Chapter 78: Infinite Soul Soul (Second Update)

Emperor Tomb Mountain Range.

North of the Ancient Battlefield, in the Fissure Furnace region.

Continuous volcanoes resembled a colossal dragon winding and undulating along the earth's spine, stretching across the vast horizon.

Magma surged beneath the crust, mingling with the scent of sulfur and thick smoke, spewing forth scorching heat that wound down from the peaks, solidifying into strips of rock upon cooling.

The air here was scorching, the environment hostile.

At the foot of the volcano, a squad of players struggled to advance against the ravaging assault of the Black Black Tide's evil spirits.

"Hahaha, we broke the record, pushing into a new zone."

"Can't go on, I'm about to collapse. Iron Hammer, take the front; I'm going back to gulp some air."

With that, the player named Class Monitor quickly retreated to the rear of the formation, gasping for air, using his Qi-Devouring trait to recover vitality and mental energy.

Hearing this, Iron Hammer in the squad stepped up at that moment, facing the chaotic dance of Black Black Tide evil spirits while activating his Petrification trait, shouting as he did:

"Recover quickly, I'm about to collapse too."

At the rear of the formation, Black Ball, Cute Baby, and Marble, fighting in human form, each accompanied by two Flowing Shadow clones under their conscious control, moved in unison to summon fireballs and hurl them at the churning Black Black Tide evil spirits, each clutching a bottle of Mental Recovery Potion to replenish their consumption at any moment.

The fireballs fell into the surging Black Tide of evil spirits, dissolving countless lives within it.

Boom!

Suddenly, a massive explosion rang out; amidst the churning Black Black Tide, the blast wave sent Iron Hammer, who maintained his petrified state at the very front, flying several meters away.

"Damn, it's another Ghost Doll; how many have we encountered today? So annoying; every death triggers an explosion."

Luckily, I retreated earlier to recover my health; otherwise, getting hit while critically injured would have definitely sent me to the penalty room to sulk for an hour.

Realizing they had inadvertently killed a newly spawned Black Black Tide evil spirit, the "Ghost Doll," the players all complained in the voice channel.

As the intensity of the Black Black Tide escalated, it had spawned three new types of evil spirits.

The most troublesome among them was the Ghost Doll; one careless moment could lead to death by its death-explosion.

However, the Ghost Doll's self-detonation also cleared an area of the churning Black Black Tide, broadening the vision of the Kindergarten Squad members.

At this moment, Drunk Milk in the squad suddenly pointed toward the sky:

"Look up, there's something big."

Following Drunk Milk's direction, the players' gazes fell upon a crimson colossal beast with twin wings in the dark red clouds, engaged in a fierce battle with some unknown creature; every flap of its wings tore through the cloud layer.

But the distance was too great; the Kindergarten Squad players could not make out what kind of creature was fighting the colossal beast.

Just then, the sky beast suddenly plummeted from the heavens like a meteor, friction with the air igniting flames as it rushed toward the location of the Kindergarten Squad members.

"We're done for; we're going to be crushed to death."

As the distance closed, the Kindergarten Squad members didn't even have the thought of dodging.

Yet, when the sky beast was less than a hundred meters from the ground, its wings beat violently, forcibly stabilizing its form in mid-air, before it spat out a clump of blue liquid from its mouth.

At this moment, the Kindergarten Squad members also saw the analysis information of the sky beast clearly.

[Flame Spirit (First Generation Primordial)]:

Hunting Level: 138

Primordial Introduction: A first-generation primordial monster wielding the power of soul flames; the flames it releases possess the effect of forging souls, plunging targets into continuous pain of soul scorching. Soul fire attacks ignore the target's physical defense, acting directly on the soul level; specific damage effects are influenced by the target's mental energy strength.

"Holy crap, a level 138 First Generation Primordial? That's fierce?"

"Raised on hormones? This First Generation Primordial could easily crush a Fourth Generation Odd Butterfly."

Through the Guide's explanation, the Kindergarten Squad members understood that in the Monster World's settings, a primordial monster's Hunting Level was unrelated to which generation of Primordial it was.

The generational designation only proved its growth potential; theoretically, a First Generation Primordial monster could possess an extremely high Hunting Level, easily killing primordial monsters with higher growth talents than itself.

Yet the Kindergarten Squad players were still shocked by the Flame Spirit's Hunting Level.

This primordial monster's strength far exceeded any primordial monster previously contained by the player faction; even all currently contained primordial monsters combined would be no match for this First Generation Primordial.

Roar!

Wind mixed with sound waves swept over, shaking the Kindergarten Squad players below until they gritted their teeth and pressed their bodies down.

The Flame Spirit colossal beast beat its wings again, enveloped in raging crimson flames; it glanced down at the direction where the blue liquid from its mouth was falling, then transformed into a streak of crimson light rushing toward the sky, vanishing into the cloud layer in the blink of an eye.

