Mini World Game Console-Chapter 740 - 741 Emotions Appreciated

Very well.

Ren Suo had not expected the battlefield for the second stage to be inside a renowned landmark. This was a significant advantage for him, especially if his enemies were artistic French folk.

Through his experience in the first stage, Ren Suo knew that Seekers were not completely deluded by the Door of Truth. He could use words to elicit their rationality, such as demoralizing Yun Wangshu with some of Ren Han's gossip.

The Seekers were not enemies who couldn't control themselves; they still possessed a certain degree of rationality.

Notre-Dame de Paris, with its incomparable historical value, extensive art collection, and status as a national symbol, was highly likely to make Seekers hesitant, perhaps even causing them to abandon the idea of fighting there.

Although he was in a crowded area this time, Notre-Dame de Paris could effectively isolate him from some potential foes.

French Transcendents definitely wouldn't dare attack Notre-Dame de Paris from the outside—they'd be condemned by the public.

Ren Suo wasn't concerned. After all, he was currently disguised as the Gatekeeper. Whatever happened, he could claim, "I didn't want this," or "I was merely defending myself." In truth, he only needed to buy time, as combat was not his desire.

As the saying goes, the instigator is at fault, so any economic damages should logically be compensated by whoever struck first.

Here, the geographical advantage greatly favored Ren Suo. From any bystander's perspective, the Gatekeeper's desire to attack seemed low. Moreover, bystanders couldn't comprehend the Seekers' impulsiveness, so the responsibility for the battle would naturally fall on the Seeker who attacked first.

However, when Ren Suo saw Seekers stepping into the tranquil, sunlit ambulatory connecting the main and side chapels, he immediately realized things weren't so simple.

It wasn't only he who had the geographical advantage of Notre-Dame de Paris.

This time, Ren Suo saw six Seekers.

A white-bearded man carrying a cello case and wearing goggles;

a pretty, black-haired girl with a violin case, dressed in a black coat;

a young girl in a white dress holding a kitten and carrying a large guitar bag;

a young woman described as blonde, yet with striking red hair, dressed in green and holding two briefcases;

a robust man with a travel bag;

and a large, bearded man with a satchel slung across his shoulder.

Among these six, Ren Suo recognized only two.

The white-bearded man with goggles was Kadell, a fourth transformation expert from the Wizard Council. His awakened spells were suspected to be of the Enhancement System, capable of amplifying bullet power and range. He had once achieved the effect of an anti-materiel sniper rifle with a handgun.

Internal network data rated him as an "extreme-range assassination weapon," a special combat power operative requiring close monitoring upon entering any country.

Moreover, he was tone-deaf, with no musical talent whatsoever.

So, there was definitely no cello in Kadell's cello case.

By that reasoning, the instrument bags the others were holding probably didn't contain instruments either.

The other Seeker Ren Suo recognized was the young girl in the white dress.

He seemed to have seen her on The Dark Side of the Moon before but wasn't familiar with her details. She was likely a Moonlight system Transcendent.

Ren Suo briefly exited the game to look up the Wizard Council's Transcendents on the internal network. After getting a general idea, he returned to the game and said preemptively in English (the only foreign language he knew),

"Kadell, is this the Hunter Squad you've formed?"

Kadell glanced at the Door of Truth behind Ren Suo and nodded slowly. "I was just here for a pleasant, publicly funded trip. I didn't expect to hunt such premium game."

"I have no interest in fighting, Kadell," Ren Suo said indifferently. "Although your history means nothing to me, do you choose to battle me in this place?"

Kadell walked into the main aisle of the church, took out a pistol, and fired a shot at the cathedral's dome!

"All bystanders, leave immediately," he said coolly. The tourists and worshippers in the church immediately scattered in terror.

A staff member ran out from a side chapel, loudly saying something to Kadell in French. Kadell shook his head and snapped open the cello case, revealing a fantasy heavy sniper rifle resembling the Fire Kirin from a domestic online shooter game.

"Compared to the Secret of Life and Death, this church is insignificant." Kadell picked up the sniper rifle, stared at the Door of Truth, and said, "Gatekeeper, do you know what death feels like?"

"I haven't specifically looked into it."

"I know," Kadell said. "It's an unending void, a sound in a vacuum, ice within the sun, water within water... It's the full stop to all life, all memories, all yearnings."

"Your words are quite moving," Ren Suo said with a smile.

"Then do you know why I'm familiar with the taste of death?" Kadell removed his goggles and said calmly, "I have died before."

