Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 58 - 54 Identity Choices and Character Rectification

Chapter 58: Chapter 54 Identity Choices and Character Rectification

[In the large-scale Trial Illusion, the following game mechanics will be unlocked:]

[Identity Choice]

[Order Restorers defeating enemies will obtain a certain number of "Identity Points," which can be used to change the player’s identity upon entering the Trial Illusion.]

[Each time Order Restorers die, they will lose a fixed amount of Identity Points, with the lowest being zero.]

[When Order Restorers learn key information about key figures in the Illusion Realm, they can unlock more identity choices.]

[Character Image Correction and Stereotyping]

[In the large-scale Trial Illusion, characters or events may have been manipulated by demons. Altered characters, especially key figures, can pose significant obstacles to Order Restorers completing the Illusion.]

[Order Restorers can role-play as the manipulated characters to correct them to their true image. Once successful, that character’s image will be fixed, and afterwards, even if players choose different identities, that character will act in the corrected state.]

"Hmm? New mechanisms have been unlocked?"

Zhao Haiping carefully read through these prompts from beginning to end, contemplative.

There’s a lot of information here; I need to digest it properly.

"A complex instance with numerous characters, the difficulty of completing it with just one identity would increase significantly, hence players are allowed to choose different identities to complete it?

"Killing enemies to gain points, losing some upon death, meaning careful consideration is needed in choosing identities and strategic planning.

"This makes sense, after all, since players have four different classes; it would be unfair for some if, after entering the instance, one could only choose the same identity.

"Moreover, these new mechanisms are actually directly related.

"The previous four Trial Illusions were all beginner instances, not only were the players’ identities fixed and unchangeable, but the content of the illusions was also almost exactly the same as the historical recordings, with no alterations.

"But after unlocking the historical line and facing the formal instances, traces of demonic manipulations present.

"Meaning, characters portrayed positively in historical records might not be trustworthy, some might be in their manipulated states, and trying to copy answers directly from history may turn out to be a pitfall, necessitating careful discernment...

"Of course, it’s not entirely unsolvable; as long as you find the manipulated characters, role-play as them, and correct their actions to the normal state, then their character images will be fixed, even if the player switches to another identity, they will still maintain this correct image.

"Interesting."

After the prompt information disappeared, three different initial identity cards appeared in front of Zhao Haiping: [Laborer], [Small Trader], and [Drama Troupe Member].

The cards also had relief sculptures showing the different images of the three identities.

Zhao Haiping frowned slightly: "Hmm... there doesn’t seem to be any difference between these identities.

"All three of these identities can be chosen without consuming Identity Points.

"I get it; these three are starting identities, not key figure identities, so this choice shouldn’t make much difference.

"I need to find a way to approach some key figures through an initial identity, only then can I unlock the key figure’s identity choice."

After some consideration, Zhao Haiping chose the Laborer identity.

The reason was simple; the Laborer seemed strongest physically, at least stronger in combat.

The additional advantages of the Small Trader and Drama Troupe Member identities were not clear at the moment.

First, I’ll try an identity and switch if it doesn’t work.

After he made his choice, the talent cards finally appeared in view.

[Gui-level·Opera Mastery (White): Your knowledge of operas and singing skills are enhanced.]

[Ren-level·Carnage Indifference (Blue): Having fought through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, you are more likely to unleash potential in extremis; when injured, you can ignore pain to a certain degree and unleash great strength.]

[Ren-level·Keen Observation (Blue): Your observation and memory of details are enhanced.]

Zhao Haiping pondered briefly.

"I’ve seen the ’Carnage Indifference’ talent before, but I remember it was a Gui-level skill at that time, and now it’s Ren-level.

"Does this mean that the same Order Restorer talents can have different levels and rarities? The higher the level, the better the effect, obviously.

"But for now, ’Keen Observation’ seems to be the better choice, because these instances can’t be brute-forced; the right solutions must be found.

"Only those with keen observational skills can notice the details that are overlooked; only those with a good memory can look up information and find breakthroughs after leaving the game.

