[Final Priest Score: 10,000]
[Healed Patients Score: 50]
[Healing Output Score: 55]
[Total Score: 10,105]
[Congratulations, you have been awarded 10,105 accumulated points.]
[You have successfully completed the training in ‘The Land of the Light’ of the Master of the Holy Light. You are bestowed with the Talent from the Master of the Holy Light: Striking Sun.]
[Striking Sun Lv 1: The healing ability of all shotgun and sniper recovery bullets are increased slightly.]
There are still accumulated points for passing the stage?
Ren Suo was stunned for a moment and continued pressing the button on the game controller to proceed.
His character did not return to the resting room this time but instead appeared on a platform on an island somewhere on Earth.
There was a sea of clouds below and there was no sun in the sky, but it was sufficiently bright—there were three “giant light bulbs” that were shining in different colors.
The first was the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow, with a snowy white figure under a cloak, but was a gentleman glowing in a faint blue light;
There was also the Heart of Everlasting Warmth, made up of seemingly everlasting fiery flames, but was a lady with a beautiful figure whose hair flowed in the flames;
The third was the Master of the Holy Light who appeared as a giant ball of light as if cosplaying the sun.
“Mortal, you have won in all three consecutive rounds of training, and emerged as the champion amongst millions of other trainees,” the three immortals said at the same time, in perfect Xuan language. They continued, “We are willing to make you our executor as our connection with those on the ground below!”
Ren Suo blinked as he continued staring at the scene on the screen.
After about a minute, the Master of the Holy Light said in a seemingly young male voice, “We are waiting for your answer, mortal.”
“My answer? There’s no option… Eh?” Ren Suo said.
Ren Suo pulled his lips as he turned on the microphone and said, “Hello, hello, can you hear me?”
There was a moment of silence.
“Yes, we can hear you,” the Heart of Everlasting Warmth said with a smile. She remarked, “What an interesting mortal!”
Not only did the Heart of Everlasting Warmth look like a woman, but her voice was also sweet and teasing… Ren Suo could not help but scrutinize her figure that was made up of flames. It would definitely have been hot and fiery in his hands.
Fortunately, Ren Suo was controlling his character in the game. If the immortals saw how rude Ren Suo was, they might have given him one heck of a “recovery”—the kind where he would not be able to leave the hospital ever again.
“Oh… I am willing to do so!” Ren Suo said into the microphone.
Perhaps because they had not seen such a strange mortal, who was not at all grateful for meeting with such a miraculous encounter, the three immortals paused for a short while before answering slowly, “Mortal, state your name.”
“I am…” began Ren Suo who quickly stopped himself. He recalled the given name of his character, then continued, “My surname is Zhao, I am Zhao Zili!”
The immortals replied, “Great, we have bestowed you with the treasures of the Holy Light. You need to abide by the 36 Precepts, emanating the Glorious Light of us Immortals as you traverse the world and extend our blessings!”
A ray of light landed on Ren Suo’s character, then Ren Suo heard three voices at the same time:
“Zhao Zili, from here on, you will be our Executor and hold the authority to control life in your hands!”
Bright white light emerged and remained on the screen.
[You have received the Treasures of the Holy Light.]
[You can buy recovery weapons and Talents from the Treasures of the Holy Light directly without having to change menus.]
‘Why would I still need skills after completing the stage,’ Ren Suo thought with a laugh.
[Mission complete.]
[Completed basic mission target – 60 points awarded;]
[Lone wolf: passed all missions alone – 10 points awarded;]
[In-game purchases – Life-changing or genius?: Received more than 18000 accumulated points – 5 points awarded;]
[Heart-to-heart talk: Communicated with enemies in training for more than 30 minutes – 5 points awarded;]
[Novice Priest: Saved more than 20 trainees – 2 points awarded;]
[Total score is 82 points. Appraisal: Extraordinary.]
[Current mission score: 82 points (Extraordinary). Highscore: 82 points (Extraordinary).]
