Spirit Realm Wanderer

Chapter 44: Expanding Scope

The post stated that recently, large-scale changes had occurred in the Night Wanderer’s Spirit Realms. Many Spirit Realm dungeons that were originally on record had undergone transformations, with their difficulty levels increasing to become entirely new, uncharted dungeons. Their difficulty had reached Grade A or even Grade S. Many Night Wanderers who were scheduled to enter the Spirit Realms recently were unfortunately assigned to these dungeons and, as a result, perished. The poster was one of the forum administrators, so to a certain extent, this could be considered an official announcement. “There are now many S-rank and A-rank Spirit Realms exclusively for Night Wanderers?” Zhang Yuanqing was taken aback. The Spirit Realm has a balancing and matching system: Level 1 has Level 1 dungeons, Level 2 has Level 2 dungeons, and so on. Sometimes, a Level 1 traveler might enter a Level 2 dungeon, but the quest they receive would be relatively simple. In short, while the tasks assigned by the Spirit Realm might be difficult and the death rate high, a Level 1 traveler would never be assigned a task intended for a Level 3 traveler. Additionally, within dungeons corresponding to a player’s own level, there are five difficulty ratings: S through D. S-level difficulty is currently the absolute peak—the death rate is terrifyingly high, but the rewards are the most generous. Zhang Yuanqing later reflected that for the “She Ling Tunnel” trial quest, even without the Red Dance Shoes, the probability of a new player clearing it was less than 10 percent. With so many unexplored A- and S-level dungeons suddenly appearing, just how many people are going to die? Zhang Yuanqing’s first thought was: Holy crap, I’m about to enter the Spirit Realm—is it still too late for me to change my class now?! His second thought was: “Oh, my next run will most likely be in a multiplayer Spirit Realm, so I’m good.” He breathed a slight sigh of relief, then scrolled down the thread to read the official Spirit Realm Walkers’ opinions on the matter. As soon as the post went live, it caused a huge stir within the official organization. Official Spirit Realm Walkers from branches across the country were paying close attention to the matter; the topic was trending heavily, with over a thousand comments below. [Long Days Ahead: “No wonder, no wonder I suddenly can’t get in touch with my Night Wanderer informant today...” ] [“The Days Ahead Are Hard”: “What? You have an informant in the Night Wanderer’s Realm? Doggie, you’ve been keeping that a secret for a long time.” ] [Lawless: “Something’s off. Although Spirit Realm dungeons aren’t fixed and are constantly changing, those changes are usually predictable and acceptable. But this change to the Night Wanderer’s exclusive Spirit Realm is too abrupt and unreasonable.” ] [The King Has an Ailment: “Could this be caused by the Demon Lord’s death? I heard from people in the Taiyi Sect that the Demon Lord perished not long ago.” ] [Qing Teng: “Who told you about the Demon Lord’s death? Was it Yuan Ting?” ] The Five Elements Alliance’s attitude toward this matter was mostly one of idle curiosity and gossip; after all, this was a problem with the Night Wanderer’s exclusive Spirit Realm, and it had little to do with them. But there were also those who felt anxious about it. [Call Me Queen: “We can’t do our investigations without the Night Wanderer. Plus, the Judge of the Mysterious Eye has just died, and every region is on high alert for the Fallen to run amok. Songhai, in particular, bears the heavy responsibility of hunting down the Black Wuchang. At this critical juncture, if the Night Wanderer dungeon runs into trouble, won’t that lead to a shortage of manpower?” ] [Qing Teng: “That situation could indeed arise, but not every Night Wanderer will be entering the dungeon anytime soon.” ] Spirit Realm quests don’t appear very frequently, so there’s no need to worry about a mass casualty among the Night Wanderers. [Call Me Queen: “But they will eventually enter the Spirit Realm. With so many unexplored dungeons appearing all at once, the number of Night Wanderers is likely to plummet in the near future.” ] Sacrifices are inevitable when tackling the Spirit Realm. The Queen’s words made perfect sense. I’d have to tackle solo dungeons eventually—S-rank and A-rank dungeons were daunting, and on top of