The young man on the opposite rooftop guessed all night with a frown, while Cheng Shi slept soundly.
The next morning, as soon as he opened his eyes, a Trial matching notification appeared before him.
[Special Trial (Song of Blood and Fire [war]) has begun]
[Matching teammates (1/6)]
[Trial Objective: Grit your teeth through the crucible of blood and fire (Time limit: 24 hours)]
Cheng Shi's forehead throbbed as he looked at the word "war" in the game description.
This would be a tough battle.
Although war is a god of the civilization Fate, His Trials are truly anything but civilized.
Basically, every battle is a real, no-holds-barred fight; you don't even need to understand the various clues given by the Trial. As long as you eliminate all existing enemies around you, you can clear it.
But the problem is, surviving for 24 hours is something that severely tests one's endurance and spirit.
The enemy will not give you a moment to breathe, nor will they slow their assault because you want to rest.
In this situation, the more capable your teammates are in combat, the greater your advantage will naturally be.
"Please, match me with more warriors. One slacker like me is enough, please, please."
[Match successful (6/6), entering Trial]
The blood-red notification flashed, and the scene before Cheng Shi's eyes began to slowly distort, then his entire being instantly vanished from the spot.
...
The sky was dim, and smoke filled the air.
Cheng Shi opened his eyes to find himself standing amidst ruins. Looking around, there was nothing but broken walls and rubble.
This place was clearly a small town before, but now, it had been erased from the map by the cruel war.
A few seconds later, several beams of light descended around him, and gasps of surprise sounded one after another.
His teammates for this Trial had arrived.
Cheng Shi looked at them immediately and found that among the three men and two women, only one carried a greatsword. The rest, like him, did not display their weapons.
"Hiss—"
Cheng Shi secretly took a deep breath, thinking, "Don't tell me it's another slacker game?"
There are only six professions in Faith Game: Warrior, Mage, Priest, Assassin, Hunter, and Singer.
Logically speaking, professions are not superior or inferior; there are only bad players, not bad professions.
However, in reality, due to the biased nature of Trials, professions are still ranked differently in various Trials.
Just like today's war Trial, Warrior, Mage, and Priest are definitely stronger than Assassin, Hunter, and Singer.
The six people matched together sized each other up. When the big man with the greatsword didn't see any other weapons, his expression slightly annoyed, he spoke:
"Old rule, don't waste Time. First, state your Fate and profession, then your score. I'll go first. Chen Chong, Civilization, Warrior, Ladder 1647."
Chen Chong, Civilization, Warrior, Ladder 1647
There are 2-3 gods under each Fate. The reason for only stating the Fate and not the god's name is to avoid matching with people of opposing Faiths.
Although everyone in a Trial is a community of Fate and should help each other, when players of opposing Faiths are matched, some gods of Fate will bestow additional Divine Decrees, which might cause their followers to do unspeakable things before the mission succeeds.
This is a lesson learned through blood and tears.
Since the game started half a year ago, countless people have died because of this, so players now cannot be too careful.
However, at the beginning of the Trial, cooperation is still necessary.
"Song Yawen, Life, Assassin, Ladder 1636. Brother, are you an 'Order Knight'? I think I've seen this sword in the hands of other Order Warriors. It should be a shield-sword, right?"
A tall, thin bespectacled youth in sportswear next to Chen Chong spoke second. After he finished, he carefully scrutinized the greatsword in Chen Chong's hand, seemingly comparing it to a greatsword in his memory.
Song Yawen, Life, Assassin, Ladder 1636
Since he was recognized, Chen Chong didn't hide it. He nodded.
Seeing him admit it, the expressions of the others noticeably relaxed.
Followers of Order are among the few strangers in this game who can be trusted.
They obey the will of Order, respect rules, and restrain themselves, making them almost the most popular comrades in the entire game.
And a Warrior who believes in Order can become a T0 Existence in a war Trial. (Note: T0, highest priority, can be generally understood as the most powerful profession.)
Reliable and effective.
"Xia Wan, Life, Hunter, Ladder 1519."
The Order of speaking, for some reason, shifted clockwise. The heroic beauty in a military green short-sleeved shirt to Song Yawen's left introduced herself in a very cold tone.
Her figure was tall but not slender, with firm, well-defined muscles, conveying a sense of power even through her clothes.
Xia Wan, Life, Hunter, Ladder 1519
Song Yawen, hearing he had a comrade from the same Fate, grinned and nodded in acknowledgment.
To Xia Wan's left was also a woman, petite, with a cascade of black hair.
