Mini World Game Console-Chapter 787 - 788: Level 6 Player, Promotion!

"Darkness First, 5-Star-level character team"

"Members: Black Coffin Demon King, Dread Chronomancer, Mister Darkmoon, Voidwalker"

"Summoning Cost: 2× summoning time, 10 Merit Points per 40 seconds"

"Note: This is an extremely powerful combat team. The four members know each other inside and out; each is a person of strength, handsomeness, intelligence, and wit. They possess unfathomably powerful spells, speak eloquently, and can coordinate seamlessly. It's a wise choice to summon them. They can even join you in gaming."

Ren Suo looked bewildered.

After a long absence, he donned the Seeker's Ornament and Listening Headphones—previously, in a state of Absolute Rationality, Rational Ren Suo did not need such equipment to perfectly decipher system information.

Ren Suo not only needed this equipment, he even scorned Rational Ren Suo.

A gentleman remains unchanged, but he knows how to make use of what he has.

Why exert one's own brain when better equipment is available?

So, he quickly obtained more detailed system information:

"When the summonable time in Rippling Spring Sounds exceeds two minutes, you can consume double the summonable time to summon the 'Darkness First' team. 'Darkness First' undergoes a Merit Point evaluation every 40 seconds. If you fail to provide 10 Merit Points, the summonable time is exhausted, or you actively cancel the summoning, 'Darkness First' will return."

It looks like the cost-effectiveness of 'Darkness First' is quite high.

First of all, Ren Suo could confirm that the total combat power of the 'Darkness First' four definitely far exceeded that of a Sixth Revolution Cultivator.

It was known that even Rational Ren Suo could only suppress their four-member group due to the 3-second foresight granted by the Key of Truth. Otherwise, even with sufficient defensive power and Attack Power, he could not have eliminated any of them—the entire group could Teleport.

When everyone can Teleport and cannot predict the opponents' Teleportation locations, how could anyone be eliminated?

Moreover, the four that Rational Ren Suo eliminated were obviously forcefully controlled by the Door of Truth. Though they attacked with full power from the start, they lacked Spirituality, and their coordination could only be deemed 'passable,' far from the level of synergy their group should have possessed.

They should have displayed champion-level play, but it was like handing over the controls to a cousin who hadn't even started elementary school. Even with characters in fully upgraded six-piece god equipment, they managed to produce a bronze-tier performance.

Moreover, a character like Rational Ren Suo—who possessed Time Spells, Space Spells, wide-area-of-effect destruction Spells, Healing Magic, and Teleportation Spells—as a Sixth Transformation All-Powerful Monk, inherently qualified as a cheat-level Otherkind.

The strongest state of Rational Ren Suo was just barely enough to defeat the weakest version of 'Darkness First'.

Therefore, anyone else with even a single shortcoming would definitely be overwhelmed by 'Darkness First'.

This meant that no matter how powerful a single boss Ren Suo encountered in the next game, as long as he dispatched 'Darkness First', he would surely win.

Although other characters, like Devouring the Spirit of the World, Ren Han, and the Truth Seeker, could potentially do the same, each had their weaknesses.

Devouring the Spirit of the World was powerful but couldn't eliminate Teleporting experts, akin to a cannon failing to hit a fly. Ren Han was mighty, but some could still escape his taunt, like certain Didra Great Magistrates Ren Suo had blown away. The Truth Seeker could gain Insight into everything but required some time.

Meanwhile, 'Darkness First' was truly plug-and-play, ready to quickly annihilate enemies as soon as they hit the field. Regardless of the enemy's strength, whether they were human, or had a physical form, none could withstand the relentless combined assault of these four rascally men.

Yeah, rascally men.

Rational Ren Suo might not mind, but now, recalling how those four rascally men restored his pain sensation to 100% before mercilessly beating him, Ren Suo's limbs seemed to ache faintly.

I'm not a masochist; how could I possibly have a good impression of these men who ruthlessly beat me?

Dong Chengling never even hit me!

