MtaurNovel Chapter 207: Upgrade (1)
Chapter 207: Upgrade (1)
Seven days.
When the latest notification appeared before everyone, the atmosphere in room 2705 immediately changed.
[Ding!]
[The fourth round will begin in 7 days.]
[Fourth round theme: Survival Rankings.]
[In this round, the system will open a real-time ranking board.]
[The higher the ranking, the more abundant the final rewards.]
[Survivors, please prepare.]
Rover looked at the notification panel, his gaze slightly deepening.
If there had only been twelve hours to prepare, he would have felt very uncomfortable. Not because of fear, but because room 2705 currently had far too many things that needed to be handled. The Legendary Supply Crate had just been opened, Nanami had just come back to life, Rilia had just been pulled into the room, Sunako was still in the middle of appointing herself as backup maid, and John had brought a pile of information that gave people headaches.
Lamp-Bearers.
The dead zone.
Level 6 being the ceiling of the cage.
Three people had already bet on him.
If John also squeezed in, he would become a Survivor being stared at by four Lamp-Bearers.
With a situation like that, the fourth round was certainly not going to be as simple as the system described. Especially since the theme contained the words "rankings," Rover could almost guess what the system wanted to stoke.
Greed.
Jealousy.
The feeling of unwillingness when seeing others standing above you.
If monsters weren’t enough to kill people, then let people kill each other. The Endless Game seemed to always be very good at that.
Rover took a deep breath, then laughed coldly.
"Seven days."
He looked at everyone in the room, his voice not loud but very clear.
"Enough to turn this room into somewhere others don’t want to knock on the door."
Sunako, standing behind the sofa, immediately straightened her back.
"Great Lord Rover is absolutely right. A frightening room will make bad people voluntarily keep their distance. Just like a sensible backup maid who won’t be hung on the wall anymore."
Elith glanced at her.
Sunako immediately pressed her lips together, looking much more obedient.
Rover ignored her. He opened his resource panel.
Before the third round, after a series of upgrades, he had still had 4,122,000 Omni Points. After using [Shadow], [Devour], and the [Reclaim] function to swallow the entire ice monster battlefield clean, the system had added another 704,800 Omni Points.
In other words, he currently had:
....
[Current Omni Points: 4,826,800 points.]
....
Rover looked at this number. His mood finally improved slightly.
Nearly five million Omni Points.
If it had been when he first entered the Endless Game and he had seen a number like this, perhaps he would have felt he was rich enough to lie in bed and enjoy himself for a few months. But right now, Rover only felt that while this number was large, it wasn’t necessarily enough.
Because what was staring at him was no longer just a few low-level Zombies or greedy Survivors in the corridor.
But Lamp-Bearers.
Distorted rounds.
The dead zone.
The Survival Rankings about to open in seven days.
Having more money didn’t mean safety. Money had to be spent in the right places to become lives.
Morie stood before the table, using Psionic energy to reconstruct the diagram of room 2705. She was no longer sitting in a wheelchair. Her slender legs stood firmly on the floor. Her small figure had a completely different aura from before. After the Titan bloodline awakened, Morie hadn’t just regained the ability to move. She seemed to have reclaimed a part of the confidence that had been buried for a long time by her frail body.
She looked at the diagram on the table, then spoke directly:
"The upgrade priorities need to change."
Rover looked at her.
"Go ahead."
Morie raised her hand, her fingertip pointing to the position of the room door.
"First, the door. If the door is breached, all the upgrades inside lose meaning. The next round has rankings, and there’s a high chance Survivors will deliberately attack each other to earn points or steal spoils. The room door is the first line of defense, and also something that cannot be cut corners on."
Then she pointed to the bedroom position.
"Second, the bed. It’s not only a resting item. The current [Peaceful Bed] already has the effect of multiplying the durability and special effects of the room door tenfold while sleeping. If upgraded further, it’s very likely to continue resonating with the door, the Garden of Eden, and everyone’s innate gift unlocking."
Monica hearing this, her face went slightly red.
Selina propped her chin, the corner of her lips curving with clear interest.
Nanoe sat beside Rover, her smile as gentle as ever, but in her eyes there was a very clear hint of amusement.