She wore a black high-necked shirt that covered her entirely, revealing only her face.
"Nangong, Submergence, Priest, Ladder 1396."
Nangong, Submergence, Priest, Ladder 1396
When the words "Submergence" were spoken, the faces of the two Life followers darkened.
Life and Submergence are opposing Fates.
Song Yawen looked at Nangong with some surprise and an unfriendly gaze.
Xia Wan remained motionless, her expression still cold, but her slanted eyes held a degree of scrutiny.
Nangong also felt uneasy. With two people from opposing Fates right off the bat, and needing to survive an entire day in this Trial, she could only pray that the gods these two believed in were not directly opposed to hers.
Opposing Fates only cause uneasiness; if Faiths are also opposed, then people might die.
Next, it was Cheng Shi's turn. Cheng Shi looked at Nangong to his right, a meaningful smile suddenly appearing on his face.
"Cheng Shi, Life, Priest, Ladder 1501."
"?"
"Cheng Shi"
The moment his words fell, the faces of the few people present showed various degrees of joy and worry.
The joyful ones were naturally the two from the Life Fate, while the only worried one was Nangong, whose expression turned exceptionally grim.
As a righteous Fate, at least the followers of Life's gods generally hold positive values. Regardless of their private morals, they are outwardly considered "good people."
But the gods of Submergence each have their own brand of "bad."
Order Warrior Chen Chong, seeing the tense atmosphere, frowned and reminded everyone:
"Fate differences can only be dealt with at the end. 24 hours is a long Time. Let's survive first, then talk about other things."
Song Yawen, seeing he had more teammates, naturally just smiled. Xia Wan maintained her usual cold expression. Cheng Shi enjoyed the show. Nangong lowered her head in thought.
Only the player to Cheng Shi's left, dressed like Doctor Strange, glanced at Cheng Shi with a slightly strange, inscrutable look.
"Cao San Sui, existence, Mage, Ladder 1906."
Cao San Sui, existence, Mage, Ladder 1906
"How much???"
When this score was revealed, everyone gasped.
The others felt they had found a strong backer, but only Cheng Shi, clicking his tongue, looked constipated.
"Tsk, existence, huh…"
Chen Chong's expression brightened considerably. He raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile:
"Memory Traveler or Time Walker?"
"Memory Traveler" refers to a Mage who believes in Memory, and "Time Walker" refers to a Mage who believes in Time. Chen Chong was asking him which god he followed.
Since there were no opposing Fates among the six people present, he could openly state his identity to help everyone understand him and better cooperate with others.
Within the existence Fate, there are only these two gods.
Cao San Sui was clearly not his real name, but a name was just a code, and no one paid too much attention to it.
He didn't answer immediately but hesitated for a moment, his gaze sweeping over Cheng Shi multiple Times. After failing to discern anything, he sighed and said:
"Time is but a fleeting glimpse, and I am like the wind."
This is the prayer of a Time follower.
Cao San Sui was a Time Walker.
This combination of profession and Faith is also a T0 existence in the entire game. (Note: T0, highest priority, can be broadly understood as the most powerful profession.)
As his name suggests, a Time Walker can control Time.
Hearing that he was a Time Walker, Chen Chong's smile grew wider, and Cheng Shi also broke into a grin.
This Time, it was a genuine smile.
"Brother Cao is awesome!"
Song Yawen's behavior was nothing like a low-key Assassin. He kept giving thumbs-ups, and if he wasn't still unfamiliar with the group, he might have even gone over to give Cao San Sui a hug.
"With Brother Chen leading the team and Brother Cao holding the fort, we're stable, comrades!"
His gaze swept over everyone in turn, skipping only Nangong.
Nangong's smile was somewhat awkward, but she couldn't help it; her situation was indeed bad.
Cheng Shi watched the team about to isolate someone right from the start and secretly shook his head.
Unnecessarily losing a combatant due to Fate differences was the most irrational choice, especially at the beginning of a Trial.
To ease the tension among his teammates, he pondered for a moment, then suddenly spoke:
"A dual-Priest system is very suitable for the war Trial. My intuition tells me Nangong is not our enemy."
Everyone looked at him in surprise, even Nangong, who stared disbelievingly at this opposing Fate, same-profession competitor.
He was actually speaking up for her?
"You…"
Cheng Shi tilted his head, revealing a brilliant smile, and said:
"Let me reintroduce myself. Cheng Shi, a Priest of Birth."
"???"
"Holy crap?! You're a man, and you're actually a Priest of Child-Giving?!"
...