[The player has received an appraisal of Extraordinary, fulfilling the hidden requirements, hence the player will receive information for the game’s hidden side mission.]
[Side mission: Strongest priest. The more trainees who are fully healed by the player over the three training rounds, the higher the score.]
[Do you wish to upload this score as the final result? You will receive merits based on the appraisal category of your current mission score. You will also receive special rewards.]
[You may only upload your score once.]
Of course!
Upon seeing the two categories “Lone wolf” and “In-game purchases”, Ren Suo knew that his game tactics were right!
1000 accumulated points were given for the first round, 4000 for the second, and 10000 for the third, amounting to a total of 15000 accumulated points. However, 18000 accumulated points were required for the “In-game purchases – Life-changing or genius?” category. That meant that in order to receive 1500 + 1500 additional accumulated points, Ren Suo had to fully heal more than 150 trainees across the three rounds of training, or at least 50 people in each round. Adding that to the 15000 accumulated points, he would then be able to surpass a total of 18000 accumulated points and fulfill the hidden requirement.
But that was almost impossible!
That must have been why there was a question mark behind “or a genius”. It was obvious that even the game developers thought that the hidden requirement could only be fulfilled by making in-game purchases!
Ren Suo’s decision to complete the training rounds alone was even wiser, allowing him to directly receive 10 more points in the “Lone wolf” category!
On the other hand, the side mission “Strongest Priest” was extremely challenging. Ren Suo had healed a total of 27 people over the three training rounds, of which he only saved 5 people in the intense last round.
In order to complete the side mission, he would have to make an effort from the very first training round and fully heal at least 30 people. He would also need to make in-game purchases in the second round to fully heal 30 more people. Only then would he be able to complete the side mission and achieve a good score…
However, Ren Suo did not have any more merit points.
If he played the game another time, he may not receive a better score either.
Furthermore, he urgently needed more merit points now!
Ren Suo had to head down to the Countermeasure Division in two days’ time to undergo an aptitude test. He knew that the aptitude test was meant to test and appraise his Awakened Ability, and not his innate ability—he was still a Tier 1 Practitioner who was nowhere close to becoming a Tier 2 Practitioner, so there was nothing to test in that aspect.
Consequently, the specialized reward of [Holy Priest: Survival Battle] was the Touch of Recovery, which could give Ren Suo a slight edge in the test.
Since Awakened Abilities could only be revealed by the individual himself, it was not possible to fully explain what his/her Ability was, and it was fully up to the individual to describe the effects of the Ability—as long as it could be confirmed and tested to be effective.
When Qiao Muyi mentioned that she could increase her talent score with her Awakened Ability, it must have been confirmed by the Countermeasure Division, and her talent score could indeed be tested.
After confirming that the score was correct, Ren Suo chose to upload it.
[Your mission score has been uploaded successfully. You have received 99 merit points, use wisely.]
[You have received 1* 2-star treasure chest. It can be found and activated in the savehouse inventory.]
[You have received the following specialized reward: Touch of Recovery. It can be equipped on the Equipment screen.]
[Your score for ‘Holy Priest: Survival Battle’ has been uploaded. Thank you for playing. Mini worlds of endless fun await!]
99 merit points!
That was definitely the highest number of merit points Ren Suo had been awarded thus far!
In addition to the 5 merit points he had left previously, he now had over a hundred merit points—104 merit points!
It was as if he was a child who suddenly received a large-denomination note after being used to receiving only a few dollars of allowance each day!
Ren Suo exited the game and saw the familiar disc icon spinning on the bottom right corner of the “Holy Priest: Survival Battle” game icon.
On the other hand, the disc icon for “Over My Dead Body” was still spinning.
The online drama series “Over My Dead Body” had been showing for over ten days, and the disc icon had been spinning for the same duration…
“Which is why I say, when would there be a user guide for the game console?” Ren Suo said with a sigh. He navigated to the Equipment screen and queried Touch of Recovery, wanting to see if its effect was the same as he expected.