I almost thought I’d have to go to the penalty room to sulk, but I didn’t expect to actually survive.

"Phew, even though it's just a game, the Flame Spirit's oppressive presence was so strong; my heart accelerated uncontrollably, too thrilling."

"Pity it got away; if it dared to land, I would slide-tackle over and deliver a slash imbued with deadly poison to end its little life."

"Idiot Black Ball, can't you go a day without bragging a few times? If you slide-tackled over, you'd only be enough to fill its teeth gaps."

The Kindergarten Squad members, having barely survived, boasted and chatted in the chat channel, the atmosphere joyful.

At this moment, Iron Hammer proposed an idea:

"That blue liquid the Flame Spirit spat out earlier seemed to contain something; did you guys see it?"

"Seems like there was indeed something, but it wasn't very clear... You want to go take a look?" Drunk Milk asked with a puzzled expression, looking at Iron Hammer.

Yeah, let’s go take a look; fortune favors the bold, and the timid starve. Worst case, we enter the penalty room to Iron Face the wall and reflect on our mistakes.

Hearing Iron Hammer's idea, the Kindergarten Squad members all expressed agreement, believing this game had designed many easter egg opportunities, where sometimes an inconspicuous discovery could bring huge Sacrificial Power gains.

For example, a very lucky player on the forum, out of curiosity about what lay beneath a pit, had unexpectedly discovered a strange machine and received a massive opportunity reward.

Upon learning this news at the time, they had been so envious their eyes turned red.

This also cultivated a habit in them: do not miss any easter egg plotlines in the game.

The Flame Spirit's arrival, in the eyes of the Kindergarten Squad players, could be understood as accidentally triggering a plot easter egg, and the spat blue substance might be an extension of that plot.

Missing it would mean abandoning the triggered easter egg plotline.

"Buy potions from the Mall, replenish status; the Black Black Tide is coming."

Glancing remotely at the direction where the blue liquid fell, Iron Hammer pulled out a red potion bottle and gulped it down fiercely, then walked to the very front of the formation, facing the sweeping Black Black Tide evil spirits.

Half an hour later.

After a difficult advance, the Kindergarten Squad players finally reached the place where the blue liquid had fallen.

After killing the Black Black Tide evil spirits in this area, they saw clearly what was wrapped inside the blue liquid.

It was a small animal resembling a cat, with short limbs, covered in a layer of fine, soft blue fur; its breathing was as faint as a gossamer thread, and with each breath, its body trembled slightly, as if struggling to maintain the vitality within. Surrounding it was a ring of faint blue mist, adding a touch of mystery to this seemingly weak life.

Its most obvious feature was a diamond-shaped three-dimensional mark on its forehead, resembling an embedded sapphire, shimmering with a faint glow under the illumination of the Evil Moon.

Focusing their gaze, analysis information floated into the minds of the Kindergarten Squad players:

[Infinite (Sixth Generation Primordial)]:

Hunting Level: 29 (Near Death)

Primordial Introduction: A primordial monster wielding the power of Infinity; its own strength will gain enhancement or weakening with each World Judgment.

Guide Hint: Killing a Sixth Generation Primordial yields extra Soul Soul rewards (tradable).

"Holy crap (x15)"

Seeing the analysis information of this little kitten, the Kindergarten Squad members were instantly dumbfounded.

This was actually a Sixth Generation Primordial.

Before this, the strongest "Primordial Generation" they had seen was the Fourth Generation Odd Butterfly, which still had not been contained.

They never expected to luckily pick up a Sixth Generation Primordial in a near-death state.

Its value needed no thinking to know; killing it would surely bring huge Sacrificial Power gains.

After a brief shock, the Kindergarten Squad members acted decisively, fearing that sudden unexpected events might lead to containment failure.

Already weak, Infinite completely died under the Kindergarten Squad members' furious assault, transforming into a clump of blue mist that was absorbed by a nearby Guide clone.

Instantly, a full-channel notification rang out in the minds of all players:

[Congratulations to player squad "Kindergarten Squad Small Class" for successfully containing the 6th Generation Primordial monster: Infinite, receiving 100,000 Sacrificial Power reward (shared by squad players), and additionally obtaining one Sixth Generation Primordial Soul Soul: Infinite x15]

Infinite (Sixth Generation Primordial)

Primordial Trait Introduction: Once every 36 hours, a World Judgment roll can be performed; after the judgment concludes, one's own strength will be enhanced or weakened. In the initial level 1 state, the strength judgment fluctuation ranges from 1% to 500%. The higher the Infinite Soul Soul level, the larger the judgment fluctuation range; the judgment probability is influenced by the world's fortune.

