Chapter Fourteen: The Slaughter Island

Assessment Title: [Slaughter Island]
Requirements: Within two hours, eliminate three large Shadow Devourer nests, ten medium nests, and thirty small nests (collective task).
Difficulty: Hard
Description: The Foundation, the Scavengers, and the University, in collaboration with the Sun’s First Daughter, have established the Slaughter Island selection program, aiming to choose ten Guardian Knights of outstanding strength and character. If you perform exceptionally in this assessment, you’ll receive generous rewards from your respective organizations. However, to ultimately become a Guardian Knight, you must not only stand out among the many newcomers but also fulfill the nest-clearing requirements.

[Hint: You have acquired the temporary skill “Eye of Detection.”]
[Hint: You have acquired the quest item “Island Map.”]
[Hint: Your non-essential attributes have been automatically restored.]
[The island is called ‘the Island’ because there exists a large anomalous entity project known as ‘the Archipelago’—Excerpt from Anomaly Project Log.]
[This assessment is of vital importance and will determine your future within the Foundation. My advice is to trust yourself; unless absolutely necessary, never put your life in someone else’s hands, even if they are also members of the Foundation. Furthermore, recent scans indicate a brief anomalous fluctuation on the island, suggesting a potential fourth party’s interference in this trial—stay vigilant. —Control Center Director.]

...

“A fourth party? Why not just say ‘the Chaos Beacon’ outright?”
Ash found himself silently criticizing his superior’s evasive wording, conveniently forgetting that just yesterday he’d sworn not to badmouth them again.

The aircraft set him down on the wilderness at the edge of the island before immediately returning to base. The area remained shrouded beneath a veil of darkness, the air heavy and stiflingly quiet. With Ash’s current level of perception, visibility extended only fourteen meters ahead. Fortunately, the assessment’s island map was exceptionally intelligent, not only marking his position but also indicating direction and environmental features, ensuring he would not lose his way.

“There’s a Flame Emblem hidden nearby. Looks like it should be in that abandoned hospital marked on the map. But really, why would a place like this need a hospital?”

Finding this odd, Ash decided to follow the map’s guidance and investigate. Meanwhile, the remaining ninety-six contestants—those who hadn’t secured an early advantage—were only just now arriving overhead in three large transports, about to be randomly dropped across the island.

One by one, figures pierced through the veil of darkness and landed safely. While they lacked information on the Flame Emblem’s location, they too possessed the fully intelligent island map. Most rushed toward the abandoned buildings displayed on their maps, and the live broadcast swiftly shifted its focus between them.

The two hosts, already briefed on key information, began to introduce the game’s mechanics for the viewers, highlighting those who had acquired anomalous equipment.

On screen, an old tree entwined with withered vines appeared. He was affiliated with the University and had mastered several arcane techniques. In his hand was an ancient wooden staff adorned with glowing leaves. With a casual flick, a dazzling sphere of light burst from the staff’s tip, annihilating a snarling juvenile Shadow Devourer. As the monster died, the leaves’ glow intensified incrementally.

The view then shifted to a burly Foundation player wielding a set of menacing short axes, equally suited for close combat or ranged throws. Calmly facing four converging Shadow Devourers, he hurled four axes in quick succession, pinning each monster in place before finishing them off with his last axe, one by one.

The third player’s appearance drew excited shrieks from female viewers. Not only was he strikingly handsome, his attire was nothing short of stunning—wide-brimmed, high-crowned felt hat, fitted leather jacket, a silver revolver at his hip. He looked like a classic Western gunslinger, missing only a brightly patterned scarf and spurred boots to complete the image.

His fighting style was equally eye-catching—every shot deadly, each movement graceful and effortless. While some male viewers dismissed this well-known player, called “Wind and Rain,” as overly flashy, none could deny his charm.

Perhaps aiming to cater to the female audience, the camera lingered a while longer on Wind and Rain before cutting to another striking figure: none other than “Wine Grows Stronger,” who had again shrouded her face in a red cloak, leaving only her expressive eyes visible. Defiance shone from her gaze, silently declaring her sole purpose—to take first place.

