Chapter 668: Test

Having the two Fugēn dogs each contribute an eye to me makes sense, but I can't possibly split a coagulated heart of the Mist Demon Wolf in two and give it to them, can I? Moreover, the goddess might not be willing to give me an extra coagulated heart of the Mist Demon Wolf.

Ke Lai En muttered a few words in his mind, then, manipulating the "World", nodded, gave a response, and ended the topic.

After everyone exchanged some information individually, today's Tarot gathering was drawing to a close. Before the Fool Ke Lai En announced the end of today's meeting, Lei Ke Dun raised his hand, tapped the table before him, and smiled, saying:

"Everyone, are you interested in taking part in an internal test?"

"Internal test?" "What's that?" The members of the Tarot gathering cast curious inquisitive glances, looking very interested.

Sure enough, the "Generalist" and "Seeker of Secrets" paths are indeed well suited for climbing the tech tree. Ke Lai En sighed in his mind; ever since discovering that Lei Ke Dun had truly built a network linking the entire world through his mastery of information, he could roughly anticipate the subsequent developments.

Lei Ke Dun looked at Ke Lai En, who sat at the head of the mottled long table; after receiving his permission, he directly projected a near‑realistic light‑and‑shadow animation above the tabletop in front of him:

There was a dragon circling the sky, a monstrous bird engulfed in pale flame, a one‑eyed giant, an eight‑legged demon wolf, a prince on a white horse, a princess running through a forest, a massive tree that could pull its roots from the soil and sprint across the ground, a thumb‑sized blue figure in simple linen clothing, each briefly displaying scenes from the information world they had created. He scanned the crowd and said:

"This is similar to the imagined worlds in the Groseir Chronicles, but unlike those, it is constructed from a sufficiently large and rigorous body of information; for material existence it is not real, only sufficiently lifelike."

"Because it results from massive, tangled information accumulation and computation, the operation of this world may contain some glitches, some errors—that is, unreasonable aspects."

"Therefore I need some people to go in, experience it, and interact with the beings of that world, so I can spot its problems and promptly repair them."

"This world is not entirely false; at least the knowledge within it is real, your experiences are real, and the knowledge and experiences you gain there are my payment to you."

Aside from Hermit Jia De Li Ya, World Ge Er Man·Si Pa Luo, and Star Lun Na De—these three who have already logged onto the World Tree—the rest of the Tarot members were somewhat bewildered; Lei Ke Dun's introduction made them feel as if they understood, but upon further thought they remained confused.

Ke Lai En, seeing this, manipulated the minor "World" and laughed, then further explained: "You can think of it as a fully immersive, stage‑play‑like experience that lets you lose yourself in it. It's a novel experience worth trying, but remember not to become addicted; the World Tree, however splendid, is still virtual, and reality is the true one."

"Hermit" Jia De Li Ya was pondering another issue; she looked uncertainly at Lei Ke Dun and asked, "Connecting a person's consciousness to the World Tree is not the same level of interaction as our usual chatting or reading after logging in; it involves interaction of wills, without bodily protection. Will the user's spirit become polluted because of this?"

Moreover, won't the massive, non‑uniform influx of consciousness affect the state of the Hidden Sage, or be affected by the Hidden Sage's state? Lei Ke Dun nodded lightly and then explained: "This interaction does not occur directly; it happens through an identity insertion, which is a kind of bodily protection for the spirit and soul."

"And the spiritual pollution that accumulates from interactions among numerous spirit entities will be cleansed by a pre‑set purification process together with the accumulated information."

After the brief explanation, he turned again to the remaining Tarot members and said calmly:

"Everyone, if you are willing to join this internal test, you may hold a ceremony to establish contact with the Hidden Sage. If you fear danger, you can first transfer through Mr. Fool, entering the gray mist above, and then proceed into the World Tree itself."

As he spoke, he had already, with Ke Lai En's assistance, materialized the concrete procedure of the ceremony, including the required materials and the prayer verses.

"Magician" Fo Er Si lifted his hand and asked curiously, "Why is it called the World Tree? Does the name have any special meaning?"

"Well, in my conception, its full form should be like a colossal tree rooted in both the spirit realm and reality, its canopy extending into the star realm, linking the entire world at the informational level."

"Of course, it also has a name; once it attains self‑awareness, you may call it Yi Gu De La Xi Er."

Fo Er Si tilted his head slightly, imagined in his mind a gigantic tree covering the entire planet, then shook his head and dismissed that odd image.

The tree should be just a metaphor; it's impossible to actually grow such a massive tree, even the Fenebote "Great Mother Earth" Church could never achieve it.