And their character descriptions sound so perverted! What's with 'know each other intimately,' 'seamless coordination,' and 'knowing each other's depths and lengths'… Does any normal person get to know others that thoroughly?

Naturally, Ren Suo suspected that their closeness was probably due to some dirty, unspoken relationships.

Ew.

Listening to their conversations, it seemed each of them had a wife.

Ew.

The more Ren Suo thought about it, the dirtier and murkier 'Darkness First' seemed. Is this what 'Darkness First' is supposed to mean?

Calling them rascally men isn't going too far, not at all.

But rascally men or not, their cost-effectiveness is still high. If possible, I'd definitely choose them for battle.

Unless war breaks out… No, even a regular war wouldn't be enough for them to enjoy. With Black Coffin Demon King's teleporting flames and Mister Darkmoon's Moonlight Illumination, they could annihilate multiple modern legions in a minute, even wiping them out from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere.

Unless it was a cosmic-level war, Ren Suo really could not think of any combat capability that could trouble these four rascally men.

If only it were possible...

Ren Suo glanced at the "5-Star-level character team" and couldn't help shaking his head.

He was now only a Level 5 Player. Rippling Spring Sounds could only summon game characters below the Player's Level, so Ren Suo could only summon 4-Star-level characters and below.

Even if he wanted to summon this group of rascally men to join him for a five-player game, Ren Suo temporarily lacked the qualifications.

Apart from 'Darkness First', Ren Suo naturally had two new game characters—

"Los, 6-Star-level game character legion"

"Members: Los, Lorifes, 100,000 Didra Elite Warriors"

"Summoning cost: 5× summonable time, 1 Merit Point consumed per second"

"Note: A new Didra legion born from the old Didra, this is a disciplined, faithful, and spirited people's legion. From the Void to Purgatory, there's no position they can't conquer."

"Gatekeeper, 6-Star-level character"

"Note: An unemotional and irrational Gatekeeper, gradually eroding the Perfect Truth Authority. Players can feed the Gatekeeper Merit Points to accelerate the erosion of authority and receive aid in return."

"Feed 6 Merit Points: Randomly obtain a Key; the more you feed, the higher the grade of the Key. First-time feeding grants an additional Key."

"Feed 98 Merit Points: Randomly obtain 6 to 600 seconds of summonable time; the more you feed, the more time you get. First-time feeding grants an additional 60 seconds of summonable time."

"Feed 198 Merit Points: Randomly strengthen any Skill; the more you feed, the stronger the Strengthening effect. First-time feeding grants another chance for Strengthening."

"Feed 328 Merit Points: Randomly obtain any game character's Skill; the more you feed, the stronger the Skill effect. First-time feeding grants a Skill from any character."

"Feed 648 Merit Points: Randomly permanently de-rank any game character by 1 Star. First-time feeding de-ranks by an additional Star."

Ren Suo spent several minutes just looking at the effects.

Rational Ren Suo had never paid attention to the game character interface because at that time, Rippling Spring Sounds didn't even have a second of summonable time; game characters were as good as non-existent. Instead of spending time noticing changes in game characters, it was better to use that time for a bathroom break.

So it was only now that Ren Suo discovered that Los, just like Darkness First, was summoned along with an entire entourage.

But didn't Ren Han, the adventurer, the Handsome Monkey King, and Moon Chanter just annihilate a 70,000-strong Didra army a few days ago? How did Los manage to pull together another team so quickly?

However, considering the inherent martial ferocity of the Didra, it's not that surprising.

And compared to Darkness First, Los brought an entire legion of one hundred thousand troops. Even though it cost five times the summonable time, Ren Suo found it unbelievable. A hundred thousand troops! Such a massive army!

I could use Darkness First to destroy a city, but with Los, I could destroy an entire country!

But upon further reflection, Ren Suo felt the setup for Los was very reasonable: after all, he was a 6-Star-level game character. However, Los's strength... Well, it isn't weak, but it's completely outclassed by other game characters.

Other weaker game characters, like Zhao Zili, the Collector, and the Disaster Messenger, all possessed special expertise in certain areas.

