Chapter 173: This is a Very Deep Game
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
It had to be one of the greatest morning he had ever had.
The Soul Armature was so filled with joy that he even gave up on the boring, depressing-factory-worker-like job of fixing that black gold armor. He just took the girls to the Academy.
The sky was bluer than it usually was and his footsteps were lighter as well.
"Wow, look at him being so happy ," An anonymous voice said.
"Of course that bastard is feeling happy. Mia’s sweet lips were previously reserved only for the privileged! Now, he’s of the same importance as that damn hammerhead shark."
"Who would have known the mighty, cool Fifth Voidwalker to be so easily brought to tears by something this trivial?" Another added. "We need to watch him even more closely now, lest he breach legal issues!"
Haters gonna hate. Baiyi ignored the comments that were chockful of jealousy.
After seeing the girls off to their class, Baiyi— who was still high on his happiness— crossed over to the Seniors Park. He found his friends sitting in a circle around a chess table, noisy with lively discussions.
There were a few new faces that he had never seen before, including one that was painted neon green all over, like the Hulk had finally realized that instead of being a smasher, he could also be a good, tall tree…
After a good look, Baiyi found out that he was actually that magi-breaker he had curb-stomped before. He really had listened to his suggestion and turned himself green!
Life is always better, if you have green with you! 1
The magi-breaker greeted Baiyi good-naturedly when he saw Baiyi approaching their circle, and started walking towards him. Baiyi couldn’t avoid the photosynthesizing Hulk even if he tried. He was so green, staring at him could relax your eyes.
"Ho ho, Master Hope! We meet again!" the magi-breaker hollered.
"Aren’t you supposed to keep your summoner company during his internship?" Baiyi asked.
"Aha! Yes, and we went before the Academy reopened but it was only a week before we were summoned back. It’s the Celebration! All extra-curriculum activities outside school had been cut short. Lots of seniors are on their way back, too."
"Celebration?"
"Yea. Next month would be Celestial Fortress’s 2500 anniversary! It’s a big deal; every student and teacher would return for it. I didn’t know that the Academy has been around for so long!"
You’re not the only one! Baiyi mused. 2500 years— the Academy? That would be a marvel on its own! He turned to the former principal— and now Voidwalker, the Apprentice. "Why don’t I feel that heavy rolling passage of millennia from this place?"
"Uh, well…" The Scholar hesitated, collecting her thoughts. "You see, the name Celestial Fortress has been around since 2500 years ago. It’s the name that was passed down from epoch to epoch. It had been at the top, and it had hit the bottom. It had been through wars and even shut down by the one in power. The name, however, had always remained."
"It wouldn’t be false to say that this current compound isn’t the same Celestial Fortress as recorded in the earliest of history. After all, barring the name, everything else was newly-built. Even the address changed multiple times. It was only about some hundred years ago when it moved to Arfin," The Apprentice added. "We see ourselves as the heirs of the name, however, and we honor the title in the way we see fit…"
"Quite a feat to carry the duty of such a name and history," Baiyi said affirmatively. No wonder he didn’t feel the aura of a building that had weathered time and tide— the compound was still young.
He turned to the magi-breaker. "What sort of celebratory events has the Academy planned?"
"What else can it be, hmm? It’s always the same. You wouldn’t be interested!" The magi-breaker shrugged, sounding disinterested himself. Baiyi’s ignorance towards the celebration did not bother him as well, seeing that the Academy had only started informing the seniors to return. Apart from them, the rest of the Academy was pretty much uninformed.
"I heard that a lot of organizations would be present, though. Some would even send their students for exchange program. It’s going to be wild and hectic, I tell you!" He added.
Before Baiyi could ask more, someone else from his previous circle of friends shouted, "Yo, Green Brutha, it’s your turn!"
Baiyi was left bwhind as the magi-breaker dashed back to his game.
It was true— there was not much importance in a school anniversary to Baiyi. The most he could do was show off his skills to attract the cool kids under his wings. The other equally important matter he would have to do would be keeping watch on Mia and Tisdale— or rather, keeping an eye on the guys from other schools.
Barring that, it was as the magi-breaker had said: Boring. Uninteresting.
Not wanting to waste his chance to gather more information, he asked around the crowd watching the chess match for news on Godsfall.
As it turned out, the Church had escalated their crusade against the heretics. A few dozen had been apprehended, and a few social organizations and aristocrats had been equally subpoenaed. The Church had been hard at work trying to get to the bottom of the issue.
The consensus was of staunch faith to the Church. They had no reason to believe that the cult could stand a chance against a goliath like The Church of Grace. It would be over soon, almost everyone believed that.
Baiyi thought their optimism naïve. He had no reason to believe the opposite, but he wouldn’t dare say that it would be over 'soon'. Those people were blessed to be incognizant to the true capabilities of the cult. The Church themselves knew, they just chose not to make that public.
