Chapter 298: Virtual Realm Assassination

Chapter 298: Virtual Realm Assassination

Where is a place where one can kill without being discovered?

Where is a place where others cannot stop you from killing and arson?

Where is a place where everyone is alone?

Indeed, it is the Virtual Realm!

Humming a tune, Amodo rode his bicycle through the curtain of rain. On the back of his hand was a faint red mark of crossed swords, which grew increasingly brighter as he cycled along.

“I am a thief, fond of Lala Fatty.”

“I am a thief, I kill without shedding a tear.”

“I am a thief, with a heart so dark.”

He is ranked first in Azura and sixth nationally at Bliss and Comfort Firm, specializing in offering exciting services that are illegal in reality—murder.

Compared to the recently risen Moonlit Harmony Home Firm, Bliss and Comfort Firm has a much longer history. In the past, it was one of the two major dark forces in Azura alongside the Funeral Firm. As Azura grew, so did it.

Now, as the old guard gives way to the new, the Funeral Firm has fallen into disrepair and even been kicked out of the top ten rankings, but Bliss and Comfort Firm still firmly holds the top spot in Azura. Customers come from all over the country, drawn by its reputation, and far from declining, it is more flourishing than ever.

The enduring success of Bliss and Comfort Firm lies in its mastery of a core technique: the Art of Murder in Virtual Realm.

When the Gospel first appeared, the initial reaction of the sorcerers wasn’t to use it to study grand issues like societal harmony, advances in productivity, how to make Lala Fatty delicious, whether the chicken or the egg came first, or whether they were the most superior race. Instead, they wondered:

“How can I use the Gospel to ascend further in the Virtual Realm?”

Sometimes, it’s hard to tell whether the sorcerers are thinking big or small.

And climbing in the Virtual Realm can be divided into two specific goals: Exploration in Virtual Realm, and Realm Faction.

Soon, sorcerers discovered that when they faced bottlenecks in the Faction Realm, they could seek guidance from the Gospel. Theoretically, as long as their Talent was high enough, sorcerers from the Gospel Kingdom could continuously advance their Faction Realm. To put it in writing terms, it meant that everyone could become an author who updates tens of thousands of words daily, rather than one who struggles with just a few thousand words.

However, there were still many highly potential sorcerers who found that despite listening to the Gospel, they could not understand it. Clearly, this was due to their lack of effort, and sorcerers certainly didn’t care about those who couldn’t keep up.

Why are there so many levels in the Virtual Realm? It’s to make sorcerers aware of their class status.

But in terms of Exploration in Virtual Realm, sorcerers found that the Gospel wasn’t much help.

The biggest issue was that they couldn’t summon the Gospel in the Virtual Realm.

To be precise, the Gospel is a Miracle that exists only within the Gospel Kingdom. Once outside the Gospel Kingdom, not just in the Virtual Realm but even when in other Kingdoms, it is impossible to summon the Gospel.

Unable to ask for a guide in real-time, sorcerers could only Pray for the Gospel’s blessing before entering the Virtual Realm, but such blessings were exorbitantly expensive—for example, a simple pathfinding blessing like “Guide sorcerer to the nearest Knowledge Creature” could cost as much as the Points reward for the first place in the National Rankings for a month.

The Gospel certainly had the power to add powerful blessings like “Guide sorcerer to the nearest Resource Point,” “Knowledge Creatures automatically avoid sorcerer,” or “Wild spirits run over to serve as a sorcerer’s dogs.” However, these blessings were priced at a national level, affordable only if the entire Gospel supported one person, which was extravagantly expensive.

But the love of sorcerers for the Virtual Realm wasn’t something that could be suppressed by mere prices. If the expensive ones were unaffordable, then they would look for cheaper alternatives.

Over the years, sorcerers have gradually found some affordable blessings suitable for the Virtual Realm. Sorcerers who mastered these secrets either established Families, companies, or some mysterious forces to train their subordinates, or they founded firms to give back to the public.

Bliss and Comfort Firm was one of the latter.

They mastered the Gospel secrets that allowed them to target others in the Virtual Realm, leading to the development of the “Murder in Virtual Realm” service. While other firms also had methods of killing, most were indirect, not daring to take action themselves, and if the target was a wealthy individual with power and influence, most methods would be rendered ineffective.

Money and power are barriers far more formidable than the law itself.

For instance, the second-ranked Broken Home Firm only managed to eliminate lesser families; they lacked the capability to destroy a major Family.

An alchemical puppet? An enslaved Knowledge Creature? But none of those should be faster than my bicycle.

Could he possibly be driving a sports car?

Amodo was puzzled, but he would soon find out the answer—as per the guiding mark, he was very close to the target, and the target was moving towards him.

Am I the first one to arrive? he wondered.

No doubt, Ashe’s combat abilities were not impressive, as evidenced by his absence from any sorcerer combat Ranking Lists. To Amodo and his fellow prepared assassins, Ashe was like a fish on the chopping block, a practice workbook in front of a top student, just waiting to be dispatched.

The distribution of the bounty was based on contributions to the Battle, so Amodo didn’t hold back. He prepared the Miracle “Boiling Mire” and “Thousand Thorns” and planned to give Ashe a warm, blissful hydrotherapy bath as soon as he appeared in sight.

One significant issue with Virtual Realm Assassination was how to annihilate the target’s Soul.

In cases of normal death, a Sorcerer would only lose part of their Soul, which could be inconvenient in reality, but a few months of Rest would typically suffice for recovery, leaving them far from actual death.

Therefore, assassins from the Bliss and Comfort Firm used specially developed Miracles for killing. Compared to regular Miracles, these required more arcane energy but didn’t significantly increase in power.

The primary effect of the killing Miracles was to damage the target slowly and from all directions.

This was the secret to killing in the Virtual Realm: don’t kill the target outright but instead place them in an environment of Continuous Damage. When the target dies in such a condition, their Soul is nearly depleted, leaving only remnants insufficient to support a physical body.

Even if not dead, the target would enter a state of unconsciousness, unable to recover for at least Ten Years. It was rumored that some clients paid extra to ensure their targets were thrust into this prolonged state of unawareness...

The guiding mark grew brighter—it was just ahead!

It was coming!

But Amodo felt something was off—why was the ground shaking?

The Ashe Heath described in the information wasn’t a several-ton surprise egg; how could he cause such vibrations?

But there was no time left to think—the guiding mark was at its brightest, and Ashe Heath was right there behind the curtain of rain—

Buzz!

A convertible sports car whizzed past him, brushing shoulders. Although Amodo instantly cast his Miracles, both the thorns and the mire were effortlessly crushed under the wheels of the car.

Not to mention, there was a thin barrier on the car.

“Another one?”

A question was left hanging from the car as it sped away, leaving Amodo to slam the brakes on his bicycle and stand still, inhaling the dark green exhaust left behind.

His mind was a whirlpool of questions.

What did he mean by “another one”?

Why was he driving a sports car?

Why were there two other people in the car?

Why did those two people look like beautiful young girls?

Why did the exhaust from the sports car make my eyes sting and my face feel like it was rotting?

Why is the car gone, but the shaking is getting stronger?