Chapter 279

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 279: It’s Time to Keep the Promise

"Heave-ho, heave-ho."

Emilia was very attentive, giving Rin a shoulder massage and patting his back, with just the right amount of strength.

By this time, Rin had finished a bottle of lemonade, and his body and mind were calming down from the earlier stress.

He then saw the waste hero trying to take off his shoes, thinking about giving him a massage. Rin quickly pulled his feet back, feeling a bit shy.

After all, he had been jumping around in calfskin boots, and his feet were sweaty; he wasn’t like those female characters who didn’t mind getting dirty…

He knew the waste hero meant well, so he didn’t scold her.

"You don’t need to do any more, but how about you, silly cat? Are you feeling okay?"

"Not at all, no problem."

Look at how relaxed they are; what seems like extreme sports to ordinary humans is hardly worth mentioning in her eyes.

In fact, agile professions find this quite easy; it was mainly a test of courage before.

According to Angela, the trials here will be adjusted based on the profession.

It seems this time the challenge is aimed mainly at him, the weak mage, without considering the hero at all.

Emilia squatted down, her warm little hands resting on either side of Rin’s face, and asked seriously, "Do you want to rest for a day? It’s still possible."

"No need; I’m just thinking about something else. That trial was nothing serious; I spent some energy, but now I feel good again."

Rin instinctively touched the claw marks on his cheek, then stood up and stretched his body.

Feeling fully restored, his expression turned proud again.

"Let’s go, continue on, and aim to complete all the trials today."

"Okay."

The waste hero still followed Rin obediently.

Rin turned his head and looked again at the empty abyss, still unable to tell if it was an illusion or a special space; his experience and knowledge were still too limited.

As he stepped into a narrow passage, it did not take long before the view opened up before him.

This time, there was surprisingly no small barrier blocking the entrance.

Compared to earlier scenes that were either spacious or magnificent, this fourth level seemed somewhat strange and simple.

A stone room about twenty square meters, with smooth stone walls all around, bare and empty.

In the center of the stone room, there was a hexagonal pedestal about one meter wide, and above the pedestal floated a red diamond crystal that was about the same width.

The red diamond crystal, glowing faintly, slowly rotated counter-clockwise in place.

"What kind of ore is this?"

Rin walked around the pillar, staring at the red crystal for a moment but didn’t dare to touch it.

With his knowledge, he thought of several minerals, but he couldn’t reach a conclusion right away.

At that moment, blue words popped up at just the right time.

"Step down, an extra lucky trial awaits. Please place your hands on the crystal, and the trial will start immediately."

"Huh? Isn’t the lucky trial supposed to be at the end? Why is it happening early?" Rin asked, feeling confused.

But the blue words were not like the guidance spirit in games, which would give answers to everything; they were even less helpful than Rin’s villainous AI, which would answer half the questions.

When you enter someone else’s game, you have to follow their rules; there is no other way.

Rin hesitated for just a moment, then stepped in front of the red crystal first. The waste hero followed right behind him.

The two people reached out their hands at the same time and placed them on the red crystal.

Just as their palms touched the cool crystal, the crystal rose slightly and then spread out a circle of red light.

After the red circles appeared and spread out several times, Rin realized that the bright stone world around him had once again fallen into darkness.

Not only that, but white mist began to appear on the ground and slowly rose up.

Just as the mist spread, a deep roar echoed from the darkness in the distance.

The sound kept getting closer, as if a giant beast hidden in the dark was slowly approaching its prey, which made him very uneasy.

Then Rin even heard the sound of wings moving and heavy breathing, and it was already very close.

This must be a huge flying creature!

Rin’s heart suddenly tightened and then became filled with confusion.

The theme of this trial is luck, right? It can’t be that they make them fight again, can it?

At that moment, a giant beast slowly stepped out of the darkness, revealing its form.

It turned out to be a pitch-black western dragon, covered in scales with sharp spines, looking quite fierce and menacing.

After emerging from the shadows, it quickly spread its wings and flew a short distance before opening its enormous mouth, spraying black breath and diving down towards the two.

The sight and the force made it seem like it wanted to crush Rin and Emilia right then and there.

However, when Rin saw that it was actually a black dragon, his initially tense feelings relaxed completely.

It must be fake, it has to be fake.

Dragons are such rare creatures; how could one appear in this small trial acting as a trial NPC? That doesn’t make sense.

