How Am I Still Alive?
Chapter 79 - 79 65 Start

79: Chapter 65: Start 79: Chapter 65: Start “I didn’t expect to have the opportunity to return here so soon.”

The familiar scent of sand and stone, and the ancient city’s imposing towers reaching towards the sky.

The Knight’s Secret Realm, the trial ground for warriors, and to some extent an important tourist attraction in the Ancient City.

People from nearby cities often come here to “visit”.

“…I don’t understand why the Undead rules of the Forest Secret Realm isn’t used in this internal warfare among the candidates.”

“Getting used to death is pretty bad for warriors, Meow.

And I heard that the so-called ‘resurrection’ in that Realm is not without a cost, Meow.

Don’t ask me what that cost is, Big Brother only said that you can’t die casually, Meow.”

Lu Ping’an nodded thoughtfully, this seemed like a reasonable answer.

Compared to Lu Ping’an’s calm expression, Meow was somewhat nervous.

She got a high score of around 20.8, and with just half of the remaining 5 points, she should be able to enroll…

But the closer the candidates are to the edge of success, the greater the psychological pressure.

Today she wore light short clothes, a steel claw in each hand, and even a short dagger hanging from her tail.

She was fully armed.

Walking a few steps, she would subconsciously bounce, her fur standing on end, clearly in a state of high tension.

“…Come on, have some candy; relax a bit.”

Lu Ping’an casually grabbed a handful of candies and fruit, stuffs it in front of the little girl.

Lei Shuiyun sighed helplessly, she looked young, but she wasn’t a little girl.

“…I’m not a child anymore.”

“Well, don’t have any then?”

With that, Lu Ping’an ate two of them himself, and the scent of fruit immediately spread.

“I’ll eat.”

They sat on the steps of the square, waiting for the examiners to make their final preparations.

“This fruit is really fragrant…

cough, it’s just that I got up too early this morning and couldn’t eat breakfast, I’m a bit hungry now.”

“Glad you like it, I grew it myself.”

Lu Ping’an smiled, not saying much more.

“Here, let me show you a treasure.

Give me that name card.”

“Right, this one…”

With that, Lei Shuiyun handed over the “Black Iron VIP” name card.

[Customer Lei Shuiyun.

Credit Rating: Black Iron (39 points).

Currently, additional function available: Remote Credit Investment.]

Lu Ping’an swiped it and handed it back to Meow.

[Customer Lei Shuiyun.

Credit Rating: Black Iron (39 points).

Currently, additional function available: Life Postponed Payment (Limited to 3 days, one use per day with the current authority).]

In an instant, Meow’s ears and tail stood up.

“…What the hell is this?”

Just by touching the card, the Sound of Rules informed her how to use this ability.

“You were always curious about my healing abilities, right?

This is it.

But on-the-spot, it can only restore 2/3, and for the next two days at the same time, the ‘price’ will be paid.

Remember, there’s only one chance; use it at a crucial moment.”

Instantly, Meow’s eyes changed.

She wasn’t stupid; she knew what instant healing abilities meant.

In actual combat, this was like having a cheat device giving you a second life.

When faced with an unbeatable opponent, playing a “risk for life” tactic could forcefully win a crucial round and increase the final score.

“…This, this is too heavy…”

“Don’t be like this; you don’t want me to help you change it back!”

“You dare!

Alright, I know you dare…

Thanks, Meow.”

With this development, Meow became unwavering and happily went to line up with her card.

With a “second life”, if she still couldn’t get the enrollment qualification, she should really consider going back to the class.

“Meow, don’t forget about me if there’s good stuff in the future, Meow!”

With a blush, she greeted him just before she left.

Meow also realized that just by using this small card, Lu Ping’an could become the so-called “golden support” and form a team centered around himself.

“Ay, it’s so hot.”

Lu Ping’an sat on the stairs, spreading open his large windbreaker, trying to dissipate the heat.

In fact, since coming today, Lei Shuiyun’s expression had been quite subtle upon seeing Lu Ping’an’s black windbreaker.

It’s already early June and the weather has heated up.