that, I was playing as the Demon Lord character card… As Zhang Yuanqing thought about this, his mood grew increasingly somber. He logged out of the forum, opened his messaging app, and sent a message to Yuan Ting “Captain Yuan, I saw the pinned post on the forum. What’s the story behind the difficulty changes to the Night Wanderer’s Spirit Realm dungeons? I’m willing to pay a consultation fee.” For technical questions, it’s best to ask the experts. Yuan Ting replied quickly “I don’t know. The official ‘Night Wanderer’ group chat is already in an uproar. Colleagues who are about to enter the Spirit Realm—or will do so in the near future—are all panicking. After all, not everyone can clear an S-rank dungeon; even an A-rank one requires a bit of luck. “I’m not entirely sure what’s going on either. The Council of Elders is collecting data, and they should issue an announcement by tonight at the latest.” Yuan Ting was in a bad mood because a colleague he was close to had also entered the Spirit Realm this morning and hadn’t come out yet—his fate was unknown. In half a month, he’ll also face a solo dungeon run—give or take a week at most. “Okay.” Zhang Yuanqing didn’t ask any further questions. For the rest of the afternoon, Zhang Yuanqing checked the official forum from time to time for the latest updates; he had completely lost any desire to go shopping. At sunset, his aunt linked her arm through his as they walked home, with Zhang Yuanqing carrying a pile of shopping bags. “Huh, have you gotten stronger?” Jiang Yu’er pinched her nephew’s bicep and said, “It’s rock-hard....” “If you were Guan Ya, I’d say, ‘I’m harder than you can imagine’ or ‘I’ve got even harder ones,’” Zhang Yuanqing replied noncommittally “A healthy body is the foundation of revolution. I’ve been working out lately.” After dinner, Zhang Yuanqing returned to his bedroom, locked the door from the inside, and waited for the announcement from Taiyi Sect. He could imagine that at this very moment, official Night Wanderers all across the country were, just like him, clutching their phones or computers, waiting for the organization’s announcement. Finally, at 9:30, as he kept refreshing the forum, he spotted a post pinned at the top in red #Statement on Recent Abnormalities in the Spirit Realm and Bounty Announcement# “Recently, sudden abnormalities occurred in the Night Wanderer’s Spirit Realm. Following an investigation by the Council of Elders, it was confirmed that these anomalies were triggered by the revival of a high-level boss within the Spirit Realm. As of now, intelligence gathered indicates that the difficulty levels of seven Spirit Realm dungeons have changed. They are Minghu Town, ID 0128, Difficulty Level S (Spirit Realm exclusive to Night Wanderers) Ming Dynasty Mass Graveyard, ID 1180, Difficulty Level S (Exclusive Spirit Realm for Night Wanderers) Xinfeng Reservoir, ID 1910; Difficulty Level A (Exclusive Spirit Realm for Night Wanderers) Yinshan Ghost School, ID 0046, Difficulty Level A (Spirit Realm exclusive to Night Wanderers) Tomb of the Crown Prince, ID 0277, Difficulty Level A (Spirit Realm exclusive to Night Wanderers) Jinshui Amusement Park, ID 6203, Difficulty Level S (Multiplayer Spirit Realm, Death-Type) Scream Room, ID 2097, Difficulty Level A (Multiplayer Spirit Realm, Non-Fatal) Apartment 13, ID 1404, Difficulty Level B (Multiplayer Spirit Realm, Non-Fatal) “As of today, the Yin Mountain Ghost School and Xin Feng Reservoir have been cleared. The remaining five major Spirit Realm dungeons have yet to be cleared by anyone. The Council of Elders has issued a bounty: clearing an S-level Spirit Realm earns a B-level merit; clearing an A-level Spirit Realm earns a C-level merit; and clearing a B-level Spirit Realm earns a reward of 500,000.” The post was reposted from the Taiyi Sect’s official forum. It is worth noting that in the official merit classification system, Class A merits are generally awarded only to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, benefiting their families. Recipients of Class B merits are mostly those who have sustained irreparable injuries, while Class C merits represent the absolute limit achievable by ordinary Spirit Realm explorers—though the difficulty remains extremely high, and such achievements are typically only attainable through the coordinated efforts of a team. As for the highest rank, S-Class, only five Alliance Leaders