Chapter 230: Part-time Warrior — Bazett
The red vibrating orb, condensed from innocent souls, instantly killed all monster units with a 'normal' template upon exploding. It also completed a forced transformation, turning them into valuable items that fit the current dungeon's loot pool, rather than the same type of items found in Knights of the Round Table.
Most of these were money bags, each worth 50 coins, followed by ordinary King statues, each worth only 20 coins.
The shining King statues, valued at a thousand coins, evidently didn't drop. It seemed they could only be obtained through easter eggs.
Compared to the valuable items from Knights of the Round Table, the valuable items from Makaimura were generally less valuable. However, they had the advantage of smaller monster sizes, allowing a sufficient number to be killed in a single concentrated attack. Moreover, as valuable items, they could be stacked normally, so accumulating them still yielded a considerable harvest.
More importantly, as these monsters were killed, a large number of heart-shaped innocent souls also exploded alongside them. The hundred souls Cheng Tian had consumed to condense the vibrating orb were quickly replenished.
Furthermore, because some large innocent souls that replenished 5 points at a time were mixed in, after one orb vibrated, Cheng Tian's innocent soul count was full again!
This also meant that Cheng Tian only needed to repeat the actions of gathering and arraying monsters to blast his way through this scene, truly achieving a 'reversed electricity meter'!
One could only say, thanks to the Cyclops.
Not only did it give its head to Cheng Mouren, but the fireworks it launched before its death also increased the monster refresh rate in this second stage.
For others, a large number of monster spawns would be a negative modifier, but for Cheng Mouren at this moment, it was a definite positive modifier.
With plenty of equipment still waiting to be enhanced, Cheng Mouren naturally had a beaming smile on his face.
And just as Cheng Tian was weighing a money bag in his hand, a human voice from below caught his attention. He instinctively looked down and saw a beautiful woman in a suit on the ground. At first glance, she appeared to be a valiant man, but moving his gaze to her chest, he could see the curves of a woman.
The beautiful woman wore a sharply tailored adzuki bean-colored suit, paired with a matching tie. Her waist was noticeably cinched, indicating it was a custom-made suit rather than off-the-rack business wear, a type designed for ease of movement, similar to those worn by 'suit thugs.'
Her wine-red, ear-length hair had slightly upturned ends. Her normally valiant features seemed a bit dazed from witnessing bird corpses and a rain of money bags falling from the sky. When she looked up, Cheng Tian also noticed a distinct tear mole beneath her left eye.
She wore a pair of earrings shaped like small daggers, a very uncommon style for everyday wear.
However, her most striking feature… was the empty sleeve on her left arm.
Yes, the beautiful woman's entire left arm was missing, and on her empty left sleeve, one could even see many dark residual marks.
Knowing who was below, Cheng Tian slowly descended towards the ground, with the Primitive Wyvern and Ghost Cicada cooperating in the slow descent.
The beautiful woman, who had just been somewhat dazed, immediately regained her senses. After retreating several steps, she adopted a stance with her feet staggered, her intact right hand placed in front of her chest in a boxing-like offensive and defensive posture, her eyes vigilantly watching Cheng Tian and his companions as they descended.
In her opinion, Cheng Tian, who could control such familiars, was far more dangerous than the small fry around them that could be scattered with a single punch.
"Who are you! Where is this!?"
Cheng Tian's slow descent evidently worked; the beautiful woman, whose emotions weren't particularly agitated, merely questioned him loudly instead of immediately attacking.
"Hmm… I won't tell you my real name for now. Just call me Aoko."
Cheng Mouren, who decided to directly use the 'Aoko Knight' title from the previous dungeon, first lifted his sunfire mask, and then spoke.
"As for here, this is a world based on the legend of King Arthur, but it has taken a path towards a demon invasion storyline, where the human world has been encroached upon by the Demon King."
"Are you saying… this is a parallel world!?"
The vigilance on the beautiful woman's face slightly lessened, replaced by undisguised astonishment, but it seemed she had some understanding of the concept of parallel worlds.
"Didn't the Space tell you anything when you were thrown in?"
This time, it was Cheng Mouren's turn to be surprised.
Could it be that the Space had pulled this woman from her original world in the same way it recruited new players?
At Cheng Mouren's reminder, the beautiful woman's face immediately became pained, her battle stance crumbling as she couldn't help but cover her head with her single hand.
"…The Holy Grail… It was the Holy Grail! I saw the Holy Grail!"
Under Cheng Tian's silent gaze, without his interference, the beautiful woman, who had held her head for half a minute, suddenly exclaimed.
"It is indeed the Holy Grail, but it's only a projection with partial power."
The beautiful woman, whose emotions had become somewhat agitated, trembled slightly and looked at Cheng Tian. However, Cheng Tian's next words made her eyes widen involuntarily.
"According to the dungeon's modifiers, all beings attracted by the Holy Grail's projection are unwilling spirits with an extreme desire for the Holy Grail, which means you should already be dead. Your current existence is a false life bestowed by the Holy Grail's projection —
Bazett Fraga McRemitz."
…Bazett, originating from the visual novel game "Fate/hollow ataraxia," is the true heroine in the legitimate sequel to "Fate/stay night" within the Fate series produced by Type-Moon.
She was originally a participant in the Fifth Holy Grail War, her Heroic Spirit being the equally famous 'Big Dog,' Cu Chulainn, the Child of Light from Northern Ireland, who gave rise to famous memes like "Lancer died again!"
However, she was ambushed from behind by a certain Mapo Tofu priest, not only having the wrist holding her Command Seals severed but also falling into a critical state.
According to the original setting, the strong will to survive generated by the dying Bazett was answered by the corrupted Holy Grail, causing her spirit to fall into an infinite loop of dreams. Her body was covered in magic and remained in a state of suspended animation for half a year, eventually, through the multi-playthrough intervention of players on the other side of the screen, she gradually found herself, broke free from the loop in the infinite dream known as the "Holy Grail War of Night," and was rescued by kind people, surviving.
As a visual novel game, its most unique aspects lie in gameplay rules such as saving/loading, multiple playthroughs, and making choices at key options. Different choices also lead to completely different world trajectories.
The Bazett before Cheng Tian was an existence who, due to her original severed left wrist becoming a severed left arm, ultimately suffered excessive blood loss and did not receive a response from the corrupted Holy Grail in time, thus dying directly in her original world.
However, though she did not receive a response from the corrupted Holy Grail before her death, after her death, she was captured by a Holy Grail projection from another world, and so… "Cu Chulainn…"
Bazett, who had successfully recalled her memories from before death, showed little anger on her face, only deep reluctance and regret for that ancestor.