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Chapter 105 - 103: "The Original" (Two-in-One)

Chapter 105: Chapter 103: "The Original" (Two-in-One)

"..." Edward’s hands revealed a pair of swords, one long and one short, "You’re so confident, you don’t think your three minions can still move, do you?"

Su Ming’an glanced around and saw that the figures of his three followers had also frozen in place.

The spreading blood also instantly solidified, as if time around them had all been paused in an instant, with only he and Edward able to act.

"Welcome to my Time Domain," Edward’s sword pointed at him, "Here, I can designate one person for a one-on-one duel, while time for all others is stopped. If you want to leave, you must defeat me. Don’t even think that the organizers will help you..."

"Have we started introducing our skills?" Su Ming’an said, "If you want to be the Number One Player, come at me directly, don’t engage in such villainous acts, forcibly lowering your own win rate."

Edward didn’t understand what he was talking about, but that didn’t prevent him from feeling insulted and provoked.

"You underestimate humans, too careless," Edward said coldly, staring at him, "I know all your skills, their effects, and cooldowns, yet you know nothing about me..."

An invisible wave spread out in an instant.

Edward’s sixth sense immediately warned him, and he instantly turned around to erect a milky white light shield, blocking an abrupt attack from Su Ming’an who had suddenly teleported.

[HP-0 (High-grade Defensive Barrier completely blocked!)]

... 0 damage?

The number that popped up made Su Ming’an pause for a moment.

... Didn’t even break through the defense?

He stepped back quickly, watching Edward whose body flickered with the light of various props in an instant.

Su Ming’an remembered that in the Main God Space, items must be traded at standard prices, and giving them away or undercutting prices was not allowed, thus preventing one person from being collectively equipped and boosted by others.

... However, the equipment and props on Edward were surprisingly good. The resisted damage value was also absurdly high...

No, that’s not right, it is possible to be equipped.

Su Ming’an suddenly remembered a situation—the Spirit Beast Egg that Lv Shu gifted him at the end of the First World.

If no trades were allowed in the Main God Space, then in the game world, trading, and even gifting, were possible...

As long as they could locate the instance where Edward was, send someone in to give him the prepared equipment and props, then Edward could wear equipment forged by the strongest subsidiary occupation players without any effort.

... So that’s how it is.

... To raise such a being, those people really did spend a great deal.

Su Ming’an glanced at the system’s ranking list.

[World Ranking (Comprehensive Evaluation):

1, Su Ming’an (Combat Power: 620) (Number One Player) (Perfect Pass*3) / Occupation: White Auditor

2, Noel Agnini (Combat Power: 750) (Perfect Pass*2) / Occupation: Puppet Master

3, Edward (Combat Power: 1200) (Perfect Pass*3) / Occupation: Time Stopper

4, Lv Shu (Combat Power: 680) (Perfect Pass*1) / Occupation: Beast Tamer

5. Mizushima Kawa Sora (Combat Power: 680) (Perfect Pass*3) / Occupation: Illusionism

6. Adolf (Combat Power: 600) (Perfect Pass*2) / Occupation: Boxing Master

7. Yamada Machiichi (Combat Power: 620) (Perfect Pass*1) / Occupation: Chasing Darkness

8. Andre (Combat Power: 650) / Occupation: Master Craftsman

9. Iris (Combat Power: 620) (Perfect Pass*3) / Occupation: Charm Sound

10. Eni (Combat Power: 580) (Perfect Pass*1) / Occupation: Flame Magic

...

Seeing Edward’s terrifying Value of 1200, bolstered by all sorts of top-tier equipment and weapons, he sighed softly.

The next moment, Edward’s longsword, ablaze with blue flames and appearing exceedingly fine, swept across in an instant!

Su Ming’an poured the remaining more than seven hundred Mana Points entirely into the Spatial Vibration!

[HP-320! (Elite Defensive Barrier resistance! High Defense Value resistance! Mentality Defense resistance!)]

The milky Elite Defensive Barrier finally shattered, but it did not cause effective damage.

Edward’s equipment was too good, those Points earned by the Players who had not entered the battlefield had all been spent on him alone, pushing all his Values to a new tier.

