Chapter 888: Dead end?
Translator: Sean88888 Editor: TheAlliance
The difficulty of a dual-attribute breakthrough test would increase "significantly"! That made Sheyan really bitter.
The ordinary boundary breakthrough was scary enough. Now, it was like playing chess with someone of the same level of ability as you, but the opponent had an extra rook, knight and bishop each. Plus, his king had to be checkmated three times for him to lose! How was anyone going to win?
The only advantage that the contestants had was their innate ability! They must utilise their innate ability to the extreme for a slither of chance at victory.
Sheyan finally understood why Brother Black chose to enter the breakthrough test world naked. He did not want to use firearms because the power of firearms were too great. His opponent had the same strength he did and could simply trade blows with him without a care for injuries. So, he simply erased this advantage.
Considering Brother Black's background, he should be proficient in using javelins and bows also. These two were things that could be made on the spot. Besides, the contestant should have the right to choose the battleground. Mogensha probably relied on his outstanding 'Beastly Instinct' innate ability to slowly grind down his opponent, who was also naked like he was.
The realm once again sent its merciless notifications.
[ Dear Contestant No.1018, if you choose to challenge the dual-attribute boundary breakthrough, the base attributes of the clone will be doubled and the HP of the clone will gain a 1000% bonus! All the abilities you possess when you enter the challenge zone (except for innate ability) will be perfectly copied onto the clone. All the equipments and items on you (including those stored in your personal space) will be perfectly copied onto the clone. ]
[ You will not die in the challenge. However, every time you fail, the ability of the clone will increase by 5%. After you start the challenge, you will not be bound by the 50-point limit. ]
"Sure enough, the attributes were doubled...."
Senyan's face distorted. The 1.5x increase in the ordinary challenge may not seem too big of a difference compared to a 2x increase, but! ! A 2x difference would cause crushing effect! The terrible effect of crushing damages needed no introduction!
Sheyan closed his eyes, and the inside of his head was working like a high-speed calculator. To be honest, in the face of such harsh conditions, there was really nothing he could do. Based on his calculation, only snipers and the likes had a small probability of defeating an opponent with double the attribute limit, and that was under the condition that the sniper had an innate ability that could lower the opponent's accuracy and increase the sniper's own dodging rate. As for Sheyan....it was completely impossible!
He tried utilising the privilege of his military rank to get further information.
"May I know what else I can do before I start the challenge?"
The nightmare realm swiftly gave a reply:
[ Your general rights are as follows: ]
[ A. Choose the battleground for a fee ]
[ B. Purchase an item from the achievement point store at half price (the item will disappear after the challenge)]
[ C. Pay 10 achievement points to obtain a 10%-50% increase in HP recovery rate. The recovery rate is related to your military rank. The higher your rank, the higher the increase in recovery rate. (This effect will not be copied by the clone) ]
[ D. Pray. Pray earnestly to God. Have your fill of some chicken soup for the soul. ]
Sheyan browsed through the list. 'C' was something he definitely needed to redeem. He continued asking:
"What are my military rank privileges?"
The nightmare realm replied:
[ You can obtain some details regarding the battle at a price. These details were originally only available to you after you start the battle. Naturally, they will cost you a large amount of utility points. ]
Sheyan mentally weighed his money pouch that was neither too dry nor too full. He could probably afford to spend about 50,000 utility points. He clenched his teeth, and said:
"I'll pay!"
[ The rules of the battle are as follows: ]
[ You can choose the battleground terrain and size, as well as the duration of the battle. ]
[ The terrain options available are: desert, plain, tropical rainforest, mountain, snowy land, and snowy mountain. The allowed size of the battlefield range from 100 square meters to 20 square kilometers. The default duration for battle is 20 minutes. You can choose the initial distance between you and the clone at the start: between 1 meter and 1 kilometer. ]
[ Every time you attempt to prolong the battle duration, you have to pay additional utility points. Please note that there is no tie. Once the battle duration is over and your clone is still alive, it will count as a failure. ]
[ These are all the privileges available for your current military rank. ]
Sheyan was keenly aware that there was no ocean terrain option. This showed that the realm was trying to avoid this kind of battle. He shook his head slightly. Although these information were very useful, but, to be honest, they didn't help him much.