Rover cleared his throat.
"Continue."
Morie calmly nodded, as if completely failing to notice the atmosphere in the room had just shifted slightly.
"Third, the defense towers. As I said before, room 2705 isn’t lacking in direct damage. Our weak points are souls, curses, invisible energy, and penetrating attacks. The last round proved this."
Rover nodded.
Dokai and Millan had truly made him uncomfortable. If Nanoe hadn’t handled it fast enough, if Morie and Elith hadn’t coordinated well, the variables in the third round could have been far greater.
Morie looked at Rover. Her voice was calm but heavier than before.
"Rover, you may be stronger than all of us, but this room cannot survive just by relying on you always being present. If you leave, room 2705 must still be room 2705. Not an empty box waiting for its owner to come back."
The room was quiet for a moment.
Rilia looked at Morie.
The azure blue gaze of the Ice Wolf General shifted slightly.
She had thought Morie was a smart woman who served as an advisor for Rover. But right now, watching Morie stand before the table, build a room diagram, analyze weak points, and arrange priorities, Rilia realized the platinum-haired girl wasn’t only standing behind Rover.
She was beginning to lay the foundation for the entire room.
Rover looked at Morie for a moment, then smiled.
"Very good. Follow your order."
Morie gently nodded.
Rover opened the room door’s upgrade panel.
The current door was the [Frenzied Blood Spike Door] at level 6. In the last round, it had proven enormous value when locking down Rilia, causing poison, reflecting damage, and helping room 2705 control the battlefield right at the door. But with the current situation, that still wasn’t enough.
The system panel appeared.
....
[Frenzied Blood Spike Door]
[Level: 06]
[Defense: 75]
[Durability: 350/350]
[Effect 1: Reflects 100% standard damage.]
[Effect 2: Attacker is infected with extreme poison, draining 2% life every 0.5 seconds.]
[Upgrade Requirement: 500,000 Omni Points.]
....
Rover looked at the upgrade cost.
Five hundred thousand.
This number alone was enough to make many low-level Survivors despair for their entire lives. But for Rover right now, it was no longer an unreachable figure.
Only, saying it didn’t hurt would certainly be a lie.
Sunako stood behind him, sneaking a glance at Rover’s expression, then immediately felt she had learned something new. When Great Lord Rover looked at upgrade costs, that expression looked like someone having their flesh cut, but if the thing could help him live longer, he would still grit his teeth and pay.
Sure enough, Rover was silent for a few seconds, then took a deep breath.
"Money can be earned back."
He looked at the door.
"A life only comes once."
"Upgrade."
[Ding!]
[You have consumed 500,000 Omni Points.]
[Remaining Omni Points: 4,326,800 points.]
[Frenzied Blood Spike Door upgrading...]
The door of room 2705 immediately vibrated.
Dark red veining spread from the door frame, like blood vessels growing on metal. The blood spikes hidden within began to change, becoming thicker, sharper, but no longer carrying only the frenzied feeling of before. Between the red veining appeared symbols of silver-gray, like a layer of chains being engraved on the frenzied life force.
The air near the door grew colder.
An invisible pressure appeared.
Not strong enough to make the living uncomfortable, but those with sensitive soul perception like Monica and Nanoe both recognized that this door had changed.
It no longer only blocked physical bodies.
It had begun to block things without physical bodies.
Monica softly said: "The feeling is... like something is standing behind the door."
Morie answered: "If something similar to Dokai tries to pass through, it won’t be as easy as before."
Rover nodded in satisfaction.
Even though it hurt the wallet, it was worth it.
After the door came the bed.
Rover opened the upgrade panel, and before he had even read it carefully, he noticed a few gazes in the room becoming slightly strange.
Monica lowered her head.
Selina propped her chin, her expression clearly waiting for the amusement to begin.
Nanoe smiled very gently, but in her eyes was a hint of amusement that made Rover feel uneasy.
Nanami didn’t fully understand yet, curiously looking around.
Sunako immediately bowed her head, embodying the attitude of a professional backup maid who absolutely wouldn’t be curious about her master’s private matters.