Chapter 199 - A New Force: The World Tree
When Ren Suo returned home after being called to treat patients early that morning, he made a phone call. He said, “Sis!”
“..I was still sleeping,” his sister replied.
Ren Suo chided and said, “The sun is already high up in the sky, and you are still sleeping? Let me tell you about what happened in school just now..”
Ren Suo had been called to treat patients that morning because the Heavenly Institution of Lian was releasing the results of the academic subject examinations then. The rankings of the students across the different classes were also announced.
Rankings were truly a great, yet evil invention. Those who emerged at the top would receive their deserved fame and recognition, but at the same time, it was a curse to those who did not perform as well. Apart from a few fools, the large majority of students who had the opportunity to study in the Heavenly Institution of Lian would strive to gain more recognition and points, so that they could remain in the ivory tower that was the school.
It was not that they were lazy, and it was extremely rare to find any students who failed. However, there was no significance in merely passing; victory was only when they trumped the rest of their competitors.
The two people who resulted in Ren Suo being activated were third-year junior high male students. One of them came in at 11th place in the ranking, and the other was 132nd.
Prior to the release of the results, the 11th-place student complained to the 132nd-place student that he had made numerous mistakes in the paper. He also lamented that he did not manage to verify some of his answers and that he missed out on revising some of the concepts tested in the examination. After the results were released, the 11th-place student continued complaining to the 132nd-place student that he had indeed made mistakes in certain questions as he had expected and had many marks deducted..
Then, the student who ranked 132nd place suddenly Awakened and beat the other student who ranked 11th place. No one around them could stop him at that time. When Ren Suo arrived at the scene, everything was in a violent mess—every punch from the Awakened student landed right on the other student’s face.
Although the 132nd-place student had Awakened, the 11th-place student was nonetheless still a Practitioner and had a certain proficiency in using [Clothes]. The two rivals were on about the same level in terms of combat skills, and in the end, both of them were severely injured.
“.. Now that the results of the college entrance examination have been released, you should be more cautious, lest you end up like the two of them,” Ren Suo said.
“Alright, alright, I ain’t like you who likes to show off. Oh, by the way, is your dorm room big? Are there any extra rooms?” his sister asked.
Ren Suo replied, “Hmm? There are two rooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. There’s an unoccupied guest room, why?”
“It’s nothing! Bye!” his sister said.
When Ren Suo reached home, he first turned on the Mini Worlds game machine to see what kind of key he had earned.
Ren Suo had now thought of a new strategy. When dealing with such students who were severely injured, he would first put them to sleep using [Allure of Sweet Dreams], then treat them for the next five minutes. Using that strategy, he easily received a key from the Awakened student.
It was a [1-star Fury of Wind Key].
With that key, Ren Suo now had three 1-star keys and one 2-star key.
According to the formula, three 2-star keys were required to be combined into a 3-star key, and two 1-star keys were required to be combined into a 2-star key. As such, Ren Suo now needed only one more 1-star key to be able to form a 3-star key.
Of course, Ren Suo could also find another 2-star key to form a 3-star key.
“It’s time to start thinking how to retrieve Dong Chengling’s 2-star key and Gu Yueyan’s 1-star key..” Ren Suo thought to himself. He put down the game controller and then, turned on his computer.
There was a question in the intranet that required Ren Suo’s input.
It was a question posed in the ‘Naisser Ren x The Heavenly Palace x Special Task Force’ section. Although it was not regarding emergency resuscitation and there was no deadline given, Ren Suo had to answer as a special advisor to the task force.
The question title was: “Do other extraordinary forces exist? If so, how might they be contacted?”
Ever since the Monkey King incident, Ren Suo could see the popularity of the Heavenly Palace rising significantly. Everyone was looking for a way to ‘enter’ the Heavenly Palace, or even to simply become the disciple of Monkey King.
Intelligence agencies around the world were working hard to find the spiritual animals of the Heavenly Palace who were capable of ‘morphing’. They were also searching for any clues related to the Heavenly Palace. However, Ren Suo had not dispatched anyone from the Heavenly Palace, and they naturally could not find any traces.
On the other hand, the special task force of Xuan Nation focused on another perspective.
Since there was a Heavenly Palace, there should be other extraordinary forces, right?
Although the Heavenly Palace appeared to be an extraordinary force that arose due to the Eastern civilization, Xuan Nation was also willing to establish links with extraordinary forces that arose due to Western civilizations—it would be foolish to associate the corrupt notion of racism with the immortal creatures of those extraordinary forces. More importantly, Xuan Nation did not have any way to contact the Heavenly Palace and was not in a position to be picky.
The question had already garnered many responses, and the most liked reply was an analysis by who seemed to be a historian. From the Western civilization to the Eastern civilization, and to the Nordic civilization, he pointed out the extraordinary forces that could arise from each civilization. He also listed possible methods to contact them, and Ren Suo nodded in agreement as he read the analysis. He especially approved of the use of pretty girls to seduce Zeus, the sky and thunder god. It appeared to be a very plausible method..