Sheyan was unwilling to give up. He continued asking.
"Do we have no other advantages in the fight?"
The realm replied dully.
[ There is, but you have to pay 1 additional achievement point for the answer to this question. ]
Sheyan really wanted to unleash a string of profanities at the realm, but he took a deep breath and calmed himself down. In the end, he exclaimed weakly:
"Talk. I'll pay."
[ After the clone is produced and placed on the battlefield, it will take a while for it to adapt to its body and the surrounding. The duration is not that long; it will usually take 2-3 seconds. So, in most cases, the challenger can make the first move.]
"Oh!" Sheyan was instantly moved by this piece of information. He seemed to have caught onto something. He immediately asked:
"Will this first-move advantage remain in the dual-attribute breakthrough challenge?"
The realm replied:
[ It will. In fact, the clone will take even longer to adapt in the dual-attribute breakthrough challenge - about 5 seconds. ]
Sheyan immediately understood the reason after giving it a bit of thought. Take the previous chess analogy as an example. The opponent had an extra rook, knight and bishop each. Plus, his king had to be checkmated three times for him to lose. Naturally, he would need to spend more time when placing the chess pieces onto the board.
Furthermore, the advantage afforded to the clone in the dual-attribute challenge was akin to giving it two extra rooks, knights and bishops, and its king had to be checkmated 10 times. Of course it would have to spend more time to place the pieces.
Sheyan realised that he would get no more useful information from the realm. But, he was already full of thoughts.
"If I get the first move, it would somewhat offset the clone's advantages. For a fight between ordinary people, this first-move advantage could already determine victory. Unfortunately, this is a battle between contestants... What can I do in five seconds? What should I do to make full use of this advantage?"
Sheyan was sure that the key to passing the challenge lied in how well he utilised the first-move advantage!
He stood where he was and contemplated for an hour and a half, but still couldn't come up with anything. His only reward was a headache from thinking too hard. He could only sigh regretfully and retreat from this alien ruin.
Even though Sheyan had mentally prepared himself for the difficulty of the boundary breakthrough challenge, he couldn't have imagined that it would be so insane!
More worrying was the fact that Sheyan was also in a Bloody World. He also needed to face possible attacks from over 10 vicious and powerful contestants.
Sheyan was sure of one thing when he left the Statue of Liberty - he must complete the boundary breakthrough challenge within 24 hours. Otherwise, as the situation developed, his circumstance will only get more desperate! If worse came to worst, then he could only give up on dual-attribute breakthrough.
Sheyan felt that his brain had been forced to the limit from thinking too much, so he simply let go of everything for the moment. He checked into a hotel, asked for a presidential suite, jumped into a jacuzzi and closed his eyes, leaving his mind blank.
Then, Sheyan called for a few massage therapists. It was worth mentioning that, although massage, acupuncture and the likes appeared to have originated from China, massaging techniques were also well developed in the United States. Over here, they didn't like acupuncture or suction cups after massages, but instead choose things that science had proven useful such as soaking in ice water and other therapies. The two massage therapists that came were professionals who specialise in helping professional athletes relieve fatigue and relax the body.
Under their skillful techniques, Sheyan quickly fell half-asleep. He also took a few sips of brandy to allow the alcohol to rapidly expand his blood vessels and speed up his blood flow, which would help in relieving mental fatigue.
Suddenly, an indescribably strange feeling once again spread through Sheyan's body! The nightmare imprint's cold and emotionless notification once again resounding:
[ Warning, warning: The Blood Sensing will be initiated in 3 minutes. Contestant No. 1018, you will sense the location of other contestants after a 1-minute countdown. The base duration of the Blood Sensing this time is 10 minutes. Your army rank is Major, so the duration of others sensing your position is reduced by 4 minutes. At the same time, the duration of you sensing the location of other contestants with army ranks below yours is extended by 2 minutes. ]
Sheyan took a deep breath. The duration of the Blood Sensing had doubled! The time since the last Blood Sensing was about 24 hours. According to this pattern, the duration of the next Blood Sensing would be 20 minutes, and on the 7th day, the Blood Sensing would last for around 10 hours!!