Help

"Yeah, that's right, exactly as I said... No, no, listen to me first, listen to me. First you do this, then this, and then this, and finally like this. Did you catch that? Good grief, why aren't you getting it? It's so simple! Don't tell me you don't understand? First this, then this, and then this, and finally this. It's totally straightforward, got it? Right, right, right! You finally get it. That's it!" "Come on, would I lie to you? We're good friends—I could fool anyone, but I'd never fool you, right?... What happened with Reverie was caused by so many factors. Some were historical legacy issues, some were objective environmental reasons. It wasn't that our plan was flawed; our styles just didn't quite mesh, the conversion efficiency was a bit low, and the end result was somewhat underwhelming... But this time, I'm absolutely certain! A once-in-a-million-years opportunity! If you miss out this time, you'll regret it for tens of thousands of years!" "That's the spirit! You've got great taste. Just go back and wait for good news!" The Dramatic Poet chatted into the walkie-talkie as if no one else were around. Yaxiu and Vichy had to use every ounce of self-control to keep their expressions straight—as demigod sorcerers, their hearing was sharp enough to capture every detail within a fifty-meter radius if they wished. Naturally, they could tell that not a single sound was coming from the walkie-talkie; the Dramatic Poet had been gesticulating and talking to himself the entire time. "Mm-hmm, then it's a deal. Don't worry, there's absolutely no problem! Let's hang out whenever you're free!" The Dramatic Poet stowed the walkie-talkie and said to them, "All settled. Terminal Observer, you can participate in their trials. As long as they complete their trials, you'll also be able to finish your preparations for ascending to God-Leader." Vichy guessed that the Dramatic Poet had likely used some authority to collude with the Void Realm, enticing it into distributing the trials of the three women onto Yaxiu, and that the walkie-talkie conversation was merely a joke played on them. Yet Yaxiu actually asked, "How did you convince the Void Realm to allow me into their trials?" "Very simple. The four-person joint trial proposal I offered has a higher overall difficulty than their individual trials, even though the bulk of that difficulty is concentrated on you," the Dramatic Poet said. "If we quantify it with numbers: in individual trials, the Void Realm could only inflict 10 points of damage on each of them, totaling 30 points. But under my plan, the Void Realm can inflict a total of 40 points of damage on you all—where you are responsible for offsetting 25 points, and each of them bears 5 points. Furthermore, once you collapse, they will naturally have a hard time surviving as well. Your chances of survival are lower than if they underwent the trials alone, so of course the Void Realm accepted this proposal. After all, its core appeal is to utterly wreck you thieves." "Wait!" Vichy's gaze sharpened. "That's not what you said just now! You said Yaxiu could participate in our trials to lower our difficulty, not dump all the difficulty onto Yaxiu, and certainly not entrust the success or failure of our trials entirely to Yaxiu... You tricked us!" "Ara, didn't I?" The Dramatic Poet tilted his head, but when he saw Yaxiu and Vichy glaring darkly while channeling their source mana, he quickly held up both hands. "Wait, hear my defense—although most of the difficulty will fall on the Terminal Observer, that's only if he takes the initiative to participate in your trials! In other words, as long as he does nothing, he won't encounter any trial at all!" "Only if he actively helps you will he need to offset 25 points of trial damage!" "And I didn't say that the Terminal Observer losing means your entire team will be wiped out. It's just that as the core of the team, if he falls in the trials, I doubt that you, having lost your beloved, would be able to finish the trials on your own... Well, Spectre Prophet, maybe you're an exception." Yaxiu glanced at Vichy and asked again, "And if I do nothing, what will happen to them?" "If you don't help them, then naturally they will undergo the trial in your stead," the Dramatic Poet said, spreading his hands. "This trial has a time limit. At first, they will suffer 5 points of damage, which will slowly increase to 10 points over time. But if you take no action the entire time, your 10 points of damage will be distributed onto them." "So I didn't screw you over at all! In fact, I accommodated all your needs and gave you ample room to choose. Anyone can protect their lover, and anyone can rely on their lover." The Dramatic Poet smiled. "I'm guessing you're definitely pleased with this arrangement, aren't you, Terminal Observer?" Yaxiu was silent for a moment. He slowly stood up and looked up at the misty drizzle beating against the transparent canopy. He suddenly asked, "Then what is it that you want?" "Hm?" "You appear before every sorcerer capable of ascending to God-Leader and help them choose a suitable trial format... Why do you do this?" Yaxiu asked. "If you are the middleman between us and the Void Realm, what