Soul Soul Sale Price: None (Players can obtain through subsequent launched events)

The suddenly ringing full-channel notification instantly blew up the forum and regional voice channels, with various "Holy crap" spamming crazily.

The Kindergarten Squad members who received the reward were also so excited they hugged each other, cheering and leaping, with applause and shouts interwoven throughout.

After the celebration ended, they opened the Star Vein function list, deciding to embed the "Infinite" Soul Soul.

Leading the way, Iron Hammer, after stripping and decomposing the "Resistance" Soul Soul from the third Star Vein slot, swept his gaze toward the space inventory column on the right side of the interface, where a blue Soul Soul resembling a diamond-shaped die hovered in the fifth slot of the second row.

After dragging it with consciousness to the third position of the Star Vein slot to complete the embedding, he immediately felt his body undergoing unknown changes; it seemed some mysterious power was flowing within him, going from intense to calm in just a few seconds.

Upon completing the embedding, the usage method of the Infinite Soul Soul was branded into his mind.

Opening his eyes, he attempted to release the Infinite trait ability.

Instantly, a blue energy die appeared before him; each Iron Face was carved with intricate and complex rune patterns, constantly jumping and changing with time, presenting different colors.

After the ability activated, the die automatically spun, faster and faster.

Finally, it stopped on a black symbol, which rapidly enlarged before Iron Hammer's eyes until it completely engulfed his vision.

The Challenger Hint also rang out in his mind accordingly:

[Challenger Hint: Using Soul Soul trait ability "Infinite," roll result 8; rejected by the Power of the World, own strength weakened by 92% (all currently embedded Soul Soul effects are affected), duration 35 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds.]

Accompanying the hint sound, an intense sense of weakness engulfed Iron Hammer.

His vision grew dim; his heavy body felt as if burdened by a thousand-jin weight, making even breathing exceptionally difficult, requiring his entire body's strength to push through.

"It's over!"

Realizing he was afflicted by terrible luck, he had rolled a point of despair; with his abilities suppressed by the world's rules, Iron Hammer's expression looked exceedingly ugly.

Just then, raucous laughter came from beside him.

Turning his head, he saw Drunk Milk surrounded by a faint blue glow, condensing a fireball with a raise of his hand.

This Ink Flame Fireball was completely different from the ones released before; at the center of the burning black flames, a twisted vortex formed, while the surface of the fireball was wreathed in black substance that danced like electrical arcs, with surging energy fluctuations rippling outward in concentric circles from the fireball's core.

"Easily got a five-fold enhancement, this is too satisfying."

Speaking thus, Drunk Milk looked at Iron Hammer, whose expression was as constipated as one struggling to pass stool:

"Oh my, it seems our brother Iron Hammer is having bad luck; he looks a bit weak."

Hearing Drunk Milk's smug teasing, Iron Hammer couldn't help but flip him the bird:

"I curse you to roll a 1 next time... Hurry and support me, I feel like I'm about to fall over."

At this moment, the other teammates had also completed their rolls, receiving status buffs after the world's judgment, but within the team, only Drunk Milk, Black Sphere, and Class Monitor received enhancements; the rest had all rolled points that resulted in debuffs.

This left the members of the Kindergarten Society somewhat bewildered.

The characteristic effect of Infinity did not seem as powerful as they had imagined; they could not understand why, given a fluctuation range of 1% to 500%, the probability of being judged as weakened was so high.

To resolve their confusion, Iron Hammer, taking the lead, chose to post a help request on the forum.

[Brothers, something big is wrong; the effect of the Sixth Generation Primordial does not seem as powerful as imagined]

Poster: Small Class-Iron Hammer

Content: Ahem, don't scold me yet; I'm sure everyone has seen the prompt. We were very lucky to finish off a dying Sixth Generation Primordial, but we've encountered trouble when using its ability...

The current situation is that out of 15 rolls, only 3 people received enhancements, while the other 12 are in a weakened state; the probability of being judged as enhanced seems a bit low. I'm not sure if we're just naturally unlucky or if there's truly a problem with the probability. Could some expert analyze the situation for us?

The post published by the Kindergarten Society members quickly attracted a large crowd of players to watch, among whom were strategy-focused players who joined in the comments.

Night Is Coming:

Let me curse you first; you really deserve to die, managing to pick up a Sixth Generation Primordial—how many years of lifespan have you burned playing this game?

Now, let me analyze and explain your situation.

The analysis information for the Infinity Soul mentioned that the judgment probability is influenced by "World Fortune." This is clearly the reason why your probability of being judged as weakened is so high. My understanding of World Fortune is that it is a special attribute similar to luck. Although there is no introduction to such an attribute in the game at the current stage, it is certain that the attribute of luck definitely exists.

I have tested two souls related to luck in the Soul Library of the Testing Tower.

