Chapter 219: Chapter 219 – External Aid
Gu Yueyan had a calm gaze, but she was actually panicking internally. Dong Chengling said with a smile, “I have already stored Reiki coordinates within this accessory, and it would be able to ensure your safety. When any of you are in danger, just touch the mark inside with Reiki, and I will do my best to pull you to my location.”
“The effective range of the accessory is… within the entire Lian Province, it should not be a problem.”
Ren Suo was slightly stunned as he looked at the necklace. He recalled the man in the iron seat whom he saw in the fifth checkpoint.
He had used the coordinates stored within a necklace worn by a Practitioner from Xuan Nation to tear open the space to communicate with those inside the mystery realm.
According to him, all the Practitioners from Xuan Nation actually had similar necklaces. However, only the ones with the highest quality and rarest gemstones were able to store sufficient Reiki that can be used as coordinates to tear open the space within the mystery realm temporarily.
Later on, Ren Suo observed the necklaces they wore in greater detail and discovered that there were indeed various colors of the necklaces. The necklace that exploded upon being used by the man in the iron seat was clearly very precious, as it was the only one which was made with sapphire.
Looking at Dong Chengling’s gift now, Ren Suo asked without much thought, “This is… your reward from the Countermeasure Division?”
Ren Suo remembered that Qiao Muyi’s target was Dong Chengling some time back.
“It’s a part of it,” Dong Chengling replied. She continued, “I will soon become a special safety advisor to the Lianjiang Countermeasure Division. Just like both of you, all important Practitioners in Lianjiang City would receive a similar accessory. Whenever any of them is in danger, I will be able to protect them in time.”
“This is too valuable,” Ren Suo remarked. He breathed in deeply and said, “You should give this to your family.”
Gu Yueyan also nodded several times as she replaced the necklace into the box and returned it to Dong Chengling.
Dong Chengling smiled and said, “There are no Practitioners in my family, and they do not live in Lianjiang City either… Around here, both of you are family.”
Ren Suo already knew how stubborn Dong Chengling was, so he did not continue to refuse. He obediently put on the necklace, although it seemed slightly strange for a man to wear a necklace.
On the other hand, Gu Yueyan was in a dilemma and continued trying to reject Dong Chengling’s gift. Eventually, however, she still accepted it and put on the necklace with her cheeks blushing.
————
When Ren Suo was at the checkpoint selection screen in the game, he suddenly noticed something amiss.
The six checkpoints which had already been cleared were greyed out as usual, and he could no longer enter those checkpoints. However, the icon of the seventh checkpoint looked horrifying, as if it was brimming with a black-colored juice that was threatening to overflow.
It was as if there were dozens of strong, muscular warriors staring at him imposingly, ready to pick on a fight.
Ren Suo clicked on the checkpoint, and the corrupted Holy Grail suddenly appeared:
[You have done very well.]
Ren Suo was slightly stunned.
The corrupted Holy Grail said: [I represent both the hope and despair of humans, and I look forward to you drawing an end to all of this, Mage.]
[You should have realized that I, the one whom you have been trading with all this while, am the source of all monsters. I exist to give those who made wishes an equal amount of hope and despair.]
[Whatever one wishes for, one would have to pay an equal and corresponding price—this is the true significance of the Holy Grail. Every mage possesses the power of the Holy Grail, which is why it is possible for mages to possess the Hand of Salvation, and why mages are able to rely on offerings to cast their spells.]
[The Holy Grail is merely an embodiment of its power, but the desires and despair of mortals have thoroughly corrupted the Holy Grail. Even though the Holy Grail provoked and fuelled the birth of mages, it was still impossible to resolve the despair lingering on the already fragmented land. Eventually, the Holy Grail held on to the last available land and came to a new world.]
[Now, only you are able to bring all of this to an end.]
Ren Suo pressed many buttons and finally managed to make the dialog input box appear. He typed: [Aren’t you the Holy Grail? Why do you want to help me?]
The corrupted Holy Grail replied: [As much as the Holy Grail is full of despair, a tiny trace of hope still remains. It is this last tiny speck of hope that is helping you.]