Aren’t all of us idle… He sighed to himself as he left the park and back to his home.
His good mood was hardly affected, however. He was bursting with joy that he invited all of the Voidwalkers to join him in another massive roleplaying game.
This time, he designed a life simulation game— with Earth as the background. Every participant was given a fixed amount of modal in the beginning of the game, then they were let loose on Earth. The participants were allowed to live their life however they saw fit, and the ultimate winner would be the one with the most success in life.
A lot of the Walkers were hyped for the game. It drew almost all of them except the One Who Was Always in Slumber, and the few who couldn’t talk.
Of course, to prevent the game from going awry, Baiyi had placed even stricter restriction on them to make sure that the Walkers could not use their original powers. He left only their knowledge and experience intact, so that they could live like normal earthlings.
The game had begun. Baiyi left them to their own devices like a microbiologist leaving his petri dish of E.coli. He turned to mending his new black gold armor, polishing and fixing dents—
His consciousness was nudged by a familiar presence.
"You gotta help me, man. I ran out of cash; I just need a few couple more to live through tomorrow…" It was the Archmage, who seemed to have picked up a certain accent.
"We just got started!" Baiyi eyed him warily. "What have you done— oh."
The Archmage’s avatar was holding onto his phone as he curled up into a ball under a bridge. By his side was a few buns and one cup of ramen. As much of a hobo he was, the Archmage was still clinging onto life, his phone, as he tapped it time and time again, as if waiting for something.
You— spent— all— of— your— money— on goddamned mobile games? Are those even counted as games?! Baiyi could not even conceal his shock. He denied the Archmage’s request for more funds. Just lose the game, your embarrassing old geezer!
That proved to be a harsh sentence. The next day, the Archmage was found dead under the bridge. He died of starvation. He became the first to be kicked out of the game.
The second to follow him was the Blacksmith. He was caught by the police for suspected illegal gun manufacturing and dealership, and was shot dead by the police which resulted in a police shooting controversy.
The Devil followed suit. He used the funds to create a cult of his own— Scyantology or something— and bathed himself with money and sex willingly offered by his brainwashed members. He was found dead, he was struck on the head with piece of brick by a family member of one of his victims. It was possible that because most of their money had been swindled by the Devil’s avatar, a brick was all they could afford as a murder weapon.
The three were so quick to be kicked out of the game, they were kicked out before the girls had even returned from class. Baiyi stopped watching the game and went to give them lessons, only resuming to watch after that.
Most of the Walkers were terrible at life choices, it seemed.
The Alchemist, now just a chemist, died from being blown to pieces by his own wacko experiment. The Caveman died from food poisoning, not because he ate something too toxic for the body, but because he didn’t have enough money nor was he covered by insurance to see a doctor. The Explorer tried the Lara-Croft-Indiana-Jones sidequest and died during a quest.
The Scholar went back to her roots as a rune sorcerer, which in 21st century Earth meant she became a programmer. She died from cardiac arrest because she was constantly working overtime. Meanwhile, the Assassin started her career as an international spy— and was captured.
Among those who had survived were the Charlatan, who made a difficult living giving fake fortune to people. The Painter was caught forging exquisite arts, and was thus sued in court. Too poor to settle the court case, he had run away, and was hiding under the bridge at the brink of game over. The Bard, on the other hand, could only live with the money his spouse earned without a shred of dignity left in him.
The Paladin and the Cleric each purchased a computer and internet connection. They worked as Uber drivers and spent the rest of their time watching their favorite 2D fantasies. They actually made it out pretty okay just by watching anime, reading mangas and playing games. It seemed to prove that otaku did in fact have a life.
The Thane was the best in the game. He used his money to start a company, and with real business acumen, he had become rich, famous, with a beautiful wife by his side. He obviously outshone everyone…
Except maybe the Soul Armature Practitioner, whose latent talent with animals set him on the path of being a celebrated biologist. The Shadow herself had her own success as a New York Times’ bestselling author. Her stories were in the genre of romance and chick-lit, but she had gained a horde of fans and was one of the richest in the game.
The Lich… ended up doing miles better than his best friend the Devil by being a pastor in a church. "With my insight on the essence of life and soul, I was born to be a pastor," He’d explained.
God knows how long it would take for his city to be renamed Raccoon City.
Although they were acing the life test, but the winner seemed to be the Thane. Yet, his life story was not as intriguing as the Warrior’s…
She had chosen to live normally. She studied, went to college, found her soulmate, married, and had a child. She was living a quiet but fulfilling life.
And Baiyi found himself agreeing with her life choice but he couldn’t help but notice that her spouse looked a bit too eerily familiar. Their daughter looked familiar, too. She looked almost like Mia, and she even had the same hammerhead shark plushie!
I don’t know what exactly is she trying to imply but… well, she at least she got to experience what being a mother is like?