Sacred Souls: Genesis

Chapter 254: Chapter 252 I’m Not Cheating! (2nd Update) Chapter 254: Chapter 252 I’m Not Cheating! (2nd Update) Jiang Qiao felt he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.

The most important part of the construction of the Inner World was the gameplay, and Jiang Qiao had already modeled the Inner World… What Jiang Qiao now needed to refine were the Inner World’s gameplay and rewards.

Speaking of the rewards in the Inner World would come later; for now, Jiang Qiao’s priority was to work out the gameplay.

Firstly, monsters would spawn along the paths in the Inner World, and these monsters were all from the Spirits, but this was just the most basic aspect of the Inner World’s gameplay.

Jiang Qiao would also add extended gameplay, similar to the stronghold construction on Biland Island.

The extended gameplay of the Inner World consisted of NPC arena fights and territorial conquest battles.

These two gameplay elements were linked together.

Jiang Qiao would divide the Inner World into different regions for guilds to fight over control.

The method for contesting control was to challenge NPCs in arenas and complete various competitive tasks.

Now, what Jiang Qiao needed to refine was the content of the NPC trials or, put another way, NPC confrontations.

Then came the question… The Inner World was so vast, did Jiang Qiao have to personally design all the NPCs that players would challenge?

The answer was no, Jiang Qiao would create some ‘easy difficulty NPCs’ for casual players to challenge.

But as for those of ordinary, expert, and even ‘are you kidding me? Can this NPC even be defeated?’ difficulty, Jiang Qiao couldn’t design them even if he wanted to.

Jiang Qiao hoped to turn the NPC challenges in the Inner World into a kind of… skill-based instance.

Players’ gear could be subpar, but if their skills were good, they could still triumph, and it would also serve to hone their abilities.

Therefore, the combat mechanics of these NPCs had to be exceptionally clever.

So, Jiang Qiao had no choice but to issue a public recruitment.

Fortunately, the efficiency of the gods in that world was incredibly effective, and within less than two hours, they had recruited twelve Divine Chosen Ones and fifty-three followers with excellent combat skills across various fields.

Jiang Qiao also built a combat arena directly outside the instance lord’s dorm.

For these nearly sixty-five recruited prospective NPCs, Jiang Qiao decided to assess their combat capabilities alongside his five Knights.

Only then it would be possible to categorize their difficulty levels as easy, normal, hard, expert, and ‘are you kidding me?’ although, jokingly, the last difficulty level was hell.

Before being summoned by their deities, they were all informed about what they had to do, so Jiang Qiao didn’t need to give too much explanation.

Jiang Qiao promptly sorted them into six groups based on their health points; NPCs with health below fifty thousand would be reviewed by him, and those above fifty thousand were left to the five Knights.

Among the sixty-five NPCs, there were only seventeen with health below fifty thousand, with an average level of forty-seven.

“Winning against you allows one to challenge those Spirits?”

The first NPC stepped onto the arena where Jiang Qiao was, and it was a familiar face to Jiang Qiao… It was Prince Segman from Flowing Water Country.

He was still holding that plus thirteen Magic Wand in his hand, and Jiang Qiao was pleased to see that Segman had reached level forty-nine in the two months they hadn’t seen each other, already surpassing his mentor.

This level forty-nine advancement must have been some kind of gift from his deity.

“Of course,” said Jiang Qiao, now in a different outfit that made him look like a mysterious individual wearing a mask; Segman couldn’t recognize Jiang Qiao.

Segman still lingered around the Tower of Trial within the past two months, but unfortunately… the Spirit Bunny he cared about had moved to a higher-level map, and the holy items of the Tower of Trial had been left to the second division of the Vibrant Nucleus players to refresh.

The moment Jiang Qiao declared the duel to begin, Segman’s plus thirteen Magic Wand erupted with an even more dazzling light, and cold frost gathered around him.

Fire Spirit, Wind Spirit, Earth Spirit, Water Spirit, Thunderbeast, and Guardian of Light, as well as several other Summoned Beings, gathered beside Jiang Qiao.

After awakening, an Elemental Summoner’s Summoned Beings would transform from a two-headed size to a three-headed size in combat, and Jiang Qiao could summon twelve Summoned Beings at once… Summoner-class players could virtually turn the game into a real-time strategy genre.

The frost magic released by Segman had already swept over Jiang Qiao’s Summoned Beings, but the Flame Wall constructed by the Fire Spirit couldn’t resist the bitter cold winds summoned by Segman.

The frost wind swept through the area where Jiang Qiao stood, and before Segman remembered to change the spell to a more lethal blizzard, a cheetah formed of thunder pounced fiercely towards him.

The moment he saw the cheetah, he drew the Longsword from his waist, which shimmered with a bewitching red glow… Correct, it was a plus thirteen Longsword as well.

The Longsword instantly severed Jiang Qiao’s Thunderbeast, as easily as a heated blade cutting through cheese.

Segman performed excellently, fending off the assault of Jiang Qiao’s Summoned Beings for a full three minutes before finally succumbing, with his health chiseled down to below ten percent due to the self-destruction impact of the Fire Spirit.

“Hard,” Jiang Qiao whispered, giving his assessment.

