BXBX NOVEL Chapter 193: Return to Reality
After all, from Sterl\'s perspective, his race wasn\'t particularly powerful. The information they had about the Crystal Barrier Galaxy was likely hearsay.
Sterl pondered continuously, and it seemed as though he could already see numerous Devourers of All Things descending from unknown realms, consuming one world after another.
Their sizes dwarfed the simulated one on the island, being immensely vast.
He couldn\'t even see their edges!
The Devourers of All Things seemed capable of turning entire worlds into parts of themselves.
"What is this situation?" Sterl was stunned. He felt that the vague visions he had were not just random imaginings but were, in fact, the divination power of the Moon Law at work.
However, the predictions felt so faint that Sterl wasn\'t sure if the Devourers of All Things descending and destroying everything would actually happen...
"If such a boss truly appears, unless they are all killed right from the start, the entire world might face a massive catastrophe."
"From gods to ordinary people, everyone would be in mortal danger!"
Sterl couldn\'t help but sigh.
Wait a minute...
Sterl felt like he had thought of something.
Previously, Gloria and the others, in order to cope with the impending great calamity, chose to hunt other gods to increase their own strength, even at the cost of breaking the mutual understanding between gods, putting themselves in great danger.
The Hall of Valor also seemed to have started forcibly capturing people and initiating extreme trials due to some unknown change. In these extreme trials, Trial Seekers were specifically trained to deal with a special boss named the Devourer of All Things.
If all this could be connected...
Along with Sterl\'s vague premonition through Moon Law, he felt like he had solved the mystery?
Logically, it all fit together!
Perhaps the so-called disaster was indeed the descent of the Devourers of All Things? That would certainly be enough to destroy the entire world.
"However, all of this is just my speculation."
Sterl shook his head. With the limited information he currently had, even though the logic made sense and it was reasonable to think that the Devourers of All Things might invade the world, it was ultimately just his imagination. He felt there was no need to make wild guesses. As his strength increased, various pieces of information would naturally become known.
Sterl first followed the Hall of Valor\'s suppression prompt and sensed the B3 area for a while.
Sure enough, he discovered that the shadow of the Devourer of All Things was moving toward the B3 area, absorbing and refining all the soil, rocks, clouds, and vegetation along the way.
However, under the suppression of the Hall of Valor, the absorbed materials did not convert into the Devourer of All Things\' energy.
This caused the boss\'s body to intermittently flash with a rainbow of colors.
Even though the Devourer of All Things was a simulation created by the Hall of Valor, it seemed to resist the Hall of Valor\'s suppression.
Ridiculous!
At the same time, Sterl used Star Insight to take a distant look and shook his head. The player strength in the B3 area was even weaker than in the area he was previously in.
At this moment, Sterl also figured it out. Since the boss was designed according to his own power level, naturally, it had to first appear in the area where Sterl was, making him aware of the gap and pressure, pushing him to break through quickly.
Seeing the players in the B3 area about to be attacked, although they were all cautious, they didn\'t flee immediately. Instead, they wanted to engage the boss to gather some intel.
Sterl immediately knew that this group was doomed.
"Guys, try to buy me as much time as you can."
Without hesitation, he returned to the initial spawn area, which was still only covered by a faint, transparent shield over the foundation and rocks.
Sterl casually found a spot and called up his panel, choosing to log out.
[Warning: If you log out in the current instance, your body will remain in place.]
[Do you want to log out? Yes/No]
[Detected that you have an item: the Hall of Valor Token. Upon death, you will automatically resurrect and be teleported out of the trial area.]
"I\'ll have to take the risk."
Sterl didn\'t hesitate and confirmed the log-out option.
After all, even if he got killed immediately, there would be no loss.
Moreover, according to the trial rules, the boss wouldn\'t come looking for him unless some other player led it to this area, which was unlikely.
The Devourer of All Things would have its absorbed energy drained by the Hall of Valor when out of combat, so it moved to the next area slowly. But this boss could kill players quickly, and besides Sterl, almost no one could escape, leaving no survivors.
Also, the players chosen for the trial were all geniuses with a certain level of pride and would almost never run away without a fight.
Therefore, the process in this trial would definitely be the boss clearing out players one area after another.