Moreover, according to the records, the power and authority of a dragon is enough to make a person tremble and feel lost.

The dragon in front of me looked very fierce, but I didn’t feel any power coming from it at all.

If I had to describe it, it was like watching an epic fantasy movie in 3D, with the feeling of a dragon leaping out of the screen, except this dragon looked more real than any virtual model.

Of course, the most important thing was that the waste hero with the Observation Eye remained calm in a crisis, even tilting his head in curiosity as he watched the dragon rush towards him.

Sure enough, before the dragon got close, a long spear shot through the air and instantly pierced the dragon’s eye.

The Western dragon roared in pain and collapsed in front of Rin and the waste hero, rolling and thrashing.

Then, a soldier from the demon race, dressed in black armor and looking very impressive, stepped forward, leaped onto the giant dragon, pulled the spear out, and thrust it down again with great force.

Finally, the dragon fell, and the warrior raised his spear in a cheer, while big blue letters appeared on the screen, standing in the center like a title.

"Welcome to the immersive virtual game, Dragons and the Kingdom of Dusk."

"？？？"

Rin’s head was filled with confusion, and it took him a long time to connect the dots, bringing forth a series of big question marks.

"Game…?"

Even the waste hero hesitantly muttered two words, leaving the unpredictable hero stunned by this even more baffling trial.

What is going on? Why are we playing a game out of nowhere?

Once he regained his senses, a wave of anger surged through Rin.

Isn’t this the birthplace of Leviathan, also known as the ruins of trials? Why is there such a realistic game here?

Don’t tell me Leviathan prepared this entertainment game at home so his soul could have fun after death, or that after being revived, he planned to lounge around for a while?

The magical civilization in the game is even more advanced than the hero vs. Demon King board game we played last time.

Is this super high-definition, groundbreaking virtual VR cutscene and style something I can see in another world?

On the vast field, a song was being sung.

Just when the two of them were feeling confused, the game had already begun, and the game rules started to appear in blue letters.

Both sides would draw cards to choose their factions: the Commander of the Demon King Castle or the Dragon Clan, with each commander starting with only five health points.

Then, in each round, they would draw cards to gain troops, skills, buildings, and more, which would increase their commander’s shield, attack power, and speed. Some special cards could even raise health limits and action points.

In other words, the essence of the game is to draw cards and build up attribute values, and the cards are divided into common, rare, epic, and legendary. Each tier of cards has stronger increasing values.

Drawing the same card will upgrade it, providing a stronger value boost.

Skill cards need to be matched with troop types and consume action points, with higher skills requiring more points.

One side’s victory would end the game.

Upon reading the last sentence, Rin couldn’t help but grumble to himself.

In a game without limits, one side will always win.

But this is a test of luck; drawing cards really tests your fortune, and the game rules feel simple and a bit like a pay-to-win card game.

If the result is always one winner, then what’s the point of this trial?

You could at least say that only one side winning counts as a successful trial, so that at least one person has good luck and the other has bad luck, right?

Is that it? He even doubts that Leviathan is just lonely and is making someone play a game to watch the livestream.

But then he thinks it might not be right; this guy is known for his wisdom, and he specially designed such a trial level for a deeper purpose.

However, it is still hard to figure out.

The game has started, and in front of waste hero and Rin appears a scene: one half shows the luxurious yet gloomy Demon King Castle, and the other half gives a wild and violent feeling of the giant dragon clan.

In the closer area, two cards with golden light are floating upside down, likely representing different factions.

Emilia and Rin looked at each other, and when he nodded, she approached first and casually took a card.

It is unknown if it is truly random or if it’s a rule because heroes and demons are always enemies, but the waste hero drew a dragon card.

Therefore, Rin naturally took on the heavy responsibility of Suyu and became the leader of the Demon King Castle.

Well, let’s consider this as a way to get familiar with my job and experience the fun of usurping.

The scene in front of them was like a 3D movie screen, beginning to change.

In front of Rin and Emilia appeared a view of a vast continent, but this land was not filled with plains, forests, lakes, and snowfields like the real world.

It felt very desolate and ruined; only around the Demon King Castle were there forests and streams, while much of the land had been destroyed by war, leaving behind only wasteland.

At that moment, letters and a young, clear voice began to speak.

"In the Light Garden Continent, in the Holy Kingdom of Dusk, the final battle has begun."

The names of the unfamiliar continents and the names of the unknown countries seemed to be a background for a fantasy battle.

