Chapter 5: Supernatural Leaderboard, King!
"I won't eat!"
Even though the center of his forehead was pierced.
Even though blood flowed down to the bridge of his nose.
Even though the fear of death deeply filled his heart.
Li Guanqi's answer remained the same.
The bck-robed dwarf stared at him, his gaze growing colder, and a chilling killing intent surged constantly.
The two stared at each other in silence.
The atmosphere became increasingly oppressive, deathly still.
The candlelight flickered slightly, the dim yellow light constantly swaying.
Ten seconds, thirty seconds, one minute, two minutes…
Li Guanqi's gaze did not waver in the slightest.
"Heh."
Suddenly, the bck-robed dwarf chuckled.
"Buzz buzz—"
The bck beetle fpped its wings and returned to his sleeve. At the same time, the old dwarf's palm swept over the two wooden bowls filled with curse insects on the table, and the next moment, the bowls vanished into thin air.
"You are... good."
The bck-robed dwarf floated up out of thin air, walking on air, and stood on the table, coming face-to-face with Li Guanqi.
He raised his small, rough, bark-like right hand, and his thumb gently stroked Li Guanqi's injured forehead. Bursts of enchanting dark green spiritual light emerged.
A moment ter, the green light dissipated.
The bck-robed dwarf withdrew his hand, and at the same time, a small blood scab fell off.
Li Guanqi raised his hand and touched the center of his forehead.
Perfectly smooth.
Never mind a wound, there probably wasn't even the slightest scar left.
"Child, remember your choice today, remember it forever."
Standing on the tabletop, the old bck-robed dwarf raised his hand and gently ruffled Li Guanqi's head. His eyes were dim, his voice hoarse and low.
"Curse insects are bizarre and countless. Many curse insects will make you wish you were dead… regret it for the rest of your life.
Child, remember your master's words.
In the world of sorcery, even if you die, never, ever eat another sorcerer's curse insects.
If necessary, after being force-fed curse insects by another sorcerer, you must find every possible way to gain the ability to commit suicide.
You must at least ensure that you can still commit suicide at any time."
The old bck-robed dwarf was too small, and Li Guanqi, at nearly two meters tall, was too tall.
Even though he stood on the table, and even though Li Guanqi sat in the chair, it still looked somewhat strenuous and comical for the bck-robed dwarf to touch Li Guanqi's head.
But Li Guanqi didn't feel that way.
He just listened to the old dwarf's words, feeling a strange sensation in his heart.
"Sometimes, being alive is more terrifying than being dead."
The bck-robed dwarf's voice was hoarse and deep. "You must remember these words I've told you, Master… is already very old, about to die of old age. In this final period, Master will impart everything he has learned throughout his life to you.
But.
Compared to curse techniques, this experience of navigating the sorcerer's world is even more precious. Remember, remember…"
Li Guanqi's expression was complex.
For some reason, he felt that the bck-robed dwarf's words didn't sound like casual teachings from a teacher, but more like heartfelt sentiments born from personal experience.
Sorcerers and curse insects.
Curse insects are bizarre and countless, and one must never eat another sorcerer's curse insects, or they would wish they were dead.
Was that why the bck-robed dwarf's requirement for his disciple was such a strange condition?
"Alright, disciple, you rest for a while. I'll go out and find a blood-testing stone to specifically test your aptitude."
After speaking, the old bck-robed dwarf left the room.
"..."
Li Guanqi sat on the chair.
The candlelight swayed, and under the dim yellow light, his expression was somewhat uncertain.
If his sorcerer aptitude was unremarkable, there would be no danger from now on.
He could peacefully learn curse techniques and wait for the old dwarf to die of old age.
Unfortunately.
His aptitude was too good.
Possessing the [Communicate with the Netherworld (Purple)] talent, his sorcerer aptitude would make even the bck-robed dwarf covet it, making him unwilling to die and leading him to perform the body-snatching technique.
So, the days ahead were also fraught with danger!
"Creak—"
After the bck-robed dwarf left, Li Guanqi waited a few minutes, then stood up, pushed open the door, and looked at the surrounding geography.
This was a wooden house located in a deep, secluded valley. Beside it were several other wooden houses with tightly closed doors, their purpose unknown.
"Creak—"
Li Guanqi retreated back into the house and re-closed the seemingly decaying door.
He didn't pn to leave.
In his simutions, there was no scenario where he escaped this pce. He couldn't possibly abandon the known ending and risk leaving.
Who knew what would happen then?
Li Guanqi sat on the wooden bed covered with straw, which still felt slightly cold, and continued to ponder.
"Ding!"
"Supernatural System initiating."
"This system is shared by all espers."
Li Guanqi was taken aback.
Then, a light blue, translucent light screen appeared before his eyes, extremely simir to the one in the simutor, just with a slightly different name at the top.
[Supernatural World System]
The left half of the light screen dispyed a virtual image of Li Guanqi's body, spread-eagled, slowly rotating.
Below it, his information appeared.
[Overall Evaluation: You are an unranked sorcerer's apprentice, but your aptitude is incredibly high, and your physical fitness is far superior to the frail bodies of most sorcerers. Perhaps this is your advantage?]
[Level Rating: 2.0]
[The average human rating is 0.8, the average esper rating is 0.8]
Li Guanqi raised an eyebrow.
He remembered that initially, his rating was only 1.2.
Now it seemed that after obtaining the simutor's abilities and talent rewards, his rating had increased, already more than double that of an ordinary human.
As for the average rating of espers, that was something not shown in the simutor.
But it was easy to guess. It clearly referred to the roughly one hundred million people selected globally. Right now, everyone else had just been chosen, so their average rating was naturally simir to that of ordinary humans.
He, Li Guanqi, was the exception.
"Ding!"
"The first esper to obtain an E-rank plot rating in the supernatural world has appeared."
"Supernatural Leaderboard initiating."
Suddenly, a cold, mechanical female voice sounded.
"The Supernatural Leaderboard is a ranking for all espers. The reference data is solely the Level Rating."
"The composition of the Level Rating is multifaceted."
"Simple example: Suppose Zhang San can lift a huge rock, Zhang San's Level Rating is 1.0."
"Zhao Si can use medical skills to heal an injured person, Zhao Si's Level Rating could also be 1.0."
"The ranking standard of the Supernatural Leaderboard does not include actual combat ability. Please do not use the leaderboard as a combat reference."
"More leaderboards will be opened ter, such as the Peak Leaderboard (Combat Ability), Plot Leaderboard, Physician Leaderboard, Strategist Leaderboard, etc."
"Ding!"
"Now, please decide on the name you will dispy on the Supernatural Leaderboard."
"Friendly reminder, it is best not to include information such as your real address, and do not use your real name."
Oh?
Is that so…
Li Guanqi thought for a moment.
"Wang." (King)
"Ding! Name confirmed: Wang."
"Your current rank: Peak of All Beings!"
Li Guanqi was stunned.
"Huh?"
At this moment, he noticed a small, slightly pulsating icon had appeared on the light screen, resembling a bulletin board, or perhaps… a leaderboard.
"Buzz—"
Just as Li Guanqi focused his attention on that icon, an incomparably dark mist seemed to appear before his eyes.
And in the deepest part of the mist, a purplish-bck leaderboard emitted a hazy glow.
Li Guanqi focused his gaze even more intently.
The golden characters on it gradually became clear.
Wang (Peak of All Beings!) (Level Rating: 2.0) (Plot Rating in this Supernatural World: E-)