The answer with the second-highest number of likes was ‘Researcher Gu’, who made use of the trending topic to play up his point. He believed that there was an extraordinary force who resided in and fed on the Internet. His argument was mainly based on Naisser Ren’s video “Intrusion”. With deep technical knowledge, he asserted that the events which occurred in “Intrusion” were beyond reality.
It was extremely likely that Keyboard Man was a member of an extraordinary force!
If that were true, the way to contact the extraordinary force was very simple. The nation only needed to dedicate more resources to developing Awakeners with internet-related Awakened Abilities. When an Awakener grew sufficiently powerful and was able to control the Internet, he would naturally be able to contact the extraordinary force!
For some reason, Ren Suo could feel the overflowing desire of the researcher through his words..
Ren Suo pondered all night and finally came up with the perfect (bragging) reply:
[There must exist extraordinary forces, whose mission is to protect the world. They would usually be uncontactable, and would only appear when evil forces evade the world.]
[They might be Practitioners, Mages, Ninjas, or perhaps..]historical
[They would do everything within their means to save people, even if it means sacrificing themselves..]
Ren Suo checked through his description of a fictional organization consisting of the strongest and most powerful of heroes and warriors, whose mission was to save the world. He then submitted his response.
Well, such a set up that could be considered old-fashioned even in fantasy novels would surely not garner any likes.
However, the world needed heroes!
As such, Ren Suo picked up the game controller again.
It was the third arena, an abandoned palace.
When Ren Suo entered, he saw a large group of people before him!
They had freckles all over their skin. They carried firearms and donned battle suits, looking like the most elite of troops. At present, they were shooting non-stop at the monsters in the arena with the aid of their firearms and shields!
The sudden appearance of Mage, Red Hood, and Lumpena naturally shocked the troops. They immediately pointed their guns towards them and questioned, “What are you?!”
“You are all here,” the mage said.
A female mage who wore a set of white, tight-fitting clothes appeared in the shadows. Her hand was wrapped in white bandages. She said, “Red hood, Lumpena, I am extremely happy that both of you managed to survive. It is my pleasure to meet both of you. I am Elaine, the Holy Hand, and the final mage. I will assist you in cleansing the arena.”
Red Hood sneered in reply and said, “Really? I am not happy, though. Why aren’t you dead yet, Elaine?”
Lumpena bowed slightly at Elaine and said, “Let’s cooperate well.”
The appearance of Mage, Elaine, Red Hood, and Lumpena made the troops extremely anxious. However, at that juncture, one of the troops shouted:
[Drop your weapons, they are not enemies.]
On the screen, a beautiful woman who wore a set of black, tight-fitting clothes appeared. She held a chain whip in her hand and very quickly Ren Suo remembered who she was. She was one of the Practitioners from the Federation who was beaten by the All-Devouring Spirit previously!
Did that mean that all of those troops were Practitioners from the Federation?
She asked: [Are you guys the mages who helped the people of Xuan Nation to defeat the monster?]
Ren Suo looked at the name above her head. He switched his spoken language to English and replied, [Yes, Miss Caroline, we are the mages who cleanse this world.]
She exclaimed: [We can do this alone, we don’t need your help!]
At that moment, three giant Blood Monsters broke through the defensive line of the Federation’s Practitioners. Even though countless bullets were raining down on the Blood Monsters, their flesh provided them with resistance to a few hits. Moreover, the hatred of those creatures urged them to bear the torment to destroy the enemies in front of them at all costs!
Caroline shouted: [Team Three, fire!]
Four soldiers each carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers appeared amongst the Federation’s Practitioners as they took aim at the Blood Monsters.
They were using RPG Bazookas!
Following a few blasts, huge holes of blood were made through the meat of the Blood Monsters! The Blood Monsters shrieked in agony as they turned into black smoke which dissipated, leaving in their place a few humans who were kneeling down on the ground.
The Practitioners of the Federation raised their weapons and fired mercilessly at the human remains of the monsters!
Caroline turned around and walked to the front. She retorted: [Did you see that? That is the power of us, the Federation. Mages, you can just stand and watch at the side while we clear this place–]
[Ahhhh–]
One of the humans who were shot dead suddenly came back alive. It turned back into a Blood Monster and charged right towards the troops!
The Practitioners of the Federation were caught off guard, and their defensive line was completely broken by the Blood Monster!
Caroline, who had gone forward, did not expect such a situation to occur. However, the gigantic Blood Monster was already right in front of her. Even if she responded without delay, her fate of being crushed to death was already sealed—
Suddenly, four figures flashed rapidly past Caroline. They made several holes in the Blood Monster who then fell weakly towards Caroline!
However, a black-haired mage instantly teleported in front of Caroline. The mage pushed the monster in the opposite direction instead with a pair of flaming arms, which were as thick as the trunk of a tree!
[We won’t just sit back and enjoy the show.]
The dark-haired mage turned to look at Caroline, revealing the face of a hideous old man. There was a long scar across his face from his forehead to his cheeks, making him look as if he had been through countless battles.
[We are mages under the world tree. Our mission is to protect the world and prevent disasters. Within close reach, we will definitely protect humans and eliminate all monsters!]