Segman deserved this level; normal difficulty meant that average players could get through with some effort, while hard difficulty signified that average players would need to spend time studying and practicing combat techniques to overcome the challenge.

During these three minutes, Segman’s combat proficiency was undoubtedly much higher than that of an ordinary player. Even with a six-level difference, he stood a certain chance of defeating those ordinary players.

“Next,” Jiang Qiao fully restored his health and mana before addressing the sixteen others below the ring.

The remaining challengers didn’t give Jiang Qiao the same astounding impression he had when facing off against Segman. Most were rated by Jiang Qiao as average, at best a “golden average,” and there were even three who were relegated to the easy difficulty due to their low level.

That kind… of noob slayer.

Finally, when the penultimate challenger stepped onto the ring, Jiang Qiao felt a bit of pressure.

The name of this second-to-last Divine Chosen One was Eternal·Thorne.

A prefix?

As soon as Jiang Qiao saw his name, he went into high alert. NPCs with prefixes were never simple, just like those Divine Chosen Ones, they were all related to… gods.

The prefix “Eternal” was new to Jiang Qiao, and yet Thorne’s health points didn’t seem to fit the bill of an Eternal at all.

He had only thirty thousand health points, not even surpassing Segman, who Jiang Qiao had previously challenged; the holy spirits could wipe him out with a casual awakening ability at this stage.

But Thorne was at level sixty-five, making him the highest-level Divine Chosen Jiang Qiao had faced so far. This guy exuded the aura of ‘that’s right! I’m the reclusive master you’ve overlooked. If you underestimate me, I’ll defeat you and then launch into a long lecture about life’s lessons before taking you on as my apprentice!’
He was clad in a worn robe that looked like it had seen a hundred battles; such attire was something a character who had experienced much of the world would wear. And his weapon… was a tree branch.

After staring at each other for three seconds, Jiang Qiao broke the brief silence with a tentative question.

“I guess you… must be pretty strong?” Jiang Qiao asked somewhat uncertainly.

“Hmm.”

Eternal·Thorne’s appearance fit the East Asian design of the holy spirits, which corresponded to the people of China in reality. He appeared to be around sixty years old.

Jiang Qiao wasn’t sure if Thorne was his first or last name, but either way… his vetting work must continue.

“Before we fight, let me ask you something. If you win, I’m not going to end up training swordsmanship in your dojo, am I??” Jiang Qiao nervously inquired further.

“This Devouring God of the current generation sure is an interesting person.” He rubbed his stubble thoughtfully and then shook his head, “I haven’t taken an apprentice in many years.”

“Good to hear. There’s nothing in my talent list related to swordsmanship.”

Jiang Qiao flexed his wrists, and just as he declared the duel to start… it took less than three seconds for him to understand.

The character of Eternal·Thorne was as hard as the ‘Your Mom’ level of difficulty.

At the start of the fight, Thorne charged straight at Jiang Qiao. His speed wasn’t fast, at least not the kind of speed where someone disappears in a blink of an eye like in Dragon Ball, leaving you punched hundreds of times before you even realize it.

Jiang Qiao could track his movement, and just when he thought he could have a proper fight with Thorne, he easily broke through the defensive wall formed by Jiang Qiao’s summoned creatures.

He anticipated the attacks of the twelve summoned beings, which made it seem to the onlookers like he was charging straight at Jiang Qiao without pause.

Instantly, Jiang Qiao retracted his Earth Spirit and raised a sword-wielding earthen arm to strike, but Thorne’s branch had already hit Jiang Qiao’s heart.

Without feeling any pain, Jiang Qiao’s health decreased shockingly fast; every one of Thorne’s hits was a Critical Strike.

For the first time, Jiang Qiao experienced what it felt like to be powerless. Although his mind could follow Thorne’s movements, he was unable to fend off the swings of the branch in Thorne’s hand.

After less than ten seconds of clashing, Jiang Qiao realized the difference between a modern-day otaku and a master of swordsmanship.

“A bit embarrassing,” Jiang Qiao said, collapsing on the arena floor with twenty percent of his health remaining. He looked up at Thorne and asked, “I guess… you’re here looking for stronger opponents?”

“Opponents? No, fighting with a disciple of the Devouring God is very interesting.” Thorne glanced at the burn mark on his hand, which he had deliberately exposed to take a hit, allowing Jiang Qiao’s Fire Spirit to inflict one hundred thirty points of damage.

“Interesting?”

Jiang Qiao immediately began scanning the term “Eternal” using his reconnaissance spell.

Eternals were once allies of the Devouring God. This race was extremely rare, their only trait being Locked Health. Not even time could reduce their life points. The only ones who could punish this race, notorious for using Locked Health cheats, were the Devouring God himself and the owners of his divine status.

“Playing games with invincibility cheats must be boring,” Jiang Qiao suddenly said.

Thorne was taken aback by Jiang Qiao’s statement and didn’t respond…

“Did I pass your test?” Thorne asked.

You did pass my test, but whether other players can pass your test remains to be seen.

“You passed. Head to the back and stand by,” Jiang Qiao said, categorizing him as the ‘Your Mom’ difficulty level.