A game with fivefold difficulty

 

Yuna gave a bitter smile and said, “At this point, there’s nothing left to hide.”

She was right. The city lord was dead, the city destroyed, so there was nothing that couldn’t be spoken.

This was a common story: the lord’s son fell in love with a craftsman’s daughter in the town, and the statue in the central square was built by her father. If nothing else had happened, it would have been a Cinderella-like tale, but unfortunately, the lord’s son was no prince from a story, and the craftsman’s daughter was no lucky Cinderella.From beginning to end, it was all deception. The new city lord was someone who deluded himself into thinking he could become a god. From some book that should have been burned, he learned that by consuming the Heart of the Child of God, he could gain immortality. He knew the statue was crafted by the artisan, so he approached the artisan’s daughter, obtained the statue’s design, and located the Heart of God.

“The Golden Armour is the armour that protects the Child of God. To get the Heart of God, the armour had to be removed first,” Yuna said. “It was I who, behind my father’s back, pried open the outer shell of the Child of God’s statue, letting the Golden Armour fall piece by piece. I secretly collected the fragments to keep them safe, also fearing divine punishment.”

“That’s not right,” Lu Mingze interjected upon hearing this, “The Golden Armour didn’t fall because of you; the statue itself wanted to drop the gold pieces to help the starving townspeople. That was its will. To it, you were helping, not harming.”

Yuna smiled. “You speak so well; I’m starting to like you a little. Too bad you’re a bit short.”

Lu Mingze, repeatedly teased about his height, was a little angry. He stood up and said, “First, I’m not speaking sweetly—I heard the statue’s heart. It told me itself. Second, I’m not short, just… not tall. Even if I am short, so what? My spirit reaches from heaven to earth!”

The book on his chest fluttered again, as if laughing.

Yuna also laughed. She said, “Prince, you’re really adorable. If twenty years ago the ruler of this city had been you, we would still be as happy as we were back then.”

“Happiness is created by oneself!” Lu Mingze said, holding Yuna’s hand—it was a nimble, delicate hand. “Since you collected the Golden Armour fragments and know the statue’s design, you must be able to help recreate the Golden Armour, right?”

“Yes, but what good would that do?” Yuna said faintly. “This city has already been taken by demons.”

“No, the light always prevails!” Lu Mingze said. “I’ve already captured the bandits outside the city, recovered the Holy Sword, and gathered the townspeople. Once the statue is restored, I believe the light can dispel the darkness. After the demonic influence ends, people can walk in the sunlight and rebuild the city together, regaining happiness.”

“You found the Holy Sword?” Yuna was stunned. “And the bandits are eliminated? Do you know how powerful they were? Some were the new city lord’s private soldiers, others criminals. The new lord, in the city lord’s mansion basement, used the blood of executed prisoners to awaken a demonic ritual and shared the Heart of God with some nobles. After they died under divine punishment, the remaining guardians and prisoners turned into demons. I’ve seen them go mad—it’s terrifying.”

“They’re done for,” Lu Mingze said, pulling over Cao Qian, Guan Ling, and Qian Jinlai to Yuna. “My three mighty knight companions accomplished it. They were purified under the magic the bishop left, and are now locked in the mansion’s basement, awaiting judgment from the people.”

The three, called knights, felt a bit embarrassed. Fortunately, Yuna couldn’t see their faces turning red.

“I-I want to see!” Yuna grabbed Yan Hebi’s arm and stood up, excitedly saying.

“You’ll go,” Lu Mingze said, “but please bring the Golden Armour. Since you caused it to loosen, you are responsible for restoring it.”

“Can I… still be forgiven?” Yuna’s fingers trembled slightly.

“To be forgiven, words alone aren’t enough,” Lu Mingze said. “You must earn it with your own hands.”

“My own hands…” Yuna’s trembling stopped. Her long fingers formed fists, and her voice gradually strengthened. “My father died when the disaster came. If anyone in this world can repair the statue, it has to be me! Help me carry this box out—it contains Golden Armour fragments and my tools.”

“I’ll do it!” Finally catching up, Yan Hebi said.

He lifted the box from the bottom with both hands, straining, but it didn’t move an inch.

Gold is dense and extremely heavy!

Cao Qian glanced at Yan Hebi, lifted the box onto her shoulder with one hand, and walked to the stairs. Estimating that her combined weight with the box might collapse the wooden stairs, she jumped lightly up instead.

Yan Hebi: “……”

This pink-haired girl is insanely strong!

“Can you see sunlight?” Lu Mingze asked.

Yuna touched the cloth covering her eyes. “I’ll never see sunlight again, but just because of that, I can walk under it.”

Lu Mingze helped her to the ground. Warm sunlight spilled over her as she tilted her head back. “Sunlight is wonderful. Good thing you came during the day. At night, I’m… a bit strange.”

“Wasn’t the place you were demonized already—” Lu Mingze asked cautiously.

“Yes, that’s right. But the wound aches at night. Then, when strangers come, I might harm myself. My mind is full of guilt; the magic at night amplifies this emotion, making me extremely pessimistic. I wouldn’t attack you, but I might cut off my own hands.”

