Reborn as a Transcendent-Chapter 738Book 3: : Your Delusions, I’ll Be the One to Shatter Them.
Going back a little in time…
Jade City remained as lively as ever, though today’s bustle differed noticeably from usual. Whether guards or players, everyone’s eyes carried obvious streaks of red.
The former had been ordered to hunt down that detestable Black-Hearted Princess and had not slept a wink. Most of the latter had spent the entire night searching for S.K.Y., and only a small minority were looking for the Black-Hearted Princess.
These players were not far from being forcibly logged out. They were filled with a stubborn unwillingness, convinced that with just a few more hours, they might actually find S.K.Y.
Right now, S.K.Y. was like Yae-hime in the past, someone everyone wanted a piece of. The difference was that after the battle in the Mangrove Forest, the vast majority of players had become utterly terrified of her.
Before they grew stronger, they did not even dare entertain a single improper thought. Of course, there were still a few naive dreamers clinging to blind hope. After all, dreams were free. What if one of them actually came true?
NightOut1 sat by the window of a snack shop, cracking melon seeds while scrolling through game news, appearing completely relaxed.
In truth, he was a casual player who had little interest in leveling or equipment. NightOut came from Novice Village 101. He once partied with Little Fairy and had long witnessed the terror that was the Black-Hearted Princess. Naturally, he had no desire to “pluck her peach.”
Players who still harbored that kind of delusion were, in his eyes, definitely out of their minds.
“Huh? Did my eyes blur?” he muttered as he suddenly stared at the floating Level Ranking List. His expression shifted from calm to stunned, his eyes widening abruptly as his jaw dropped wide enough to fit a whole fist.
“F-forty… Forty!?” At last, the shock and disbelief exploding inside him burst out like a crack of spring thunder, startling everyone in the shop.
The locals immediately began shouting curses, and among the players, some scolded him while others sensed something amiss. Just now, this guy had shouted “forty!” Could a new World Boss have appeared?
None of them connected it to a player’s level, because until now, the highest level belonged only to the Black-Hearted Princes, who’s at Level 30. You ate your meal one bite at a time, after all. Even if that Black-Hearted Princess was practically a walking cheat engine, she couldn’t have suddenly jumped ten levels.
It had to be a new World Boss. That was what the players firmly believed. To them, while a World Boss wasn’t as enticing as the artifact on S.K.Y., it was still a delicious chunk of meat.
Who wouldn’t want a bite? If they got lucky and an Epic-grade item dropped, they would strike it rich! In an instant, many players imagined themselves bathing in a tub filled with money. It was utter bliss.
Unfortunately, beautiful fantasies remained nothing more than fantasies. At that moment, NightOut struck without mercy and shattered their delusions, “Heaven above! The Black-Hearted Princess hit Level 40!”
His voice spread like a scream straining to tear open his throat, stunning not only everyone inside but also frightening those outside. The locals were baffled. They only heard the words “Black-Hearted Princess,” yet even that alone struck them like thunder.
That imperial scourge, had she committed some new atrocity again? Otherwise, why would this outsider be so shocked?
The players felt their minds blank for a moment, and when they recovered, the expressions on their faces were a spectacle. Astonishment, disbelief, suspicion, dull confusion, silent shock, slack-jawed stares, furrowed brows, alarm… it was all there.
“That has to be a joke, right?” someone finally spoke, breaking the heavy silence.
“Of course it’s a joke. People nowadays don’t even need a picture in their posts to fool a whole bunch of idiots. They just want attention…disgusting!”
“Exactly! I checked the Black-Hearted Princess’ level one minute ago. Still Level 30, not even one level higher!” A Level 20 warrior spoke with absolute confidence.
“I checked thirty seconds ago. Also Level 30. This is confirmed rumor-mongering!”
“Do they really take us for fools?”
“Hmph, the face of someone whose lies get exposed is always so ugly.”
“A clown trying to stir up the crowd.”
The players in the shop all pointed fingers at NightOut, making his anger surge.
He was about to show them the proof when someone suddenly gasped, “Damn! She really hit Level 40!”
Everyone turned toward the voice. The player who had confidently claimed he checked the ranking thirty seconds earlier now stood pale-faced, staring at the leaderboard with a twisted expression.
A curious onlooker leaned over, catching a full, unobstructed view of the Level Ranking List. At the very top, the entry “Princess” stood out strikingly. The moment he looked at the level displayed, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. It unmistakably showed Level 40.
Seeing his distorted reaction, the surrounding players felt a sudden surge of doubt. Could it… actually be real? One after another, they opened the ranking list with skeptical hesitance.
Within two seconds, sharp gasps sounded repeatedly throughout the shop. The sudden chorus of cold inhalations made the temperature in the room feel as though it had dropped by ten degrees. Then came the outcry, an uproar that shook the entire space.
Watching the crowd’s nearly contorted expressions, NightOut flicked aside his dark bangs and let a mocking smile curl at the edge of his lips. “Got your faces slapped, didn’t you? Hurts, right?” he shouted.
Upon hearing this, the players’ expressions grew even uglier. They had just been loudly accusing him of fabricating nonsense, yet now the ranking list had smacked them square in the face. The embarrassment was unbearable.
The thin-skinned turned beet red. The thick-skinned said nothing and simply pretended to admire the scenery. Still, more than hurt pride, what bothered the players most was the leaderboard itself.
Jumping from Level 30 to Level 40, no matter how they looked at it, something had to be wrong with the ranking. It had to be a system error.
Someone quickly opened the forums and posted a question in the admin section, hoping for clarification. He expected no reply anytime soon. But this time, a response came instantly.
“Negative.” That was the administrator’s answer.
“It’s not a system bug!” the player shouted in shock. His voice instantly drew the attention of all nearby players. But to the natives, this outsider was merely yelling strange, incomprehensible syllables. It was unsettling.
Those who had firmly believed it was a system bug felt themselves slapped a second time. At this point, however, the embarrassment hardly mattered. What mattered was that, if it wasn’t a system bug, then the Black-Hearted Princess truly was Level 40.
How were they supposed to accept that?!
They rushed forward to confirm for themselves, and the truth staring back at them was more real than any pearl.
In the next moment, the entire shop fell into dead silence. Sensing the eerie quiet, the natives felt chills crawl up their spines. These outsiders were extremely strange. Before they could even grow properly frightened, a deafening chorus of shouts erupted.
“Cheating! This is blatant cheating!”
“The Black-Hearted Princess caught cheating red-handed!”
“What the hell! Wasn’t the level cap still 30?! Jumping straight to 40? That’s some outrageous cheating!”
“No wonder she’s so strong. Of course she was cheating!”
“Damn that cheater!” 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
“I refuse to accept this!”
The players inside the shop gradually lost control of their emotions. And it didn’t take long for that emotional chaos to spread through the forums… Eventually sweeping across the entire world.
