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Chapter 391 - 388: "I hope... to arrive at that happy place immediately.

Chapter 391: Chapter 388: "I hope... to arrive at that happy place immediately.

"I..."

Upon hearing Noel’s words, Luna was taken aback.

Her words choked in her mouth.

She had already sensed the wrong atmosphere on the city walls.

Other players looked at the small boat as if they were looking at enemies, continuously complaining "being dragged down" and "it’s all the Number One Player’s fault for taking the wrong path." However, actually, when the Sea Monsters had attacked, they, who only had eyes for Experience Points, were actually the quickest to charge.

Once they could not overcome them, once the situation began to turn around, they were the first to complain.

Even Luna herself... had somewhat shamefully realized that she seemed to have subconsciously pushed all the responsibility onto Su Ming’an.

She had even said things like "What was the Number One Player thinking, could we survive in the end?"—words that should be utterly unrelated.

She subconsciously regarded Su Ming’an as the leader, even pinning her survival on a single question.

Even she, not an ordinary player, possessing a certain amount of wisdom and strength, had developed an unconscious dependence on the Number One Player, which was terrifying for her.

"I watched Su Ming’an’s live playback sessions. I fast-forwarded them and watched all of his games," Noel said in front of Luna and a few others, in front of a live broadcast with hundreds of millions in popularity. "In the First World, and the Second World, fine. Back then the players were still independent, not so dependent. By the time of the Fifth World... the players’ mentalities started to change.

Following, besieging, imitating, assassinating...

It seemed they no longer focused on strengthening themselves and clearing the instances, but rather played the game as if it was a boss battle against the Number One Player, turning channel chats into effects like personal live broadcasts of the Number One Player.

And now, this phenomenon is even more distinct."

Everyone... everyone’s gaze was focused on him; some of them even gave up on thinking, merely fixated on his shadow, following behind him.

The individual’s autonomy was completely weakened by his influence. Upon knowing ’the Number One Player is also in this instance,’ the purpose of many had already mutated."

...They truly became a group that could easily be influenced, moved, and lost the ability to think—easily moved by his actions, easily influenced by his words. Their attention was uncontrollably focused on one point.

He stared at the silent Luna and paused for a moment.

Luna slightly lowered her eyelids, furrowing her brows, seemingly pondering as well.

Heavy snow fell upon her hair, gradually covering it with a blanket of white. Even the four armored members following her stood motionless, like statues covered in snow.

The air seemed to freeze at that moment.

"...But perhaps that’s what he wants," just then, seeing her brow deeply furrowed, Noel suddenly revealed a smile.

"What?" Luna hadn’t snapped out of her thoughts.

"The theory of Lighthouse, proposed from the First World," Noel said, his voice very low, almost a murmur.

He turned around, the corner of his mouth curving up: "...He truly is a person with great foresight."

Luna was slightly startled.

The moment he turned around, she saw his eyes shining brightly.

...As if a vivid flame was burning in his eyes, the light flickering on and off.

He left quickly, his short stature twisting as he slipped away, as if he had planned to speak and run, leaving no chance for her to inquire further.

Her gaze was still confused, not understanding why Noel was so happy.

But as she reflected on what he had just said, her expression gradually became stern.

...The Lighthouse theory, huh?

It seems she needed to study this thing after the instance ended.

It wasn’t just some heretical speech used to deceive those lower-level players.

She stood still, the wind and snow pressing down on her shoulders.

In her field of vision, players were still interacting in the chat channel.

"Where is the Number One Player? With all that has happened, shouldn’t he be responsible for handling it?"

"Exactly, if it weren’t for him, this instance wouldn’t have been so difficult! Those who didn’t partake in the Maritime Banquet could have lived well!"

"Stop cursing for a moment and wait for his next move. The Number One Player is probably having a tough time too. I just saw him at the pier. He was covered in blood and looking very weak. It must have taken a lot of effort to combat the King of Sea Monsters. He’s probably still lying down resting, let’s say less, the weather is very evil, people can get very tired..."