"I'm quite certain of this: I have died. Perhaps this is just my delusion, for I've never faced a mortal crisis, nor have I ever suffered a serious injury, and I stand here just fine... But I definitely did die, and yet I've completely forgotten about it."

"To be honest, I don't much care whether I've died or not. What concerns me is who I really am."

Kadell raised the sniper rifle and aimed it at Ren Suo. "Am I Kadell, resurrected from death, or another soul possessing Kadell's memories?"

"Let this bullet tell me the answer."

「The fight began!」

"Guard the Door of Truth, defeat all Seekers, until you ignite the Second Prime!"

"Upon successful defense, the Gatekeeper will be rewarded and will further enhance his Authority of Truth!"

"Estimated combat duration: 12 minutes!"

The required battle time for the second stage is shorter than the first. But following the principle of progressively increasing combat difficulty, this means... the difficulty of this battle will be much higher than the first!

Ren Suo activated Time Roaming, combined with Mage's Death-Defying Feather, and transformed into a shadowy figure. He charged towards Kadell, passing straight through the energy bullet aimed at his forehead!

The Five-Fire Bead was triggered! 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Ren Suo raised his hand and made two consecutive slashing motions toward Kadell, unleashing two Cross Slashes!

Changsheng Cross Slash!

In that instant, a storm of bullets, like a barrage, swept across and shattered the Changsheng Cross Slash!

Suddenly, a giant golden exclamation mark appeared above Ren Suo's head!

Ren Suo suddenly felt a chill down his spine; the sense of crisis in the game even affected his real body!

The thunderous sound of a gunshot erupted from his right. Too late to defend, Ren Suo found that Time Roaming's passive ability had activated, granting him a second of invincibility. He immediately used the Feather of Teleportation to retreat.

However, the moment he exited Time Roaming, he saw the ground below crack open. Marble tiles suddenly formed an abyssal maw snapping at him, while simultaneously, a Starlight Arrow locked onto his head descended from above!

From both sides, two spinning flying axes hurtled toward him!

Death loomed from all directions—above, below, left, and right!

In the blink of an eye, Ren Suo had no escape!

Ren Suo didn't hesitate, immediately activating Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart to teleport away and avoid the ambush.

The cooldown for Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart was too long for it to be a regular combat skill. Thus, Ren Suo didn't pin his hopes on this once-a-day teleport, instead choosing to use the ability for scouting new areas.

Being reluctant to use skill props, like a member of the Squirrel Party, is a strange affliction.

Ren Suo once had this affliction. He hardly ever used Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart normally in games, always waiting for a moment to turn the tide with it. Yet, when such a moment actually came, he often forgot about the skill.

Now, Ren Suo had changed his approach. He aimed to harness the full value of his skill props. When exploring new areas, every extra second he held out meant more intelligence gathered, reducing unnecessary repeat attempts. It was well worth it.

Ren Suo dodged behind a column in the church. The huge golden exclamation mark still floated above his head, extremely conspicuous.

He turned his head to observe Kadell's group of six, activating Arrogant Humility's Mouth. "So this is the might of a Hunter Squad? As far as theatrical antics go, you indeed have reason to be proud."

"Speaking of which, we still haven't introduced ourselves to the Gatekeeper of the Door of Truth."

The black-haired girl, taking an automatic rifle from her violin case, laughed softly. "I'm Chuixis, codename 'Ranger.'"

The red-haired woman in green, who had pulled two submachine guns from two briefcases, leveled them at the column where Ren Suo hid. "This young lady is Lairelai, codename 'Windrunner.' A pleasure to meet you."

The girl in the white dress took a wooden bow from her guitar case and touched the small cat on her shoulder. She held no arrows, yet when her fingertips touched the bowstring, starlight gathered. "'Moon Priestess' Milana, sending cordial greetings on behalf of the World Tree."

The muscular man with the backpack sat on the ground, pressed his hands to the earth, and said in a deep voice, "Levi, 'Tide.'"

The large, bearded man who caught two whirlwind-like colored glaze flying axes laughed heartily. "Remember this name that will resound throughout the world—'Great Ape King' Karlok!"

"And I'm 'Sniper' Kadell!"

Kadell raised his sniper rifle, aimed at the pillar where Ren Suo was, and said proudly, "We're not like those Earth Spirits! We are the Hunter Squad, honed by countless training sessions and battles, an ace team of the Wizard Council that has never missed!"

"That exclamation point above your head is our joint spell. As long as one of us can see you, you become the target for all six of us!"

"Gatekeeper, I won't make things difficult. Just stay there and don't move. Don't force us to put a few holes in you."

