Chapter 69: Praise of All Living Beings

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Praise of All Living Beings

A few minutes earlier, Felix had crash-landed in the North District.

As a veteran player of the Dream Duel Arena, he naturally knew what Dream Gems were.

"Hahaha, the wait is finally over!"

"Today is the day I reach LV3!"

The Azure-headed Demon Dragon might descend every full moon, but players didn’t show up every month.

Felix had waited bitterly for three years, and in that time, he’d only managed to kill four players.

His powers were confined to the Chaotic City and the Dream Duel Arena.

Outside of this place, he wasn’t necessarily much stronger than Najir.

Felix had been stuck at LV2 for a full year. Today, he finally had a chance to break through, so naturally, he was ecstatic!

’I have Najir Buffon to thank for this. I imagine he’s met the Game Monarch by now.’

Felix didn’t know much about the Demon Dragon’s right eye, as he’d never been inside.

For ordinary people, so-called "merging" with the Demon Dragon’s right eye was nothing more than providing some sort of Energy to the Azure-headed Demon Dragon.

Before Najir, Felix had only seen one other player enter the Demon Dragon’s right eye.

He ended up dead, and the Cards he possessed vanished without a trace.

It was unbelievable, but Felix had witnessed the man’s death with his own eyes. Yet, he never saw any [Cards] appear.

’He had a faint suspicion that the player’s Cards had been taken by the Game Monarch.’

’Najir’s prediction of a Great Calamity was pretty spot-on after all.’

"Go! Bring me the gems!"

Rejuvenated, Felix was in high spirits, exuding the flair of a young artist.

With a wave of his large brush, a hundred blood-red ink dots spattered onto the ground.

The bloody ink squirmed and shifted, finally transforming into large, blood-red rats.

’A place like the Dream Duel Arena, filled with the power of dreams, is the perfect stage for an artist.’

"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!"

The large, blood-red rats came to life, rising from two-dimensional splotches into three-dimensional forms until they looked identical to real rats.

The large rats scattered, scurrying off to collect Dream Gems for their "master."

’Those two idiots probably haven’t figured out what’s special about this place yet.’

’Without the constraints of the real world, the range of a player’s abilities is no longer limited.’

Felix was smug, but he had no idea that both Chen Qi and Feng Xingyun had already discovered this fact.

Chen Qi realized it when his ten giant pythons started running rampant, while Feng Xingyun, after declaring himself the "Monarch of Wind," suddenly found he could control the airflow of half a city block.

"SQUEAK, SQUEAK!"

As expected of a veteran player, Felix collected 30 Dream Gems in just one minute.

He fused with them immediately, and his entire being was instantly promoted to [LV3].

"Haha, what a powerful feeling."

"Soon. Very soon, I’ll be able to wield this same power in the real world."

The brush in Felix’s hand transformed, becoming extra-large—nearly as thick as his arm.

With a grand sweep, he flung out several hundred more blood-red ink dots.

This time, however, it wasn’t rats that appeared, but fist-sized, blood-red birds.

’Compared to the rats on the ground, these flying creatures are much more effective.’

"CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP!"

The blood-red birds scattered with a clamor. Felix didn’t remain idle, either; he began his grand artistic endeavor.

’For a player not skilled in direct combat, opportunities to freely bully other players were rare.’

’Who wouldn’t want to go for an all-out, in-your-face assault? Hiding in the shadows and scheming, no matter how safe, was still cowardly. It lacked a certain thrill.’

Rejuvenated, Felix felt a long-lost rush of adrenaline.

’He was going to have some fun toying with the two small fry on the chopping block.’

In just thirty seconds, Felix, in his prime state, completed his creation.

"KR-ROOO! KR-ROOO!"

A massive Thunderbird with a ten-meter wingspan beat its wings and flew out from the Blood-Colored Scroll, heading for the South District.

Among mortal birds, the Thunderbird was known for its speed. Among large raptors, it was second only to a few avians regarded as Divine Birds by the natives.

The strangest thing about the Thunderbird is that it must endure three lightning strikes in its lifetime.

If the lightning doesn’t kill it, it can continue to grow and develop.

A fledgling Thunderbird is barely larger than a rooster, but after three lightning strikes, it can grow to ten meters.

Unfortunately, no Thunderbird had ever been known to survive a fourth strike; otherwise, it would surely be the king of speed among all mortal birds.

’They’re fighting already?’

’Damn, is that idiot Feng Xingyun just trying to get himself killed?’

In just a few dozen seconds, the Thunderbird had already reached the South District.

Its eyes shone with a human-like light, for Felix had linked his own vision to it.

Felix watched with his own eyes as Feng Xingyun courted death, and as Chen Qi devoured his Spirituality.

He was practically drooling with envy!

If he hadn’t known the Thunderbird he was possessing couldn’t beat Chen Qi, Felix would have charged over to steal it himself.

’Oh well, no need to rush. It’s all in the same pot anyway. It’ll be mine sooner or later.’

’This bird is pretty big!’

’But it doesn’t have a brain!’

Chen Qi had noticed the Thunderbird’s appearance long ago. It just hadn’t posed a threat before, so he couldn’t be bothered to deal with it.

Now that he was out for revenge, he would naturally take his anger out on it first.

"WHIRRRR!"

The Metal Giant’s left hand flashed with electricity. Countless gears spun and reconfigured, and in the blink of an eye, Chen Qi’s left arm had transformed into an Electromagnetic Cannon.

The next instant, a shell shot out at ten times the speed of sound.

Before Felix could even process what was happening, his bird was dead.

"Bastard! Damn it! I’m so pissed!"

"That bastard reached LV3 too, and even absorbed Feng Xingyun’s Spirituality... I’ll endure it. I’ll endure it!"

"Just wait until I’ve gathered all the Dream Gems. Then I’ll show you a real power gap!"

Though fury clouded his mind, Felix’s youthful body was still controlled by an old, calculating brain.

Fighting him head-on now would only slow his own progress. The one who laughs last is the true winner.

’After that surge in Spirituality, his control over his skills is bound to be more refined. Even at the same level, I might not be his match.’

He, Felix, walked the path of kings; his game was all about overwhelming his opponents.

’I have countless minions searching for me. Victory is assured!’

’This Felix guy is really in his element here.’

’Perfect. I need to test a new ability anyway. I’ll play along!’

The appearance of the giant bird made Chen Qi realize that Felix’s abilities had undergone a qualitative change here.

’The guy can actually create living creatures from his paintings.’

’But so what?’

A golden light flashed. Chen Qi deactivated his Metal Giant form and returned to his human body.

Previously, the fusion of [Body Control] and [Metal Control] had been dominated by the latter, resulting in the [Metal Life] form.

What Chen Qi was about to do was a new experiment.

A rainbow light flickered, and ten Dream Gems were expelled from Chen Qi’s body.

Chen Qi had discovered long ago that the Dream Gems belonged to the Dream Duel Arena. The so-called "fusion" was merely a buff.

If Feng Xingyun had fused with any Dream Gems before his death, they would have dropped as loot. It really fit the game-like setting.

This mechanic was originally designed to encourage players to kill and plunder from one another, but Chen Qi had discovered another use for it.

’Namely, to return to LV2 and then level up all over again.’

Only this time, the newly created ability would not be [Metal Life].

"Appear, [Praise of All Living Beings]!"

A pair of fiercely burning golden wings slowly sprouted from Chen Qi’s back.

The golden wings beat once, and in the next instant, Chen Qi appeared high in the sky, looking down upon the entire South District.