"Yes, maybe he’s somewhere healing his injuries, wondering if he needs someone to take care of him, I saw his teammates have all vanished in this freezing weather..."

...

"Pop snap."

Warm firelight danced in the gradually warming room.

The shadows of the flames flickered on the yellowish walls, making the inhaled air exceptionally warm.

Su Ming’an was lying on the couch, warming himself comfortably in a very relaxed posture.

A large fireplace, fashioned from flames, was placed next to him, warming his hands that were whitened and soaked by the sea, the warmth slowly permeating his limbs.

The player channel chat complaining "this damn weather is literally freezing people to death" scrolled in the lower-left corner of his view.

Because all the houses near the Southern District dock had been temporarily requisitioned by the local Soul Hunters, the players busily moving bricks were freezing like dogs.

But all this was unrelated to him.

Because it was indeed warm indoors.

He looked up.

The knight sitting opposite him was bending down, writing furiously.

The flickering firelight cast a somewhat pale glow on Sherrod’s face, his slightly long sideburns clung to his ears, perhaps from several nights of restlessness, distinct dark circles formed under his eyes.

"I wish... to arrive at that happy place immediately," he murmured softly, continuously writing the words of Pulaya under his pen:

"It looks like beautiful fertile soil, a... bountiful scene, filled with lovely treasures."

He paused his pen here.

"The next line is, such a person is the happiest and most fortunate," Su Ming’an added.

As he spoke, he bit into a chocolate that replenished his physical strength, feeling that the chocolate was also warm.

"Thank you," Sherrod quickly bowed his head and wrote down the line.

Su Ming’an glanced at the new page of Sherrod’s notebook on his lap, which was almost filled up.

Just now, Sherrod had asked many questions.

He asked about the taste of chocolate, what Christmas is, the poem recited by a couple of players, and what distant worlds looked like.

Like a child who had just opened the door to a new world, he was a sponge soaking up water, incredibly eager to learn the stories of this new world.

"Spencer, Sonnets of Love," Su Ming’an observed as Sherrod continued to write: "To think players still have the mood to recite poetry in an instance?"

"I saw a noble couple walking while on patrol in the Royal City," Sherrod said, "they were discussing poetry."

"Making the best of a bad situation," Su Ming’an remarked.

He glanced at the system prompt that had just popped up; Sherrod’s favorability at this moment was 75.

"Yes, very romantic," Sherrod smiled and said, "All I had ever seen before were holy scriptures and oracles, but I had never heard such poetry, Changying likes it."

As he mentioned his sister, his eyes dimmed slightly but quickly returned to normal.

Regarding the "holy scriptures and oracles" he mentioned, his attitude was no longer as reverent as before.

His faith had shattered.

Deities who manipulated humans and the Soul Clan to slaughter each other, completely contradicted the image of the kind, benevolent, just, and great Cloud City God he had believed in.

The princess, who had decayed in spirit and willingly transformed into the King of Sea Monsters, also completely differed from the image of the poised, beautiful, noble, and kind princess of the Royal Family he had vowed to.

Half of it was faith in the deity, and the other half was loyalty to his followers.

Now, both were brutally torn apart right before him, revealing the ugly reality beneath the facade.

Even his only support, his sister Changying, had disappeared without a trace.

He felt incredibly lost for a moment.

All the learning and belief from before burst like bubbles right before his eyes, even though he still stood on this familiar land, he felt like a ship lost at sea.

"Captain," Sherrod looked at him, "I still do not understand why you made these actions."

In his eyes, if Su Ming’an had not chosen to attack the princess, she would not have been driven to despair, to the point of sacrificing herself completely and turning into the King of Sea Monsters.

If Su Ming’an had not governed Pulaya, the Sea Monsters would not have attacked the city. The current situation wouldn’t be so difficult and so many people wouldn’t have died.

