Gao Hai opened his eyes.
"An unfamiliar ceiling..."
He mumbled under his breath and slowly sat up from the floor of the small wooden cabin.
Turning his head, he saw the small courtyard behind him.
And the two-story detached house that he had just explored once after being transported here.
He turned back and looked down at himself.
The burn marks had vanished. His entire body had fully recovered, restored to a healthy state.
No, that wasn't right. This was more than just healthy.
A serene sound seemed to be gradually quieting down in his ears.
The change had already penetrated deep into every one of his cells.
Gao Hai stood up.
He could feel that his body had become much stronger than before, so strong that it was nearing the limits of the human body—perhaps it had even surpassed those limits to some degree. Whether it was strength, speed, or basic qualities like neural reflexes, everything seemed to be completely different from the past, having reached a level that a normal person could never achieve in a lifetime.
"Hoo..."
Taking a deep breath, Gao Hai walked out of the cabin, jumped, did three flips in mid-air, and then landed steadily in a handstand, supported by the pinky finger of one hand.
He felt as if he had an inexhaustible supply of energy.
His spirit was also more invigorated than ever before.
Is this... a Boon?
As Gao Hai began to ponder what was happening, certain information presented itself in his mind, allowing him to understand the situation.
After clearing Shirakawa Apartments, as a reward for passing this stage, he had received a Boon from the [Sacrificial Game].
Twilight, Dim Night, Red Moon.
These were the three game difficulty levels that existed in the [Sacrificial Game].
When a player passes a game of one of these levels, they receive an evaluation of A, B, C, or D. Players who receive A or B evaluations are granted a [Boon], which allows them to possess a physique and lifespan that are difficult for humans to attain, even surpassing human limits. The S-rank evaluation, however, is a hidden rank beyond the four basic levels, the highest evaluation that can only be obtained by players like Gao Hai who have found the flawed obsession at the core of the instance's horror story and dismantled the instance.
What Gao Hai had obtained now was the [Boon of Twilight's Voice], the highest-tier Boon that a Twilight-level instance could bestow.
Boons cannot be stacked.
If a player first gets a B-rank evaluation and then an A-rank, they can raise their Boon level. But if a player has already achieved the highest evaluation in an instance of a certain difficulty, no matter what evaluation they receive upon completing another instance of the same difficulty, they cannot obtain any more [Boons]. Their reward will instead come in the form of Obsession Items or other in-instance resources.
Furthermore, only players who satisfy the condition of achieving two A-rank evaluations in Twilight-level instances can qualify to participate in a Dim Night-level instance; players who get two A-rank evaluations in Dim Night-level instances can then participate in a Red Moon-level instance. This made Gao Hai wonder if players who managed two A-ranks in Red Moon instances would get to see a hidden element beyond the third difficulty level.
"So the reward for clearing the Shirakawa Apartments instance is to turn me into a mini-Captain America? The problem is I can't fight to a 50/50 standstill. But this does explain why those two veteran players were so physically strong."
Gao Hai shook his head and remarked with a sigh.
However, this kind of enhancement didn't feel particularly meaningful.
Even Lao Guo, who could take a physical attack from the fake Kaguya head-on, was still facing certain death when directly confronting the power of a horror story. This [Boon] reward ultimately couldn't give players the power to resist the strange forces of the horrors. Instead... it gave players a better means to deal with other players.
"I don't need to run faster than the horror, I just need to run faster than the other players. I don't need to defeat the horror, I just need to defeat other players so I can use them? Is that the underlying purpose of the Sacrificial Game's rewards?"
Gao Hai closed his eyes and whispered to himself, his expression gradually turning serious.
Well then, what's next...
[Thank you—]
He could almost hear an ethereal voice echoing in his ears.
Gao Hai was slightly taken aback, then felt a certain power begin to resonate within his body, giving him a wondrous sensation that was completely different from receiving the [Boon]. It was warmer, gentler, and more profound.
He understood that this was the blessing of that little girl and Xusheng.
Unlike an Obsession Item, this was a blessing that wouldn't spiral out of control, that was free of any contamination—the most sincere blessing that reached deep into his soul.
Gao Hai first saw the little girl. He saw her give him a faint smile, and then she disappeared.
The next moment, he noticed a subtle change in his senses. He realized that from this day forward, he would be able to instantly discern whether others held goodwill or malice toward him. Not only that, but he could also identify things that were not human but were masquerading as such through some sort of rule, and could perceive their abnormality.
His physical resilience saw another slight increase. Hunger, pain... he now had a stronger resistance to the hardships that had once plagued that girl, and his healing speed after being injured had also improved.
And, it seemed his fondness for sweets had increased.
A Spirit's Blessing, is it?
Can you receive this kind of reward for dismantling the core of a horror story and liberating an instance?
Utterly astonished by this, Gao Hai then saw the phantom of Xusheng appear.
[The road ahead of you is still very dangerous. This is the only thing I can give you—]
An enormous amount of knowledge flooded Gao Hai in the next instant.
Wilderness survival, first aid, climbing and jumping, special forces training, unarmed combat, use and maintenance of rescue equipment...
All the skills that Xusheng had mastered but Gao Hai had not, or those he was more proficient in than Gao Hai, were all injected into Gao Hai's brain at that moment, forcibly becoming skills he had mastered. Moreover, he instantly possessed the same level of proficiency as Xusheng himself, the rescue team captain.
Thump—
Temporarily unable to withstand such a massive influx of information, Gao Hai sat down on the ground.
Not only that, but Gao Hai could also feel his mind had been fortified in some way, as if his willpower itself had been further consolidated.
And...
Gao Hai took out the waterlogged Rescue Team badge from his watch.
With the Rescue Team from Shirakawa Apartments having been liberated, this badge had already lost its function as an Obsession Item.
But now, as he received Xusheng's blessing, the badge once again regained its effect as an Obsession Item. He could also clearly feel that the item's contamination potential was greatly reduced. Gao Hai estimated he could probably wear it for a whole day without anything happening.
Then, in addition to all this, Gao Hai discovered an extra set of memories of attending university in his head. They contained knowledge from various subjects and disciplines, comprehensively organized from freshman to senior year. It was just that, judging from the notes, it seemed the person who attended this university back then hadn't been a very diligent student.
Uh, did Xusheng see that he stopped his education after high school and purposefully shared his university experience to help raise his educational level?
Thanks a lot, Xusheng. It's just that it would've been better if the delivery method had been a bit gentler and hadn't left me so dizzy.
After sitting on the ground for a good while to adjust, Gao Hai finally recovered and was able to stand up again.
But before he could do anything this time, the uniquely jarring noise of the Sacrificial Game once again rang in his ears.
Seriously, is this never going to end?!
Gao Hai, who really wanted to curse a few times, lost control of his body and could only stand rigidly in place, listening to the voice sound in his mind.
[Player Gao Hai]
[Your next mission will begin in: 30 days]
[Estimated Mission Level: Twilight]
[You may choose to trade for an instance entry ticket from other players to replace this mission, or participate as scheduled]
The voice came quickly and disappeared just as fast.
Gao Hai regained his mobility shortly after, grumbling as he returned to the two-story house.
He took a shower and changed into some clothes in the house that happened to fit him perfectly.
Gao Hai, who even made a point to put on a hat and a face mask, took the keys, opened the door, and walked out onto the street, then hailed a taxi.
"To Shuchiin."
After saying this, Gao Hai sat back in his seat and fell silent, looking out the window as he began to think about what he should say and do in a little while.
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