Sterl\'s physical body remained in [Transcendence], but it was in a safe zone.
"The only issue is that before the boss kills the other players, I must break through my limits in reality."
Sterl\'s plan was clear. He needed to collect White Mist in the real world, use the Flowing Water Law to condense it, and then forcibly add points to break the shackles within his body, allowing his 3S class to truly awaken.
The boost this would bring would be absolutely terrifying!
Additionally, after awakening the 3S class, he could add points again, making this not just a breakthrough but a massive surge in combat power!
By then, defeating the Devourer of All Things would be...
Not extremely easy, but at least manageable.
The main issue for Sterl right now was insufficient base attributes, which led to inadequate output strength of the Flowing Water Law, and insufficient mana.
A boost in these areas would solve both major problems.
"Breaking through the extreme trial and claiming the reward is my goal."
Sterl thought to himself. Meanwhile, he noticed that everything around him was gradually dimming. This was different from the last time he logged out because this time he was using the [Core] rather than the [Game Pod].
Sterl soon woke up in his base and found that it had changed in appearance. The original interior of the mountain, which had been purified and hollowed out by the Purification Ripple, was now adorned with many of those glowing stones he had seen in human settlements.
The bright surroundings made everything look much more comfortable. Additionally, various green plants were now growing everywhere, giving the interior of the mountain a more lived-in feel.
Sterl took a few steps forward, leaving the storage room that housed the game pod. In the hall, he saw the craftsmen holding all sorts of canned goods, happily tasting them. They were eating, drinking, shouting, singing, and even enjoying a few bottles of wine.
Even the professional Beck was mingling with the craftsmen, chatting merrily.
They all looked quite at ease.
"You all seem to be living well," Sterl said as he slowly walked over, feeling quite pleased himself.
Sterl wasn\'t a complete psychopath. As long as it didn\'t involve his core interests, he had some moral principles. Seeing these craftsmen, although forcibly taken by him, living well brought a smile to his face.
However, as soon as Sterl appeared, the relaxed and leisurely expressions on everyone\'s faces vanished, and they all dropped to their knees with a thud.
"Thank you, my lord, for granting us new life!"
"Whatever orders you have for us, we will complete them even if it costs us our lives!"
…
These people were evidently much more loyal than they were the first time Sterl logged out.
The longer the craftsmen stayed in the cave, the happier they felt!
There was no threat of "radiation," only a relaxed and leisurely life without the need to work much or pay taxes.
Life was too good!
They never wanted to return to those human settlements, those garbage places, ever again!
As for the professional Beck, although his standard of living hadn\'t improved much, who would want to stay in a radiation-filled area? Even professionals couldn\'t withstand that!
At least here, he felt he could live many more years!
Moreover... the lord he was following was obviously very powerful and had grand ambitions, possibly even aiming to overthrow the entire human regime!
In the past, just by following Sterl and doing nothing, Beck had already received a green skill, making his future prospects incredibly bright! The more Beck thought about it during Sterl\'s time online, the more fervent he became!
Sterl couldn\'t care less about these people\'s thoughts. He casually waved his hand, "Carry on with your tasks."
"I have matters to attend to."
Without hesitation, he left the base.
Sterl didn\'t have many demands of these craftsmen and subordinates. As long as they remained loyal and looked after the game pod, that was enough.
...
Meanwhile, Beck\'s expression changed dramatically as soon as Sterl left. He sternly said, "Look at you all! The Lord has done so much for you and asks for nothing in return!!"
"You should think hard about how to repay his kindness!"
The craftsmen continued to kowtow, expressing their loyalty fervently.
"We understand!"
"We understand!"
"The Lord\'s kindness is something we can never repay, not even in a lifetime!"
"Everything we have is given by him!"
Their words were not out of fear of Beck\'s professional status but out of extreme fervor and devotion!
Beck nodded silently, pleased. His regular reprimands had clearly paid off. These people were loyal and could be counted on.
When the time came for the Lord to overthrow the human regime, a single command would have these people charging forward with zeal.
I will achieve great merit!
...
SterlNature had no idea that such a scene had unfolded back at his base.
After leaving the base, he activated the Divine Flame Drive, speeding through the sky.
Soon, he arrived at the edge of a once-great city now in ruins.