Darkness engulfed Lincoln in an instant, the slimy, wriggly motion accompanied by the foul stench of rotten fish reminding Lincoln exactly where he was.Inside the oesophagus of the colossal crocodile.He was meters away from the crocodile’s liver. He struggled hard, using his limbs and trying to stop himself from falling further down the beast’s throat. He was not keen on having a liver acid bath while the crocodile digested him into nothing.The fact that the crocodile could swallow gold like it was water only proved how strong its liver acid was. If Lincoln’s flesh came into contact with it, there would be nothing left of him.However, the slimy wall of the esophagus and the wriggly motion of the crocodile sent Lincoln further down the throat of the beast.Lincoln pulled out his dagger and stabbed it hard into the wall of the esophagus.He stabbed it with all his strength, but the dagger did not even enter one third of the flesh of the crocodile. It was like stabbing an extremely te
It didn’t take long for Evilgenius to reply."2,000 Points, 1 Skill Point!"It was an ideal price for Lincoln. Although it might fluctuate in the future, it would not be by a lot. After doing business with Evilgenius a couple of times, Lincoln was able to trust him, although not completely.His previous experience in trusting people had made him not trust others easily."What about embedded?" Lincoln asked."If it were embedded, it would cost about 500 to 1,000 Points. 1,000 Points would be considered a success."Evilgenius replied in an instant. It seemed like he had sufficient knowledge on embedded jewelry."Wanna sell it? Jewels sell for a good price among veterans," he told Lincoln."Let me think about it," Lincoln replied. He didn’t want to shun him, he truly needed to consider it.He glanced at his character window.[Points: 12,200][Skill Points: 5][Golden Skill Points: 1][Golden Attribute Points: 1]The SS rating had earned Lincoln more than 10,000 Points again, and his a
Lincoln had made his decision based on his skills’ optimum attribute growth and attacking power.[Knights of Saint Aurora Tempering Art] was at the top of the list, followed by [Hand-to-hand Combat] and [Sharp Weapon (Dagger)], [Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)], [Evading],[Undercover], [Tracking], and finally the [Returning Kick], which was restricted by the level of the [Knights of Saint Aurora Tempering Art].[Knights of Saint Aurora Tempering Art] was a core skill to Lincoln, so when there was room for an upgrade, he would definitely take it.Both [Hand-to-hand Combat] and [Sharp Weapon (Dagger)]’s related attributes were Strength, Agility, and Constitution. The attributes overlapped, so in order to upgrade either skill, Lincoln would have to depend on the kind of weapon he would be able to acquire, either a dagger or a gauntlet.Lincoln preferred [Sharp Weapon(Dagger)], because it was cheaper by 1,000 Points than [Hand-to-hand Combat].According to his calculations, even if he cho
His mailbox had been spammed while he was away. Considering the number of the messages, it could only be Evilgenius ....Evilgenius : I found u a gauntlet!Evilgenius : 800 Points, Rarity Great, it fits ur criteria!Evilgenius : No Magic equipment though, it was too hard to find!Evilgenius : Last time, when I bombarded that Burrow Dragon, it only dropped a Magical Rank item! Damn it, dragon! That’s totally unworthy of your bloodline! At least give me some Rare equipment!...After a lot of BS, Evilgenius finally sent over a screenshot and enabled the trading option.[Name: Tiger’s Finger (Right Hand)][Type: Gauntlet][Rarity: Great][Attacking Power: Weak][Attributes: None][Effects: None][Prerequisites: None][Remarks: It might look like a punk accessory, but it sure can throw a punch if you know how to use it!]...The item on the trade window was exactly what Lincoln had imagined.It was black in color and made out of four pieces of metal chained together.After a quick scan, L
Lincoln frowned as he looked at his stats. Although his attributes had all increased, according to his calculations, his Intuition should have reached C- Rank.However, when Lincoln had leveled up the [Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)] skill to Pro, the skill’s related attributes had all been capped and unable to level up any further, ruining Lincoln’s original plan for his Intuition."As soon as the attributes reach E+ Rank, the restrictions will be similar to the basic skills going from Master to Pro.""Using that as a base for further speculation, once my attributes reach E+ Rank and surpass ordinary men’s limitations, it will be hard to level up attributes by leveling up the skill itself. It might take two or three levels just to level up the attributes once, if at all!" Lincoln speculated.He kind of understood why a Legendary Skill Book’s appearance could spark a full-scale war.It wasn’t just because of the powerful skill. It was also because of the related attributes and charact
Evilgenius could not stand his impatience, so he replied right away....Evilgenius : 10,000 Points. He’ll deposit half of it first. All expenses are included, but you’re not entitled to any of the points at the end of the Mission world. You’ll only clear the Main Mission, nothing else.2567: Such a good pay?Evilgenius : Not really. The guy is an evil businessman, why would he give you an advantage?Evilgenius : When you sold the two [Tekken-II] rocket launchers, you got 10,000 Points from Steam City, 5 SP, and 4,000 Points, 2 SP from me, and the [Basic Medicine Crafting Platform Blueprint] plus the [Single Mission world Cooldown Reset Card]!Evilgenius : According to my calculations, you have a total of 14,000 Points, 6 SP. If you were able to bring 2 [Tekken-II]s from the Mission world, then your rewards must have been good. Even if you used the [Medicine Crafting Platform], you should have at least one Pro Level Skill and one Master Level Skill respectively!Evilgenius : Not to m