They indeed had grounds for their pride.

After that exchange, Ren Suo had roughly figured out their specific abilities.

Kadell was obvious: extreme long-range, high-powered shots.

Windrunner, with her submachine guns, could fire Spiritual Energy Bullets that had destroyed his Changsheng Cross Slash.

Ranger, wielding an automatic rifle, could perform high-speed, no-recoil headshots.

The Moon Priestess's arrows automatically locked onto targets, striking from above.

Tide could control the earth, launching unpredictable attacks and dealing damage from below.

Great Ape King controlled two flying axes capable of shattering a Spiritual Energy Barrier, attacking from unseen angles.

Kadell's name for his squad was very apt: Hunters.

They specialized in hunting humans.

All six were Transcendents with high burst damage and output. Unless Ren Suo could subdue more than half of them in an instant, any slight pause would mean facing that same kind of flawlessly coordinated, full-range, locked-on strike.

Moreover, due to Notre-Dame de Paris's architecture, all six could easily find cover. In this environment, these six ranged attackers had a greater advantage than he did!

Ren Suo hid behind the column, waiting for Kadell to approach the Door of Truth. He was about to charge, lock Kadell's throat, and break his bones. However, just as he was about to grant Kadell's wish to experience death again, the other Hunters' attacks instantly tore his body asunder.

「Igniting the Primordial Substance failed.」

Back in the familiar, pure-white space, Ren Suo pondered for a moment. He soon thought of the correct strategy for this stage: Defensive power or mobility.

As long as his defensive power was strong enough, those six Hunters were nothing to fear; he could take them down one by one without a problem.

Alternatively, with sufficient mobility, if he could incapacitate more than three of them instantly, he could then slowly wear them down.

If his defenses were strong enough, he could withstand the golden exclamation mark and blast them away.

If his speed was great enough, the golden exclamation mark wouldn't be able to catch him.

Ren Suo thought for a while longer, then opened the exchange menu.

"The Gatekeeper's transaction permissions have been upgraded!"

"The affinity value from the Gatekeeper's relationships has increased by 20%!"

"The spells available for purchase by the Gatekeeper have been further expanded, refined, and extended!"

Hmm...

The details of the transaction permission upgrade were pretty much as he had imagined.

Ren Suo glanced at the affinity list. The only five-figure values still belonged to his parents. Although Dong Chengling and the others' Truth Point values hadn't reached five figures yet, they had all increased by over a thousand, indicating great potential for appreciation.

Opening the spell exchange list, Ren Suo noticed quite a few spells with impressive cost-effectiveness.

Most importantly, each spell had two prices!

"Spell Card: Bright's Hero Law: Fully master Bright's heroic abilities. Price: 20,000 Truth Points. Holy Hero Transformation: When the Five-Wind Bead is triggered, the Gatekeeper gains Hero Enhancement, reaching peak status in all abilities for 60 seconds. Price: 8,000 Truth Points."

Now, every spell had a "budget" version. This budget version was at least half the price of the original, its effects were slightly weakened, and it was generally linked to the Bead Rotation System, meaning Ren Suo had to trigger these abilities by turning beads.

But they really were cheap!

For spells worth tens of thousands of Truth Points, half price meant saving several thousand!

Being linked to the Bead Rotation System wasn't a big deal. As long as he was willing, he could divert some attention to control the Bead Rotation Matrix and trigger desired spells when necessary.

The biggest issue, however, was that only one skill could be equipped to each of the Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire Pearl slots. For example, if Ren Suo equipped Changsheng Cross Slash, he couldn't also equip Fuel to the Fire, which was also triggered by the Five-Fire Bead.

Ren Suo quietly noted the name Bright. Even though he wasn't sure about the exact function of the Hero's Law, a value of 20,000 Truth Points undoubtedly signified a formidable ability. This indicated that Bright must also be an expert with great potential. If there was a chance, he could try to befriend him.

Ren Suo continued to browse the spell list and quickly found a powerful spell that could perfectly get him through the second stage—

"Spell Card: Absolute Blade Armor: Fully master the Black Coffin Demon King's Absolute Blade Armor. Price: 12,000 Truth Points. Blade Armor: When the Five Earth Beads are triggered, the Gatekeeper gains Blade Armor protection, reflecting all damage for 5 seconds (self will also be harmed). Price: 4,800 Truth Points."

The Black Coffin Demon King has such a powerful ability? Ren Suo was surprised.

However, 4,800 Truth Points...

Ren Suo mused for a moment, then opened the affinity exchange list again.