Chapter 52: Not a Legend, but Greater Than a Legend

It turns out that most spur-of-the-moment ideas are doomed to fail. As soon as Wen Nan called out that phrase in his mind, the system responded immediately—

9527: [Sorry, no replicable target detected.]

Wen Nan: ?

Such a large person floating above his head—how could there be nothing to detect?

He tried to widen the selection range, but again received the same system prompt.

He expanded the range to encompass the entire sports field, yet still, no replicable target could be found.

Observing the look on Wen Nan’s face, Yu Shujun’s lips curled into a disdainful smile—

Ye Jiu, you’ve underestimated me.

Knowing full well the other had forcibly activated the replication skill of that scepter fragment, how could she possibly be foolish enough to release her primary skill, handing it over for him to copy?

Laughable—utterly foolish!

...

[My god, what kind of ghost woman is this? How can she be so powerful?]
[She’s only rated one and a half stars on the strategy chart, and she can end the world?!]
[One and a half stars, my foot. Are you new to this stream? That’s a player disguised as a ghost.]
[Players can disguise themselves as ghosts?!]
[Not for small fry like us, but top players can.]
[How high up do you have to be for that?]
[No idea, but definitely out of our league.]
[Star User *ShortFatGuy* has entered the stream, welcome!]
[?]
[Whoa, there’s a star user in this stream?!]
[Someone who’s beaten advanced maps?]
[Respect, bowing to the expert.]
[*ShortFatGuy*: Finally made it in!]
[*ShortFatGuy*: Took me ages to find this stream.]
[Boss, which map did you die on to get here?]
[Did you just get eliminated?]
[*ShortFatGuy*: Uh...]
[Don’t ask what you shouldn’t.]
[Yeah, rare to have a star user, don’t scare him off.]
[See, the star player isn’t talking now.]
[Did he really leave?]
[*ShortFatGuy*: Damn!]
[*ShortFatGuy*: They’re already fighting? What did I miss?]

[*ShortFatGuy*: Whoa! Is that Jun Wuming’s hidden technique?! Incredible! Seeing is believing!]
[?]
[Star player, what are you talking about?]
[Who is Jun Wuming?]
[What is this hidden technique?]
[*ShortFatGuy*: Uh...]
[*ShortFatGuy*: You guys don’t even know Jun Wuming? I thought his exploits had already spread through your dead circle.]
[Message retracted]
[*ShortFatGuy*: You guys don’t even know Jun Wuming? I thought his exploits were famous in your audience section.]
[...]
[Boss, no need to retract, we saw the message live.]
[*ShortFatGuy*: Uh, fine, but don’t call me boss, I’m just a low-level laborer in my guild, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.]
[Got it, you’ve been with a big guild.]
[That’s definitely a boss.]
[*ShortFatGuy*: ...]
[So who exactly is Jun Wuming?]
[*ShortFatGuy*: Not in legend, yet greater than legend.]
[*ShortFatGuy*: The tenth, apart from the nine legendary masters.]
[(☉_☉)]
[(｡☉౪⊙｡)]
[Sounds impressive?]
[*ShortFatGuy*: Of course, our guild leader has always been fascinated by him, but after so long, we still haven’t figured out his background.]
[And this hidden technique—what is it?]
[*ShortFatGuy*: I’m not sure, but since it’s called hidden, no one has ever seen it. Or rather, no living person has.]
[*ShortFatGuy*: Looks like it’s this skill that can summon all things.]
[*ShortFatGuy*: But calling it a skill isn’t quite right. From my research, Jun Wuming’s final hidden technique is very special—it’s not an item, not equipment, not a skill, not an attribute.]
[Then what is it?]
[*ShortFatGuy*: I don’t know. Hard to say.]
...

Standing in the center of the field, Wen Nan, after several failed attempts at replication, finally realized what was wrong—

Something was off; the problem wasn’t with the selection range.

The ultimate move Yu Shujun was unleashing now—could it not be replicated at all?

Why?

The description of the Archmage’s Scepter Fragment clearly stated that any item, equipment, skill, even a character’s or player’s attributes, could be replicated...

But Wen Nan had no time to ponder this, for in the blink of an eye, the horde of summoned entities had already surged before him.

Splat!

A mangled, bloody animal carcass flew straight at Wen Nan’s face.

Splat!

Next came a trash can.

Bang, bang, bang!

Then several battered desks and benches...

Before those game characters with special skills could get close, a barrage of bizarre “dead things” was already pelting Wen Nan.

Long before Yu Shujun went berserk, Wen Nan had maximized his attribute points through the system with an experience card and shielded himself in a safety bubble. These measures could withstand the initial assault, but they couldn’t protect him forever from the tidal wave of summoned objects.

It was as if Wen Nan had become a black hole with infinite gravity, drawing in every visible object from around the field.

High above, Yu Shujun looked down coldly at the figure besieged on all sides.

This player called Ye Jiu—Yu Shujun actually didn’t dislike him. On the contrary, he was one of the rare players she had a favorable impression of.

From the moment they formed their gentleman’s agreement, to Yu Shujun successfully retrieving the scepter fragment from his inventory, everything had proceeded smoothly.

Had he not tried to outsmart her by forcibly activating the fragment’s replication skill, Yu Shujun had no intention of harming him.

In fact, if he’d asked, she wouldn’t have minded offering him some benefits in exchange for the transfer of the scepter fragment.

But he just had to get clever and forcibly activate the fragment!

If this piece were used on this trial map, it would be a colossal waste—a tremendous loss to the entire game world!

The gem fragment, glowing with a ghostly blue light, was still in Yu Shujun’s hand, yet she couldn’t make it her own.

The thought made her squeeze her eyes shut in pain.

On the fragment, glaring numbers continued to tick down—

[Equipment in use, remaining time: 19:02—]
[Equipment in use, remaining time: 19:01—]

There was no time left.

This fragment was unlike any other.

It could only be used once.

Once the skill was activated, it couldn’t be revoked. There was only one way to prevent it from taking effect—to end the user’s life within the remaining time.

Of course, Yu Shujun didn’t really intend to kill Ye Jiu.

During this countdown, she would terminate Ye Jiu’s vital signs, claim the right to use the scepter fragment, then, in the game lobby, use her revival card on him.

The revival card was even rarer than the scepter fragments—only three existed in the entire world.

Yu Shujun herself had only one.

Still, if she was to take the scepter fragment from Ye Jiu, she didn’t mind giving him her revival card in exchange.

All these calculations in Yu Shujun’s mind were unknown to Wen Nan.

As he watched the last layer of his defense about to be breached, his expression turned cold.

His spur-of-the-moment plan B clearly wouldn’t work.

It was time to switch back to plan A!