[Descent Complete]
[Calculating settlement for this descent—]
[Settlement is as follows:]
[Discovered creature of Purple Prison Mountain, gained 8 Exploration Value. Discovered special location Moon-Gazing Lake, gained +6 Exploration Value. Discovered special location Purple Bamboo Forest, gained +5 Exploration Value.]
[Discovered Deity of Purple Prison Mountain, activating Special Character Panel, awarded 50 Exploration Value.]
[Finalizing exploration settlement...]
[Gained the following exploration rewards:]
[1: Soul Strength +5] [2: Special Character Panel Unlocked] [3: Gained one random Soul] [Congratulations, Summoner.]
Back in the Spirit Blossom space, Leo took a deep breath and looked at his personal panel.
[Name: Leo]
[Race: Human Soul]
[Soul Strength: 7.3 (Scattered Soul)]
[World Exploration: 1%]
[Current Items: Unidentified Soul Stone]
Leo swung his arms, feeling a subtle change in his body. The discomfort in his lungs had lessened considerably. As a Zaunite who had grown up in the city, Leo couldn't afford any chem-tech augments and was unwilling to join a gang, so his physical constitution was extremely poor. Like most impoverished children in Zaun, Leo was malnourished. The city's thick, gray haze had also damaged his respiratory system, and his internal organs were in bad shape. Normally, it would be a huge question mark if Leo could even live past forty. But right now, Leo felt healthy.
Is this... the effect of Soul Strength?This thing changed my physique?
Leo glanced at a corner of the panel where a package-like icon had appeared. Tapping it open, he found an azure stone radiating a faint green light inside his inventory. It was quite beautiful.
[Soul Stone (Bound)]
[Quality: Blue (Spirit-Body)]
[Level Requirement: None]
[Description: A stone formed from an unknown soul in the Spirit Blossom world, possessing a mysterious and powerful force.]
Leo: "..." Holy shit, this is getting more and more like a game!
He tapped "Use," and in the next moment, he froze. His mind was hit with a massive influx of information. In an instant, Leo had absorbed countless new streams of knowledge.
[Using Soul Stone] [The Unidentified Soul Stone has released its power—] [Acquired memories of an unknown soul.]
[Extracted skill from [Memories of an Unknown Soul]:
[Spirit-Body Grade Fist Technique]]
[Congratulations, Summoner.]
When he came to, Leo clenched his fists. A flood of knowledge that wasn't his own surged through his mind. How to make a fist, how to throw a punch, how to breathe... Footwork, stances, all sorts of unfamiliar yet familiar memories tumbled and fought for space in his brain. He looked at his panel and saw a new line had appeared.
[Current Skills: [Fist Technique (Spirit-Body Grade/Restricted)]]
Spirit-Body Grade... what kind of grade is that? As for "Restricted," Leo understood immediately. It simply meant his current Soul Strength was too low to unleash the technique's true potential. He looked at his Soul Strength again, and the words "Scattered Soul" behind it were very conspicuous. A thought came to him: perhaps the next level after Scattered Soul was Spirit-Body Grade? Leo scratched his head. Even if Spirit-Body wasn't the next level, it was definitely related to his Soul Strength. His cheat ability came from Spirit Blossom, so naturally, everything had to be viewed through the lens of that world.
Leo then turned to the other new feature: the panel activated after meeting Thresh. Next to the main canvas of the Mountain and Sea Scroll, a new heart-shaped icon had appeared. Tapping it, Leo saw a screen full of blackened, empty portraits. Among them was one lit-up, purple portrait. In the frame, Thresh was smiling with a wicked charm, but his eyes were different from the Thresh Leo had met. They lacked... that same level of terror and evil aura?
[Deity of Purple Prison Mountain — Thresh]
[Soul Strength: ???]
[Personality: ???]
[Stage: Obsessed]
[Status: The Deity of Purple Prison Mountain is searching for you.]
"?" Seriously? You're not done with me yet? Leo sucked in a cold breath. This Thresh was a real son of a bitch! And what the hell is this "Obsessed" stage?!
Leo studied it carefully for a while longer and nearly fainted. The "Special Character Affinity" system was, as it turned out, an extremely important part of his cheat ability. He discovered that once his affinity with a special character reached a certain stage, he could receive sponsorships of their corresponding abilities. The stages were divided as follows: Acquainted (0) Friends (100) Confidant (600) Bosom Friends (1200) And a stage locked for male characters: (Intimate / 2000)
So that raised the question: what was "Obsessed"? It wasn't listed in the official stages, yet Thresh was already obsessed with him? Hiss... Leo was completely baffled.
