Chapter 5: Vivian's Resolution

The group members seemed accustomed to Bai Yulou's behavior, carrying on with their usual casual chatter. Ron watched the conversation, hoping to glean more information, while simultaneously opening the group files to see if there was anything useful.

[Tomato Grass Egg: I’ve been reviewing the reports of missing persons in the city lately. The numbers are clearly anomalous. I suspect there’s an undiscovered Spirit Realm dungeon in the city. Everyone, stay safe.]

[Phlegm-Grilled Octopus: Another Spirit Realm dungeon? Has no one stumbled upon it after all this time?]

This was, in fact, a dangerous sign. A dungeon that remained unresolved for so long was either hidden so well that ordinary people couldn't find it, or it was so perilous that no one could survive it. If it were the former, there wouldn't be so many reports of missing persons; the latter meant the dungeon's lethality was extremely high, with no one coming out alive.

[Leader of the Cliffhanger Sect: You can tell just by looking at how many novels have been abandoned lately.]

If it were a dangerous dungeon, it would inevitably be accompanied by the deaths of many creators. The deaths of these individuals would naturally lead to their ongoing works being abandoned. Ron pondered this, just about to type a message to ask for advice on dealing with dungeons, when a massive "lewd" image was suddenly plastered across his screen.

[I Am Definitely Not a Hero: [Lewd Image]]

"..."

No, why are there people like this in a group like this? Can't they be serious for a second? In the few minutes they had been chatting, this "hero" had posted over a dozen lewd images, and the others in the group, aside from occasionally asking for the source, seemed unfazed. It appeared to be a perfectly normal occurrence.

The group information mentioned that every author group had a unique way of determining if they had entered a Spirit Realm dungeon. Surely this group didn't use lewd images for that, did they? Ron thought, while saving the pictures.

Based on the group files, many Spirit Realm dungeons in reality were created when mentally unstable "Resonators" triggered a breach, either actively or passively, drawing creatures from the Spirit Realm into reality. To prevent these creatures from spreading, the World Consciousness would form an area accessible only to Resonators to contain these entities, essentially creating a dungeon, and then draw surrounding creators into it to clear it.

I need to get back quickly and write down today's Spirit Realm experience as a novel to upload. Only by getting readers will I be able to unlock the "Punishment of Power" ability. Although the current Demon King Cat might not be strong enough to use this skill on powerful dungeon entities, having a control skill is far better than having no actual combat capability at all.

Thinking this, Ron got up and headed out. Because the consciousness of the Spirit Realm was synchronized with real time, the text before Ron’s eyes did not stop even after Bai Lu appeared.

[Vivian is seeing such a scene for the first time.]
[She is terrified.]
[She looks at you and instinctively takes a few steps back.]
[This is the instinctive reaction of an inexperienced, ambitious-less country girl seeing a terrifying creature.]
[You leap onto Vivian's shoulder with elegant steps.]

[You can clearly feel her body trembling slightly.]
["Are... are they all dead?" Vivian murmurs, looking at the bodies strewn about.]
["The vast majority," you say.]
["That's too much..." Vivian whispers to herself.]

Ron watched the text as he left the hospital and headed toward the bus stop. Was Vivian's reaction because she felt he had gone too far? Even though this bandit group was full of evil, did she think they shouldn't have been killed? A character who is too much of a "saint" probably wouldn't be liked by readers. Ron couldn't help but consider changing characters. If Vivian was too saintly, he would have to consider her popularity with readers. This directly affected the strength of his character card.

The negative effect of "Punishment of Power" was determined by the power gap between the two sides; the ordinary bandits in the group had no extraordinary power, so they died instantly. However, because he had only recovered two remnant souls, Ron's power wasn't very high, and he couldn't inflict the instant-death effect on the bandit leaders who possessed supernatural strength; they were merely unconscious. This meant they would wake up soon. Ron didn't intend to tell Vivian this. If she wanted to play the "saint," she would have to bear the consequences.

[Vivian picks you up and places you on her shoulder.]
[She has no intention of blaming you.]
[Kitties are so cute, what could they possibly do wrong?]
[Vivian picks up her staff, intending to see if anyone is still alive.]

Heh, what a death-wish. You don't even see the insane things these bandits have done, yet you still feel sympathy for them? Ron sighed and shook his head, his resolve to leave and change protagonists firming up.

[Snap!]
[Vivian uses her staff to smash the head of the bandit at her feet.]
"???"
[She shakes her head regretfully: "Looks like they're really dead."]
Damn it, is that how you check if someone is alive?

Vivian kept tapping the heads of the bandits until she was sure everyone was dead. Ron watched this scene with a twitching lip. Originally, some of the supernatural beings shouldn't have been killed instantly by his power, but after being tapped on the head by Vivian, they were as dead as they could get. Although Ron believed these people deserved to die, Vivian's behavior was truly terrifying. He couldn't help but feel lucky that he was currently equipped with a stabilizer, so his Spirit Realm experiences were converted into text rather than appearing as images before his eyes.

["So, no one survived?" Having finished, Vivian holds you while standing on the watchtower, looking at the corpses below.]

This time, Ron finally couldn't hold back.
["With a tap like that from you, it would be a miracle if anyone survived!" you say irritably.]
[Hearing you speak, Vivian lifts you up with slight surprise: "Wow! Ron, you can talk!"]
[She is genuinely happy that you can speak.]
[This means you haven't been corrupted by the Demon King's remnant soul and lost your mind.]
[Vivian breathes a sigh of relief.]
[At the same time, she decides to hide the fact that you possess special abilities, as this could easily lead you into danger.]

The Demon King's remnant soul that Ron had left behind had become the most important source of supernatural power in this Spirit Realm. When a cat revealed that it possessed extraordinary power, those with ulterior motives would naturally associate it with the remnant soul, which would indeed invite unnecessary danger. In this regard, Vivian was actually very clear-headed. Without sufficient strength, holding a treasure is a crime that invites death.

[Vivian sets fire to the bandit camp, burying everything within in a sea of flames.]
["Doing this won't prove you completed the exam," you say, sitting on Vivian's shoulder and watching the fire.]
["This mission was never intended for me to complete from the start," Vivian says calmly, chanting a spell to ensure that no lingering undead power could be used by those necromancers.]
[This is one of the few spells Vivian is skilled at and accurate with.]
[The containment ritual for the Demon King's remnant soul is highly classified magical knowledge.]
[Vivian had accidentally discovered the relevant knowledge while trying to save her teacher's library after accidentally setting it on fire during practice.]
[How could ordinary bandits possibly know such a ritual?]
[Furthermore, the ritual they used required not only a large amount of human blood but also a beautiful, large-breasted, blonde virgin as a living sacrifice.]
[That was the type the Mad Demon King loved most, one that would make his remnant soul feel pleasure.]
[Vivian knew she was the living sacrifice in their plan.]