"Seriously, what a move that ruins the spectator experience! Fern, really, couldn't you consider the viewers a bit?" Lin Yu complained. "You almost made me throw up."

Those flying swords, under the double enhancement of [Penrose Shape], had turned into blobs of flying mosaic.

When most humans see "shapes" that defy common sense, they experience physical discomfort.

This is an irresistible instinct—because the brain processes visual signals, but if the image the visual signals send back is "incorrect"...

That's essentially an "injection-style attack" targeting the human brain!

When many people hear about the effect of [Penrose Shape], their first intuitive reaction is that it's too weak—this [Class Item], something you can only get at the 『Second Tier』, seems rather unimpressive.

But only those who actually obtain [Penrose Shape] and try using it firsthand understand how utterly absurd this thing is.

"Anything with eyes gets controlled, and it's hard crowd control at that! How ridiculous!"

Lin Yu couldn't help but marvel.

Back when he was trying to build good relationships with the junior boys and girls in the club, he'd play games with them.

Those gaming experiences also taught Lin Yu just how crucial powerful "control" skills are.

Control means you gain a period of free action over your enemy.

And before this, Lin Yu never understood why the highest-level control skills in many games were called "stun."

Now it seems, "stun" really is the most debilitating form of control.

If you try to focus and look, not only can you see nothing clearly, but you also get intense dizziness and nausea.

Watching a bit longer, Lin Yu felt like he was about to vomit.

In this forced, rapid "stunned" state, you truly cannot move or attack!

Plus, Fern used [Penrose Shape] twice, enhancing the already eerie and swift flying swords, making it even more powerful!

Looking at the swords means enduring the negative effect of dizziness;not looking increases your own difficulty in dodging them.

And at this moment, Old Zheng chimed in from the side.

"Actually, even without eyes you'd be affected. If I perceive it with mental power, I'm similarly affected... In fact, any form of 'perception' you attempt on an object affected by [Penrose Shape] will be interfered with—if you don't believe me, try closing your eyes and listening."

Lin Yu tried doing as Old Zheng suggested.

Then, when he closed his eyes and tried to locate the swords by their "buzzing" sounds, he quickly felt a wave of irritation and confusion.

These "sounds" were not only erratic, seeming far one moment and near the next without any pattern, as if disordered.

But after listening for just a short while, they started giving Lin Yu auditory hallucinations.

"Shepard Tone... What the hell, this thing is way too comprehensive!"

Lin Yu hurriedly opened his eyes and shifted his attention.

Old Zheng's brain circuitry flickered rapidly: "Many [Advanced Items] are such 'conceptual-level' things. Otherwise, how could they live up to the difficulty of the 『Second-Tier Trial』?"

"Ha, speaking of that... I'm really looking forward to your upcoming 『Personal Dungeon』 and your 『Second-Tier item』."

"That's all for later. Right now, I'm not even sure I can complete my current 『Promotion Trial』," Lin Yu said calmly. "For now, let's just see which of these two will win..."

Lin Yu tried his best to avoid looking at the flying swords, focusing directly on Twenty.

Twenty, surrounded by the swords, was naturally in a worse state than Lin Yu, the "spectator" who could choose not to look.

His steps were unsteady, his complexion terrible, clearly suffering greatly under the torment of [Penrose Shape].

Although the swords hadn't injured Twenty yet, Lin Yu could see...

Twenty's space for movement was gradually being restricted.

"Still not pulling out an [Advanced Item]?" Old Zheng said intently. "For your 『First-Tier』 [Class Item], I'll assume you chose [Lens], which isn't much help in an ongoing fight... But the four [Advanced Items] of the 『Detective』 can all supplement combat capability."

"And, judging by this guy's personality and the 'Nightmare' magic inherited from Night Valley... Hmm, if he's not an idiot, I think he should have chosen [Evidence Collection Bag]."

Watching Old Zheng enthusiastically explain, Lin Yu was happy to play the straight man.

"What's that?"

"A bag. As long as you know the name and specific function of an opponent's [Ordinary Item], you can temporarily seal that [Item] of theirs and gain partial usage rights of the sealed [Item]—by the way, there's no upper limit on total quantity, no cooldown. The only restriction is that when sealing a second one, you must release the previous one."

"If it's an ownerless in-game [Item], he can even keep it permanently."

As Old Zheng spoke, Lin Yu was very surprised.

"So he could use many [Items], even freeload off some ownerless item?"

"That strength seems a bit broken even for 『Second Tier』, doesn't it?"

Old Zheng pursed his lips: "Broken? Not really—precisely because there are too many [Items] that use 'information' as a means, people often keep the names and functions of their own [Items] hidden."

"After all, it's a 『Detective』's [Item]. To use it, you still need to deduce the opponent's [Item] name and function yourself."

"Function is somewhat easier to figure out—but the names of higher-level [Items] are truly bizarre."

"Mass-produced [Items] can be identified through the Encyclopedia and knowledge, but for many rare [Items], even unique ones, you can't rely on 'deduction' to learn their names. You have to pay some price, use other [Items], or cooperate with others' abilities to find out."

"And most [Class Items] and [Advanced Items] with semi-public names, however, cannot be sealed."

Lin Yu thought about it and seemed to understand.

Thinking carefully about the [Items] in his own possession, the names of those advanced ones really didn't seem like something an ordinary person could guess.

"But if Twenty really chose this [Item], doesn't that mean he must have a way to learn the names of others' [Items]?"

Old Zheng nodded: "Of course, that's why I emphasized 'Night Valley Nightmare'—one of its functions is the ability to glimpse 'True Names'."

"The depths of Night Valley are inhabited by Abyssal Demons, and that race's 'name' itself represents power!"

"Nightmares, as derivative species of demons, share the same characteristic—so they also possess the ability to glimpse 'True Names'."

Hearing about this ability, Lin Yu instinctively glanced at the black cat beside Twenty.

Old Zheng sensed Lin Yu's tension.

"Don't worry, this ability is ineffective against 'Players'—you are protected by the 『Death Game』!"

"Although this 'game' has countless flaws, the rules it imposes on you truly surpass all other existences."

"The gods of the Ten Realms, at most, can only 'interfere' and 'exploit loopholes' cleverly. They don't have the capital to ignore or defy the game's foundational rules."