Wearing such a black windbreaker that could be used as a blanket, he must be trying to attract attention in his unusual attire.

But Meow didn’t ask, as there were weirder people around, at least Lu Ping’an dressed like a human.

“Metal armor, vine leather armor, swimsuits, ragged clothes, naked lower bodies.

I’m nothing compared to those…

Uh, that guy with the naked lower body doesn’t seem to be an exam candidate?

Oh, he’s a former candidate who can’t take the exam anymore?!”

A group of school security guards came over and directly took away the mad candidate.

Meow’s short and cape-like assassin outfit was actually considered normal.

Many people dressed like they had come out of a costume drama, Lu Ping’an saw several Taoists, monks, and onmyoujis, and there were enough people for several seasons of Assassin’s Creed.

Lu Ping’an could understand their approach, as some combat abilities required corresponding conditions.

He wore a long black windbreaker to match his fighting style.

Seeing the candidates disappearing one by one in front, Lu Ping’an also stood up.

“I hope my luck will be better this time, Mr.

Knight, don’t play this game anymore…”

This time, it was a battle between the candidates, but there was still a lot of luck involved.

Early in the morning, a bishop from the Rust Knight Church came over and turned off the PVE (player versus monster) mode, locking in “PVP mode.”

Those who entered the trial would only encounter other trial takers, and the loser would end the trial.

With the same three opportunities, some people might come out in ten minutes, while others might have to fight for an entire day.

“…Don’t let it be third-tier, please.

Oh, normal people, great!”

As soon as he entered the Secret Realm, Lu Ping’an smiled, while the young man opposite him cried.

“I forfeit!”

Before Lu Ping’an even had time to draw his battle axe, the opponent forfeited without any hesitation.

Intelligence was also a focus of the Secret Keeper’s preparations.

In the first round of the “exam,” outstanding candidates inevitably had some intelligence leaked, especially eye-catching ones like Lu Ping’an.

Even if you didn’t do your intelligence work well, at the stalls outside the square, people were selling basic data for the top 100 candidates at high prices.

The teachers didn’t care?

They were the ones selling!

Some stalls were even run by part-time seniors.

They sold it at a high price, but it sold really well, and the content was terrible.

How did Lu Ping’an know?

He had a copy right in his arms, and though it was of poor quality, it was money that had to be spent.

Knowing the information about your opponents before the battle, money is not what really matters…

In a sense, it’s also to prevent some fools from being stubborn and leaving any fatal injuries.

“Well.”

Watching his vanished opponent, Lu Ping’an lowered his battle axe.

Although he felt regretful, he didn’t hesitate to head to the next floor…

while the noobs haven’t all rolled away, hurry up and kill a few more.

As for the weaker ones, since there were three chances, it was a necessary strategy to quickly forfeit when encountering an opponent they couldn’t possibly defeat in order to save both energy and avoid injury.

After all, the final exam results not only depended on the strength of the opponents you defeated, but also on the number of wins, winning streaks, and the teachers would give you an impression score based on the actual combat video.

Each candidate was both a hunter and prey.

In the end, a “standard score” would be assigned to them based on their actual performance, and they would have to defeat others to get that score.

Simply put, defeating a second-tier would give you more points than winning ten first-tier battles.

This still wasn’t completely fair, and luck was important as well.

If Lu Ping’an had encountered three consecutive third-tier opponents, he would probably have to take the basic score and leave.

“…My mouth.

Can’t you spare me, Mr.

Knight?

Let me hurry up in the early stages, killing more chickens to get some basic points.”

Lu Ping’an sighed helplessly, as it had only been the second floor, and it wasn’t easy to casually kill chickens.

“Rank 59 candidate, 2-tier professional, ‘Mobile Dune’ Sun Xingwen.”

Lu Ping’an could recognize him at a glance because, in a sense, he was another ability user who could counter him.

However, Lu Ping’an also knew that in a sense, this was the best match for him.

The scores needed to enter Ancient City University were already enough, and the basic scores were almost meaningless to him.

If he wanted to get a ranking and prize money, he would have to fight the strong one by one and get their standard scores!

“Fine, let’s fight quickly, I want to kill more chickens.”