Awakening：The Infinite Evolution of My Talent as a Low-Level Awakener - Chapter 339

Chapter 339: Mephistopheles
Sterl stepped into a new world.

He found himself refreshing in a place he was quite familiar with, near the battlefield of the Blood Red Fortress. However, he was positioned closer to the coalition of demons and hell players.

At that moment, he realized he was completely naked. He felt a slight chill in his lower body, and any movement caused his limbs to sway uncomfortably.

However, Sterl had no time to dwell on that; he quickly checked the pop-up notifications. First, a Login Terminal appeared suddenly and then integrated into Sterl’s body. Eventually, he discovered a pattern resembling a disk in the palm of his right hand.

The disk displayed two sides: one was golden, while the other was a dark red. The golden side depicted Sterl’s main character, clad in divine armor, looking incredibly dashing. The blood-red side showcased Sterl in his current state, completely unclothed and revealing his toned muscles.

Sterl sensed that he could make the disk’s pattern disappear at any time.

He frowned slightly, recalling that the reason he allowed the disk to integrate so easily was due to several warnings he received upon logging in.

[Warning: Erroneous data detected!]

[Warning: Memory overflow in progress!]

[Warning: Player data error, executing emergency deletion…]

[Warning: Malicious bug detected, DEBUG mechanism activated.]

…

DEBUG? It wouldn’t just erase me, would it? Sterl couldn’t help but think.

Then, from the disk, content appeared through the cheat detection.

[Equip/absorb this item to shield against system detection and enable dual account access.]

Moreover, there was a plus sign indicating that after a third cheat evolution, he could allocate points.

After some contemplation, Sterl decided to absorb the disk into his body. As long as he could allocate points again in the future, it was unlikely to pose any danger to him. Additionally, he needed this item to block the searches from [Transcendence] and Swallowing Heaven.

Sure enough, at that moment, the various chaotic notifications faded away, replaced by new content.

[Player “Mephistopheles,” welcome to Swallowing Heaven.]

[Detected that you have a beta test save file. Do you wish to accept it?]

“Beta test save file?” Sterl paused for a moment, then suddenly realized.

It was akin to using cheats in his previous life’s online games; the disk’s function was to wash his main account clean as a beta test save file. But [Transcendence] had a beta test?

He felt… perhaps he had received a bit too much secret information lately; his head was spinning.

With a tumult of thoughts, Sterl chose to accept it.

Beep~ Beep~ Beep~

He felt a series of strange sounds in his ears, followed by a powerful energy gradually infusing into his previously weak body.

Sterl leaped from being a complete novice to leveling up to third class, with various skills manifesting. However, as expected, despite now being identified as a player of Swallowing Heaven, the skills from the [Transcendence] System had not transformed into the Origin of Chaos.

This was reasonable enough.

After all, the Origin of Chaos was clearly a specific game mechanic within [Transcendence] and Swallowing Heaven. It required players of opposing factions to obtain abilities from another faction through unconventional means. If all his skills were to be converted into Origin of Chaos, the backlash from Fortune would be unbearable for Sterl; he estimated it would result in a rather gruesome death for him…

However…

He soon displayed a look of frustration. Now, all the skills he released as a player of Swallowing Heaven could be disguised. Yet each time he disguised a skill, it consumed a blood-colored document, and each document could only maintain the illusion for ten minutes.

This meant that Sterl had to frequently hunt down hell players; otherwise, when his documents ran out, his identity would be exposed, and both [Transcendence] and Swallowing Heaven would likely take action to eliminate him as a bug.

Of course…

At that moment, the most important thing was that Sterl saw the fourth talent, Divination, had settled into his talent bar!

At the same time, he sensed an ominous presence in the air around him, as if the entire world was locking onto him. He felt that breaking through the limit on talents would surely incur divine retribution.

“Well then…”

“Next, I’ll see what players of Swallowing Heaven primarily do.”

After sensing this, Sterl headed towards a nearby camp where hell players were gathered.

About ten minutes later, he arrived at the location.

The camp was established in a natural valley, utilizing space-folding technology. To the outside world, it appeared small, but inside it was vast.

However…

The aesthetic of the buildings where the hell players resided was extremely crude, adorned with massive, dried heads and some blood-soaked furs as decorations.

Sterl deduced that players of Swallowing Heaven likely differed significantly from players of [Transcendence] in reality. Their aesthetic and moral values were probably quite distinct.