But besides that, there was another portrait, one that was misty and different from the other blacked-out frames. Leo looked at it and saw the silhouette of a seated fox.
[Unknown Mysterious Deity — ???]
[Soul Strength: ???]
[Personality: ???]
[Stage: Acquainted (0)]
[Status: Is currently in the Spirit Blossom realm, excitedly chasing a butterfly~]
"Heh, 'Unknown Mysterious Deity.' I can't even be bothered to call that out." Leo was speechless. He might not be an expert on the lore of League of Legends, but he wasn't completely clueless, either. At the very least, he knew what the champion skins looked like!
"So, the one who saved me earlier was Ahri?" Leo stroked his chin, curious. He remembered that during the original Spirit Blossom festival event, the game client had a special activity, a small visual novel-style game featuring the first batch of Spirit Blossom heroes. At the time, Leo had collected the icons and emotes for Ahri, Lillia, and Kindred. He had to admit... the Spirit Blossom event was one of the best skin-lines Riot had ever done. Because of that, he was actually quite familiar with Spirit Blossom Ahri. How to put it... the Ahri in the mini-game was very cute, with a mischievous tone and a lively, spirited personality. Recalling the ethereal voice he had heard earlier, an image instantly formed in Leo's mind. ["I trust you've been well, Thresh. Have you counted how many souls you've collected recently~?"] Yes, it was indeed a very pleasant and cute voice.
"Shit, I still have rewards to claim!" Thinking of Ahri suddenly jogged Leo's memory. He quickly opened his codex and found the entry for the giant purple snake. After activating it, Leo received two points of Stamina and two points of Strength. But after claiming them, he noticed his Soul Strength was still 7.3. This gave Leo a new insight into how Soul Strength worked. It wasn't a value that increased with simple addition.
After getting everything in order, Leo exited the space. He still had one descent chance left, but Leo decided... he wouldn't be descending for a while. After all, Thresh was currently scouring the entire Spirit Blossom realm for him. It was definitely not safe to return to that world anytime soon. Alright, time to log out!
—————
Waking up on his bed, Leo reached for his neck and gently pulled a chain. A pocket watch popped out. It was a cute style, with purple and blue monster graffiti drawn on its face. He flipped it open and checked the time. He realized that time in the Spirit Blossom world passed differently from the material realm. He had spent nearly two hours there, but less than ten minutes had passed here. Rolling over, Leo stopped thinking and went to sleep. The shocks and events of the day had been more than enough!
...
The next morning, Leo woke up, took the money pouch Malsen had given him, and went out. It was the same old routine: trying to find a job in Zaun. In the early morning, Zaun was a little less chaotic, but the main streets of the Black Lanes were still littered with "corpses." Beggars huddled in every corner, their faces covered with rags and broken bowls placed before them. The parts of their bodies occasionally visible from under the rags showed purplish, wrinkled skin, a horrifying sight. Leo forced himself not to look at them as he nimbly leaped past. His feet moved faster and faster. Leo realized his body had indeed undergone a massive change; the improvement was visible to the naked eye. But... what were his limits? How strong was he? How fast? Leo had no accurate reference point. So, on a whim, he decided to find an empty place to test his stats first. Heading into the morning haze, Leo walked toward the outskirts of the Black Lanes, toward the abandoned industrial district. He was genuinely curious about the changes in himself.
By the time Leo returned to the Black Lanes, it was almost noon. He walked back with an excited expression, his black hair slightly damp with sweat. "Awesome. Too awesome!" Am I really this strong now? Leo found it ridiculous! He had assumed a Soul Strength of 7.3 would only make him slightly stronger than a normal person. But after his little test, Leo could only say that he was no longer a normal person! A normal person? He could take on ten normal people! Could a normal person crush rocks with their bare hands?! His speed, his jumping ability, even his reaction time—Leo found that everything had been enhanced. A body like this... You know, if he saw Malsen again, Leo thought maybe letting the guy take him to the fighting pits wasn't such a bad idea. After all, pit fighting paid very well.
He found a diner in the Black Lanes. Ignoring the pungent smell of the food and the unpleasant odors from the people around him, Leo began to eat ravenously. Bloody frog and fish meat were mixed into a mush. It was slimy in his mouth with a strange texture and a terrible taste, but Leo still wolfed it down. In the Zaun of today... being able to eat a hot meal was already a blessing, not to mention Leo was starving after his "training."
