CHAPTER 72: CHAPTER 72 JEDI PRIEST: THE GREAT RESCUE

EDITOR: DRAGON BOAT TRANSLATION

"Hmm...?"

A blinding glare on his eyelids roused Ren Suo. Sleepily, he stretched and felt something he’d nudged fall to the ground.

"Hmm?"

Ren Suo lowered his head and saw the game controller on the floor. He was lying on the couch. Wiping the unknown liquid from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, he shook his head, finally remembering his situation. He had fallen asleep while playing the game. Or rather, this "Foolish Game" had tortured him to sleep.

Checking the time, it was noon again. Ren Suo ordered takeout, briefly attended to his personal hygiene, and then sat down in front of the TV to begin a new day of gaming.

"Hmm? Is there an opening animation?"

The night before, eager to experience the game, Ren Suo had pressed a button on the controller as soon as the game started, apparently skipping the opening animation. So, he now released the controller to see what this "Foolish Game’s" opening animation was like.

In the scene, a vast wilderness lay covered in frost and snow. A mighty saber-toothed tiger ran across it, its movements swift and its appearance ferocious; its presence alone conveyed the power of this extinct prehistoric animal.

However, this saber-toothed tiger was fleeing! Behind it were several hunters dressed in animal hides, wielding spears and bows.

After a heart-pounding, Hollywood-caliber fight, the hunters successfully hunted the saber-toothed tiger, spearing it through the mouth. However, the tiger’s dying counterattack killed one hunter and injured another.

The hunter, slashed by the tiger’s claws and with his guts spilling out, lay on the ground bleeding heavily. Such injuries, even today, let alone in prehistoric times, would mean the difference between a hospital bed and a coffin. Yet, a girl holding a staff instead of a spear approached the injured man and began to dance.

As she danced, light began to shine upon the injured hunter.

It didn’t take long before the hunter’s injuries were completely healed, and he was up and about again!

The screen began to flicker. Time kept moving forward, and Ren Suo saw Healers and those they healed from different eras: a Wizard creating Talisman Water for warriors, a Priest chanting hymns for nobles, a doctor performing bloodletting for commoners...

As time progressed, the tools used by Healers also changed. They went from an initial animal bone staff to later Bronze Scepters and Silver Engraved Utensils. Eventually, methods included surgical bloodletting, Gold-threaded Robes for protection, and Wizard’s Gu for defense.

Some drew bows and shot arrows skyward, causing countless rays of light to rain down, healing all beings. Others wielded Straight Swords, flying across the land and releasing numerous Qi Barriers to slice away the world’s evil winds.

They were not limited by their methods. Whether using knives, guns, swords, spears, fists, palms, needles, or staves, they could heal diseases and restore health.

"We have always been watching." Numerous grand and solemn voices resounded simultaneously. The proper and articulate Mysterious Country dialect made Ren Suo shiver.

The opening animation ended, and the main menu appeared. There, Ren Suo saw the character he had created: standing on a vast plain was a short, heavyset character with curly hair, a large belly, and a cup size considerably larger than the average Asian woman. Above its head was the name: ’Zhao Zili’.

Typically, when Ren Suo chose a game character, he would create a female character he liked.

Of course, Ren Suo hadn’t suddenly been hit by a Spell that made him like portly guys; rather, customizing a character’s face in this game cost money.

Not only could he customize a face, but he could also import characters he already had from other games.

He currently had three game characters: the Truth Seeker from *If You Are Strong, Climb Ten Thousand Meters*; Ren Woxing from *Over My Dead Body*; and... himself.

However, whether customizing a face or importing characters, they cost Merit Points. Customizing a face required 5 Merit Points, importing an existing character required 3 Merit Points, and random characters were free.

As a ’Leopard Head Zero Charge’—a freeloader like Zhang Shun—Ren Suo, still a free-to-play player, naturally opted for a random character.

Furthermore, once chosen, the character could not be changed; rerolling for another random character cost 1 Merit Point.

