Chapter 270: Life Difficulty Easy Mode

Chapter 270: Life Difficulty Easy Mode

“They should have seen my message by now...”

Seated in the back of Miss’s luxury car, Ashe scrolled through the dial, summoning his Gospel. He flipped to the Sorcerer Handbook interface, where the current Team Composition was displayed under “Exploration in Virtual Realm”:

“Team Composition: Death Maniac Swordswoman, Black-and-White Witch”

“Location: Time Continent”

“Status: Exploring”

Before leaving home, Ashe had arranged for the two of them to embark on the Exploration in Virtual Realm.

Of course, even without his arrangement, the two would have ventured into the exploration on their own. However, having received Ashe’s approval, the swordswoman duo were allowed to use his sports car.

However, the Map seemed to be bound to Ashe’s gaming system and could not be lent to them.

And similar to the Swordswoman’s Leave Request , although Ashe was not part of the team, a share of the team’s spoils still had to be allocated to him. Thirty percent of the arcane energy experience earned by the swordswoman and the witch would be shared with Ashe, and they might trigger special mechanisms that would benefit him.

The only difference from an Operator was that Ashe’s leave had no Restrictions!

If he wished, he could avoid entering the Virtual Realm altogether, relying solely on the gains from the swordswoman and witch to grow stronger!

But as Ashe decided not to join the exploration that evening, the game issued a reminder: “Interacting with Operators is crucial for maintaining Bond Levels. If Operators perceive that you are avoiding meetings, it could gradually decrease their favorability towards you, leading to a reduction in Bond Level.”

Only then did Ashe realize that the game’s favorability was fluctuating, not fixed once it increased. This meant that taking a leave or two might be fine, but constantly avoiding work and distancing himself from the group could lead to dissatisfaction among the frontline workers.

No, working was for earning, but Ashe entered the Virtual Realm primarily to enhance his Bonds with the Operators.

Rather than calling it work, it felt more like... team building?

Realizing this, Ashe suddenly developed a reluctance to enter the Virtual Realm.

Ying—

With a slight vibration, the hovercar switched lanes, yet Ashe remained as steady as Mount Tai. He looked at Annan in the driver’s seat and swiftly brought his thoughts back to reality.

Although Harvey and Igor had not breathed a word about it, the nature of the tasks associated with people like them could only be related to gang vendettas, trickery, robbery, and theft, given their narrow range of operations which a single criminal code could encompass.

Despite Ashe’s usual calm demeanor, he had secretly investigated Azura’s underworld forces primarily through online games. Many helpful folks from Azura had educated him that there were ten major underworld forces in the region, known as “One Palace, Two Firms, Three Families, Four Major Companies.”

The ‘One Palace’ referred to the Mermaid Palace. The sea demon race, dubbed the ‘Sewer Royalty’ of the Gospel Kingdom, had chain stores in major cities. Nearly all murders, smuggling, drug trafficking, and race trading had to pass through the sea demons’ approval, making them the undisputed leaders of the underworld.

‘Two Firms’ meant the top two firms in the Azura Sub-Ranking, both squeezing into the top ten of the General Ranking. Firms like the one Annan represented, which were pushed out of the top ten of the sub-ranking, ended up taking the leftover cases that others passed on.

‘Three Families’ were ancient families deeply rooted in the Azura region. Ashe didn’t remember their specific surnames or emblems, but he did remember that they intermarried among themselves and their connections were deeply entrenched in departments like Bluebeard, Red Cap, and the Government Affairs Hall, even the mayor hailed from one of these families.

The ‘Four Major Companies’ were four enterprises that accounted for over 75% of Azura’s GDP and had also made it into the national corporate rankings, considered too big to fail. Although closely related to the Three Families, with almost all having received investments from them, the relationship between the two remained complicated due to the inherent contradictions between capital and feudal systems. After all, capital naturally resists such feudalistic structures, and it would be naive to think that early investments could control a successful company.

Thus, as Ashe sat in Annan’s car, he wondered which of the ten major underworld forces they were going to confront. When they reached their destination, even the well-prepared Ashe was stunned by the sight of this underworld stronghold.

Azura No.4 High School

“This is...”

“No.4 High School, you can just call it No.4 High.”

Annan stepped out of the car, pressed the car key, and the hovercar went to find a parking spot on its own.

Although it’s called a high school, No.4 High School looks more like a business center. Each floor radiates a warm, bright light, and the glass revolving doors are wide open, with no security measures in place nor guards to check visitors.