have ever received it; even a select few elite Elders have only ever attained A-Class Merit at most. Therefore, the significance of a Class B Merit goes without saying. By the time Zhang Yuanqing finished reading the post, there were already over a thousand comments below it, and the impact it caused was even more dramatic than that of the post from earlier that day. This was because the official Walkers of the Five Elements Alliance realized this matter was no longer just a spectator event—among the dungeon variations identified by the Taiyi Sect, two were multiplayer types. Multiplayer meant that Spirit Realm Walkers of other classes also had a chance to enter. [Long Road Ahead: Those two “multiplayer Spirit Realms” must contain supernatural elements, right? Oh my god, have multiplayer Spirit Realms been affected too?! Thank goodness only “Golden Water Paradise” is S-rank. ] [Call Me Queen: First of all, no one knows how long this chaotic mutation will last; what we’re seeing is just the current state of things. If more multiplayer dungeons with supernatural elements get affected, we’re in trouble. Second, even if it’s not a fatal failure, losing experience points after a single failure sets us back significantly—the cost is huge. ] [The Days Are Numbered: Sigh, I was just catching up on gossip at lunchtime, and suddenly this happened. What should I do? I’m planning to enter a multiplayer Spirit Realm soon—I shouldn’t be that unlucky, right? ] [George the Piglet: If we don’t clear these Spirit Realms as soon as possible, the number of official Night Wanderers will plummet within half a year, and other classes might be affected too. What kind of boss is this fierce? It’s forcing the Taiyi Sect to post a bounty. ] [Qingteng: Everyone, take note—this bounty has been announced to all Night Wanderers nationwide. If any of you have Night Wanderer informants or know any wild Night Wanderers, be sure to pass this along. ] [White Dragon: Is the person above an idiot? Night Wanderer dungeon guides are the Night Wanderers’ own business. What we really need to focus on are guides for multiplayer Spirit Realms—that’s what’s truly a matter of life and death. ] [Qiriku Duo: Exactly, exactly. I’ll pay a hefty sum for dungeon guides to “Jinshui Amusement Park,” “Scream Chamber,” and “Apartment 13.” ] What? The Multiplayer Spirit Realm has been affected too?! Zhang Yuanqing stared blankly. Just then, a piercing cell phone ringtone sounded. It was Li Dongze calling. Zhang Yuanqing answered the call and called out, “Squad Leader.” Li Dongze’s tone was grave: “Have you checked the forum today?” “If you’re referring to the sudden changes in the Night Wanderer Spirit Realm, I’m already aware of it,” Zhang Yuanqing sighed. “Don’t worry too much. If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. Maybe by the time your solo Spirit Realm arrives, the Taiyi Sect will have already cleared these high-difficulty dungeons. Trust the official organization,” Li Dongze reassured him. He lightened the mood with a bit of banter: “Of course, if you’re confident in yourself, you could be the one to tackle those dungeons.” But that’s just too hard. “Did the squad leader call just to comfort me?” Zhang Yuanqing asked tentatively. “Two things. You’re planning to run a dungeon soon, right? Based on past experience, it’ll likely be a multiplayer dungeon. You know how the level-matching system works. Captain Fu discovered that ‘Jinshui Amusement Park’ is a Transcendent Realm Spirit Realm dungeon. Just to be safe, he used his authority to pull up the old guide for you. You can use it as a reference.” Li Dongze added in a serious tone “Remember, it’s just a reference. The Spirit Realm has changed—relying too heavily on the old guide could get you killed.” Captain Fu, who deals with thousands of bunny girls every day, actually still cares about a lowly minion like me? Zhang Yuanqing felt a surge of emotion. Li Dongze reassured him once more “We’re just playing it safe. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. There’s a huge variety of multiplayer Spirit Realms at the Transcendent Realm level, so the chances of being matched to ‘Golden Water Amusement Park’ are extremely low.” Let’s hope so. Squad Leader, you don’t know this, but my character is the Demon Lord, for crying out loud... Zhang Yuanqing asked, “What about the second matter?” “The second thing is about Lei Yibing.”