[Mage, your Hand of Salvation resonates with the trace of hope that remains in the Holy Grail. Please, allow me to make use of this strength to lend you a helping hand.]
New options appeared on the exchange list of the Holy Grail:
[① Be granted three revival opportunities]
[② Double overall capabilities (Attack, Defense, Maximum Health, Maximum Mana)]
[③ Summon external aid]
Ren Suo was stunned momentarily. He looked at the current details of Mage:
Level 100 Sacred Hand, Level 0 Magic Wrist.
Ren Suo asked: [What would happen if the level of my Magic Wrist was higher than that of the Sacred Hand?]
The corrupted Holy Grail replied: [I will still appear, but the hope within me would not be empowered.]
Ren Suo had thought about what would happen if he had played ordinarily and had not made any in-game purchases—wouldn’t all of Mage’s companions die before he finally reached the last checkpoint? It turned out that there was still a helping hand at this juncture in the game, where the Holy Grail would provide free assistance as the final straw for those who took the Sacred Hand route.
Moreover, the Sacred Hand route could not compare to the Magic Wrist route, whether it was early on in the game, mid-way through the game, or in the latter part of the game. Even till that juncture, the damage output of Mage was lower than the other female Magic Wrist mages.
If the Sacred Hand Mage had to fight alone, Ren Suo would likely have had to spend dozens of hours just trying to clear one checkpoint.
Ren Suo asked: [Can I only choose one of the three options? I feel like wanting everything.]
The corrupted Holy Grail replied: [You can.]
Ren Suo was stunned. He could choose all of the three options?
The corrupted Holy Grail continued: [However, apart from the first option you choose, the other two options would be provided by the strength of despair. It is easy to figure what would result when that happens—for example, the option which was supposed to grant you three chances to revive might well turn you into a stone that is unable to move, and you would then die after being hit thrice as a stone. Or for example, the option which was supposed to double your overall capabilities might make you unable to use any offerings, or the summoned aid from the third option might attack you instead…]
Ren Suo asked: [Will it not be possible even if I spend merit points?]
The corrupt Holy Grail said: [Sorry, some things in this world cannot be purchased, and an example of such a thing is hope.]
Ren Suo further probed: [Who exactly are those mages who are waiting in the mystery realms? Why are they able to perform neither salvation nor sacrifice?]
The corrupted Holy Grail replied: [They are the last Mages who made wishes to the Holy Grail, hoping for the arrival of a mage who is able to eliminate all monsters. However, they had to pay the price for their wishes; as a result, the strength of despair, which responded, made them unable to deal with monsters forever.]
Ren Suo asked: [Why are they all female mages?]
The corrupted Holy Grail explained: [Compared to women, men are more likely to crumble and fall apart. As such, the mages who survive till the end are all females.]
What a simple reason…
Ren Suo looked at the wish list. Being able to revive thrice was meaningless to Mage with his Sacred Hand; doubling Mage’s overall capabilities would indeed enhance his combat power, but the third option made Ren Suo even more curious.
Ren Suo saved the game, then selected [③ Summon external aid].
The corrupted Holy Grail said: [You possess many powerful external sources of help, but the strength of hope is very limited. Take note that there would be a limit to the maximum combat power of the summoned aid.]
A limit to the maximum combat power of the summoned aid?
The next moment, a list appeared in the center of the screen:
[The Hitman, selectable]
[The Seeker, selectable]
[Ren Woxing, not selectable]
[The Holy Priest, selectable]
[The All-Devouring Spirit, not selectable]
[Irina, not selectable]
Ren Suo lamented, “I can’t even choose Ren Woxing, who is a character from a game with a 2-star difficulty rating?”
Nonetheless, he could understand that if Ren Woxing, the sixth generation head of the Ren family, was summoned, he could be as powerful as the All-Devouring Soul. Ren Woxing was able to fight against thousands of monsters alone, and he was also a terrifying Practitioner who took on challenges squarely without cowering. If he were summoned, the final boss in the last checkpoint might not even get a chance to attack.
“However, the remaining options are quite weak with barely any combat ability…”