Lincoln PMed Evilgenius and waited for his reply. It was a little different this time. It took Evilgenius a whole minute before he wrote back....Evilgenius : Accidents might happen!2567: Accidents?Evilgenius : Yes, all sorts of accidents!Evilgenius : After the beta test, there were players who ditched their system and didn’t log in again for over three months.Evilgenius : Then... accidents started to happen.Evilgenius : Two of my friends, who were also beta players like me, decided to leave this deadly system. Three months later, one of them fell down the stairs and broke his neck, and the other one got electrocuted while taking bath.Evilgenius : Every player who stopped playing the system has died in an accident. There were no exceptions.Evilgenius : It was like Death came and took their lives....It took Evilgenius almost two minutes to type all these words. It seemed like he did not wish to remember the tragic death of his friends.Lincoln had been too busy working to
The sound was like a bus getting ready to drive off."Reagan has joined the team!""No.1 has joined the team!""No.2 has joined the team!""Zywane has joined the team!"The mechanical voice spoke again as four notifications popped up in the team chatroom."Reagan wants to trade 10,000 Points. Accept? Yes/No?""Yes!" Reagan was obviously the big client that Dealer had introduced. Lincoln was not going to reject the deposit payment.The client did not type anything. It was No.1 who spoke in his stead, acting as his representative to the other team members....No.1: Can we enter the Mission world now?Zywane: Hold up, I need to replenish some supplies!Evilgenius : Same +1!2567: Same +2!No. 1: How long do you need?Zywane: Another hour!Evilgenius : Same +1!2567: Same + 2!Zywane: ...No.1: Then we will enter the Mission world in exactly one hour. Hope that everyone can be on time....The team chat had filled with strangers communicating with each other before everyone went quiet ag
It was Zywane.Although there was a blood-colored pattern on his face, the structure of his head and his clothes allowed Lincoln to quickly recognize his hostile teammate.The blood pattern on his face gave Lincoln a very familiar feeling. Somehow it even felt a little cordial.Lincoln unconsciously stared at the pattern, his gaze suddenly making it come alive.It was wriggling and crawling around like a blood-colored snake, and moving like one too.The bloody snake raised its head and started hissing at Lincoln with its tongue out.Lincoln’s eyes opened wide in shock . The snake’s head had appeared in front of him out of thin air, its tongue close to Lincoln’s lips. A strong repulsed sensation flooded Lincoln’s heart, as if he had eaten something utterly disgusting. It was actually even worse than that.Lincoln quickly grabbed the snake’s head, feeling how slippery it was between his palms.He wanted to toss the snake away or just crush the creature’s head.Contrary to Lincoln’s expe
The window had a wooden frame and glass embedded on it, and the sunlight shined through the transparent glass, shedding light inside.The warm sunlight expelled the cold and darkness all around it. Countless formless souls were swarming the third floor, but none of them went near the staircase window. It was like their nemesis was hiding there.There was nothing there but sunlight. Sunlight! They were afraid of sunlight. Lincoln realized it in an instant, and after rolling to dodge their attack, he used both his hands and legs to jump towards the window.The formless souls tangling with Lincoln had noticed his intention and they let out a screech, flying towards him once again.This time, the formless souls threw themselves at him faster. Lincoln was only two meters away from the window when the souls caught up with him. Not waiting for Lincoln to roll away again, they appeared before him one after the other from beneath the floor.They could pass through walls? Lincoln was shocked as
The hot sensation on his chest made Lincoln turn on his [Tracking].He knew why the [Knitted Talisman] was emitting heat.[Attributes: When a ghost type enemy appears within a 5-meter radius, it will give you a warning!]The description on the item window had stated as much clearly.Lincoln’s vision had turned to revealing mode following the activation of his [Tracking], but he could not see any white tracks, red blood or black gun residue. All he could see was a shadow.It was blurry and only partially visible, but it was heading straight for Lincoln.Lines of sparks appeared around Lincoln’s [Lightning Tiger’s Finger]. Without holding back, Lincoln punched the monster hard.Bang!Lincoln’s punch landed accurately on the black shadow. The feeling was like hitting a gunny sack, and the sound was similar too.The shadow that rushed towards Lincoln shivered with high speed after it was attacked .A scream of agony was heard before the shadow was shredded to pieces and disappeared into t