Collecting her thoughts, she looked at Lei Ke Dun, nodded lightly, and said:

"I would be glad to give this a try; it sounds rather interesting."

After Magician Fo Er Si, the other Tarot members also nodded, indicating willingness to try it whenever they have time.

Given the personality shown by Miss Magician, she will likely become an internet‑addicted girl in the future. Ke Lai En sighed inwardly, lifted his hand, lightly tapped the tabletop edge twice, and said calmly:

"Let's call it a day for today."

As his words fell, everyone hurried to rise and bow; streaks of deep‑red light rose, swiftly dissolving their bodies and carrying them away from the ancient, grand palace, leaving only Lei Ke Dun behind. Ke Lai En removed the gray mist that had cloaked him, exhaled a long breath, leaned back against the chair, and said, "I have been digesting some of the 'Trickster Mage' elixir inside me by creating horror legends at sea and in cities, but the progress is not fast, and I feel that some forces of Yin Di Si have taken notice of me."

Lei Ke Dun, not too surprised, nodded and said, "The Secret Cult and the Yin Di Si authorities maintain a certain cooperation; they control the 'Diviner' path, making it easy to guess that someone is playing the 'Trickster Mage'."

"I once tried to intimidate two demigods, but they immediately summoned angels through prayer—truly…"

At this point, Ke Lai En shook his head helplessly and sighed.

Lei Ke Dun, slightly embarrassed, twitched the corner of his mouth; the Yin Di Si army's reaction, beyond necessary vigilance, stemmed largely from the fact that the Moss Ascetic Cult had ambushed and killed many demigods, causing a stress response.

"The Sage can transform into an information being, slip in silently, create a hidden environment, kill a demigod‑level commander, and then depart without a trace."

With the luck granted by Ulo Lius, the coincidences arranged by the True Creator, and the secrecy supplied by the Hidden Sage, the Yin Di Si authorities only reacted after losing three demigods in succession, relying on wondrous items forged by the Steam Church to implement tight defenses and arrangements.

After a brief silence, Ke Lai En, using the power of the gray mist, materialized Azik's bronze whistle, brought it to his lips, and blew.

Soon, on the gray‑mist‑filled ground, countless white bones erupted like fountains, rapidly coalescing into a messenger of bone that lay almost entirely prone on the ground, its body trembling slightly.

Watching the messenger prostrate on the ground, daring not to lift its head, Lei Ke Dun chuckled lightly, "You scared it."

Ke Lai En ignored the small joke and said directly, "Let's go find Mr. Azik now; you should now be able to awaken him, right?"

"Can do."

Lei Ke Dun nodded, rose from his seat, walked to the bone messenger, reached out and patted its shoulder, and said calmly:

"Take us to find Mr. Azik; he should have mentioned this before he fell asleep."

The bone messenger nodded repeatedly, its head nearly hitting the floor.

After receiving Ke Lai En's permission, its body instantly shattered, turning into individual white bones that surged beneath the gray mist.

Lei Ke Dun stepped forward two paces, placed his hand on Ke Lai En's shoulder, helping him transform into an information‑torrent state, then followed the messenger's guidance, swiftly traversing the spirit realm to the underground of a castle in reality.

After completing its guide duty, the bone messenger left reality without lingering and returned to the underworld.

Waves upon waves of information torrents composed of tangled knowledge, taking an illusory form, rapidly converged, reconstituting the figures of Lei Ke Dun and Ke Lai En.

Their bodies appeared semi‑transparent, exuding a chill, exhibiting qualities akin to vengeful ghostly shadows.

"Is this state problematic? Do you need to return to your body first?" Ke Lai En asked with some concern.

Lei Ke Dun shook his head, walked to the front of the bronze‑colored coffin, and said calmly:

"It doesn't affect me much; the traits and abilities I should have won't become incomplete because of the missing body."

As he spoke, his right hand pressed on the coffin before him, and a somewhat dim, not‑very‑brilliant light emanated.

In silent, soundless moments, the coffin's lid began to disintegrate, turning into fragments that, carried by a sudden gust of wind, fell to the ground, with even the colors evaporating and vanishing in a flash.

Inside the coffin, Azik seemed to be caught in a long beautiful dream, sleeping peacefully.

His hands were clasped over his chest, holding a gray‑white crystal sphere the size of a baby's fist; a face identical to Azik's yet more indifferent and paler flickered faintly into view.

Lei Ke Dun clenched his right fist, extended his index finger, lightly tapped just above Azik's skull; a pale blue ripple spread, a drop of pitch‑black, lightless river water materialized out of nowhere, fell, and merged into Azik's forehead.

(End of Chapter)