He was not actually angry with Su Ming’an’s actions, nor did he believe they were deeply treasonous.

But, however calm the surface might appear, if the peace of Pulaya could continue, maintaining the deity’s lies and the Tulip Princess’s façade was not unacceptable.

The stability of Pulaya was built on the sacrifices of generations, having gone through disasters and tribulations, each time barely making it through. Such stability was too rare and too precious. No one wanted to see it entirely disappear due to an unchecked move.

He really wanted an answer.

An answer as to why Su Rin had to break this situation, had to reveal the illusions.

"Crackle."

The firelight flickered.

Facing Sherrod’s earnest gaze, Su Ming’an put down the chocolate in his hand.

"Suppose there’s a house, possibly a dangerous one, while outside is the bitter cold wind," he said. "The person living inside pulls out a brick to check if the house will collapse, risking the cold air rushing in. But if he doesn’t pull out that brick, he might never know if he’s living in a dangerous house that could bury him under its bricks at any moment.

Of course, the house may not necessarily be hazardous but just at risk of collapsing.

But if he doesn’t pull out that brick, he will forever live in fear of the house collapsing. So, knowing the house’s risks, would you choose to be cold for a while, pulling out the brick to check, or would you continue to live there, oblivious?"

"..."

Sherrod was stunned.

His emerald-green eyes quivered slightly as if he were seriously pondering the question.

...

[NPC (Sherrod) Favorability: 75+5 (Meeting of Intimates)]

...

"Your ink."

Su Ming’an pointed at his hand, Sherrod’s fingertips trembled and only then did he notice the ink, already smudged, obstructing the half-copied poem on the page.

He put down his pen, the green of his eyes fluttering like a lake brushed by a gentle breeze.

"I will draw this brick." He paused before continuing, "I understand. Captain, from your perspective, there is no problem... but do you really intend to challenge the deities in heaven as a human?"

"You could say that."

"...But that is a god, Captain."

"But this is my mission," Su Ming’an said. "As a Player, I will do many things that might seem impossible to you. For me, they are merely challenging tasks that, since they have come to me, are not unachievable."

"Player..."

Sherrod slowly closed his notebook.

His emerald eyes, like summer fireflies, flickered within the shimmering light.

He watched Su Ming’an, seemingly making a decision.

"I have heard them call you by your name before," he said. "Captain, your real name is... Su Ming’an, right?"

"Yes."

"They refer to you as the Number One Player, and in all their interactions, your name is almost always mentioned. You are the strongest among these travelers from other worlds, aren’t you?"

"Yes."

"Miss Lin Yin once told me that many from your world can see us through your eyes—is that true?"

"Yes," Su Ming’an nodded.

"Then, can I ask you just one question?" Sherrod said softly. "...In their eyes, am I considered an independent being?"

Su Ming’an ignored the barrage of comments that surged past in his vision.

He didn’t look at the audience’s responses.

"Of course you are," Su Ming’an said. "In a previous world, I met a girl named Shuhang who told me that everything we perceive, everything we think about, is a personal experience, a tangible reality. We don’t regret the choices of the moment, and every minute and second we experience belong to us alone—so, whether the world is false or not does not matter. You must believe that you, who are speaking with me right now, are an independent and free being."

As he finished speaking, he distinctly heard a notification from the system.

...

[NPC (Sherrod) Favorability: 80+10 (Sharing Weal and Woe)]

...

Su Ming’an felt somewhat saddened.

Seeing the slight brightening in Sherrod’s eyes after hearing his words, his sadness deepened.

Even though he had said those words, the precisely-timed system notification still reminded him of the NPC status of the person before him.

Even though he said Sherrod was a being capable of independent thought, he was vividly aware that Sherrod couldn’t escape the confines of the system.

