After work, start to speedrun the other world-Chapter 252 - 87 More Like a Dragon than a Dragon_2
And naturally, the conditions required for the ritual varied in difficulty.
"Player?" Eden expressed a hint of confusion; she didn’t understand why Ahtal would have the ability of a "player," as any born ability was related to one’s inner desires, and Ahtal and the concept of a player... seemed hardly connected.
Regarding this, Ahtal began to blather.
"Do you like playing games?"
"..."
Eden fell into contemplation.
Xi Mu didn’t seem to expect an answer from Eden and explained by himself, "Playing games is a joyful activity; everyone can find pleasure in it."
He leaned against the tree trunk.
"If life were likened to a game, then I could fully enjoy the fun of the game."
Eden shook her head, "Life is not a game."
"But it could be, right?" Xi Mu smiled, "Only, compared to games, the real world has too many rules, and the standards for everyone’s victory vary."
He met Eden’s gaze.
"Actually, I really despise the doctrine that doesn’t allow suicide. It’s like forcing everyone to play the game of life unwillingly."
"Even a child knows that when a game’s difficulty is unreasonable, one would want to quit, but the reality is, you have to play whether you want to or not, and it’s absolutely forbidden for anyone to quit this game of life, or else they would face unbearable punishment."
"If I were to design a game, I’d change the rules so that every player could enjoy the game, experiencing its fun."
As he spoke, his gaze drifted away.
"Of course, that’s just wishful thinking on my part."
"That’s a very good wish, and a very good ability," Eden affirmed, understanding Ahtal’s thoughts.
She had lived a long time, had seen many countries and civilizations rise and fall, and had a deeper understanding of what Ahtal was talking about.
In different environments, the criteria for people’s success varied; it might be having a happy family, perhaps being as wealthy as a nation, and of course, being well-fed and clothed. But whatever the criteria,
they were restricted by "rules" making them difficult to achieve.
And when people realized that they could never achieve these regardless, they recognized failure, which led to the emergence of suicidal thoughts.
I remember a long time ago there was a story; a Sage created a puppet and commanded her to pick up the Gold Coin from the ground.
The puppet did it effortlessly.
Subsequently, the Sage asked the puppet to fish out fish from the water. The first attempt... failed, and the Sage gave the puppet a severe punishment.
After that, the Sage arranged several experiments, rewarding the puppet for each success and severely punishing her for each failure.
And naturally, the puppet realized something; if she couldn’t fulfill the Sage’s orders, she would be punished, but she would be rewarded if she succeeded.
To avoid punishment and to receive rewards, the puppet did everything possible to satisfy the Sage, even though the conditions set by the Sage became increasingly difficult. Most of the time, however, the puppet managed to meet the Sage’s demands.
Until one day, the Sage demanded the puppet fish the moon out of a pond.
The puppet failed; there was no real moon in the pond.
However, the Sage did not change the request this time, repeatedly asking the puppet to fish the moon out of the pond.
After trying everything possible, making all attempts, the puppet faced... perpetual punishment, as if she could never succeed.
Eventually, the puppet thought of a method, the closest one to success; she committed suicide in front of the Sage.
If she was always going to be punished and there was no way to receive rewards, then suicide was the optimal solution.
Death is the ultimate solution for escaping unreasonable rules.
This was the conclusion the Sage arrived at, and what Ahtal wanted to do was essentially to redefine the rules, to erase the irrational parts so that everyone could play the game.
"If I can manage it," Xi Mu smiled and focused on eating the fish, aware that Eden believed his explanation of the "player" ability.
"If that is your thought," Eden lifted her hand to lightly touch her hair at her ear as if confirming something, "then your powers as a demon should be related to customizing the abilities of the game rules..."
"What do you mean?" Xi Mu asked puzzled, "After becoming a demon, aren’t my abilities still ’player’?"
"Abilities can be expanded," Eden explained, "The same abilities can also vary in application depending on the user’s capabilities..."
She thought for a moment and explained.
"Take ’life’ for example, the Goddess of Life can develop the ability of ’life’ to an omnipotent level, not only creating life but also intervening in the world, but for ordinary people using the life ability, it could only mean healing the body."
"If you can complete the ritual to become a demon, then the boundaries of your abilities can be expanded, transforming into another concept of power."
Xi Mu nodded, seemingly understanding Eden’s words.
Although Eden’s explanation was complex, in simpler terms... it meant unlocking the corresponding ability entries, making one’s abilities more versatile.
Meanwhile, as they were chatting casually.
The sky suddenly darkened.
"Here it comes, the Red Dragon King." Xi Mu looked up at the Red Dragon obscuring the sky, seeing a colossal dragon like a moving mountain, blocking the sun and its wings covering the heavens, larger than even giants.
"Roar—!!!" The earth-shattering roar of the dragon, the Red Dragon cast gaze upon the insignificant humans below.
Their gazes met.
No words needed.
Fire, spewing from between Xi Mu’s teeth, released a scorching Dragon Breath, colliding with the heavenly fire breathed by the Red Dragon King.
"Boom!" The intense flames engulfed the world, the spreading brightness melted the thick snow, which instantly evaporated.
The light receded.
The former snowy plain vanished, leaving behind a scorching red earth, emitting steaming smoke.
"Are you truly seizing the dragon’s power, rather than being... a dragon yourself?" the red-haired strongman, stepping over the scorched earth, came up to Ahtal.
"You seem more like a dragon than a dragon."
"Unfortunately, I am human," Xi Mu casually responded, seemingly unconcerned about the Red Dragon King’s previous attack.
He calmly stated:
"After this is all over, I’ll attack you without hesitation as well."
"That’s fine, you can start anytime," the red-haired strongman waved it off, unconcerned by Ahtal’s almost provocative remark.
Dragons inherently decide everything by strength.
Well... that’s his personal view. Nowadays, the Dragon Clan is highly socialized creatures, especially the younger dragons who hardly resemble the independent dragons of old.
"The key now is to resolve the source of fear." Suna stepped out from behind the Red Dragon King, her eyes closed, standing between the two... no, perhaps between two dragons.
"If possible, I hope you can get along well," she said.
"They won’t have conflicts," Eden spoke, comforting, "Before resolving the source of fear, they won’t oppose each other."
"That’s good," Suna patted her ample chest, still worried that the two would start fighting at a word.
"To get to the point, we have two methods to resolve the source of fear," Xi Mu did not want to waste words and went straight to the point:
"Find a nearby country to sacrifice, summoning the Witch of Death to resolve the source of fear," he said looking towards the sky.
"Or the only other option, send the source of fear to a place where it won’t affect the human world."
"Send the source of fear to the high heavens?" the Red Dragon King stroked his chin and then shook his head, "Only deities can open the passage to the high heavens."