[Touch of Recovery]
[Grade: 2-star ability. Prerequisites: the lower arm of primates and being a novice of Reiki.]
[Effect: When equipped, the player would receive the miracle ability of basic healing. A green light can be emitted from the hand of the player up to a maximum distance of 14.14213 cm. All living organisms (plants and animals) in the green light would recover to its best state based on their gene map (congenital diseases cannot be healed). The player’s energy, strength, and other internal energy would be depleted based on the extent of the given recovery.]
[Remarks: ‘I heard that saints treat the ill as they cannot bear to leave them, but I am also told that butchers would treat sick livestock to reap more benefits’.]
The ability appeared to be… quite decent?
Nonetheless, what did “recover to its best state based on their gene map” mean?
Practice is the sole measure of truth. Ren Suo immediately placed his right hand over his lower abdomen and activated the “Touch of Recovery” in his heart.
A green light emerged from his right hand, and he felt a sense of warmth on his stomach.
But that was all.
Ren Suo lifted his shirt but was slightly saddened to not see six-packs form on his flat abdomen.
After three minutes, Ren Suo suddenly felt extremely tired. He stopped the Touch of Recovery and walked to the living room, thinking about how he could test the ability.
His bottom? He had spicy mala hotpot recently…
Ren Suo did not pay attention as he walked across the room, and rammed his foot into the corner of the coffee table. He jumped in exclamation and then rolled around on the couch in pain.
It was an opportunity!
Ren Suo quickly began focusing and held his injured toe with his right hand, and activated the “Touch of Recovery” in his heart!
A green glow emerged from between his fingers. Ren Suo felt the pain in his toe dissipate rapidly, and after a short while, the pain disappeared completely!
“Eh? Not bad…” a slightly surprised Ren Suo muttered as he wriggled his toes.
However, the next moment, Ren Suo yawned naturally and said, “Why do I feel so sleepy, it’s only afternoon…”
“The ability, it can’t be… I only healed my little toe…”
“Or perhaps, I start to feel tired when the recovery has reached its limit and cannot be used anymore?”
Ren Suo struggled to stay awake, but in his state of drowsiness, he soon succumbed to sleep.
“Forget it, the Labor Day promotion will run for the entire month… I shall think about it when I wake up…”
——————————
In the meantime, across the seas in the southeastern region of the Pacific Federation, it was in the wee hours of the morning in a small port town in the state of South Carolina with the Atlantic Ocean to the east.
A group of strange people donning black robes and wearing grotesque smiley masks gathered in the woods just outside of the town. They each held an inverted black-colored cross in their hand.
Although it appeared strange, the gathering was made public and recorded in their individual Twitter profiles. There was even going to be a live stream of the gathering.
To put it plainly, it was a leisure activity of the teenagers in the town. They would not create trouble usually and much preferred imitating such strange and mysterious rituals shown in movies. After the ritual, they would then gather firewood, roasted meat and beer in celebration during the early hours of the morning.
They thought that such realistic “rituals” would set them apart from other people their age—in fact, they have tried most of the rituals portrayed in movies, including the summoning of devils, deities, and monsters. The only difference between their “rituals” and the actual ones was that they would substitute the sacrificial offerings with the beef that they were going to roast later on.
And who would have known that their spoofs would be so well-received that they had a decently large number of followers and likes on Twitter, and there were hundreds of people watching their live stream?
There were not many rules in the town either, and the people of the town were accustomed to what the teenagers liked to do.
“What ritual are we performing today?” one of the teenagers asked.
“Twilight’s Hammer… Hey, we should use this prop instead!” another one of them replied.
The rest of the teenagers watched as Peter took out a stone egg with three strange patterns carved onto it. They smiled and said, “Have you not given up on that, Peter? That’s just some useless, boring egg carved by people!”
Peter shrugged and replied, “We don’t have any other good prop anyway. I’ll bring the Frostmourne from home the next time then. This stone egg is not so simple though, it looks heavy but is actually very light.”
