Chapter 42: Teasing the Elven Maiden

At the Japanese sword school, Miyamoto Musashi, whose heart had just calmed, was once again filled with rage. "Damn it! That Demon King! How can he be so lucky? Damn it!"

In India, at the Karni Mata Temple—the heart of Indian Buddhism—Kartikeya stood as the temple’s guardian war god. For an ordinary person, meeting Kartikeya was harder than ascending to heaven, for he was regarded as a living god in India.

At that moment, Kartikeya was before the Temple’s Sphere of Evolution, preparing to once again challenge the hell-level difficulty, when suddenly, an information prompt from Zhizi appeared.

[Congratulations to the Demon King for becoming the world’s first player to acquire an S-rank skill. He will receive a system reward of 100,000 points and an extra bonus—a Rune Gift Box.]

Kartikeya was stunned. He had chosen a magical class, awakening an advanced spell—not so much standard magic, but rather, a mystical art with an Eastern flavor: Summoning!

This allowed Kartikeya to summon a resplendent peacock to fight at his side. With the peacock, he easily cleared the novice level, soared everywhere, triggered many hidden stages, obtained numerous C- and D-level gear, and even earned a B-rank skill—Corpse Reanimation.

Corpse Reanimation could revive the dead as zombies, making them follow all his commands in battle—a truly fearsome necromancy.

Kartikeya had believed that, with his own power and the support of India’s military, he could threaten China. He never expected a Demon King to emerge from the Chinese region—someone who not only became the first to unlock hell-level difficulty, but also the first to acquire an S-rank skill!

An S-rank skill! Kartikeya’s B-rank skill was already so powerful, he could scarcely imagine how terrifying an S-rank skill must be!

Across Asia, all those evolutionaries and private militias eyeing China with greedy ambition lost their nerve. They knew now that China was truly on the verge of producing a Demon King!

…

Chen Mo had no idea that news of his S-rank skill had already been broadcast worldwide. At this moment, he was overjoyed.

"Elf girl, you’re really too good to me. The more I look at you, the more pleasing you seem!"

In his excitement, Chen Mo gave the female elf a hug.

To his surprise, he felt the softness of her bosom pressing against his chest—an intoxicating, soul-stirring sensation.

He had thought the elf’s body would be cold and metallic, but it was remarkably real.

"Warning! Do not touch the novice elf, or you will be punished!"

So fierce! So frightening!

Chen Mo quickly stepped back, grinning. "Heh heh, elf girl, don’t be so harsh. We’ve got plenty of time ahead—let’s be friends. Why don’t I give you a name? You’re so beautiful; let’s call you Meimei!"

The elf’s sweet voice suddenly turned mechanical and cold: "Rejected! Player lacks authority to assign a name!"

"What? You say I lack authority? I insist! Meimei! Meimei! Meimei! Listen up, from this day forth, you’re Meimei!"

"Rejected. Player lacks authority to assign a name!"

"Meimei!"

"Rejected!"

"Meimei!"

"Rejected!"

"Meimeimeimeimeimei!"

At last, the elf was driven mad by Chen Mo’s persistence and, with a sweet voice, said: "Thank you, master, for naming me. From today on, I shall be called Meimei!"

Master??

Gulping, Chen Mo swallowed hard, his mind drifting to inappropriate thoughts.

"Meimei!" Chen Mo called out tentatively.

"Yes, master!" the elf replied sweetly.

Rubbing his hands together, Chen Mo was a little excited. "Since you’re calling me master, do I get any special perks?"

"Sorry, master, no! Aside from the change in address, your rights are the same as all other players!"

All for nothing. Chen Mo had hoped the elf could help him cheat, but it turned out only the title changed. It seemed renaming the elf was a player privilege, just one that required certain conditions.

Still, Chen Mo wasn’t discouraged. He believed the elf’s programming must have bugs. After all, he’d exploited a bug to challenge the system ten thousand times before. Maybe he’d uncover more, and one day, the elf would truly become his and even betray the system.

No more daydreaming—back to business.

With high anticipation, Chen Mo opened the Rune Gift Box.

Meimei the elf, seemingly livelier than before, came over and sweetly announced, "Congratulations, master, on obtaining the S-rank Diamond Skin skill’s—Mirror Shell! While Diamond Skin is active, this will create an additional mirror image that can absorb up to 20% of your HP in damage!"

Oh? A mirror image?! This rune was something special!

Though the mirror image could only absorb 20% of his health as damage, it could be used to test deadly traps or confuse enemies in battle—a true god-tier skill. The only drawback was its brevity: it lasted just ten seconds.

Still, Chen Mo was content!

To get an S-rank skill and a skill rune at once—if he wanted anything more, evolutionaries around the world would be weeping in envy.

Meimei the elf reminded him, "Hidden stage complete. Returning to the dungeon!"

Light enveloped him, and Chen Mo was teleported back onto the stone path of Temple Escape. Behind him, the five black gorillas began chattering again.

"Meimei, what’s my score for this challenge?"

Meimei replied, "Master, your current distance is 900 meters."

Hmm, 900 meters?

Might as well round it off. From now on, every dungeon run, he’d aim for an extra 1,000 meters, just to show the instructor his progress!

So, Chen Mo sashayed forward another 100 meters, strutting as if on the runway at Paris Fashion Week.

Along the way, the five gorillas lunged at him.

With a thought, Chen Mo activated the S-rank skill—Diamond Skin!

In an instant, his body was sheathed in diamond, transforming him into a diamond man. Even more magically, another identical diamond man appeared beside him.

Chen Mo found he could link his consciousness to the other diamond man. With a single thought, his mirror image charged at the gorillas.

The five gorillas gleefully tore the diamond man to pieces—only to discover moments later that their enemy was still alive, even waving at them in triumph!

Death is preferable to humiliation.

The five gorillas’ pride was trampled again and again. Roaring in fury, they charged wildly.

But Chen Mo gave them no chance. His score was already up to 1,000 meters—enough. More might arouse suspicion.

With a leap, Chen Mo jumped off a cliff and died instantly!

[Third challenge failed. Final score: 1,000 meters. Points earned: 1,000.]