Su Ming’an glanced at the blood bar of the person in front of him, which had decreased by just a small fraction, seemingly leaving no chance at all.

...The opponent’s equipment was too good.

With a "bang," Edward kneed him forcefully to the ground, his blade thrusting into the earth next to Ming’an’s face with a "swoosh", blue flames burning alongside his face.

Su Ming’an coughed, pressing his back against the cold ground, blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth.

"Just as I expected," Edward sneered as he looked at him, his sea-blue eyes glowing fiercely in the flame’s brilliance.

Su Ming’an didn’t move. With a meager Strength Value of 3, he couldn’t resist; he just looked at Edward, "...Indeed, it turns out you and I are both similarly pitiful beings.""What?"

"I see your efforts. You want to break free from their control, to present yourself as an ’independent, self-reliant’ Number One Player..." Su Ming’an said with a hint of pity in his voice.

The flames burned beside his face, bringing an intense heat.

Edward watched him with a cold laugh, "...Su Ming’an, are you starting again? I’ve seen your edits, you’re quite the talker, but I’m not like that naive idealist Lv Shu, you can’t expect a few words to make me back off..."

"...But you’ve failed, Edward." Su Ming’an looked at him. "You keep saying you want to defeat me, that you don’t want to be pushed into power, that you want to become a legitimate Number One Player... but your radiance, from head to toe, is adorned by others. Every mark of strength on your body can’t escape the hands behind the scenes. You are fundamentally... unable to break free from the shackles of being a ’man-made Number One Player’."

Edward tilted his sword, and flames began to burn on Su Ming’an’s arm. His ocean-like eyes suddenly turned icy, "At this point, you still want to convert me? I’ve heard all your rhetoric, it’s nothing but the silly heroism of a child..."

"You’re running away," Su Ming’an said.

As if ignoring the flames burning on his own body, his gaze was eerily calm, fixed steadfastly on Edward, "...You’re scared, you don’t want to admit this fact."

With a "swoosh," the blade plunged directly into his right arm, the beautiful flame blooming like an opening blue lotus.

Agonizing pain exploded in an instant, and Su Ming’an inhaled sharply.

"——A lackey of the organizers dares to lecture me?" Edward sneered, "No need for your verbosity. After becoming the Number One Player, I will sooner or later eradicate those things that hinder me. I am an independent human being, I am a player, much stronger than something dispatched by the organizers like you."

"——The most pitiful thing about a person is not realizing how pitiful they are," Su Ming’an said enduring the pain.

"Whoosh!"

Edward’s left hand thrust a crimson short sword down, its blood-red frost clinging to Su Ming’an’s left arm, gradually turning it into a block of ice.

"Continue, Number One Player," Edward said, eyeing him with a gaze that said, "——Speak a word, and I’ll stab once, I want to see just how far your so-called belief can hold up?"

"Ah, Edward...," Su Ming’an sighed softly, "You think you’re an independent entity, yet you don’t realize..."

Another fine sword appeared in Edward’s hand——his weapons seemed to be inexhaustible, as he thrust its blade into Su Ming’an’s left leg, watching the bright red blood seep out, then with a "continue" look, he continued to watch him.

"You don’t realize...," Su Ming’an took a breath, his voice much lower, "——from birth, a person is passively molded by their surroundings. I have been shaped into what I am today, molded by those events. You think your thoughts are independent and free, of the Original Soil, yet you don’t know you’ve long been shaped into the form others want you behind your back... Such a you..."

Yet another gleaming sword blade was plunged into his right leg.

Blood instantly spread.

"...Is, impossible to become... the light of mankind..."

"You’re always talking about the Lighthouse, the Lighthouse," Edward sneered at him. "Why don’t you let it come and save you? Walk to the end? I remember you said this, didn’t you? Stand up and defeat me, why don’t you?"

Bright red hues spread across a large area, swiftly expanding on the spotless floor.

In Su Ming’an’s field of view, the blood bar slowly and firmly dropped, falling faster and faster.

"...If, if I hadn’t acquired that skill..." Su Ming’an laughed. His state of mind had been deteriorating for a long time under the torment of numerous deaths, to the point where, as he spoke, he felt less like he was lying on the cold ground and more as if he was floating in the clouds; his vision gradually blurred amidst that sense of drifting mixed with piercing pain.