“Alright, alright, we shall crown Peter as the king next time!” everyone said as they laughed. Under Peter’s command, the teenagers crowded around the stone egg in a circle.
The one in charge of the video turned on the camera and signaled that the live stream had begun, and everyone stopped laughing—they had to maintain their professionalism, even if it was all an act. With Peter’s lead, they chanted in unison:
“In the beginning was shadow eternal. Hate blazed forth, and fire was born. Wounds scabbed, and so begat earth. Cries of anguish birthed howling wind. Wherein the skies wept seas of tears…”
Halfway through the chant, everyone suddenly stopped.
They saw light bursting out of through the carvings of the stone egg that they used as a prop.
A second later, a crisp shout rang through the silence.
“Jesus!”
“Did the stone egg break?”
“What is coming out of it?”
The teenagers stepped back slowly as they looked anxiously at the stone egg which was starting to break apart. There were also people who were very excited—control of information was strict in the USA too, but it was still possible to find out that radical changes were occurring in the world.
Peter was one of them who did not back out, but instead walked closer to the stone egg. He was the one who started the event and was naturally interested in such strange and mysterious objects. How could he not be excited now that he had an opportunity to witness and be in close contact with one of such things?!
Opportunities could emerge at any moment, but it was up to the individual to make use of it.
In the midst of the myriad of emotions of the teenagers, the stone egg shattered completely!
Light as bright as a burning magnesium bar suddenly emerged from within the stone egg, and shot up towards the sky!
High up in the sky, the light dispersed into countless light clusters and scattered in all directions!
The teenagers standing in the woods stared as everything took place in their faces.
“What… have we done?” one of them asked.
“When the police come, just say that we were setting fireworks, will they believe us?” another one of them asked.
“We should say the truth,” Peter said. He continued, “We are the first ones to witness this, and if we lie, wouldn’t it be like a horror movie waiting to unfold…”
“Moreover, no one will believe us when we say the truth… right? But I just feel like we’ve gotten ourselves in big trouble…”
[Final Priest Score: 10,000]
[Healed Patients Score: 50]
[Healing Output Score: 55]
[Total Score: 10,105]
[Congratulations, you have been awarded 10,105 accumulated points.]
[You have successfully completed the training in ‘The Land of the Light’ of the Master of the Holy Light. You are bestowed with the Talent from the Master of the Holy Light: Striking Sun.]
[Striking Sun Lv 1: The healing ability of all shotgun and sniper recovery bullets are increased slightly.]
There are still accumulated points for passing the stage?
Ren Suo was stunned for a moment and continued pressing the button on the game controller to proceed.
His character did not return to the resting room this time but instead appeared on a platform on an island somewhere on Earth.
There was a sea of clouds below and there was no sun in the sky, but it was sufficiently bright—there were three “giant light bulbs” that were shining in different colors.
The first was the Ruler of the Wind, Rain, and Snow, with a snowy white figure under a cloak, but was a gentleman glowing in a faint blue light;
There was also the Heart of Everlasting Warmth, made up of seemingly everlasting fiery flames, but was a lady with a beautiful figure whose hair flowed in the flames;
The third was the Master of the Holy Light who appeared as a giant ball of light as if cosplaying the sun.
“Mortal, you have won in all three consecutive rounds of training, and emerged as the champion amongst millions of other trainees,” the three immortals said at the same time, in perfect Xuan language. They continued, “We are willing to make you our executor as our connection with those on the ground below!”
Ren Suo blinked as he continued staring at the scene on the screen.
After about a minute, the Master of the Holy Light said in a seemingly young male voice, “We are waiting for your answer, mortal.”
“My answer? There’s no option… Eh?” Ren Suo said.
Ren Suo pulled his lips as he turned on the microphone and said, “Hello, hello, can you hear me?”
There was a moment of silence.
“Yes, we can hear you,” the Heart of Everlasting Warmth said with a smile. She remarked, “What an interesting mortal!”
