Chapter 231: Reward Map
Recently, because the Cursed God Cult launched attacks everywhere, quite a number of players from various countries were either forced to join them or were captured and brainwashed. This was especially true in the Cursed God Cult's headquarters location, the Kingdom of Sepharic, where the numbers were particularly high.
On the forums, there were frequent discussions about the true strength of the Cursed God Cult, what their ultimate goal in causing chaos was, and just how powerful their exclusive Shadow Warlock class could be.
So when this particular post appeared, it came with its own traffic, immediately drawing the attention of all players.
The post was made by a female player named "Meow-la-ge-mi." The video, told from the perspective of a victim, recorded what Wayne Sturwell did after barging into the Austin Manor. From the moment he encountered Priest Niam, Wayne Sturwell displayed a combat style completely different from before.
Not only could he teleport and summon, but his fighting process and style were still as graceful and dashing as ever, delivering a strong visual impact.
The girl rushed in after receiving the quest to defend the Austin Manor right after Priest Niam's death. In her narration, she said she originally just wanted to run up, flash a V-sign, and take a photo with the main character — but instead, everything went black and she instantly collapsed.
In the video, centered on the protagonist, players who charged forward burst into light and vanished, Cursed God Cultists fell one after another, and with the stylish footwork and flashy gunplay enhancing the skill's spectacle, the scene was simply jaw-dropping.
Most players recognized the move instantly — it was Wayne Sturwell's signature skill, Conqueror's Haki — the dream of every Wandering Gunslinger.
Then, in the fight against Priest Gaskell, the protagonist won with ease as always. Calm and collected, he killed the seemingly formidable Gaskell in just four bullets. Players watching couldn't get enough of it, completely thrilled.
And then came the scene where Zhou Ning summoned the Blue-Eyes White Dragon — players were left utterly stunned.
Even though the girl was a victim, she still paired this part with the protagonist's exclusive execution theme. Since most players were frantically taking screenshots, the video showed multiple close-up angles. When the intense light burst forth and the massive form of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon took shape in the air, spreading its wings, the atmosphere at the scene exploded.
"Holy crap!"
"This is way too cool!"
Players went wild. As the game's long-standing center figure, Wayne Sturwell was a familiar face to all — to many, the strongest character in the game, who had given them countless benefits and interacted with players more than any other NPC. Strong was one thing, but summoning a dragon that looked that epic? That was just cheating.
Then, in the rousing execution theme, Zhou Ning and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon combined their powers — unleashing the Burst Stream of Destruction to decisively defeat Harrison Rivers, the man who had twice forced him into desperate situations back in Episode Four of the series. The audience went crazy, spamming "666" nonstop. It felt just like watching a fantasy blockbuster.
Afterward, "Qingbai Wild Sake" posted another thread showing the event from a different angle — explaining that Wayne Sturwell had gone into the Cursed God Cult's base alone to rescue the "Chosen Ones" who had been captured and brainwashed — in other words, for the sake of the players.
The positive and negative perspectives from the two posts played off each other, sending Zhou Ning's popularity soaring, exactly as he had expected. These two "hidden dragons and crouching phoenixes" had pushed his fame to a new peak, cementing his reputation and status among the players.
A handsome, wise, calm, powerful, and rapidly growing legendary figure.
…
Meanwhile, Zhou Ning wasn't paying attention to the forum. As usual, he first chose to check the second option. After all, broke or not, it wasn't like they wouldn't even let him look, right?
After a shuffle, three cards were laid out.
Luck was still on his side — all three template cards shone with either purple or orange light.
The first card showed himself wearing a white baseball cap and matching T-shirt, holding a golf club.
Personality: Competitive, determined, lustful, ambitious.
Talents: Sex addiction (Gray), Sports Expert (Purple), Extraordinary Strength (Blue), Social Master (Purple).
Skills: Golf (Master), Flirting Techniques (Master), Social Skills (Master).
Price: only 20 Traversal Coins. Title: Golf Master · Zhou Ning.
This card was very mediocre — zero combat power and even a built-in negative trait. Practically useless, but still purple, so better than nothing. Zhou Ning bought it without hesitation.
The second template was a purple card showing himself dressed like a student — youthful and handsome.
Personality: Justice-minded, talkative, responsible.
Talents: High IQ (Purple), Spider Sense (Orange), Spider Physique (Purple), Scientific Aptitude (Purple), Regeneration (Purple).
Skills: Combat Techniques (Advanced), Scientific Research (Expert), Photography (Advanced).
Price: 460 Traversal Coins. Title: Spider Sense · Zhou Ning.
Zhou Ning: …
This one was obvious — Marvel's golden child, Spider-Man. So in a parallel world, he'd really been bitten by a spider.
This template was downright broken, containing Spider Sense and Spider Physique — abilities he really wanted. For the strength it offered, the price was actually reasonable at 460 Traversal Coins, but unfortunately, he was broke and couldn't afford it.
Thankfully, every new template came with a 24-hour refresh time, so he still had time to scrape the money together.
He then turned his gaze to the last — and supposedly most mediocre — card, which this time was an orange card.
And it was a very familiar template —
The image showed himself in a dark red coat, gazing coldly forward, with a towering ship behind him.
Personality: Wise, calm, ambitious. Talents: Tony Stark (Purple), Merman (Blue), Grandpa-in-a-Ring (Purple).
Skills: Devil Fruit Creation (Expert), Armament Haki (Grandmaster), Observation Haki (Master), Conqueror's Haki (Master), Iron Man Suit Creation (Advanced), Scientific Research (Grandmaster), plus countless other navigation-related skills.
Title: still Pirate King · Zhou Ning. Traversal cost: 0.
Obviously, this was the work of the Lucky Clover again — incredible luck — but… he refused.
Moderately resisting the temptation of luck, Zhou Ning felt this was the proper way to use the Lucky Clover.
After going through the templates, he once again chose to check the ten new talent options in Option One. If nothing good came up, he would consider using either Godfather · Zhou Ning or Kyōka Suigetsu · Zhou Ning for traversal.