Chapter 55: Mystery Magician
Bai Yan made a decision that broke his habit.
“Habit is not the same as principle. It’s no big deal.”
A habit was like eating lighter and healthier food when you were trying to lose weight. But if you didn’t stick to the diet, eating fried chicken and coke wasn’t considered a violation of principle… at least he thought so.
Bai Yan was never a man of principles. As long as he could satisfy his immediate needs and didn’t give up on his ultimate goal, he had no problem changing his habits or morals with flexibility.
Since he only had enough Energy Point for a 10 summons and wanted to summon from both pools, he decided to summon five times from each pool.
Bai Yan took a deep breath and washed his hands as usual.
He narrowed his eyes and looked into the mirror, mouthing some fake prayers to Heavenly Lord, Azathoth, and even Ultraman King.
“Okay, let’s go get it!”
Bai Yan started from the old pool -- Fate. He sat back on his bed, picked up his phone, and tapped on the screen without hesitation.
First one!
The dark mist in Fate curled, showing some patterns.
Operator Fragment -- Fusion Slime × 1
Second one!
Operator Fragment -- Sword of Demons × 1
‘What? Two non-human operators in a row? Too bad they are all fragments. It would be great if I could directly have them.’
Bai Yan shook his head and clicked on the screen again to summon the third and fourth time.
Entertainment -- Happy Memory × 1
Tactics -- Sudden Storm × 1
Bai Yan’s face immediately fell. It turned out that single summons wouldn’t change his luck.
“Other Tactics like ‘Gigantic Meteorite Falling from the Sky’ or “A Quarter of Godlike Luck’ will be more useful. Storm won’t help at all when there are no sea battles!”
‘Calm down… I need to calm down.’
Bai Yan was overcome by bitterness. He was so regretful that he hadn’t chosen 10 summons. In a situation like this, even though the result might be the same, people would always feel that they could have better luck if they did it differently.
His fingers trembled slightly as he continued tapping on the screen.
Core Operator -- Mystery Magician × 1
“Yeah! Finally got one!”
Then Bai Yan suddenly realized something.
“Mystery Magician? A new operator I don’t know?”
What happened to this game?
Bai Yan frowned. Whether it was the first playthrough or the dozens of failed attempts before…he had never seen this Core Operator before.
“Strange… there’s almost no chance that I’ve missed him in the past. Or… is he an exclusive operator in the second playthrough?”
Both the early appearance of the new pool and the unknown operator made Bai Yan feel wrong.
“But it seems like I actually got lucky. Phew, thank god I didn’t choose 10 summons…”
Before this good came out, he felt bad that he didn’t select 10 summons directly.
However, once he got a new Core Operator, his thoughts turned upside down.
Bai Yan tapped the screen again. The fragments gradually faded, then Mystery Magician appeared.
He was a young magician with a white smiley mask. His pixel figure was wearing elegant purple tailcoat and a black top hat.
He took off his top hat and bowed like a gentleman. Doves flew out of from his hat.
“Magic -- that is -- trickery and deception.”
Bai Yan was lost in thought. Somehow, he had a strong sense of déjà vu for the new operator.
He didn’t check the new operator right away. He had more important things to do.
Energy Point haven’t been used up. He hasn’t tried the new pool yet.
There were 5 summons left from the new pool!
Bai Yan took another deep breath. Then his finger pressed the screen repeatedly. Dark mist with a purple reflection shimmered. New patterns appeared one after another.
“That’s it!”
Possibility: Fallen Angel -- Nightsaber (7 Days)
Possibility: Fairy Witch -- Psychic Dancer (7 Days)
Possibility: Enemy of Humanity -- AX450 (7 Days)
Bai Yan’s eyes lit up only for a moment before they dimmed.
“All of them are seven days… why did I specifically get skins for these two?”
Two identical 7 days skins could be combined into one permanent skin. Bai Yan could afford to wait until another “7 Days” was summoned and get the permanent skin.
He remembered that Psychic Dancer’s ability would be replaced by the talent of summoning fairy creatures when she equipped with Fairy Witch skin.
Operators were still what they were even with a new skin.
Even if their Race, STR, and Ability made a difference, their essence wouldn’t have any fundamental changes, and their new ability would have connections to their former power.
To some extent, it was similar to Martin Morning. Operators temporarily lived with the possibility of another world line.
Nightsaber’s Fallen Angel skin changed her race. Having six black wings on her back, she was distinctive from the girl in the current world.