Just as Leo was eating, a group of people suddenly burst into the restaurant. The bartender in front of Leo saw them and quickly shrank back. The owner, who had been lazily leaning against the counter inhaling a purple shimmer-mist, also shot up. He put on a sycophantic smile and hunched his tall frame over as he approached the group. "Gentlemen, what rare guests! What wind blew you all here today?" "Cut the crap. This person, have you seen them?" the leader, a man with a face full of tattoos, shoved a piece of paper in the owner's face and demanded loudly. The owner looked down and quickly shook his head. "No, no, I've never seen this person." "If you see them, you notify us. This person is important." "Yes, yes, I understand. Should I keep this paper and post it in the restaurant?" "Post it? Are you kidding me? You think this is a wanted poster? This person is important to Lord Silco." The man with the facial tattoos kicked the owner in the stomach and then left with his crew. The restaurant owner clutched his stomach and spat on the floor before returning behind the counter and taking another hit from his shimmer inhaler. His listless expression immediately changed. He craned his neck and grumbled: "Those bastards are real pieces of work. Ever since his people came to the Black Lanes, life here has just gotten worse and worse!" "This world... it's just getting more and more chaotic. Sons of bitches... sigh." The owner muttered to himself, shaking his head as he continued to huff the shimmer.
Leo finished his food, pulled his hood down, and silently left the restaurant. Out on the street, a large group of people had flooded the narrow Black Lanes. They were grabbing people everywhere, asking the same question he had heard in the restaurant. Leo pulled his hood lower, reducing his presence as he walked along the edge of the crowd, like a ghost slipping away. Zaun under Silco's rule... was more extreme than it was under Vander. During Vander's time, though Zaun was poor, it was at least stable. Violence and chaos mostly happened late at night; few dared to cause trouble during the day. But under Silco's rule, while some became richer, that wealth only belonged to the chem-barons and the powerful. The poor only got poorer, and their living conditions grew harsher. You could see thugs smashing things up everywhere, even in broad daylight. Shaking his head, Leo left the Black Lanes. It seemed finding a job here was impossible. If he could, he would love to smuggle himself to the upper city. Even if not Piltover, the Entresol would be fine. At least that place wasn't so chaotic.
—————
Night fell. After a long, busy day, Leo returned to the Black Lanes. As usual, he kept his hood low, minimizing his presence as he headed toward the small alley where he lived. Today was another day of wasted effort. The number of jobs available for ordinary people in Zaun was practically zero. Even menial jobs were just for the gangs; there were no normal jobs to be found.
Returning to his alley, Leo took off his hood and started up the creaky staircase. But after a few steps, he froze. The stairs in front of him had been painted with strange colors. In the dim light, the fluorescent paint was incredibly conspicuous. Blue and pink intertwined, making Leo instinctively touch his chest. In his pocket, the colors on his watch were the same, and the graffiti style was identical to the art on the stairs. "..." Swallowing hard, a thought suddenly popped into Leo's head. No way...It couldn't really be her, could it? Leo stood frozen outside his apartment. Hiss... He couldn't risk it. If it really was her, he had to stay far away! She was a lunatic! Sure, she was popular in the show and the game, but in real life, who would want to be friends with a psycho? With that thought, Leo began to back away, planning to leave. But just as he took one step back, his apartment door was kicked open with a loud bang. A slender, pale leg appeared before him, clad in shorts. An old bandage was taped over a pinkish-white knee in an 'X' pattern. The clunky boots were even more exaggerated, their thick toes reinforced with metal plates as they stomped onto the floor.
"If I were you, I'd shut my mouth right now and get in here quietly." A pleasant, nimble voice rang out. Leo took another step back. Under the dim yellow light, the barrel of a pistol covered in colorful graffiti was pointed at his head. The girl took two steps forward, her face coming into the light. She wore a tactical vest, revealing a toned and beautiful abdomen. Her body was covered in pretty, blue cloud tattoos, which were numerous but not garish. Interestingly, she was a typical Zaunite child, not just because of the tattoos, but also because of her small, underdeveloped chest, which only showed a slight curve under the tight vest. Damn, Thresh's pecs are more impressive than her chest! At her sides, two long blue braids hung down, nearly touching the floor. Looking up at her face, Leo saw a small, cute, melon-seed-shaped face that hadn't lost its childishness. Below a pert little nose was a mouth curved into a smirk, and above it were a pair of clear, bright blue eyes. Huh...?Wait.Her eyes are blue?Not pink?
Looking at the girl in front of him, Leo silently raised his hands. A greeting escaped his lips: "Powder?"