’The Manager’s authorities stack? Looks like the Reincarnation Bookstore really does encourage Managers to kill each other!’
Back where he stood.
Hu Qi’s expression shifted slightly as he listened to the notification from the Book Spirit.
He had carried out quite a few missions for the Reincarnation Bookstore during this time.
But never before had he been on a mission like this one.
He had been here for so long.
Yet the Reincarnation Bookstore’s presence felt so faint.
If he hadn’t killed Su Ta, a fellow Manager, and seized his authority...
...the Book Spirit probably wouldn’t have appeared until the mission was over.
It gave him the feeling that the Reincarnation Bookstore was wary of something.
This development, however, was something he had already anticipated.
He had previously speculated that by killing other Managers, they could seize each other’s authority.
Everything that had just happened perfectly confirmed his theory.
Logically, a mechanism that encourages them to kill each other should not exist.
The only reasonable explanation was that the Bookstore had deliberately designed such rules, forcing the Managers to fight to the death and seize each other’s authority.
The Reincarnation Bookstore clearly had some special purpose in mind.
Under normal circumstances.
Every Manager could be considered a rare resource for the Reincarnation Bookstore.
It definitely wouldn’t do something like this.
These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
Just then.
The Book Spirit’s voice sounded again.
"Authority stacking complete! Detected that Manager Number Four meets the requirements. Supreme Hidden Mission triggered.
Once triggered, the Supreme Hidden Mission cannot be refused in any way.
Supreme Hidden Mission: The Only One.
Mission Description: You have slain Manager Number Three, a fellow Manager, and seized his authority.
However, you are not satisfied with just this portion of authority.
You need more authority, and thus you must kill the two remaining Managers.
During this period, you will be able to sense the other Managers once you are within a certain distance of them.
Conversely, the other Managers will also be able to sense you.
(Note: Those who kill will themselves be killed. As you slaughter other Managers to seize their authority, you too can be killed by them. Please proceed with caution.)
Mission Reward: Unknown (To be settled uniformly upon return.)
’So they’ve dropped all pretense?’
A strange look appeared on Hu Qi’s face.
The mission’s content wasn’t hard to understand. To put it simply, it wanted them to kill each other.
Clearly, it didn’t matter to the Reincarnation Bookstore which Manager ultimately gathered all the authority.
Its only goal was to gather all the authority—no, to be more precise, it was to select one reader.
This couldn’t help but remind him of the information he had previously obtained from the Reincarnation Bookstore.
Not a single reader who had gone to a Ten-Star difficulty novel world had ever returned alive.
This was because completing the main mission was already nigh impossible.
Added to that, the slaughter among the readers themselves undoubtedly lowered the survival rate even further.
Completing a mission of that difficulty was just too hard.
However, this didn’t make Hu Qi feel any pressure.
Although the Crimson Panel had given him considerable help along the way...
...ultimately,
he had made it this far because of his own mentality.
For him, in the process of growing stronger...
...killing powerful enemies was also a source of pleasure.
...
——RUMBLE!
Suddenly,
a tremendous noise shattered Hu Qi’s thoughts.
Hu Qi glanced in the direction of the sound.
It was coming from the direction of Night Crow Harbor in the distance.
From his position in the woods, the view was blocked by a mountain, making it impossible to see the scene.
His figure flickered, transforming into a shadow.
He swiftly appeared on a high branch of a tall tree on the distant mountain.
His gaze swept toward the distance.
At this moment,
his view was dim. A fierce wind howled, whipping up snowflakes, and the world was a blur of chaos.
Somber, dark clouds hung low, like a heavy curtain pressing down on the earth.
And in the center of those roiling clouds, a section was slowly collapsing downward, forming a massive, funnel-like vortex.
Faint flashes of lightning flickered within it.
Through the enhanced vision of Hu Qi’s Eye of Tempered Blade,
he could vaguely see
a blurry figure gradually materializing deep within the vortex.
Dense Spirituality swirled and converged into it like a whirlpool.
Even from such a great distance,
he could still sense an utterly terrifying aura descending.
This newcomer was, at the very least, also a Sequence Four Professional.
Only an existence of that level could exude such terrifying pressure.
’Is it the Federation? Or the Seven Gods Church?’
The thought flashed through his mind.
Comparatively,
he was more inclined to believe it was the latter.
The aura emanating from the figure was as turbulent and violent as a raging sea.
Moreover, storms and thunder were also Features of the Sea God.
If there were no surprises,
the arrival should be a top-tier existence from the Sea God Church.
To be able to arrive in this world in such a short time...
...one could only say that the methods of a Sequence Four Professional were truly beyond human.
But regardless of which side it was,
it had nothing to do with him.
He didn’t linger for long.
With his current strength, a Sequence Six would have been one thing.
But two Sequence Fours, a full three Realms above him, were something he couldn’t possibly contend with.
Thinking of this,
his body moved, melting into the ground as a shadow.
He headed in the complete opposite direction of Night Crow Harbor.
...
「Above Night Crow Harbor.」
The sky was black as ink. Churning, leaden clouds, wrapped in a bone-chilling cold, pressed the heavens down so low they seemed within arm’s reach.
Suddenly, a muffled roar echoed from the depths of the clouds. The heavy gloom abruptly twisted, and a pitch-black vortex materialized from thin air, its edges curling with faint blue lightning as it pulsed with a terrifying pressure.