cut are you making off the markup?" The Dramatic Poet smiled faintly and stood, opening his arms wide. Flamboyantly spinning like a giant moth, he swept off his top hat and gave them a respectful bow. "Helping you sorcerers is the cut I'm here to take." "I am the writer and director of drama, the poet who pens the verses, the chronicler of legendary epics. Nothing gets my blood pumping more than a hymn of courage! And you—the sorcerers qualified to ascend as God-Leaders—are undeniably the trailblazers of the era. Ambition, wild reverie, perseverance, mettle, obsession... You embody the most brilliant and radiant qualities of humanity. Regardless of right or wrong, good or evil, hero or villain, your choices will alter the course of the River of Flowing Gold. The era shines brighter because of you!" "Yet regrettably, once you ascend to God-Leader, you tend to pull in your sharp edges. Thrilling, breathtaking tales are followed by a long, tedious 'many years later.'" The Dramatic Poet shrugged. "Take Stars, Blood Moon, Wujian, Senluo, Omniscience, and Reverie—before stepping into Heaven, they were always my best source material. Stars stole the Hell sky canopy; Blood Moon slaughtered his way straight through Hell; Wujian formed an army of heroic spirits to wage war across Hell; the rival pair Senluo and Omniscience toyed with and crippled the gods of Hell; Reverie blasted open the path of life and death with one fist and kicked open the gates of right and wrong with his feet..." "Just thinking back, countless breathtaking scenes flood my mind," he said with a look of longing. "You might think you are legendary enough, but the most dazzling years of those God-Leaders were definitely not a whit inferior to yours." "In the past, becoming a God-Leader was both the sorcerer's destination and the ending of their story. But now that the seventh level of the Void Realm has appeared, perhaps Blood Moon, Omniscience, Wujian, and Reverie—the four of them—will continue to write their own epic." "Yet before ascending to God-Leader, the Void Realm trial is basically the final adventure a sorcerer undergoes. It would be a total waste to let the Void Realm make a mess of such an opportunity, which is why I volunteered to facilitate communication between you and the Void Realm, securing the most fitting story chapter for you." "The moment you take the stage, I have already received my payment," the Dramatic Poet chuckled. "From here on, I shall sit in the audience and quietly enjoy the story you perform." "The trial has begun, and it is time for me to take my leave." He gave a slight nod and waved farewell. "Terminal Observer, Spectre Prophet, if fate allows—" "Wait." Yaxiu grabbed his wrist and said seriously, "You lied to us." The Dramatic Poet's expression didn't change. "How did I lie to you?" "You said earlier you'd help us lower the difficulty, but now it seems you only adjusted the format of our trial! We didn't gain a single penny of advantage!" Yaxiu patted away Vichy's hand, which kept tugging at his clothes, and bargained pettily, "At least lower our overall difficulty a little bit!" "Hey, brother, you have to understand my position too! If I told the Void Realm to lower the difficulty for you, the Void Realm would have to be an idiot to even pay attention to me. Especially now that the seventh level has been added, the Void Realm seems to have gotten quite a bit smarter. It's even learned how to hold grudges, and still remembers the last time I helped Reverie. How could I possibly lower the difficulty for you?" the Dramatic Poet explained earnestly. "So you just screw over us newbie sorcerers who only entered the Void Realm recently?" Yaxiu said with a straight face. "I'm going to record this behavior of victimizing newcomers in my diary and expose the Dramatic Poet's ugly true colors!" "You don't even keep a diary!" "I'm starting today!" "How the hell are you a newbie sorcerer?!" The Dramatic Poet completely lost his composure. "You're a bunch of quasi-God-Leaders who just defeated a six-winged angel and are preparing to step into Heaven, and you have the nerve to play dumb and act young?!" "Just answer me this: has it been only a little over a year since Sword Princess and I entered the Void Realm?" Yaxiu argued obstinately. "By all reason and sentiment, shouldn't you do everything you can to help us?" "What about her?!" The Dramatic Poet pointed at Vichy. "The Spectre Prophet is definitely no newbie!" "What Spectre Prophet? I don't know any. This is my maid." Yaxiu took Vichy's hand. "She was only born last year in the Distant Sky Realm. She isn't even one year old yet! In our entire team, she's the most naive and ignorant. You ought to give us a humanitarian subsidy for caring for an underage elf!" The Dramatic Poet sputtered, "I f***ing want to dig up everyone the Spectre Prophet ever slaughtered from Hell and make them listen to your bullshit—it'd definitely make them turn in their graves and wake up mad as hell!" "Anyway, you have to give us some help no matter what," Yaxiu said, looking at him with utter sincerity. "If you still care about the Prime Angel, and if you still care about the world she loved... then help us as much as you can."