Jack looked at Lincoln incredulously. He could not believe his eyes.According to his calculations, Lincoln should have been fully occupied grieving for his friend’s death.Why would he be there?The questions on his mind were evident on his face and doubtful gaze."What are you saying, Mr. 2567? What do you mean it’s me? I don’t understand. I am here because I was worried Old Tom’s accomplices would take advantage of this chance and kill him!"Jack looked at Lincoln with a puzzled look, his tone even more doubtful than before.Lincoln slow-clapped. Even though he had confirmed his theory, he really had to give it to Jack. He was a remarkable actor. This was an Oscar-worthy performance."If you don’t understand, you can take a look at this."Lincoln took out the two pieces of paper."What’s this? The paper from the old master thief? That old f*g!"When Jack saw the two pieces of paper in Lincoln’s hand, his ordinary, kind face suddenly turned vicious.He did not try to explain any fur
The unexpected discovery had made Lincoln delighted in an instant.He could not wait to find a secluded place and see what was on the crumpled piece of paper in his pocket.The guard who had knocked down the old master thief came ranting towards Jack."Jack, if you have time to explain useless information, why don’t you come over here and give me a hand? The Warden took too many men from my team, I’m short on manpower!" the guard said as he signaled for Jack to help him."But the Warden has asked me to-""I think the Warden would not object to you helping me."Before Jack could finish, he was cut off by the guard, who was looking at Lincoln deliberately, as if he wanted to make things awkward."I suppose the good sir here would not mind as well?" he said."Of course not," Lincoln said, smiling under the stare of the two guards.He could not wait to see what was inside that paper, so he did not object."Very well. Then follow this corridor straight to the end. You can exit through the
Words...No. To be precise, there was a combination of symbols and pictures before Lincoln.The blood formed two big circles, one inside the other, an inner one and an outer one. In the middle, there was an abstract drawing that looked like a scorpion.Lincoln was not completely sure that it was a scorpion. As a matter of fact, he could not even tell if it was a real symbol or picture that was formed by the blood stain.As for the words?Lincoln had never seen any words like these before. At least not that he knew of."What are these?"Lincoln looked at the gap between the two big circles. There were even more symbols there.The line started with a pentagram and ended with an upside down pentagram. By Lincoln’s calculations, there were about 41 of them.It wasn’t that Lincoln couldn’t be bothered to count them precisely. It was just that the symbols were too alien and complicated, and he could not tell whether they were mixed together forming one meaning, or if they were combinations
Old Tom was unconscious in the infirmary on the third floor. The passageway that led to the cells was also on the third floor.These two reasons were enough for Lincoln to want to visit the third floor again and Jack accompanied him there.He would have preferred to go alone, but once he thought about the cameras in the corridors, he frowned.Even with his Pro Level [Undercover] Skill, he still would not have been able to move freely. He was not invisible after all.The arrangement of the guards had been changed as well, because the Warden wanted to catch Old Tom’s accomplices.Two guards were standing there without the slightest hint of a smile on their faces. They inspected everyone that set foot on the third floor, hoping to catch the culprits.Looking at the new arrangement, Lincoln shook his head in silent disagreement. He doubted that this method would lead to the arrest of Old Tom’s accomplices.Not the very men who had caused all that chaos back there and succeeded in luring t
"Welcome to Nithra, everyone. I’m Warden Sherko."When he entered the room, the Warden welcomed everyone like a host would their guests.Unlike the cold, arrogant Deputy Warden’s welcome, the Warden was smiling a lot. However, his smile did not look sincere. It felt like just a show that he had to put on.His tone became more official as he started telling them more."Nithra is not big, and I am responsible for a lot of things around there, so I could not receive you when you first arrived. I am really sorry about that.""Especially after this recent incident. My anxiousness really got the best of me."Warden Sherko opened his speech with an apology before he started to explain why he had hired Lincoln and his team and invited them to the island."Everything started a month ago. I believe Payne Prax is a familiar name to all of you. He was the leader of the infamous Hermetic Praxis Order, a sadistic psychopath with a personality disorder, who caused the suicide of over a hundred peopl
As the old doctor came out of his office, the Warden, who had been waiting for him on the third floor outside the infirmary, swarmed him questions."Dr. Fenkes, how is he?"After Lincoln had performed first aid to help Old Tom, they had rushed him to the infirmary and allowed Dr. Fenkes to perform emergency treatment on him."He’ll live, but he’s still out cold," the old doctor said, letting out a long breath.As the only doctor at the prison, Dr. Fenkes knew that the odds of Old Tom surviving were not particularly good.Death was Old Tom’s best option now, but that was not for him to decide. He was just a doctor after all. All he could do was carry out his duties to the fullest."Good, very good. As long as he’s alive, it’s all good. If he dies, I’ll have no way to locate his accomplices!" Warden Sherko said with a vicious expression. Warden Sherko was not an idiot. The fact that he had become the Warden of the facility was proof enough of his intelligence. He had been the fastest to