"Such a talent is obviously very helpful for puzzle-solving.

"Therefore, I choose ’Carnage’!

"First, I’ll try the strongest combat ability and see, confirming the difficulty of this instance.

"As a combat talent, ’Carnage’ should be even fiercer when combined with my War Soldier’s exclusive talent ’Breakthrough Aspiration’.

"As for the puzzle-solving, that can wait."

The talent "Opera Mastery" also caught Zhao Haiping’s eye twice.

On the surface, it obviously seemed like a useless talent. How helpful could singing operas be? Could you expect to sing an opera and persuade the Eastern Barbarian raiders to retreat?

But experience had shown that the talents refreshed in the Trial copies were generally related to the content of the instance.

There were no absolutely useless talents; the key was how to use them.

Moreover, it could be used in conjunction with the identity of "Opera Troupe Member."

"Could there be content related to opera in this instance?

"I’ll need to pay more attention to related content later; there might be some hidden mechanism."

After selecting his talents, the Trial Illusion began to revolve.

He looked down at his attire, which was indeed the plain clothes of a civilian laborer, without armor or weapons.

"A lower starting identity means no weapons, no armor, and my words won’t carry much weight...

"It looks like I’ll inevitably suffer in the first few rounds; I hope to kill more enemies quickly and switch to a better identity."

Based on his experience from previous War Soldier instances, the beginning of this instance would likely be very tough.

Leaving the walls of the fortress, he entered the county city. Along the way, Zhao Haiping did not see any soldiers. This small county seemed peaceful and tranquil, with the people all busying themselves with their affairs.

But Zhao Haiping knew that this peaceful scene could be shattered at any moment; once the Eastern Barbarian raiders invaded, it would likely become a vicious battlefield.

He did not know when according to the instance settings, the Eastern Barbarian raiders would invade; it could be the next second or several hours later.

Still, he had to do something in advance.

Without asking for directions, Zhao Haiping tried to find the marketplace and the county office by himself.

Asking for directions would be tantamount to exposing his unfamiliarity with the county, and the NPCs in the game were very clever. What if he were mistaken for a spy of the raiders and snatched up right after asking?

The small county was not that big anyway; heading towards the central area wouldn’t be too far off.

Soon, Zhao Haiping noticed that people were crowding in front of him; he must have arrived at the county’s marketplace.

Both sides were filled with small vendors selling all sorts of things, with the noise of haggling and bargaining mingling in a lively bustle.

As he moved through the marketplace, Zhao Haiping looked around with some curiosity.

He had to admit, "Dark Sand" was indeed very realistically made, capturing all kinds of details in the marketplace exceptionally well. Even the expressions on each small vendor’s face were vivid.

The previous four Trial instances had also been very realistic, but they were single scenes with relatively simple objectives.

But with this newly released official instance, the scale of the entire instance had expanded significantly, the interactable characters had jumped to several thousand within the city, encompassing all walks of life, enriching the content by an unknown multiple.

Walking on, Zhao Haiping arrived at the most crowded part of the marketplace.

"Is this... an opera house?"

Although he had never seen an opera house from ancient times, he could still guess it from the singing and musical accompaniment coming from inside. Moreover, many people were gathered outside the opera house, evidently those who couldn’t afford to pay for a ticket and were freeloading outside.

The melody was melodious and graceful; however, the lyrics were incomprehensible since Zhao Haiping was a modern man and not accustomed to listening to opera.

He had originally planned to go straight to the county office and warn about the imminent invasion by Eastern Barbarian raiders. Whether it was calling troops from the garrison or organizing local militia, only the County Magistrate could handle such affairs.

But at that moment, Zhao Haiping paused.

Because he had seen a talent related to opera when he had entered the instance, and this opera house had a significant presence in the small county, Zhao Haiping surmised that the content of this instance might be connected to the people or events related to the opera house.

It wouldn’t hurt to stop for a moment and see if he could pick up any useful information.

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