Rin thought to himself and then began to follow the simple tutorial.

He had already prepared himself for certain defeat when facing a cheater blessed by a goddess.

Even if the waste hero tried hard to control her power and used some useless skill cards, it would be hard to change the inevitable outcome.

Although this made the competitive Rin feel anxious, he knew that passing the trial was the top priority.

However, he never expected that this time the waste hero seemed to have lost the goddess’s signal and couldn’t use her powerful abilities from the casino, which matched his luck perfectly.

As a result, the game’s playability increased greatly, and Rin regained his fighting spirit, truly immersing himself in the game.

With each card, he transformed into a brave soldier of the demon race in the virtual world, battling opponents with cool skills, just like a super fantasy movie with a huge budget.

Compared to shows like King’s Power or other drama series, it was at least hundreds of levels higher; the feeling of being in control, as the greatest leader commanding an empire, was unmatched.

Because it felt too real, Rin watched his soldiers suffer heavy losses in the later stages and felt a hidden pain in his heart.

Game time is always short, and he didn’t know how long had passed. At this point, both sides finally faced their ultimate battle.

He glanced at the health shield of the waste hero, then estimated the skill cards in his hand. Rin sighed and waved his arm.

"Ha ha, so the Dragon Clan has no one left? You let a foolish, useless black-clawed cat be your leader. Don’t blame me for sending you to the underworld!"

"…"

Emilia stared at Rin in confusion, unable to understand why her tsundere character could fit in so quickly, to the point of affecting her sense of reality.

But they were indeed losing; the tsundere’s speed was slightly faster than hers and he had already upgraded his strongest unit card, Demon King, to the highest level and drawn the legendary skill "World-ending Fantasia."

The requirement for World-ending Fantasia is that the Evil Lord Card must be at the highest level; this move can destroy everything and lead to victory.

However, it didn’t matter; it was just a game. Besides, seeing the tsundere win and his happy expression would make her happy too.

Emilia thought with great fondness.

Rin, on the other hand, launched the final attack directly. The Demon King, with its black wings spread wide and a powerful aura, pointed its finger at the sky, and a purple-black orb filled with endless magic slowly rose into the air, growing larger.

As lightning danced within the magic ball, the sky changed color dramatically, turning completely dark with flashes of lightning and roars of thunder everywhere.

White lightning bolts struck down across the continent, producing booming sounds of thunder; the world-ending orb had risen to its highest point and looked as large as the sun.

This thrilling ultimate move suddenly paused at this moment, entering a buffer state.

"Could it be that we have to pay to watch again?!"

Rin, already a bit traumatized, exclaimed in shock just as blue subtitles lit up.

"Next is the loser’s Perseverance Test. After the final blow, how much damage is dealt? After reducing the health, it will become the ‘death’ pain doubling factor, applied to the loser."

"Countdown, ten, nine…"

"Test!"

Rin’s neck and the back of his hands were showing veins, his eyes full of anger, far from his earlier pride.

Looking at the waste hero, his face was pale, his empty eyes filled with fear, hugging himself, looking pitiful, unable to hide even his talent.

This delicate cat definitely can’t handle it! That must hurt so much.

Roughly estimating, the damage could exceed ten points, ten times the pain of death; let alone the waste hero, even an ordinary person couldn’t bear it!

It should have been a moment of panic, but Rin was surprisingly calm the next second, quickly scanning his cards and swiftly pulling out one card.

The World-ending Fantasia couldn’t be taken back, and the waste hero’s trial was inevitable, but he could still help her by half.

An ordinary curse skill, the Pain Sorcery, would make the opponent unable to act in this turn and the next, but the damage dealt this turn would transfer fifty percent back to the user.

A useless card that everyone ignores, surprisingly still managed to be useful.

Hmm, fifty percent of the damage is just enough to break my shield and still leave me with a drop or two of health.

This doesn’t count as both sides losing; I can still try my luck.

At this moment, Rin could not have imagined that this card, when played, not only reduced the damage to the waste hero but also seemed to have a bug that transferred the pain to himself.

Although he wanted to take the hit for it, it came too suddenly, leaving the villain completely unprepared, kneeling on the ground, hands gripping the earth tightly, looking very pale.

It felt like being slowly tortured on his soul, making Rin wish he could just crash his head, but in the fragments of his sanity, he still remembered his promise to comfort the hero.

Sharing her pain, and now, he has finally fulfilled that promise.