Chapter 202
Chapter 202
That afternoon, at around one thirty…
After eating his fill, Zhou Ming returned to the game. The instant he logged in, a system chime of immense importance rang beside his ears.
“Ding!~”
[System Notification: Attention! [Sin of Gluttony], part of your [Trial of the Seven Sins], has been activated!]
It was here!
The sixth stage of the Trial of the Seven Sins!
Zhou Ming’s spirits surged. He drew a deep breath, suppressed the agitation in his heart, and forced himself to calm down before carefully checking the trial’s details.
[Sin of Gluttony]
Trial Requirement: Starting from the day of activation, feast to your heart’s content on delicacies that permanently increase Attributes.
Current Progress: 0/30
Time Limit: 10 days
Trial Reward: ???
Failure Penalty: Death
…
“Hiss!”
Zhou Ming sucked in a sharp breath. The requirement instantly stunned him.
This time, he did not need to defeat some powerful enemy, but the difficulty was still terrifying.
He had to eat delicacies that permanently increased Attributes!
What was the key word?
Permanently!
In other words, consumables similar to potions were completely useless.
Items like that were probably exceedingly rare across the entire Destiny Continent, let alone thirty different dishes.
“So far, I don’t think I’ve obtained more than a handful of items that permanently raise Attributes. And now they all have to be edible…”
The pressure on Zhou Ming instantly became crushing.
How was this supposed to be “gluttony”? It was clearly trying to starve him to death!
“Is the sixth stage difficult?” Sensing Zhou Ming’s emotional turmoil, Qianying immediately appeared and asked with concern.
“Yeah!”
Zhou Ming had no reason to hide anything from Qianying, so he told her the trial’s requirements exactly as they were.
“Items that permanently increase Attributes, and they must be related to food…”
Qianying’s brows drew together slightly. “Such things certainly exist. The real difficulty is the sheer quantity required. I only know of two or three.”
Thirty delicacies, all gathered within ten days.
It was enough to make anyone feel helpless.
“Right!”
Qianying suddenly remembered something and reminded him, “Once cooked, the flesh of exceptionally powerful creatures might make excellent medicinal cuisine.”
“I see!”
Zhou Ming’s thoughts immediately came alive. “That reminder of yours gave me an idea, Qianying!”
An exceptionally powerful creature might itself be “food.”
Take the Celestial Spirit-Tier Boss they might encounter on this trip. Since it was an octopus, surely it counted as a type of… seafood?
At that moment, Tingfeng Xiyu logged back in as well. When he saw Qianying speaking with Zhou Ming, he greeted them at once. “Hey, Brother Zhou! Hey, sis-in-law!”
“…”
Qianying whipped her head around to stare at Tingfeng Xiyu. Two crimson clouds bloomed across her lovely face, leaving her completely at a loss. “Don’t call me that!”
“Ahem!”
Zhou Ming coughed twice and explained, “Qianying and I haven’t made anything official yet. We’re just very close friends.”
“Oh! Oh!”
Understanding dawned on Tingfeng Xiyu, and he hurriedly corrected himself. “Sister Qian!”
“…Forget it. You two have things to do.”
Qianying’s figure flashed, and she returned to the God-Demon Orb.
Zhou Ming could only feel a little helpless at the sight.
Qianying was quiet by nature and easily embarrassed, which was precisely why he had always struggled to find a chance to deepen their relationship.
Her innocent yet aloof personality made it easy to discuss serious matters with her, but nearly impossible to broach romance.
Of course, Zhou Ming had always considered those exceptionally admirable qualities.
In today’s restless society, girls like her were exceedingly rare. She had to be cherished.
Clearing away his stray thoughts, Zhou Ming returned to the matter at hand. “Are we setting out now?”
“Yeah!”
Tingfeng Xiyu nodded. “We’re about to set sail!”
“Let’s go!”
…
The two retraced their route to the vicinity of the Boundless Sea, where a massive cargo ship awaited them.
The ship was already fully loaded. Many of the natives and adventurers assigned to protect it had arrived as well.
The two quietly boarded the cargo ship and waited without drawing any attention.
At two in the afternoon, the ship officially set sail.
“Let’s hope we don’t run into Squidward or Mr. Krabs this time. Just give us some easy trash mobs!”
“The key is making sure the cargo ship doesn’t capsize. We’ll have no choice but to fight underwater!”
“Man, moving around in the sea really is a pain!”
The players aboard the ship talked among themselves, their expressions tense.
The quest’s difficulty had dropped to S-Rank, which certainly meant less danger. For most players, however, it would still be extremely difficult to complete.
Zhou Ming remained perfectly at ease as he waited patiently in one part of the ship.
After sailing for a little over twenty minutes, the cargo ship entered the open ocean. The coastline had disappeared from sight, which meant they were now entirely on their own.
Bang!
A sudden impact struck the underside of the ship, sending everyone on deck staggering.
“No way. It’s here already?” one player cried, bracing for a deadly battle.
Bang! Bang! Bang…
Towering waves erupted across the sea. One massive octopus tentacle after another shot up from below and slammed onto the deck. In the next instant, they wrapped tightly around the ship and refused to let go.
Then the Giant Octopus’s head rose from beneath the waves, the densely packed suckers lining its tentacles all quivering at once.
“Ding!~”
[System Notification: Giant Octopus has used [Adhesion], reducing the cargo ship’s Durability by 0.5% per second. Duration: Indefinite!]
“Holy shit!”
One native soldier stared wide-eyed, stunned by the horrifying sight.
“Don’t just stand there! Fight back!”
Tingfeng Xiyu charged forward with a sharp azure dagger in hand and severed a tentacle in a single stroke. He shouted grimly, “The cargo ship can only hold out for three minutes! We can’t let the octopus succeed, or the quest will fail!”
“Kill it!”
The players rushed into battle one after another.
They recognized the player ID Tingfeng Xiyu. After all, he had placed fourth in Pinnacle Showdown and was unquestionably one of the Eastern Region’s top players.
With him participating, they had a good chance of completing the quest.
Slash! Slash! Slash…
Cold light flashed from the dagger as Tingfeng Xiyu swiftly cut through several octopus tentacles, drastically slowing the rate at which the cargo ship lost Durability.
“Wooo!”
Enraged by the repeated pain, the Giant Octopus whipped several tentacles at Tingfeng Xiyu in rapid succession. He dodged swiftly, but the blows struck the deck and made the entire ship shudder and list to one side. He nearly lost his footing, looking rather wretched for a moment.
-364,596!
-359,698!
-720,066! (Critical Damage)
…
At the same time, the other players were clearly not so fortunate. The octopus’s blows sent all their HP plummeting, and some were even killed instantly.
Their enemy was a Celestial Spirit-Tier Boss. Its stats were enough to crush players at their current stage, and the damage numbers it dealt were simply unbearable.
“We’re screwed!”
Many players tumbled awkwardly into the sea and gave up resisting.
The difficulty of Cross-Sea Trade fluctuated, so a powerful enemy did not appear every time.
Their luck was clearly terrible today.
“Roar!”
Just as everyone thought the quest was about to fail, a crimson dragon soared into the sky. It breathed a torrent of Dragon Breath from its maw, scorching the Giant Octopus until it wailed incessantly and hastily withdrew every tentacle.
Finally able to catch his breath, Tingfeng Xiyu looked up at the man on the dragon’s back and gave a bitter smile.
The gap between one person and another could truly be enormous…
…