Consequently, he had to control this portly figure. Luckily, the game *Jedi Priest* had no Charm Points requirement or need for physical strength. As long as a character had arms and legs, there was basically no disadvantage—though, of course, no advantage either.

The interface only had four options:

"Start Trial"

"Continue Trial"

"Trial Replay"

"Achievements Record"

The "Continue Trial" option was grayed out and unselectable because Ren Suo’s previous game session had ended without him clearing the stage.

This game didn’t feature an automatic save mechanism. Instead, it was divided into three stages. After completing a stage, one could save. So, even if Ren Suo failed on the second stage, he could restart directly from it.

So, Ren Suo had simply stayed up late the previous night but hadn’t even managed to clear the first stage.

He started a new trial. Before long, his portly character appeared on a platform atop a snow-capped mountain. Alongside him, various other people of different skin colors and genders also appeared.

Their only commonality was that they were all adults; there were almost no children present.

This time it’s... the Monarch of Wind, Rain, and Snow, Ren Suo lay on the couch, pondering. This is going to be tough...

He silently put on his Bluetooth headphones and could hear, besides the furious roar of the wind and snow, the panicked voices of people:

"Where is this? I was just at the office!"

"Call the police quickly... where’s my phone?"

"What the hell?!"

"Game?"

Various languages echoed in his ears, but soon, their voices were completely silenced.

For high above the snowy mountain, the wind and snow coalesced into a male figure clad in a cloak. When he spoke, everyone had to be silent—even the wind and snow seemed to calm in response.

"I am the Monarch of Wind, Rain, and Snow."

"Next, you will all join in this trial to select the Strongest Priest."

"The victor will receive the gaze and Blessings of the Lord of Billion Brilliance, the Eternal Burning Heart, and the Monarch of Wind, Rain, and Snow."

"And those who fail will also receive our mercy; they will be healed and allowed to leave the trial."

"The information about the trial is already in your minds."

"Please soar freely in this trial; no one shall suffer any loss whatsoever."

When the Monarch of Wind, Rain, and Snow finished speaking, the snowy mountain rumbled. It unfolded to reveal the White Snow Field on both sides, and a huge head appeared before them—they were not standing on a snowy mountain, but on an Ice Dragon!

The Ice Dragon soared high, carrying them on its back. It flapped its wings, yet the people remained fixed in place as if by the Monarch of Wind, Rain, and Snow themselves; not one person was thrown off.

"Dragon, dragon!"

"Dragon!"

"This is a trial... So that’s what this is!"

"I see!"

At this moment, an information box with an exclamation mark also appeared on the screen. Ren Suo tapped on it, and the information about this trial emerged:

"Trial Location: White Snow Field. Weather: Blizzard (sound and vision are diminished)."

"Number of Trial Participants: 100. All participants are individuals who are Sub-Healthy, afflicted by illness, or have disabilities. However, all Trial Participants have received Divine Protection: during the trial, no illnesses will take effect, and all physical disabilities are healed."

"Trial Objective: To select the Strongest Priest, one who can save all who need saving under any circumstances. The deities have modified tools originally created by humans for this trial. Trial Participants must use these new healing devices to treat other participants and distinguish themselves."

"Health Points: All individuals possess ’Health Points.’ When a Trial Participant’s Health Points reach maximum, it signifies they have received sufficient Healing. They will then leave the trial and continue their lives in good health."

"Initial Health Points: 0 for all. Trial Participants can use healing devices placed in the trial ground to treat others. Successful Healing allows the treated individual to exit the trial."

"Trial Ground: Contains food and beverages that lower Health Points."

"Divine Intervention: Deities will deploy ’Healing Light Curtains’ on the trial ground; Trial Participants within these curtains will experience a gradual increase in Health Points. Deities will periodically dispatch Divine Envoys to deliver healing devices. Divine Envoys will also unleash ’Healing Barrages’ at specific locations."

"Map Updates: The locations of Healing Light Curtains and Healing Barrages will be updated in real-time on each Trial Participant’s map."

