Chapter 411 - 175: Return to Reality, Starting with 40 Billion
The moment the Dragon King fell, lines of text scrolled into view. Shen Fei saw that after the Dragon King died, a cylinder with a health bar still appeared where its body had been.
The 18th-ring quest was complete. He could now leave the Game World and return to the real world at any time.
However, he could still break the cylinder and connect this Game World with another one...
Should I break it? The Heaven-Opening Gate...
Staring at the final cylinder that had just appeared, Shen Fei looked up at his teammates.
[Ding!]
[The Heaven-Opening Pillar can be shattered to connect 36 Game Worlds!]
[This can open the Celestial Gate for all 36 Game Worlds, allowing inheritances into the real world...]
While Shen Fei was still pondering what to do, the text that appeared on his personal interface had already answered the questions in his mind.
With this explanation, Shen Fei now understood that the so-called Heaven-Opening Gate, the final part of the quest, could instantly link together all 36 Game Worlds he had experienced. Before, breaking a cylinder’s health bar would cause a random Game World to connect to the one Shen Fei and his team had just cleared. Now, depleting the final cylinder’s health bar would connect all 36 of these worlds at once.
Furthermore, the text description also helped Shen Fei learn that among these 36 Game Worlds, there had to be one from which players could inherit things into the real world. That was the only way the connected 36 worlds could all have the chance to bring inheritances into reality.
.
Let’s not rush! First, let’s go back to Zu’an!
Glancing at his teammates, an idea sparked in Shen Fei’s mind, and he decided not to act hastily.
Right now, there was still an hour before the mandatory logout. He would first send the Zu’an Heroes—who were now deeply loyal to him because of the Divine Artifact, Zu’an’s Kiss—back home. Then he would decide what to do next!
WHOOSH.
At Shen Fei’s command, a Teleportation Gate leading directly to Zu’an opened once more. A few seconds later, their vision blurred, and the Heroes of Zu’an, who had just journeyed across worlds, found themselves back in the stinking sewers of their underground city.
The feeling was surreal, as if a lifetime had passed. It left all the Heroes of Zu’an speechless. After everything they had just been through, the hearts of these Heroes had completely changed. The things they once cared about, pursued, or fought against had all been put into a new perspective by what they had just witnessed.
Having seen grand mountains and vast rivers, having witnessed Deities and legends, no one could focus their attention on the small confines of Zu’an anymore. Everyone’s perspective had been irrevocably altered.
"I’m going to Piraeus next!" she yelled. "I’m going to get my own warship!"
Jinx, recalling how someone had praised Miss Misfortune Sarah’s figure, was the first to make a decision about her future. Her ambitions were no longer confined to Zu’an and Piltover. Her sights were now set on the vast ocean.
As Jinx shouted, Shen Fei’s gaze fell upon an item in his hand. This item was his reward for clearing the 18th-ring quest.
[Heroic Mark: Can lock onto a Hero. A locked Hero can absorb and fuse with same-origin Heroes from other Game Worlds. A locked Hero cannot be Devoured by other Heroes. (For use on NPCs or Super Bosses only)]
After leading everyone back to Zu’an, Shen Fei examined the item in his hand. It was because of this item, rewarded after the Dragon King’s death, that Shen Fei finally understood just how important it was to have this group of loyal Zu’an Heroes under his command.
Through the Heroic Mark and the knowledge that there were countless Game Worlds like the League of Legends universe he was currently in, Shen Fei knew that these countless identical Game Worlds also contained countless identical Heroes. He understood at once that these Intelligent NPCs and Super Bosses, who weren’t players, had a mechanism for Devouring and fusion.
The Dragon King and Naga Kapalos he had just slain were powerful, but they were merely single instances from countless Game Worlds. If they wanted to restore their power to the level described in their lore, they first needed to be inherited into the real world. Then, they would also need to Devour their counterparts—beings with the same name, appearance, abilities, and lore, differing only slightly in wisdom and consciousness. Only then could their power continue to grow. After Devouring all their counterparts, they could finally achieve the perfect, complete power described in their lore.
Likewise, this same principle applied to Heroes like Jinx and Ekko, who had pledged their loyalty to Shen Fei because of the Divine Artifact, Zu’an’s Kiss.
And if he wanted to prevent the NPC Heroes loyal to him from being Devoured, the Heroic Mark from the 18th-ring quest was the perfect tool to solve this problem. As long as he marked an NPC with the new Heroic Mark, that marked NPC would gain an Invincible buff. Even if the marked NPC was weak, there would be no risk of them being Devoured.
If the NPCs and Super Bosses in this world are like this, then the ones in the real world—those who charged into the special zones—must be in the same situation! So, this Heroic Mark is even more important than I imagined! NPCs and Super Bosses would desperately need a Heroic Mark for that Invincible buff!
The newly acquired item, combined with the information he had gathered in this 18th-ring Game World, sparked a flurry of thoughts in Shen Fei’s mind.