“No wonder the statue told me to come during the day,” Lu Mingze understood. “It’s been watching you all along. Otherwise, it wouldn’t know you’d go mad at night.”

Yuna was struck as if by lightning, murmuring, “God… has been watching me?”

“If it’s the God in your heart, yes,” Lu Mingze said. “Everyone can be their own god.”

Sunlight gleamed on Lu Mingze’s golden hair (his hair color in this world). He smiled at Yuna like a deity.

Cao Qian recalled Qian Jinlai’s guess and frowned. She looked at her and said softly, “I’ve always thought your idea was ridiculous, but maybe this time you’re right.”

“Tut-tut-tut!” Qian Jinlai spat three times (NT: this is to ward off bad luck after saying something inauspicious). “Hope not.”

The group arrived at the statue. Yuna pressed her hand against its base and softly asked, “Have you been watching me all this time? Are you angry at me?”

Then she heard the statue’s voice echo in her mind: “I am truly grateful to you. You allowed me to use the gold fragments to help the starving residents, so they would not die of hunger. You helped me.”

Yuna’s eye-covering cloth was soaked with blood and tears. She pressed her forehead to the statue’s feet and felt forgiven.

Lu Mingze looked at Guan Ling and asked, “Can you restore Yuna’s eyes to their original state, before the corruption by demonic energy? Our artisan needs her eyes, right?”

“Perhaps,” Guan Ling said.

He reached out and touched Yuna’s eyes, casting the second “Broken Mirror Restored” skill. Yuna’s eyes brightened. She removed the cloth and saw Lu Mingze in the sunlight at first glance.

Yuna froze. Her knees buckled, and she knelt before Lu Mingze, saying, “Child of God, you can appear in the world now?”

“Wait!” Lu Mingze pulled Yuna up. “I am not the statue. The statue is there. I am the prince sent by the king.”

“But…” Yuna glanced between the statue and Lu Mingze. The child God in her memory looked exactly like the prince before her.

Cao Qian and Qian Jinlai exchanged glances. Even the slow-witted Guan Ling and the confused Yan Hebi felt something was off.

Cao Qian grabbed Lu Mingze and asked, “When you first arrived in this world, what did you look like? You never mentioned it before.”

Lu Mingze got annoyed. “I suddenly appeared near the plaza, with no subordinates, only the task. I asked the system why a prince didn’t even have a carriage. Was I airdropped into the city? The system told me ‘existence is reason enough’—I had to find the answer myself.”

The four, along with the blank Book, fell silent.

“What kind of looks are you giving me?” Lu Mingze glanced at his companions.

“Let me explain,” a voice suddenly emerged from Lu Mingze’s chest.

“Wow!” Lu Mingze jumped, pulling out the blank Book. “Xing Ye? You can talk now?”

“If the intimacy level is high enough, I can speak,” the blank Book said. “I didn’t speak before to avoid scaring you, but now my hypothesis has been confirmed, so I must tell you.”

Yan Hebi stared fixedly at the book in Lu Mingze’s hands, feeling that it contained the memories he had lost.

The blank Book said: “A sentence Lu Mingze said earlier reminded me. He believes that gods are the collection of people’s faith. I think this makes sense. This world has divinity; people’s worship and respect for the statue grant it godliness. Likewise, people’s hope for salvation can form a new collection of faith.

“The system said that the king sent the prince. I believe the system isn’t lying, but it never explained how the king ‘sent’ the prince. Was he delegated like previous sheriffs, or was it through prayer, asking the gods to ‘send’ a Child of God to save this city?

“Do you still remember? The statue, which always maintained a kind heart, actually tried to take over your body the first time it met you.

“And the Heart of Diamond was shared in the mansion basement. After you refreshed, your first appearance was near the mansion, and the first being you encountered was the statue. I believe this is no coincidence.”

Hearing Xing Ye’s analysis, Lu Mingze exclaimed in surprise: “So I really was air-dropped here? Then according to your hypothesis, does that mean I…”

“Exactly. You are the divinity reformed in response to people’s prayers, essentially, the Heart of Diamond,” the blank Book said gravely.

No sooner had it finished speaking than Lu Mingze heard the narrator’s prompt: “Congratulations, player, for finding the Golden Armour and the Heart of Diamond. Golden Armour task progress: 0.51; Heart of Diamond task progress: 0.51; overall task progress: 3.26. Friendly reminder: The Golden Armour task is only complete once Yuna equips the Golden Armour on the statue; the Heart of Diamond task is only complete once the Heart of Diamond returns to the statue.”

“So I am the Heart of Diamond. The task only completes when I return to the statue? Then I’ll die at the moment the task completes. Does that count as clearing the level?” Lu Mingze asked.

Narrator: “The player must survive perfectly for the level to be cleared.”

Lu Mingze: “……”

No wonder this was a fivefold-difficulty game—it was as cruel as it could be!

 

Translator : DarNan