While Xia Ling chatted with the System, the Defender silently wiped out most of the settlement.
Only a handful of Siracusan Crossbowmen remained, stubbornly hiding inside buildings.
For the Defender, however, this merely required two shield swings.
One shield swing to break down the door.
One shield swing to break the person behind it.
“Damn.”
“So Defenders fight this violently?”
Xia Ling clicked her tongue.
“This is starting to look like The Shining door scene.”
She hid behind a wall watching the distant battle while rubbing her aching right shoulder.
[Feels great getting carried by a max-level veteran, doesn’t it?]
[Host should be careful during the next Encounter, though.]
“Nooo!”
“I don’t want to be sentenced to death by forty dogs!”
“I’ve already decided, System.”
“If something like that happens, I’ll just kill myself first.”
“There’s no helping it.”
“Perhaps this is simply the fate of all Lancers.”
Xia Ling gazed into the distance with melancholy.
[You’re using a sniper rifle and still counting yourself as a Lancer?]
At that moment, Xia Ling noticed the Defender approaching.
“Report.”
“Mission complete.”
After leaving behind those words, the Defender dissolved into points of light.
Only the node’s spoils remained on the ground—
Several Originium Ingots and one Recruitment Permit.
“Eh?”
“He disappears immediately?”
Xia Ling curiously reached toward the fading motes of light.
Her fingers passed through empty air.
[Naturally.]
[From another perspective, the Defender disappearing also confirms that Host has successfully cleared this node.]
“And these spoils…”
“Are basically useless, right?”
Xia Ling picked up the Support Defender Recruitment Permit.
It immediately transformed into light and disappeared into her interface.
A completely empty recruitment screen appeared before her.
[Not entirely useless.]
[If Host reaches the final node, you can still deposit some money there.]
“Oh, right.”
Xia Ling suddenly remembered something from the System’s earlier explanation.
“You said clearing the first floor rewards one Originium Ingot.”
“Is that the same thing as these?”
[Of course not.]
[The reward I mentioned is System currency usable in the System Shop.]
[These Originium Ingots can basically only be deposited into Cannot Goodenough’s shop.]
“Can’t I buy Collectibles?”
[Of course you can.]
[But Collectibles cannot leave the Trial. They reset when your next run begins.]
[And with Host’s current physical condition, their combat benefits would still be limited.]
[So I don’t particularly recommend spending money on them.]
“So basically I don’t need to care much about Hope or Originium Ingots during a run.”
Xia Ling sighed and picked up the detector.
“Fine.”
“Let’s see whether I can one-life this.”
[Host, I believe you currently only possess one life to begin with.]
“Let’s see…”
“Wait.”
“This isn’t right.”
“The detector doesn’t show the map beyond this point. Only the road.”
[Then it’s an Encounter.]
[If it were another noncombat node such as Safe Corner or Advance Squad, the map would display a corresponding structure.]
“Damn.”
“This is extremely faithful to Encounter node design.”
“I can’t even tell whether it’ll contain combat.”
“At least it isn’t entirely bad news.”
“If there’s no fight, I can blind-clear the entire first floor.”
Xia Ling put the detector away and set off once more.
Ten-odd minutes later—
“Haa… haa…”
“Walking through snow is way too exhausting.”
Xia Ling set down her backpack and leaned against an enormous ancient tree, breathing lightly.
“The first trip only took around ten minutes.”
“How have I still not reached the node?”
[Because this is an Encounter.]
The System answered with perfect confidence.
[As long as Host remains inside the node’s area, the event can occur at any moment.]
[There’s no need to rush. If you’re tired, you can rest.]
“Would resting affect the event?”
Xia Ling stared dead-eyed into the distance.
[Yes.]
[For example, Host could wake up from a nap and discover the Khagan’s army directly in front of you.]
“Then why the hell would I rest?!”
Xia Ling hooked one arm through the backpack strap and tried to swing it onto her back.
Unfortunately, her right arm was still sore.
The backpack smashed heavily into the ancient tree behind her.
THUD!
“Crap.”
“Please tell me I didn’t just drop my Anti-Interference Index by slamming the bag.”
Alarmed, Xia Ling quickly opened the backpack.
At that moment—
Apparently because of the impact, the ancient tree’s bark cracked and peeled away.
Complicated patterns emerged underneath.
“This…”
“This is…”
Xia Ling froze and reached out.
The instant her fingers touched the strange patterns, they vanished from the tree.
Her backpack suddenly grew heavier.
She opened it.
A brand-new Cipher Plate lay quietly inside.
“Ancient tree.”
“First floor.”
“Obtain a plate…”
Xia Ling thought briefly before reaching the answer.
“Sami’s Language?”
Encounter — Sami’s Language.
A node where players could obtain one Cipher Plate without paying any cost.
[Correct!]
[Host, your luck really is incredible. Hurry and see which one you got.]
The System sounded genuinely surprised.
Apparently this reward had not been manipulated.
“Let’s see…”
“Hiss…”
“Warrior?”
Cipher Plate Warrior.
Its effect allowed the player to select one combat node and additionally designate another random combat node.
Combined with Love, the two combat nodes could both be transformed into Encounters.
[Oh my God, Host.]
[This run actually has potential!]
The System grew excited as well.
[If the shop on the first floor happens to sell a Cipher Plate that can combine with Arbor to skip a node, you might even clear the second floor without fighting!]
“Wait.”
“The first-floor shop can sell Cipher Plates?”
[Normally, no.]
[But the enhancement module slightly adjusted many mechanics so the Trial could function more naturally in a real environment.]
[It’s a shop. He has to sell something.]
“This really is a god-tier opening.”
A delighted smile appeared on Xia Ling’s face.
“If I clear the second floor this time, my progress will speed up a lot, right?”
[Of course!]
[Clearing the second floor rewards two Originium Ingots and one Hope.]
[Host’s first Elite promotion only costs six Originium Ingots.]
[If everything goes smoothly, this could shorten your progress by half a month!]
“Good.”
“I am now filled with determination.”
“No matter what the next Encounter is, I’ll clear it.”
[You’d win.]
“No.”
“Do not make that joke.”
“I refuse to become 2.5 Ling five minutes from now.”
Xia Ling firmly prevented every possible death flag.
Some time later—
[Host.]
[Bad news.]
[There’s a cave ahead.]
[It seems to contain more than ten people.]
Gulp.
That was Xia Ling swallowing.
[What do we do, Host?]
Even the System sounded nervous now.
[This might be a combat event.]
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