Not only did the Heart of Everlasting Warmth look like a woman, but her voice was also sweet and teasing… Ren Suo could not help but scrutinize her figure that was made up of flames. It would definitely have been hot and fiery in his hands.
Fortunately, Ren Suo was controlling his character in the game. If the immortals saw how rude Ren Suo was, they might have given him one heck of a “recovery”—the kind where he would not be able to leave the hospital ever again.
“Oh… I am willing to do so!” Ren Suo said into the microphone.
Perhaps because they had not seen such a strange mortal, who was not at all grateful for meeting with such a miraculous encounter, the three immortals paused for a short while before answering slowly, “Mortal, state your name.”
“I am…” began Ren Suo who quickly stopped himself. He recalled the given name of his character, then continued, “My surname is Zhao, I am Zhao Zili!”
The immortals replied, “Great, we have bestowed you with the treasures of the Holy Light. You need to abide by the 36 Precepts, emanating the Glorious Light of us Immortals as you traverse the world and extend our blessings!”
A ray of light landed on Ren Suo’s character, then Ren Suo heard three voices at the same time:
“Zhao Zili, from here on, you will be our Executor and hold the authority to control life in your hands!”
Bright white light emerged and remained on the screen.
[You have received the Treasures of the Holy Light.]
[You can buy recovery weapons and Talents from the Treasures of the Holy Light directly without having to change menus.]
‘Why would I still need skills after completing the stage,’ Ren Suo thought with a laugh.
[Mission complete.]
[Completed basic mission target – 60 points awarded;]
[Lone wolf: passed all missions alone – 10 points awarded;]
[In-game purchases – Life-changing or genius?: Received more than 18000 accumulated points – 5 points awarded;]
[Heart-to-heart talk: Communicated with enemies in training for more than 30 minutes – 5 points awarded;]
[Novice Priest: Saved more than 20 trainees – 2 points awarded;]
[Total score is 82 points. Appraisal: Extraordinary.]
[Current mission score: 82 points (Extraordinary). Highscore: 82 points (Extraordinary).]
[The player has received an appraisal of Extraordinary, fulfilling the hidden requirements, hence the player will receive information for the game’s hidden side mission.]
[Side mission: Strongest priest. The more trainees who are fully healed by the player over the three training rounds, the higher the score.]
[Do you wish to upload this score as the final result? You will receive merits based on the appraisal category of your current mission score. You will also receive special rewards.]
[You may only upload your score once.]
Of course!
Upon seeing the two categories “Lone wolf” and “In-game purchases”, Ren Suo knew that his game tactics were right!
1000 accumulated points were given for the first round, 4000 for the second, and 10000 for the third, amounting to a total of 15000 accumulated points. However, 18000 accumulated points were required for the “In-game purchases – Life-changing or genius?” category. That meant that in order to receive 1500 + 1500 additional accumulated points, Ren Suo had to fully heal more than 150 trainees across the three rounds of training, or at least 50 people in each round. Adding that to the 15000 accumulated points, he would then be able to surpass a total of 18000 accumulated points and fulfill the hidden requirement.
But that was almost impossible!
That must have been why there was a question mark behind “or a genius”. It was obvious that even the game developers thought that the hidden requirement could only be fulfilled by making in-game purchases!
Ren Suo’s decision to complete the training rounds alone was even wiser, allowing him to directly receive 10 more points in the “Lone wolf” category!
On the other hand, the side mission “Strongest Priest” was extremely challenging. Ren Suo had healed a total of 27 people over the three training rounds, of which he only saved 5 people in the intense last round.
In order to complete the side mission, he would have to make an effort from the very first training round and fully heal at least 30 people. He would also need to make in-game purchases in the second round to fully heal 30 more people. Only then would he be able to complete the side mission and achieve a good score…
However, Ren Suo did not have any more merit points.
If he played the game another time, he may not receive a better score either.
Furthermore, he urgently needed more merit points now!
