item], Watermelon immediately understood how useful this item was. As a guild with many magic-based professions, they often suffered surprise attacks from assassin squads during guild battles, resulting in significant losses on several occasions. With this item, their biggest concern could finally be addressed…

As the time approached for the eve of the guild battle, major guilds were actively preparing.

In the Eclipse faction, there were two main alliances: Human Realm Alliance led by CloudTraveller and Heaven’s Bell Alliance led by Midnight Bell.

In the Abyss faction, there were also two main alliances: Carefree Alliance led by BrokenOracle and Northern Dipper Alliance led by Milk with Bitter Gourd.

Midnight Bell was the overall commander of Heaven’s Bell Alliance. Although guild battles were fought independently, during the initial stages, they typically coordinated actions with the guilds within their alliance, while allocating resources internally in the later stages.

With the Abyss faction gaining the faction buff this week, making them formidable opponents, they decided to avoid direct confrontation and instead focused on defending their own strongholds. They planned to direct their main attacks towards the weaker Northern Dipper Alliance, primarily composed of Watermelon’s faction, leaving the formidable Carefree Alliance to be handled by CloudTraveller’s guild.

The management of Zenith Expanse, Temple of the Gods, and Eternal Flame from the Heaven’s Bell Alliance were in discussion.

“CloudTraveller is surprisingly easy to negotiate with this time?”

“Be cautious, there might be a trick. We’ve only agreed not to attack each other for the first hour. After that, they might turn against us.”

“They’ll have command authority in the faction battle, won’t they?”

“It doesn’t matter. Our main goal this time is to hold onto our original strongholds.”

“Will CloudTraveller’s guild accept that? We just took two of their strongholds last week.”

Midnight’s Bell listened to the current territorial distribution and remarked, “No, the faction battle is about to begin. CloudTraveller’s guild has two main teams missing this week, so it won’t be easy for them to reclaim. We need to ensure that the command authority in the faction battle falls on our side.”

Midnnight Bell continued, “Eternal Flame, Temple of the Gods, declare war on Watermelon. We’ll support you here and watch out for CloudTraveller’s counterattacks.”

The management from Temple of the Gods reassured, “Brother Night, rest assured. Watermelon’s guild has been so arrogant on the forums. Let’s teach them a lesson this time. A noob is still a noob. Just because they got a faction buff, they think they can beat us?”

With consensus reached within the Heaven’s Bell Alliance, both sides plunged into fierce contention right from the start of the guild battle. The Abyss faction, empowered by the faction buff, fought exceptionally ferociously. It seemed they aimed to reclaim the lost strongholds, swiftly taking back two of them in one go. This outcome left Temple of the Gods extremely surprised—they hadn’t anticipated the significant impact of the faction buff!

“Boss, we’ve lost the outlying stronghold in the Northern Wasteland.”

“Glacial Ravenlands in the north is also lost.”

“This faction buff is really overpowered.”

Midnight’s Bell had long prepared countermeasures. Watermelon’s Guild indeed wielded formidable firepower, but there were too few Dispel Cloak professions. “According to Plan A, flank them and counterattack from behind. Their backline is weak. The lost strongholds aren’t a big issue yet; they haven’t fully occupied them. Their main force is here; deploy two assassin teams to reclaim them, avoiding any marksman presence. Remember to bring the item.”

However, the situation turned out to be somewhat unexpected.

When the two assassin teams moved to counter-ambush and reclaim the strongholds, they unexpectedly faced the formidable firepower of Watermelon’s Guild. It seemed like the enemy knew their positions in advance and launched a preemptive strike, annihilating both assassin teams. They could only watch as the enemy utilized half an hour to occupy the strongholds.

“Switch items. They might have marksmen camping,” someone suggested.

Occupying strongholds took time, and once lost, reclaiming them wasn’t easy. Temple of the Gods and Eternal Flame watched helplessly as their own strongholds were lost, contemplating stealing other strongholds from Watermelon’s Guild.

“Night, they’ve found our positions.”

“We can’t break through to their backline; it seems they have marksmen watching us.”

“What’s going on!? Did Watermelon’s Guild change commanders?”

“No change in command,” Midnight Bell observed the situation, frowning slightly. “Have there been any announcements about them obtaining special quest items recently?”

Watermelon’s Guild’s tactics remained consistent, but this time they bolstered their protection of the backline and enhanced their operational capabilities. It was as if they had placed an eye on their backline and key strongholds, constantly monitoring their movements.

“I haven’t noticed.”

Midnight Bell grew even more puzzled. “Their backline isn’t a weak point anymore. Let’s abandon the original plan and defend our current positions. Rest assured, we’ll reclaim the strongholds in the later stages.”

The strongholds lost belonged to Temple of the Gods and Eternal Flame, and upon hearing this, they also felt relieved.

However, the situation did not unfold as they expected. Watermelon’s Guild not only failed to hold their strongholds but also initiated aggressive attacks. Moreover, as soon as the previous hour’s agreement expired, CloudTraveller immediately declared war on them, aiming directly to reclaim the captured strongholds.

In the latter part of the battle, with the boost from the buff, Abyss faction’s guild intensified their efforts. Under BrokenOracle’s leadership, Renegade continued to stabilize their own strongholds and targeted the weak points of Heaven’s Bell Alliance. At one point, the four major guilds began to besiege Heaven’s Bell Alliance.

Zenith Expanse’s infiltration team suddenly malfunctioned, forcing Heaven’s Bell to prudently defend their own strongholds and unable to support Temple of the Gods and Eternal Flame.

By the time the guild battle ended, the announcement of stronghold occupation was made public.

Everyone was shocked. Zenith Expanse, which originally had the advantage in strongholds, was unexpectedly overtaken by Veiled Cloud Sanctuary by one. Veiled Cloud Sanctuary successfully took control of the Eclipse faction, and even more surprisingly, the Eclipse faction lost four strongholds.

“What the heck!? What happened in this guild battle? Wasn’t CloudTraveller missing two main teams?”

“Did Zenith Expanse’s commanders oversleep? How come Eternal Flame and Temple of the Gods couldn’t hold down Watermelon’s Guild?”

“Is the faction buff really that strong? I can foresee how intense the upcoming faction battles will be!”

“I’m shocked. Doesn’t Eternal Flame have a lot of assassins? They’re not playing the stealth game!?”

The major guild Temple of the Gods only secured one stronghold and lost two. Eternal Flame was completely shut out, losing all two strongholds.

Author’s note: There should be an update tonight, possibly around three or four in the morning. Don’t wait up!

To remind the little kawaii ones about guild matters: Factions: Eclipse and Abyss

Two major Alliances of Eclipse faction:

• People’s Alliance led by CloudTraveller (including Veiled Cloud Sanctuary)
• Heaven’s Bell Alliance led by Midnight Bell (including Zenith Expanse, Temple of the Gods, Eternal Flame – note: the one with a grudge against the protagonist group)

Two major Alliances of Abyss faction:

• Freedom Alliance led by BrokenOracle (including Any Freedom)
• Northern Dipper Alliance led by Milk Mixed with Bitter Melon (including Fruit Platter)