Bai Yan recalled the appearance of the skin. Its cloth was less than what Nightsaber was wearing now and it would give her more beautiful stances during battles.
He was eager to call her immediately and use the skin so he could have a look.
Refrain!
Bai Yan shook his head. Anyone would know the difference between 7 days and permanent. Patience for a moment, happiness for a lifetime.
Proceed with the summoning!
World Line Change Fragment -- Atlantis × 1
World Line Change -- Obelisk of the Sun × 1
Yes!
“Does it relate to the effect of Game ability? I feel like my luck has turned!”
A bright smile finally appeared on Bai Yan’s face. In less than a minute, all his struggle and regret disappeared.
“It seems that 10 summons is a bad choice. Single summons is the truth!”
Bai Yan blinked and thought, ‘Does anyone really like 10 summons?’
System Notification:
“World Line Change -- Obelisk of the Sun acquired. Would you like to use it?”
In Bai Yan’s impression, Obelisk of the Sun had simple but practical effects. It would cure city resident’s diseases through sunlight. Also, by transforming the Wishes of surrounding residents, it would provide 5 to 20 Energy Points every day.
On average, it would allow Bai Yan to have a 10 summons every two months. The sooner he equipped with it, the more rewards he could receive!
Bai Yan chose “Yes”.
“World Line Change -- Obelisk of the Sun is loading. Estimated completion time in 3 days.”
Bravo!
Next was the whole point. Bai Yan needed to complete the new operator’s guide mission, and it was an operator he had never known.
Guide mission began.
Bai Yan clicked on “Operator” and selected Mystery Magician to change his exclusive battle lines.
“Although it’s a bit divisive, I feel it will be interesting…” Considering that Core Operators were all people in reality, he couldn’t help doing that.
Only hesitating for a moment, he pressed the OK button.
“Cry! Beg! Struggle! Then die!”
Dressed in a white suit, Alan entered the archives of Demon Hunt Agency calmly.
Inside the extremely spacious archives, rows of floor-to-ceiling cabinets were neatly arranged. Under the dim light, Alan’s face was serious.
The closer he got to the thirteenth row, the heavier his breaths became.
The archives had records of superpower events in the Air Alliance during the past hundred years. DHA in various cities had been sharing these useful information.
Cabinet in the thirteenth row were the records from thirteen years ago. Night watchmen could access files according to their clearance level.
That event was certainly included in the archives…
When he finally arrived in the thirteenth row, Alan’s pupils narrowed.
A gorgeous white-haired woman dressed in black stood before the cabinet, smiling softly as she looked over a file intently.
Alan found himself having a hard time breathing as if he had fallen into ice-cold water. He yelled like he was traumatized.
“What are you doing here!”
Merete Chambers turned to him, stared at him for a moment, and explained with a smile.
“I’m looking for information about ‘Tower’. I had no idea that your past was part of the search. Should I say sorry? After all, this is a violation of your privacy.”
‘Why does this woman care about Tower? Does she also think that Tower has something to do with Babel Tower?’
Alan didn’t speak his mind but replied coolly, “There’s no need to apologize. You can access these files anyway. I have no right to stop you.”
Merete looked at him with a beaming smile. Then she set her lip, “So your relationship with that guy is like this. No wonder you brought him here. Now I completely understand.”
“Enough. I don’t want to talk about the past.”
Alan had a stern look on his face, completely different from his usual playful one.
Obviously, he didn’t want to continue the topic.
Even though he was no stranger to death, that event was still a frequent source of nightmares for him.
“I see. Everyone has their own phobias.”
Merete nodded slightly. She put back the file and left.
“Catch you later.”
Alan stood there for a while with his head down and hands clenched. Finally, he walked to the cabinet, took out that black file and opened it.
The file was the detailed record of the event caused by members of the mysterious organization named “Tower”.
There were so many people involved. Victims were all children, and two of them were “No. 1878907 Alan (Recruited)” and “No. 1878908 Bai Yan (Memory Correction)”.
Every time he checked the files, Alan would sense the fear deep in his heart. The source of this fear, was of course…
“Bai Yan.”
Alan muttered to himself, staring at nothing.
Suddenly, a voice appeared in his mind.
[You have been chosen, Mystery Magician.]
PS1: Vol1 of this novel has been published on Amazon (https://amzn.to/3zKtSrz)
PS2: The translation speed of this novel will be increased as multiple translators are working together now.