Ren Suo had to head down to the Countermeasure Division in two days’ time to undergo an aptitude test. He knew that the aptitude test was meant to test and appraise his Awakened Ability, and not his innate ability—he was still a Tier 1 Practitioner who was nowhere close to becoming a Tier 2 Practitioner, so there was nothing to test in that aspect.
Consequently, the specialized reward of [Holy Priest: Survival Battle] was the Touch of Recovery, which could give Ren Suo a slight edge in the test.
Since Awakened Abilities could only be revealed by the individual himself, it was not possible to fully explain what his/her Ability was, and it was fully up to the individual to describe the effects of the Ability—as long as it could be confirmed and tested to be effective.
When Qiao Muyi mentioned that she could increase her talent score with her Awakened Ability, it must have been confirmed by the Countermeasure Division, and her talent score could indeed be tested.
After confirming that the score was correct, Ren Suo chose to upload it.
[Your mission score has been uploaded successfully. You have received 99 merit points, use wisely.]
[You have received 1* 2-star treasure chest. It can be found and activated in the savehouse inventory.]
[You have received the following specialized reward: Touch of Recovery. It can be equipped on the Equipment screen.]
[Your score for ‘Holy Priest: Survival Battle’ has been uploaded. Thank you for playing. Mini worlds of endless fun await!]
99 merit points!
That was definitely the highest number of merit points Ren Suo had been awarded thus far!
In addition to the 5 merit points he had left previously, he now had over a hundred merit points—104 merit points!
It was as if he was a child who suddenly received a large-denomination note after being used to receiving only a few dollars of allowance each day!
Ren Suo exited the game and saw the familiar disc icon spinning on the bottom right corner of the “Holy Priest: Survival Battle” game icon.
On the other hand, the disc icon for “Over My Dead Body” was still spinning.
The online drama series “Over My Dead Body” had been showing for over ten days, and the disc icon had been spinning for the same duration…
“Which is why I say, when would there be a user guide for the game console?” Ren Suo said with a sigh. He navigated to the Equipment screen and queried Touch of Recovery, wanting to see if its effect was the same as he expected.
[Touch of Recovery]
[Grade: 2-star ability. Prerequisites: the lower arm of primates and being a novice of Reiki.]
[Effect: When equipped, the player would receive the miracle ability of basic healing. A green light can be emitted from the hand of the player up to a maximum distance of 14.14213 cm. All living organisms (plants and animals) in the green light would recover to its best state based on their gene map (congenital diseases cannot be healed). The player’s energy, strength, and other internal energy would be depleted based on the extent of the given recovery.]
[Remarks: ‘I heard that saints treat the ill as they cannot bear to leave them, but I am also told that butchers would treat sick livestock to reap more benefits’.]
The ability appeared to be… quite decent?
Nonetheless, what did “recover to its best state based on their gene map” mean?
Practice is the sole measure of truth. Ren Suo immediately placed his right hand over his lower abdomen and activated the “Touch of Recovery” in his heart.
A green light emerged from his right hand, and he felt a sense of warmth on his stomach.
But that was all.
Ren Suo lifted his shirt but was slightly saddened to not see six-packs form on his flat abdomen.
After three minutes, Ren Suo suddenly felt extremely tired. He stopped the Touch of Recovery and walked to the living room, thinking about how he could test the ability.
His bottom? He had spicy mala hotpot recently…
Ren Suo did not pay attention as he walked across the room, and rammed his foot into the corner of the coffee table. He jumped in exclamation and then rolled around on the couch in pain.
It was an opportunity!
Ren Suo quickly began focusing and held his injured toe with his right hand, and activated the “Touch of Recovery” in his heart!
A green glow emerged from between his fingers. Ren Suo felt the pain in his toe dissipate rapidly, and after a short while, the pain disappeared completely!
“Eh? Not bad…” a slightly surprised Ren Suo muttered as he wriggled his toes.
However, the next moment, Ren Suo yawned naturally and said, “Why do I feel so sleepy, it’s only afternoon…”
“The ability, it can’t be… I only healed my little toe…”
“Or perhaps, I start to feel tired when the recovery has reached its limit and cannot be used anymore?”
