Saving the World in an Apocalypse-Style Text Game

Chapter 128: Chapter 118 Disciple’s Sanctuary Meeting, Blood King _1 Chapter 128: Chapter 118 Disciple’s Sanctuary Meeting, Blood King _1 [You are being teleported to the ‘Disciple’s Sanctuary’…]

[…]

[…]

[Teleportation successful!]

[The weak Wandering Soul awakes in the ‘Disciple’s Sanctuary’…]

[Moonlight spills coldly overhead, the brisk wind pierces bone, you find yourself at the edge of a desolate cliff. Rest Page’s faint glow is beside you and underfoot; the darkness becomes impenetrable.]

[From the edge of the cliff, a stone staircase extends into the clouds, bridging to a barely visible castle on a summit in the moonlight.]

[In bare feet, you step on the stone staircase. The gravel underneath hardens your will, the cold wind beside hones your spirit. You journey towards your sacred destination with a pilgrim’s heart …]

“Ha! What a bunch of hogwash!”

Lin Xun opens the Shell column to attempt possession.

[The authorities of all ‘Disciple’s Sanctuary Lower Rank Seating Certificates’ you hold are insufficient. You cannot possess a Shell in the ‘Disciple’s Sanctuary’!]

He smirks faintly, much to his suspicion.

A Shell cannot be possessed in the Disciple’s Sanctuary until you pass the checkpoint examination.

He waits for the text to continue.

[In holy reverence, you cross the ‘Road of Pilgrimage and arrive at the summit castle…]

[Under the moonlight, the spire castle looms grandly. On both sides of the castle gate, two knight statues stand tall.]

[Your arrival attracts the attention of the knight statues…]

[The ‘Solidified Stone Knight Statues’ step forward, brandishing their swords crosswise to block your path.]

[After you present the ‘Disciple’s Sanctuary’s Lower Rank Seating Certificate,’ they return to their original positions, and the castle gate slowly opens…]

[A glowing membrane covers the castle gate.]

[Do you want to cross the membrane and enter the castle?]

Lin Xun holds his breath, knowing the climax is approaching.

‘Lower Rank Seating Certificate’ is used firstly for teleportation into ‘Disciple’s Sanctuary,’ and secondly to pass the monster guards at the entrance of the castle.

Even if someone can sneak into the Disciple’s Sanctuary through certain obscure methods, they will be slashed and killed by the guards in the feeble state of Wandering Soul since they cannot possess a Shell.

If entering the Disciple’s Sanctuary is considered the first checkpoint, then the guards at the castle entrance are the second.

The luminous membrane at the castle entrance is the third checkpoint, and its function is to detect if the Shell carried by the Wandering Soul has an exclusive brand from the New World.

Without the brand, they would also be stopped outside the door, using the Wandering Soul to bear the great sword of the Solidified Stone Knight Statue.

He takes a deep breath and clicks ‘Yes’.

[You climb the steps and step through the castle gate…]

[The luminous membrane at the gate ripples like water. You pass through it unhindered and enter the castle hall.]

Lin Xun breathes a sigh of relief, knowing that he has passed the inspection and resolved the crisis.

It seems that even if the engineer’s Shell has changed owners, the brand on their body has not been invalidated.

[You entered the castle hall, where the light is brilliant, and various Shells appear beside you, heading towards the depths of the hall…]

Once inside the castle, he can possess a Shell. He opens the Shell column and clicks on the Earth Giant without hesitation.

Entering enemy territory alone as a Wandering Soul is simply too exhilarating.

[You’ve possessed the Shell of the ‘Debased Earth Giant’!]

He considers and then dresses the Earth Giant in the Dancer’s ‘Black Night Phantom Cape’.

This equipment can cover the Shell and block probing skills. It’s better to be safe.

[Following the guidance of the ‘Disciple’s Sanctuary’s Lower Rank Seating Certificate,’ you blend into the group of Shells and walk towards the depths of the hall…]

[You arrive at the 13th Council Chamber and step inside…]

[Inside the council chamber, figures intertwine. Multilayered seats are lined towards the podium. Many Shells have already taken their seats. You find your seat following the instructions from the Seating Certificate.]

[There are 49:12 remaining until the council begins…]

[You are allowed to speak freely…]

Immediately, a pop-up window resembling a chat room appears, accompanied by a text input box.

[Apiarist: It’s been a long time since Mr. Taros contacted me. Comrades, what’s going on?]

[Marksman: Same here. Did something happen to our leader?]

[Large Shield Guard: I encountered something even stranger. I found an impressive Shell and was about to switch into it, and then the text indicated that I could not transfer Mr. Taros’s brand!]

[Beast Tamer: What? That can happen?]

[Mounted Samurai: Don’t panic, everyone. Since Mr. Taros has summoned us for a meeting, it indicates that he is unscathed. Perhaps he was just delayed by organizational matters.]

[Transporter: Well said!]

[Knight of the Spirit Sword: +1]

[Faceless Messenger: +1]

[Martial Artist: +1]

These people must be Taros’s subordinates.

According to their conversation, Taros is dead, and they have remained without higher-level instructions. Let alone accepting tasks from the New World.

Their Shell brands couldn’t be transferred when changing Shells either. Some people have been troubled by this for a while now.

Taros was sprayed to death by Lin Xun’s dragon breath. Not even a trace of him was left.

Who then summoned this convention?

Staying quiet, Lin Xun observes in secret.

The number of attendees is not visible in the list of speakers. Only the person hosting the convention would be able to see the number and list of participants.

There are still over forty minutes left until the start of the convention. The high-ranking person chairing the convention has not yet arrived.

In the list of speakers, the Apostles became more active once they confirmed that Taros was still alive.

However, the majority of their conversation was about issues within the game, with few references to the real world.

It appears that Taros’s sudden disappearance has raised these people’s vigilance.

Lin Xun patiently waits for the convention to start.

Suddenly, a new message pops up in the text.

[Since you hold the Lower Rank Seating Certificate, you will need to create a council codename!]

[Please choose from the following codenames…]

[Craftsman]

[Shadow Assassin]

[Blood King]

[Patroller]

The Apostles of the New World do not add each other as friends. Even the high-ranking members, or those between subordinates, do the same.

Adding a friend means exposing the soul’s imprint to each other. The consequences of revealing one’s soul imprint seem to be severer than Lin Xun imagined. Hence, the evil organizations are very wary of adding each other as friends.

Even in the Disciple’s Sanctuary where everyone belongs to the same organization, they do not expose their soul’s imprint but hide their IDs under codenames instead.

Lin Xun considers that using a new codename won’t matter as he could just pretend to be a newly developed subordinate of Taros. After all, Taros is dead beyond a doubt.

Moreover, some intelligence might be retrieved by pretending to be a new member.

He is not afraid of being recognized since he has a Seating Certificate and a Shell brand. Even if there should be a slip, the consequence would just be Shell’s death.

He randomly picks ‘Blood King’, which sounds relatively dominant.

[You have successfully created the codename ‘Blood King’]

The time passes quietly as Lin Xun waits in silence, and it soon comes time for the convention to begin.

[The open discussion period has ended, the formal convention begins…]