"Divine Protection Details: All Trial Participants are under Divine Protection. They will not die, feel no pain, and are unaffected by temperature extremes. In case of impact or falls, a protective miracle will automatically trigger, increasing the Trial Participant’s Health Points. An initial, one-time use miracle, ’Flight Magic,’ is also granted."

"Inherent Abilities: All Trial Participants possess the ’Touch of Healing,’ enabling them to heal others with their bare hands."

"The Strongest Priest: The Strongest Priest must not only be capable of healing all beings but must also remain among them, experiencing the diseases and pains common to ordinary people, to truly understand their perspectives. A completely healthy person cannot fully empathize with the thoughts and feelings of a patient."

After Ren Suo finished reading the trial information, the Ice Dragon had already arrived at the trial ground, the White Snow Field. Now, he could make his portly character jump.

"So, it’s okay to fail the trial?"

"Sounds quite interesting."

"That scared me! I thought I’d been thrown into an ’infinite flow’ story..."

Ignoring the cacophony in his headset, Ren Suo checked the map. Hmm, I’m close to the shooting range in the White Snow Field!

This wasn’t Ren Suo’s first time on this map. He waited about ten seconds for the Ice Dragon to pass over the shooting range, then had his portly character make a vertical drop.

During the vertical drop, pressing the forward key would increase the descent speed.

When he had fallen a certain distance, white wings unfurled from the portly character’s back, allowing him to descend gently, like an angel.

No matter how many times he saw it, Ren Suo couldn’t help but exclaim internally, This special effect is freaking awesome!

Ren Suo adjusted his viewpoint slightly and was surprised to see someone behind him.

Strange. Logically, everyone in the first stage should be first-timers. Most of them would wait until the very end to jump. To jump this early with such courage...

They probably want to talk to the main character—that is, the character I’m controlling.

WHOOSH!

The Angel’s Wings vanished, and the portly character landed in the shooting range. Ren Suo noticed the person behind him was indeed trying to approach, so he immediately had his character start gathering supplies.

On a table was a ’Fried Chicken Combo.’ Ren Suo casually picked it up.

"’Fried Chicken Combo’: Lowers Health Points by 75 over 7.5 seconds. Cannot reduce Health Points below 25. It is the most common high-energy food, beloved by heavyset individuals."

His character continued searching and quickly found a long-handled healing device in a pile of sandbags—a 98K!

Hey, lucky! Ren Suo exclaimed internally, having his character load the bullets.

"’Billion Brilliance 98K Model’: A long-range healing device modified by the Lord of Billion Brilliance. Its healing effect is extremely potent, allowing a Priest to heal patients from beyond visual range while ensuring their own safety. Uses 7.62mm Holy Healing Bullets. Accessory Slots: 3. Magazine Capacity: 5 rounds. Healing Mode: Single Shot. Healing Interval: 1.9 seconds."

As Ren Suo’s character was loading the bullets, the other person ran over. He had an acne-covered face, wore thick glasses, and though of a similar build to Ren Suo’s character, he was much taller.

"’Why are you running...?’ the acne-ridden, four-eyed portly guy said, as his right hand emitted a green light."

Touch of Healing!

I didn’t expect this acne-ridden, four-eyed guy to adapt to the trial so quickly!

However, the effective range of the Touch of Healing was very short. Ren Suo controlled his character to take two steps back, dodging it. By then, his 98K was loaded, and he aimed it at the acne-ridden, four-eyed portly guy.

The latter, frightened, raised his hands. "Wait, what are you doing? We’re all from Mysterious Country..."

BANG—

A loud shot rang out!

The acne-ridden, four-eyed portly guy’s forehead erupted in white light. The next second, wings unfurled from his back again—similar to when landing, but this time, he flew upwards.

He had failed the trial and was ascending to leave!

Simultaneously, his portliness and acne gradually faded, and he transformed back into a rather robust young man. If I’m not mistaken, his myopia should also be cured, Ren Suo thought.

Where he had ascended, a box remained. All the items he had acquired could not be taken with him and were instead gathered by the deities into this box left in place.

"First blood," Ren Suo breathed a sigh of relief.