Ren Suo struggled to stay awake, but in his state of drowsiness, he soon succumbed to sleep.
“Forget it, the Labor Day promotion will run for the entire month… I shall think about it when I wake up…”
——————————
In the meantime, across the seas in the southeastern region of the Pacific Federation, it was in the wee hours of the morning in a small port town in the state of South Carolina with the Atlantic Ocean to the east.
A group of strange people donning black robes and wearing grotesque smiley masks gathered in the woods just outside of the town. They each held an inverted black-colored cross in their hand.
Although it appeared strange, the gathering was made public and recorded in their individual Twitter profiles. There was even going to be a live stream of the gathering.
To put it plainly, it was a leisure activity of the teenagers in the town. They would not create trouble usually and much preferred imitating such strange and mysterious rituals shown in movies. After the ritual, they would then gather firewood, roasted meat and beer in celebration during the early hours of the morning.
They thought that such realistic “rituals” would set them apart from other people their age—in fact, they have tried most of the rituals portrayed in movies, including the summoning of devils, deities, and monsters. The only difference between their “rituals” and the actual ones was that they would substitute the sacrificial offerings with the beef that they were going to roast later on.
And who would have known that their spoofs would be so well-received that they had a decently large number of followers and likes on Twitter, and there were hundreds of people watching their live stream?
There were not many rules in the town either, and the people of the town were accustomed to what the teenagers liked to do.
“What ritual are we performing today?” one of the teenagers asked.
“Twilight’s Hammer… Hey, we should use this prop instead!” another one of them replied.
The rest of the teenagers watched as Peter took out a stone egg with three strange patterns carved onto it. They smiled and said, “Have you not given up on that, Peter? That’s just some useless, boring egg carved by people!”
Peter shrugged and replied, “We don’t have any other good prop anyway. I’ll bring the Frostmourne from home the next time then. This stone egg is not so simple though, it looks heavy but is actually very light.”
“Alright, alright, we shall crown Peter as the king next time!” everyone said as they laughed. Under Peter’s command, the teenagers crowded around the stone egg in a circle.
The one in charge of the video turned on the camera and signaled that the live stream had begun, and everyone stopped laughing—they had to maintain their professionalism, even if it was all an act. With Peter’s lead, they chanted in unison:
“In the beginning was shadow eternal. Hate blazed forth, and fire was born. Wounds scabbed, and so begat earth. Cries of anguish birthed howling wind. Wherein the skies wept seas of tears…”
Halfway through the chant, everyone suddenly stopped.
They saw light bursting out of through the carvings of the stone egg that they used as a prop.
A second later, a crisp shout rang through the silence.
“Jesus!”
“Did the stone egg break?”
“What is coming out of it?”
The teenagers stepped back slowly as they looked anxiously at the stone egg which was starting to break apart. There were also people who were very excited—control of information was strict in the USA too, but it was still possible to find out that radical changes were occurring in the world.
Peter was one of them who did not back out, but instead walked closer to the stone egg. He was the one who started the event and was naturally interested in such strange and mysterious objects. How could he not be excited now that he had an opportunity to witness and be in close contact with one of such things?!
Opportunities could emerge at any moment, but it was up to the individual to make use of it.
In the midst of the myriad of emotions of the teenagers, the stone egg shattered completely!
Light as bright as a burning magnesium bar suddenly emerged from within the stone egg, and shot up towards the sky!
High up in the sky, the light dispersed into countless light clusters and scattered in all directions!
The teenagers standing in the woods stared as everything took place in their faces.
“What… have we done?” one of them asked.
“When the police come, just say that we were setting fireworks, will they believe us?” another one of them asked.
“We should say the truth,” Peter said. He continued, “We are the first ones to witness this, and if we lie, wouldn’t it be like a horror movie waiting to unfold…”
“Moreover, no one will believe us when we say the truth… right? But I just feel like we’ve gotten ourselves in big trouble…”