Gasping for breath, he said softly, "...Perhaps I would never have become who I am..."

"What skill?" Edward became interested.

He too was curious as to where this man’s prophet-like actions had originated from.

"Sometimes, I even wonder... why, why me..." Su Ming’an’s voice grew weaker, as if he could pass out at any moment from excessive blood loss:

"...But many nights, I’ve thought, if not for the element that shaped me into a beacon of spirit..."

Edward’s eyes, like clear seas, slightly focused.

He bent down slowly, recalling the way he conversed with this man, using a very bewildering tone of softness:

"...Come, tell me, tell me the reason for your persistence, tell me your opportunity... In doing so, I can carry on your will... You wanted to be a Lighthouse, didn’t you? Since you’ve failed, why not let me continue on, you’ve said you hoped someone could defeat you, right?"

The bright sword blade was held in his hand, its point aimed at Su Ming’an’s chest.

His voice carried a seductive softness, almost a whisper at such close proximity, as if the previous sharpness was gone entirely.

Su Ming’an’s lips leaked fresh blood:

"...No." His eyes flashed with clarity: "Telling you is useless——because it’s me who received it..."

Therefore irreplaceable.

In his timeline, once he dies, there will only be a constant loop, replaying events that have happened before.

This also meant that even if he failed, for him, it would never stop, only repeat.

To others, death signifies rest, signifies failure, signifies starting anew.

But for him, there was only one route to take: "success." He couldn’t even attempt to experience the failure that comes with death.

Otherwise, it would be an endless cycle.

This burden, he couldn’t shake off.

Edward’s expression turned cold in an instant.

"Boring," he said, the blade in his hand moving, "...You’re trying to shake my resolve, but it’s pointless. I won’t change because of anything you say. Now, you’ve also lost the last bit of utility you had. As they call you... Number One Player. I admire your effort, but I’m also disappointed by your ignorance..."

"Edward, they shaped you quite successfully," Su Ming’an’s words instantly enraged him.

It was as though he was angered by the shame, or in denial. Edward had long realized the truth in Su Ming’an’s words, but he simply forced himself not to think too deeply about it. His fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword, as his originally gentle face distorted in a moment:

"Su Ming’an—very well, I admit, you’ve succeeded in angering me. Perhaps later I will reconsider your words, as well as ponder over the worth of those people’s existence. But for now, I no longer wish to see you spewing this nonsense. Just die holding onto your so-called ideals."

With that, the blade in his hand swiftly fell.

"...No," Su Ming’an looked at him with clear eyes, "Inevitably, we shall meet again."

"Shua!"

A flash of red instantly spread out.

The system prompt sounded instantly:

[Main body (Shadow State) has died, detected that the clone (Bright State) is still alive, consciousness beginning to switch...]

Su Ming’an felt the surroundings suddenly change, that originally blurry vision instantly became clear, the intense pain on his body receded like a tide, he lifted his hand and saw the Sword of Yarman that the clone was holding.

...His consciousness had transferred to his clone.

To revive the main body, five Occupation Points were needed.

The Time Domain seemed to continue, everyone around him paused, only Edward stood at the center with his eyes closed, seemingly not yet ready to retract the Time Domain.

Su Ming’an instantly grabbed Lv Shu, who was still in a state of stillness, and rushed out of the hall with him in his arms.

An invisible disturbance began to ripple, and the Time Domain was withdrawn in an instant. Edward noticed the movement here.

"Bang—!"

Su Ming’an ran swiftly, with the sounds of three followers clashing with Edward and his men behind him, mixed with Edward’s frustrated voice, "—He still has one life to spare in his cloning... Su Ming’an, just you wait!"

The teleportation vortex of the Guild Headquarters instantly opened, Su Ming’an stepped in and disappeared within the Guild Headquarters.

"What is... going on?"

Just coming out of the stillness of time, Lv Shu opened his eyes to find Su Ming’an carrying him as they fled.

"It could probably be considered," Su Ming’an’s voice paused, "homeless, now."