The system could listen to his inner voice, calculate his emotions, and reflect his favorability in numerical form. Even the words Sherrod was currently saying seemed to fit the setting of an "NPC with awakened self-awareness."

This mechanism, this role, was no different from the favorability-based games Su Ming’an had played before, from those NPCs that existed within the computer screen.

Was he to regard the young man before him, clad in armor, as a character in a story, a representation of a "Knight of Light" on this land,

or as a free soul, a "person" capable of independent interaction with a "Player" like him?

...

[...Captain, I envy you.]

[You do not bear deep-seated hatred, do not need to uphold ideals passed down through generations, do not need to engage in battles passively because of historical origins, only to die on a battlefield seen as home.]

[...But I can’t.]

[Even though I know my world might have been invaded, my thoughts might be composed purely of mechanized elements, everything I say and do might just be things done by the book, even the mission I bear, the knight’s spirit I uphold, are things that exist for the sake of so-called ’settings’.]

[...Yet even now, I am still troubled by the emotions stirring in my heart and the knight’s spirit I adhere to.]

...

[A spirit of freedom.]

[Do you also have a mission?]

...

Su Ming’an suddenly heard a voice in front of him, very vague.

The crisp "crackling" sound of the fire had just erupted, and he could not hear what Sherrod had said.

But when he looked up, he could see the youth tightly gripping his pen, struggle flickering in his eyes.

Like a bright fire burning in his eyes, like a free spirit dancing in the flames.

The youth stood up and suddenly knelt down.

"Thud thud"

The muffled sound echoed in the room, the youth’s hands touched the ground, his forehead bowed very low.

Su Ming’an did not move.

His gaze fixed on the warm glow around the other’s golden swirls of hair, watching as the other’s figure pressed lower and lower.

"... A spirit of freedom, Player," Sherrod said softly, "I know my request is hard to accept, but, Traveler among the strongest, Captain.

Could you... set me free from this unbreakable misery?"

With faith shattered, loyal oath breakers fleeing, and the existence of independent thought in doubt, the spirit of this knight was on the verge of collapse.

Even now, he did not know if the reason that drove him to utter these words was the so-called ’character setup’ and ’system’ playing a part, or if he possessed an independently thinking brain.

He simply wanted a fresh, autonomous path that he could tread alone.

"What do you want?" Su Ming’an asked.

Sherrod lifted his head.

In his eyes was a deeply sincere emotion, rising more and more intensely.

Mission, spirit, affinity to light and talent—these were inherent to him, they were the "inevitability" that had shaped who he was today.

But at that moment, he entertained the thought of breaking away from these "inevitabilities" in pursuit of "possibilities."

Like a fish living in the deep sea, suddenly seeing a flying bird.

The bird was the strongest person among Travelers from the Otherworld, the top Player.

——Such a bird, his discussions about Players, his views on independent beings, his look, a word of encouragement, all seemed like light, swaying over the small patch of water above his head, enticing.

"The princess has left, my sister is dead... I have no more attachments to this land."

He said softly:

"I no longer wish to be the shadow of a knight set in stone and name, nor do I want... to be bound by the so-called ’system’ all my life, until all of you have departed."

...

"I want... to become an independent, free Player no longer bound by so-called images and beliefs, with an independent mind,"

"... Can you take me with you? Captain."

...

The fish had the idea of leaving the sea to pursue the bird.

The betrayal of the princess, the death of his sister, were the last straws that overwhelmed the camel, driving him to the edge of the bridge to the New World.

Knight of Light... he was not a mechanical gear, a sword in someone’s hand.

He hoped,

that the first half of his life, overshadowed by shattered faith and dominated by a false world, was behind him.

In the days to come, he could be like those "Players" who laughed softly, having the courage to struggle out of this world without being controlled by character setups and thoughts...

...

[Future].

...

He would not become the so-called "Npc."

...

[NPC (Sherrod) Favorability: 90+5 (Sharing Weal and Woe)]