Ashe followed Annan inside, and his impression changed once again. There were no classrooms as one might expect, nor any sounds of teaching. Through the windows, Ashe saw rooms filled with coffin-like pods, fully enclosed, each with a three-dimensional projection displaying the name and information of the person inside.

Rather than a classroom, it seemed more like a laboratory engaged in human experiments.

Annan shook her head with a smile: “How could that be... right, the Gospel can indeed help you find a perfect match—if you saved the world in your past life.”

“Yet, most of the time, the Gospel can uncover Treasures buried deep underground, determine the weight of the sun, and calculate the rhythms of the moon, but it just can’t provide us with a perfect love,” Annan explained.

“But...” Annan’s lips curled into a subtle smile, “if you’re just choosing the most suitable partner from those you know, the Gospel can still help you.”

“Love is a luxury, but marriage is not, and lifelong marriages are common here. While not mandatory, most people marry the most suitable person within their social network after completing their secondary education at age 17. Then, following the Gospel’s guidance, they mate at the optimal times to have the healthiest babies... It has been proven that those who follow this path achieve happiness.”

“Appropriate education, suitable job, right partner. If life had a difficulty setting, then by signing three lifelong Contracts, you’d switch to easy mode—just listen quietly to the Gospel and the world opens its most accommodating side to you.”

“Uncovering hidden Talents, finding a job that may not be grand but fulfills one’s life value, having a partner who may not be perfect but with whom you share deep affection... Ashe found himself envying this, needing to read several inspirational posts shared by his manager just to cope.”

And all these blessings are just the basic social security for most people in the Gospel.

“If a normal life under the Gospel is like playing on ‘easy mode,’ then Ashe’s previous life was at least on ‘hard mode,’ designed for those who the creators suggest should not pick this difficulty on their first attempt at life.”

“This lifetime is even more daunting, like starting with a ‘harder start’ mod where all enemies are enhanced.”

Looking back now, Ashe realized that his beginning was like being attacked by Gerard, a Sorcerer of the Tri-wings Sanctuary—a high-level player striking from another dimension. If any game dared to start like that, it would be guaranteed to receive a refund request within two hours.

However...

Ashe, puzzled, asked, “All this sounds quite good, doesn’t it? What are you dissatisfied with?”

“I’m not dissatisfied,” Annan said with a smile. “On the contrary, I’m grateful for this system. It’s precisely because the melody of the Gospel is so harmonious that a discordant note like me stands out so starkly.”

“We’re here.”

They arrived on the third floor and stopped outside a room. Miss pointed to Education Pod 15 inside: “That’s my target, an Orc Sorcerer, but a Production Sorcerer with no combat ability whatsoever. Now it’s your turn, Ashe.”

Ashe looked around: “You want me to kill someone in a school?”

“Of course not, our Firm is a law-abiding good citizen,” Annan replied. “Just pull him out and give him a beating to make him leave. This is a task specifically prepared for you.”

“Ah? Why is my task this?”

“Because your other two companions don’t seem like the kind to stop easily. They are more suited for services that lead to death or serious injury.”

Ashe didn’t immediately argue with Annan. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly remembered the ‘Bullhide’ spirit he had acquired in the Virtual Realm. Clearly a spirit from the Physical Faction, it could temporarily enhance his defense, so Ashe had kept it without integrating it into the system yet.

He activated the ‘Bullhide’ spirit to boost his defense, and his skin, pale with a hint of pink, took on a faint bronze tint. Then, putting on the mask given by Igor, his appearance resembled that of a well-fed street thug with nothing better to do.

“Is he a bad guy?” Ashe suddenly asked.

“Not really,” Annan glanced at him. “He just cares a lot about his reputation.”

Ashe said no more and entered the room. Next to the Education Pod, he found an emergency call button. After pressing it, Pod 15 quickly opened to both sides.

A medium-sized Orc emerged, looking bewilderedly at Ashe: “Who are you?”

Ashe: ” “

The Orc, both shocked and delighted: “Really? My father died a few years ago, and my mother hasn’t found a new partner. She would definitely like you.”

Ashe: ” “

The Orc scratched his head: “Haha, I’m not very bright. Even coming here to learn, I’m more about the technical side; I can’t understand the theory.”

Ashe fell into contemplation, eventually tiptoeing to pat the Orc on the head.

“Why aren’t you wearing a hat?”