Her combat prowess was no less impressive than the previous three. With her uniquely designed crossbow, she unleashed a barrage of deadly bolts, each shot finding its mark and dealing tremendous damage. Even when she burst into a small nest, she showed no fear of the monsters’ approach. The juveniles’ defenses were no match for a single arrow, and the elite leader of the nest fell quickly under her skillful onslaught.

Wine Grows Stronger’s performance left many eliminated players sighing in self-pity, while female viewers found themselves identifying with her—imagining themselves not only beautiful, but able to stand among the elite through sheer strength.

After that, the focus continued to shift between players, gradually moving from gameplay to the players themselves. This served a dual purpose: game mechanics needed to be introduced gradually—too much at once, without visual support, detracted from the viewing experience. Moreover, highlighting famous players’ achievements boosted the show’s appeal. The two hosts, well-versed in gaming lore and gossip, used the broadcast to provide additional publicity for those on screen—a win-win for all involved.

Lastly, there was the matter of filling airtime—maintaining both quality and quantity during slow periods is an art in itself, but the hosts were clearly masters of their craft and the broadcast ran smoothly.

Yet by now, some viewers were puzzled. With so many player perspectives shown, why had there been no footage of the top three on the leaderboards? It was understandable not to show the little-known Ash, but even “White Flag” and “Not a Taoist,” two famed veterans, were nowhere to be seen. This left many scratching their heads.

It wasn’t until the director signaled the hosts that the broadcast perspective finally shifted—this time to an abandoned hospital.

The building itself was modest in scale but featured a long, oppressively dark corridor. Debris and shattered objects littered the floor—a testament to past chaos. Several valuable items had been left behind, only to be reduced to fragments by unknown forces. Later, a swarm of spider-shaped juvenile Shadow Devourers had made it their nest, weaving thick webs until the entire corridor was sealed.

At that moment, a player broke through the layers of web, pressing deeper inside. Viewers quickly noticed that this player looked anything but ordinary: his entire right arm was grotesquely elongated, thick and inky green like a tentacle, trailing to the floor or, when raised, brushing the ceiling. The spider-headed juveniles barely had time to scuttle forward before the player’s mutated limb smashed them apart with a single blow.

Who was this?
Why did he look so strange?

As the audience wondered, the two hosts began to explain, drawing on the game information provided to them earlier. Meanwhile, Ash had no idea that his battle in the hospital was being broadcast live to millions, including Miao Miao—who, lounging cross-legged on her sofa in shorts and snacking, was watching with wide-eyed surprise.

“His tastes really have gotten a bit odd lately.”

Had Ash known what she was thinking, he would have scoffed. In his eyes, the truest form of violent aesthetics was always simple, direct, and effective. What could be more beautiful than a long-range, high-output, one-hit kill?

Ash was beyond satisfied with the performance of his active symbiotic biotic arm. The doubled attack range meant he could entirely avoid taking damage from Shadow Devourers. Even if his stamina ran out, he could retreat and recover at leisure. At least until elite monsters appeared, no ordinary juvenile Shadow Devourer could withstand a second strike from him, regardless of the challenge’s difficulty.

With his staff technique mastery raised to forty-two, his basic attacks could easily one-shot small monsters with thirty health and eight defense.

These spider-shaped juveniles were far superior to their lesser kin found in the Dark Forest. Any one of them could easily destroy four nests in that previous location. Ash recalled how, back then, he needed to cooperate with Not a Sword Immortal and use ambush tactics to whittle down the swarm before daring to assault a nest. But now, even against foes five times as strong, he could handle them with ease.

Each of the four assessments had exponentially increased his power—by more than fivefold, in fact.

Even when two elite, enhanced juvenile Shadow Devourers burst forth in response to the commotion, they posed no real threat to Ash. These spider-shaped monsters typified high defense and health but low attack power—precisely the kind of opponent Ash most enjoyed facing.