The building style suggested that players of Swallowing Heaven were chosen from primitive civilizations filled with slaughter and raw violence.

Sterl watched helplessly as a female player from Swallowing Heaven was dragged into a tent by several male players, followed by sounds of painful cries and desperate outbursts.

“It’s really chaotic here,” Sterl shook his head.

However…

Just seconds after he lamented the unfortunate fate of that woman—

Sterl had no intention of offering help; he was busy gathering intelligence.

Unfortunately, someone soon patted him on the shoulder. It was a burly man with a ghostly mask and two horns protruding from his head. Behind him were several similarly muscular figures, but those “people” hardly resembled humans at all. There were half-man, half-bull monsters, as well as creatures covered in scales, resembling lizards…

From their imposing presence, it was clear that they were all of legendary strength, far surpassing Sterl, who was merely a third class with fluctuating power levels.

“Hey, bro, you’re new here.”

“Yeah,” Sterl replied casually, ready to hear what the burly man had to say.

Typically, this was how things went, right? When entering a new map, one would seek out locals to help navigate the various customs and facilities.

The group of muscular men broke into hearty smiles.

“New guy, a third class without any foundation dares to wander around outside. Aren’t you afraid of getting yourself killed?”

Seeing their apparent concern, Sterl offered a polite smile. “I have my own ways of keeping safe.”

He intended to ask this group to give him an overview of the camp.

However…

Unfortunately, Sterl’s words were cut off.

“How about we give you a tour of this place?”

“But you’ll have to play a little game with us first.”

Sterl suddenly felt a familiar sensation creeping in—Fortune backlash, and his alertness heightened.

“A game?” he asked, keeping his temper in check, as long as no personal stakes were involved.

“Yeah! We’ve been under a lot of pressure; why not play a little rape game with us?”

“You just need to play the role of the victim.”

“Not interested,” Sterl coldly rejected.

The burly men were already encircling him, grinning ominously.

“If you agree, can it still be called rape?”

“Come on! You’re not bad looking; let’s have some fun.”

“Don’t worry, brother’s skills are certified by succubi—guaranteed to leave you wanting more.”

…

Sterl was taken aback.

“???”

“…”

He felt a wave of nausea.

Seriously, guys?

I’m a guy here…

Can I really suffer from this kind of Fortune backlash??

Sterl felt like he might throw up.

No wonder the players of Swallowing Heaven gave him such a shock right from the start.

“Get lost!”

“Wait…”

Sterl glanced at the group of burly men, thinking that a mere third class wouldn’t stir up much trouble. He looked ahead and saw two legendary powerhouses engaged in a fierce battle, clearly having a disagreement.

One of the legendary players executed another on the spot.

The other Swallowing Heaven players present seemed entirely unfazed by the event; their expressions remained unchanged, and some even cheered, “Nice work, bro!”

“You really set a standard; others should learn from you!”

The group of burly men surrounding Sterl were momentarily taken aback. What was so impressive about that? Didn’t this happen numerous times every day?

Then, the next moment, Sterl casually remarked, “Since it’s fine to attack each other here, I feel relieved.”

Countless strands of Flowing Water transformed into blade-like tendrils, swiftly shredding the group of burly men into a cloud of blood mist and bone fragments.

With a cold expression, Sterl felt slightly better.

At the same time, he gained four points of Fortune, taking another step closer to evolving his cheat.

As for the gruesome scene of the burly men’s deaths, no one cared.

…

Afterward, Sterl couldn’t be bothered to find a guide and simply began to explore the camp on his own.

It was actually quite similar to players in the main world.

When Sterl opened the event page, a blood-red text appeared, announcing the “Defend the Homeland” event, which was essentially the same as the events offered by [Transcendence]. It required players to participate in defending against the armies of the main world to earn contributions.

However…

What frustrated Sterl was that the event now displayed—Objective Failed.

There was also a briefing stating that due to the ongoing activity of the demigod Cirilo from the main world, the hell coalition had suffered devastating losses, and there was now no possibility of victory on the front lines. The event had transitioned into a hidden phase: Revenge.

Players could earn additional Hell Will rewards by killing players from the main world, and based on the accumulated rewards, various tiers of shops could be unlocked.

Sterl thought, “…”

How should he put it? It seemed that he couldn’t participate in the event because his main account had effectively crushed this side of hell?