Los, however, was purely a combat-type character and a high-Star-level one at that, but his strength was indeed underwhelming... Yet, he had another identity: the current supreme leader of the Didra.

Summoning Los was like dragging another nation's king into a fight. In superhero movies, when a king joins a battle, he definitely brings his entire national army. Therefore, it made perfect sense for Los to come with his own legion.

If Los didn't come with a legion, Ren Suo would basically never summon him. There are stronger, lower Star-level characters available, so why summon him?

Compared to Los, the Gatekeeper was a pleasant surprise.

Simply put, the Gatekeeper was essentially the Mini-World Game Console's official Krypton Gold channel.

Keys, Skill Strengthening, summonable time, obtaining game character Skills... these were things Ren Suo either had to acquire in reality or earn as rewards for clearing games. Now, for just 98, just 198, or just 328 Merit Points, he could buy them directly!

It truly is an opportunity not to be missed.

Ren Suo even considered directly splurging on the 198 Merit Point package, taking a gamble. Please, please enhance my Cloning Skill!

Just extending the duration to 24 hours would be enough!

I'm not asking for much!

And if it came with some clone intelligence enhancement, Learning Ability enhancement, or attributes to reverse-transfer Knowledge, Cultivation, or experience, that would be even better.

And feeding 648 Merit Points could even directly cause a Starfall!

Before this, only the Collector could actively cause a Starfall on themselves, but the Gatekeeper could make any character experience a Starfall!

The significance of a Starfall was that it allowed Ren Suo to repeatedly summon those powerful characters, and even summon some characters he originally couldn't.

Moreover, for a first-time feeding, the Gatekeeper would offer an additional gift!

Rounding it up, I'd almost make back the Merit Points spent! The Gatekeeper would be at a huge loss!

Ah, that would be so great... if only I had Merit Points.

Ren Suo stared eagerly for a while before finally reining in his Desire; this official Krypton Gold channel was just too expensive.

Even if Ren Suo reclaimed all the Merit Points he spent on Krypton Gold in the Door of Truth and received the 495 Merit Point reward, he currently only had 1,700 Merit Points. This was barely enough to purchase all the Krypton Gold options once to trigger the first-time feeding effects, leaving him with little afterward.

Reviewing his gains, Ren Suo was quite satisfied.

The passive effect of the Door of Truth didn't take up a slot. The rascally men of Darkness First were invincible. Los was an anti-army weapon with his one hundred thousand troops. The Gatekeeper's official Krypton Gold was the biggest money pit.

The only problem was that, apart from the Door of Truth, he couldn't use the rest for now.

Because Ren Suo was just a Level 5 Player, and a poor Level 5 Player at that.

These are all great, truly great... but unfortunately, I can't afford to use them.

Ren Suo sighed, exited the Equipment Interface, and was about to shut down the game console when a message suddenly popped up in the top left corner:

"You have received a message."

Ren Suo was startled for a moment, then immediately got excited and clicked it open.

"Congratulations on advancing to a Level 6 Player!"

"Equipment Interface's spare slot +1."

"You can choose one of the following Player's Privileges as a reward."

"① Leopard Head Zero Charge: Perform any one Merit Points transaction for free (this privilege disappears after one use)."

Ren Suo got excited just seeing this, almost confirming his choice immediately.

Although it's a one-time use, it means any single Merit Points transaction can be free!

For example, if I wanted to 'feed' the Gatekeeper the 648 Merit Point option, I could save 648 Merit Points directly! True freeloading!

My "Plucking Feathers from a Flying Goose" hasn't even saved me 648 Merit Points in total up to now!

Ren Suo was itching with excitement, but he restrained himself to see if there were any better freeloading options below.

"② Xin Yue Player: When mission evaluations are settled, you will inevitably receive the achievement 'Xin Yue Player', which grants an additional 10 points (cannot exceed 100 points)."

Incredible!

This is the first time I've seen such an amazing Player's Privilege!

It directly adds 10 points at the mission evaluation settlement!

If I had this privilege, then in the Door of Truth, forget losing my mind, even if I went completely insane, I could still easily get 100 points!