Below are screenshots of the analysis for these two souls.

[Good Fortune (Fourth-Stage Primordial Soul)]

Primordial Characteristic Introduction: After embedding this soul, one receives the blessing of the Monster World's fortune, and one's luck improves.

[Fortunate Fate (Fifth-Stage Primordial Soul)]

Primordial Characteristic Introduction: After embedding this soul, one receives the blessing of the Monster World's fortune, and one's luck improves.

The performance of these two souls in evaluations was extremely poor, providing a zero increase to combat power.

At that time, I started a voting thread on soul strength, and both of these souls were categorized among the Top Ten Weakest Souls; although their soul ranks were high, no practical use could be found for them.

Their performance in testing was the same: after embedding Good Fortune and Fortunate Fate, the simulated damage monsters dealt to me did not decrease in the slightest, with no lucky dodges occurring.

But now I understand the function of these two souls.

The effect of fortune blessing only takes effect when one possesses a soul that involves probability judgment.

Just like the Infinity Soul you are currently using; pair it with Fortunate Fate and Good Fortune, and even later accommodate and embed other similar souls that boost luck, and the Infinity Soul will become extremely powerful.

With various fortune buffs applied to your person, the probability of rolling an enhancement effect will inevitably increase significantly.

Theoretically, if you embed a bunch of souls with fortune blessings, you could roll an enhanced state every single time.

More importantly, the 1% to 500% range is only the fluctuation scope of a Level 1 Infinity Soul; if you level up your Infinity Soul to Level 10 or Level 20, this fluctuation range will expand.

Assuming a Level 100 Infinity Soul provides an enhancement fluctuation of 1% to 5000%, just imagine how terrifying the enhancement effect brought by a successful judgment roll would be under good luck.

What if it were a Level 500 Infinity Soul?

Although the characteristic of the Infinity Soul depends on luck, its upper limit is extremely high; its strength will absolutely crush all existing souls.

The downside is that its lower limit is also the lowest among all souls; under bad luck, it is far weaker than even a First Generation Primordial. If your own foundation is poor and you roll a 1%, I'm afraid you'd be blown to death by a sudden gust of wind.

Based on the above analysis, without the blessing of fortune-type souls, the Infinity Soul can only provide occasional moments of satisfaction; it is not recommended for unlucky players to embed and use it.

As for you players who have already embedded it, my advice is to keep using it; after all, once an embedded soul is stripped, it will decompose, and if you want to buy it again, you won’t be able to find it—the Infinity Soul is the only special soul in the game that has never been put up for sale.

Small Class-Iron Hammer (OP) replied to Night Is Coming: Thanks for the analysis, Brother Night; I understand what's happening now.

Wo Si Ni Die: I'm not interested in souls that require luck judgments, but I am interested in the Sacrificial Power produced by your captured Primordials. Iron Hammer, contact me quickly; it's been a long time since I've seen you produce Sacrificial Power. If you don't sell Sacrificial Power, how can I become stronger? (God of Wealth turning red with anger.jpg)

Soul-Hooking Envoy: Hello, lucky player. Judging by my game ID, you probably know what my job is. I want to ask, are you done having fun? If you're done, it's time to come with me on the road to the underworld; your allotted lifespan has been exhausted. Don't use your lifespan to play games in your next life. (God of Wealth striking down with a blade.jpg)

Primordial Altar.

Gazing at the Infinity imprisoned in the 18th slot of the Containment Wall, Qi Sheng received information analysis feedback from the Guide in his mind.

This Sixth Generation Primordial could produce 15,000 Sacrificial Power for him every hour, yielding a daily income of 360,000 Sacrificial Power.

The good fortune of the Kindergarten members had brought him a continuous, massive income of Sacrificial Power.

With this Sixth Generation Primordial, the progress of recruiting players would also be accelerated.

As for why he had not opened the Infinity Soul for other players to purchase and use, it was mainly related to the special nature of the Infinity Soul.

Without the blessing of compatible fortune-type souls, the randomness of the Infinity Soul's characteristic was too great, and it might not play a positive role in the players' growth.

If a low point value was rolled, the player would completely lose combat capability within 36 hours.

Suppose the Player Legion erupted into war with the Black Black Tide, and all players rolled for the world's judgment; if the strength of the vast majority of players was weakened, it would severely affect the direction of the war situation.

For Qi Sheng, who wanted to build a powerful player legion, stable income in his eyes was far superior to uncertain income.

From the perspective of stable development, this type of purely luck-based soul was not suitable for mass distribution.

Therefore, he closed the sales channel for the "Infinity Soul," changing it to probabilistic distribution during future events, such as lottery activities.

Only when a large number of souls related to increasing fortune had been captured in the future would he consider fully opening the purchase permissions for the Infinity Soul.

(End of Chapter)