Chapter 357: The Upgraded Substitute Ability
As for where this precious Golden Skill Card should be used, Zhou Ning immediately made his decision.
Both Clan Creed and his Substitute Ability could be considered his trump cards, equally important. However, Clan Creed could be upgraded through in-game methods—such as being promoted to a Clan Creed Noble. The Substitute Ability, on the other hand, could only be upgraded using a Golden Skill Card.
"If only I had two Golden Skill Cards…" Zhou Ning clicked his tongue, then chose to use this one on his Substitute Ability.
A prompt immediately appeared on his interface:
[Your special skill: Bohemian Requiem has been upgraded to Master Level.]
Bohemian Requiem (Master Level):
(1) You can pull projections from anime, novels, games, or even works of art into reality.
(2) The weaker the projection is compared to yourself, the less energy it consumes and the longer it lasts. If the projection is stronger than you, there's a chance the manifestation will fail; even if it succeeds, the resulting projection will only possess a portion of its true power, not its complete form.
(3) The closer the projection's nature is to your own, the more energy it consumes and the shorter the duration of its manifestation.
After the skill advanced to Master Level, the previously unknown fourth effect finally revealed itself.
(4) You can now project not only characters and objects but also scenes. The realism and power of your projections have increased, while the concentration required has relatively decreased.
(5) ???
Zhou Ning's eyes lit up. The enhancement after this upgrade was even greater than he'd imagined. Now that he could even manifest entire scenes, could he perhaps bring forth a high-tech laboratory? It was worth testing—after all, with enough imagination, the potential of this ability was limitless. Clearly, this precious Golden Skill Card had been well spent.
As for the second reward, the costume, it was essentially a new feature. After examining it, Zhou Ning felt it was somewhat inferior to the first reward.
The so-called Phantom Thief Outfit—as the name implied—was modeled after the attire of Phantom Thief Zhou Ning in the simulator: a white suit, a white high-brimmed hat, and a monocle. Wearing it granted bonuses to disguise, theft, and magic tricks.
Simply put, it didn't really boost combat power—more of a stylish cosplay. Handsome, but that was about it.
The other reward, a Custom Character Descent Card, allowed him to choose freely from any template he had previously used as a possession target. The prompt mentioned it could even include one-time-use templates, though the duration was limited to five minutes. This would serve as Zhou Ning's final trump card—for now, he decided to keep it in reserve.
After finishing his upgrades, Zhou Ning felt overwhelmingly powerful again, the energy surging within his body making him feel every bit the peak Demon Hunter.
However, this exhilaration came at a cost—the massive wave of experience points gained from his spree was now almost entirely depleted. For the time being, it would be nearly impossible to reach another such leap in strength.
Still, experience points left unused were just cold numbers on a screen; only when converted into combat power did they have meaning. As the saying went, "Success or failure, life is bold—just start again from scratch." (He even hummed the tune as he thought it.)
Pulling out his pocket watch, he checked the time. His joyful spree was nearing its end. Most of the firearms and alchemical items he'd brought had already been sold, as had the Devil Fruits and various skills.
Zhou Ning hadn't bothered to appraise the Devil Fruits beforehand, since selling them as blind boxes gave the post-unboxing duds a better mystique. As a result, someone had actually hit the jackpot.
A streamer named Bighead Fish had purchased a rare Paramecia-type Fruit—the Weight-Weight Fruit, which allowed the user to freely alter their body weight from one kilogram to over ten thousand kilograms. Quite a practical ability.
Still, Zhou Ning was a little disappointed. Although he'd earned plenty of money and experience, his Quick-Slash Fruit, priced at 4,000 Vecktas, still hadn't sold. It seemed that rich whales like Star Beneath the Sea were rare indeed.
...
Good times never last. Dusk was falling when John appeared at the corner of the street, a carriage behind him. He waved at Zhou Ning.
Zhou Ning glanced at his experience bar—just back up to 13 million—ignored the players begging him to stay, and coldly declared the shop closed for the day. He still had things to do: after meeting John's investor, he was heading to the Turins' for dinner.
"Sorry, some trouble came up at home," John apologized as soon as he saw Zhou Ning. "The red-light district my family owns got raided by the Earth Ring—they said someone was cosplaying the Earth Goddess to provide illegal services. I had to rush back for a bit."
"No problem," Zhou Ning replied, though his eye twitched. Who had the guts for that? Cosplaying a priest was one thing, but the Earth Goddess? Quickly changing the subject, he asked, "So where are we going now?"
"Darkland Fortress. You'll never guess who the investor is—an incredibly prestigious person. Giving him thirty percent of the shares is absolutely worth it. After this, our Game King will never have to worry about sales again." John grinned.
Darkland Fortress? That was the power center of Bryston's government—the residence of the royal family and offices of the cabinet. Basically, a mix between Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street. This investor sounded pretty high up indeed.
"Who is it?" Zhou Ning asked, intrigued.
"Harkins. Yes, that Harkins—full name Harkins Charles Arthur Hudston. He's the younger brother of King Charlie VII, titled Prince Harkins. Believe it or not, he came to me himself, said he really believed in Game King and wanted to invest." John said with a hint of pride.
Harkins? That Harkins? What kind of prince skips out on royal parties to play games?
Zhou Ning instantly recalled the magic-ball star he'd run into at school earlier that day—a man who looked eerily like Brad Pitt. He'd sensed traces of death energy around him then. Could that have been a coincidence?
Not far ahead stood Darkland's landmark—a massive clock weighing 13.5 tons, its pendulum alone over 600 pounds. It was mounted atop one of the fortress's annex buildings.
Two rows of guards stood before the fortress gates, halting John's carriage. After John explained their purpose and showed the invitation, one of the guards led them to park nearby and escorted them into Darkland Fortress.
The fortress interior was solemn, decorated in white and blue tones. On the front wall hung the golden-eyed lion crest of the Royal House of Charlie. The left corridor led to the offices; the right, to the royal living quarters.
Then Zhou Ning's gaze sharpened. Through the doorway on the left, he spotted Browne Lambert and Spark Lambert, the father and son he'd once rescued. They were walking down the corridor—but both turned to look directly at him, their expressions cold and lifeless.
A chill ran through Zhou Ning. Those eyes… weren't theirs.
The feeling was all too familiar. Just like the Spider-formed Argus, Joshua, and the other nobles—he could almost be sure of it: during the time they'd been away, the father and son had inevitably been replaced.
At the far end of the left corridor, he also saw the chubby boy's father—Prime Minister Vernon West—along with familiar faces like Harrison Reeves, Count Robbins, and two hooded figures entering a room together.
Aside from Vernon West, it was practically a gathering of villains.
Why were all of them meeting here? What were they planning? Wariness surged in Zhou Ning's heart, tinged with deep curiosity.
Urged along by John, he entered the right-side door. After another turn, they came to a long corridor. At the sixth room, John pushed the door open. Inside was a lavishly furnished chamber—seated within, raising his glass with a smile, was none other than the blond, muscular man Zhou Ning had met before: Prince Harkins.