Apart from the extra rewards for reaching 100 points, the benefit of added points was immense.

Rational Ren Suo had taken a moment to calculate the correlation curve between scores and Merit Point rewards, concluding that 60 points yielded a 10% Merit Point bonus, 80 points yielded a 60% bonus, and 90 points yielded a 90% bonus…

This meant that if Ren Suo ever messed up a game in the future, these 10 extra points could salvage several hundred Merit Points in rewards for him.

Of course, the most attractive part for Ren Suo was the ability to easily achieve a 100-point evaluation.

Being able to score 100 points in every game he played—nothing could bring Ren Suo, as a Player, more joy than this, unless it was scoring 100 points while lying in his girlfriend's arms.

Ren Suo was immediately torn.

Should I choose Leopard Head Zero Charge?

Or Xin Yue Player?

With two such powerful Player's Privileges appearing, Ren Suo's anticipation for the third one grew even stronger.

"③ Invest in the Mystic Tavern: Players can work at the Mystic Tavern, earn Merit Points, and increase game characters' favorability."

Ren Suo was bewildered for a moment.

Then, he immediately exited the privilege selection interface, entered the Mystic Tavern, and found the tavern owner to ask, "Among the Player's Privileges, what does 'Invest in the Mystic Tavern' mean?"

The tavern owner, who was wiping glasses, glanced at him and said, "Exactly what it says."

Ren Suo asked, "How do I work?"

The tavern owner replied, "You will be projected into the tavern as a waiter. You'll have to do whatever the customers ask of you. It's very tiring, very arduous."

Ren Suo couldn't help but click his tongue secretly. Isn't this just being a host/server?

Even if it's just my projection serving customers, I'm not doing anything that would crush my dignity! Oh no!

Ren Suo asked, "How do I earn Merit Points?"

The tavern owner said, "Based on the customers' evaluation of you, you'll earn rewards ranging from 5 to 100 Merit Points per job. However, many customers are very Strict, like the adventurer, who might very well give you a low score."

Ren Suo asked, "What are the benefits of increasing a game character's favorability?"

The tavern owner replied, "The multiplier for their summoning time cost will decrease. For example, if their favorability is high, a game character might remain for 90 seconds, but it would only cost you 60 seconds of summoning time. However, increasing favorability is very subjective; all your Effort might be in vain."

Ren Suo understood completely. The third Player's Privilege, "Invest in the Mystic Tavern," was essentially allowing Ren Suo to trade his dignity and time for Merit Points, and making it easier for Players to summon game characters.

Compared to Leopard Head Zero Charge and Xin Yue Player, this privilege had more long-term Potential.

But Ren Suo thought about it and felt very uncomfortable.

A real man like him, who wouldn't even want a regular job and strived every day 'not to be supported by his girlfriend'—how could he do something that sold his dignity, his time, his very self?

No, no, this privilege is no good. Ren Suo made up his mind; he absolutely refused to do such a thing!

Ren Suo asked, "Can I use my Cloning Skill and have my clone do the work for me?"

Silence.

Silence. That was the state of the tavern today.

Ren Suo suddenly realized that the tavern owner was being very accommodating today, basically answering whatever he asked without any delay and speaking very politely.

If Ren Suo couldn't distinguish the owner's appearance, he might have suspected that the owner had been replaced.

But this owner was a good person. Ren Suo hadn't even asked, yet the owner had proactively pointed out the drawbacks, indicating that even if Ren Suo worked hard here, he might not gain much. He wasn't trying to trick Ren Suo at all; rather, he hoped Ren Suo would think twice.

The tavern owner finally spoke, his voice tinged with bitterness, "33 Merit Points."

So expensive?

But since the tavern owner was being so kind today, the price he stated must have been the absolute lowest.

His tone is so bitter. He must feel the price is too high and couldn't push it down, so he feels embarrassed, right?

Ren Suo was very moved and paid the Merit Points. Then the tavern owner replied:

"You can use a clone."

"Having received a considerable tip, the tavern owner whispered to you in an almost inaudible voice: All is illusion, all is permitted."