The Mechanism Kill Revealed

The monster before him had three heads, six arms, and six legs, each limb wielding a different weapon.

Axes, swords, spears, blades…

Not only that, but her combat intelligence was remarkably high.

From the moment she recognized her adversaries as slimes, her attacks were invariably aimed at their cores.

Most unsettling of all, this multi-armed monster, reminiscent of a spider, possessed angelic features on each of its heads, and every limb was indistinguishable from a human’s.

Far from being beautiful, its appearance caused one’s Sanity Value (TL Note: A common term in gaming and horror fiction, referring to a character’s mental stability, which decreases when exposed to disturbing or terrifying events.) to plummet.

Indeed, these were the same weakling puppets from moments ago.

They had only evolved three times.

This was exponential growth… terrifying beyond measure.

Lin Ran had barely managed to dispatch the second and third waves of evolved puppets.

But the fourth wave, the one currently assailing him—

One of the slimes suddenly swelled, interposing itself before Lin Ran and absorbing a brutal cleave.

Its body was torn open, a gaping wound from which viscous fluid splattered everywhere.

Yet, this act bought Lin Ran less than half a second of respite.

Against a puppet that had evolved three times, merely preserving his own life was already his absolute limit.

A graver concern arose: dark patterns were beginning to spread across the puppet before him.

It was the precursor to evolution.

The harbinger of a fourth evolution.

Once that evolution was complete, he would have no chance of victory whatsoever.

“Hmph… hmph…”

Lin Ran leaned, panting, against the corner of the dorm room.

Although Lim and the other slimes still held a vacant gaze, they continued to shield him.

He racked his brain, desperate to uncover a sliver of hope.

But…

He found nothing.

In the face of overwhelming power, all efforts were futile.

“Isn’t this difficulty a bit too high…”

Using the slimes’ abilities to heal the wounds on his right arm, Lin Ran once again gripped his fruit knife.

He offered a bitter smile, knowing full well that this weapon was likely useless against the puppets by now.

The surrounding dormitories, which had previously echoed with surprised shouts, had gradually devolved into screams of agony.

Now, an eerie silence had long since descended upon the vicinity.

In fact, Lin Ran could hear—

The puppets from the surrounding dorms, having dispatched the students within their respective rooms, were now converging on his location.

‘Could his judgment have been flawed? Was this, from the very beginning, a one-sided massacre?’

‘Otherwise, why would the difficulty have escalated so absurdly by the second wave?’

‘He couldn’t even grasp the puppets’ maximum evolution count; he had no idea how many evolutions would signify an end to this ordeal.’

‘Was this truly where it all ended?’

As this thought crossed his mind, Lin Ran suddenly realized something.

‘Maximum evolution count?’

‘No one had ever mentioned an upper limit to the puppets’ evolutions—’

The vast majority of other dormitories had ceased their screams and wails by the second wave, and by the time the third wave evolved, a deathly silence had fallen over the entire school!

This implied that the maximum wave all other students could endure was the third.

Yet he, relying on the slimes’ abilities and assistance, had reached the fourth wave—a stage no one else could attain.

‘If no one could survive even the fourth evolution, then who were the fifth evolutions designed for?’

‘If everyone died, what purpose would the subsequent Myriad Worlds Invasion and later waves serve? Were they just for show?’

A sudden epiphany struck him.

His despair and confusion vanished in an instant.

‘From the very beginning, these puppets were unconquerable.’

‘This apocalypse, marking the end of the invasion, was also a game.’

‘Therefore, in gaming terms, this puppet battle was a ‘mechanism kill’ (TL Note: A game mechanic where a boss or enemy has an unavoidable attack or ability that instantly defeats the player unless a specific counter-action or strategy is performed.) for everyone!’

‘So, in a game, what was the best way to deal with a mechanism kill?’

‘When facing enemies capable of consistently delivering ‘first-encounter kills’ (TL Note: A gaming term referring to a boss or enemy that is designed to defeat players on their first attempt, often to teach a mechanic or lore.) and mechanism kills…’

‘Thinking carefully, what was the designers’ true intention?’

‘No game would force players to completely delete their accounts due to an unavoidable death mechanic.’

‘Then, the answer was already obvious—’

He stepped before the slimes, spreading his arms to shield them behind him.

Facing the oncoming long blade, he offered a confident smile.

‘Die, gather information in death, resurrect, and start anew.’

‘Then, find a way to clear it!’

****

Blood splattered, and his vision spun wildly.

His consciousness gradually blurred, and darkness encroached upon his sight.

To be honest, in the final moments before his consciousness faded, Lin Ran himself panicked.

He couldn’t guarantee whether he would truly resurrect.

Yet, with no other recourse, this was the only conclusion he had deduced.

Fortunately, he had gambled correctly.

The good news was that he had indeed resurrected.

As for the bad news…

‘Where is this?’

The overall scenery around him somewhat resembled the previous Slime Plains, with vast expanses of grassland.

The difference, however, was the absence of slimes and any dorm door leading back.

This new environment, however, boasted mountains, water, flowers, and even pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, and ducks.

And then there were the countless wooden houses, more than he could possibly count.

Lin Ran attempted to walk towards a seemingly ordinary wooden house—

It appeared to be only seventy or eighty meters away, a distance he should cover quickly.

But—

He walked for three minutes, and not only did he fail to reach it, but the distance actually seemed to increase.

‘What’s going on…?’

Fortunately, there was another wooden house behind him.

This house stood alone, and it had belonged to him from the very beginning.

If one were to ask why…

Because his name and picture were on the door.

“Where is this…? A resting point? A transit station? Or the world after death?”

Lin Ran muttered to himself as he entered the wooden house.

But just as he opened it, something soft and bouncy suddenly rushed out, burying itself in his embrace.

“Master—”

It was Lim.

Her expression was no longer vacant, no longer devoid of emotion.

Tears welled endlessly in her eyes, only to be absorbed by her slime body, making it impossible for her to cry them dry.

After crying for an unknown duration, soaking Lin Ran’s clothes, she finally caught her breath.

“What’s wrong?”

Seeing Lim recover, Lin Ran gently patted her back and urgently inquired.

“Master… Master doesn’t know?”

Lim lifted her tear-streaked face, tilting her head, and in turn, stumped Lin Ran with her question.

“This is already… the sixth time, Master… you’ve been killed six times…”

‘Sixth time? Was my memory wiped?’

Lin Ran was startled.

Meanwhile, Lim continued to explain what had happened, her voice thick with sobs.

“When we challenged the puppets, our minds were controlled; we could only watch helplessly… watch you fight to protect us…”

“Every time you died, you would be sent back in… in several pieces… I… my heart truly ached… *wuwah*…”

“If we can’t win, then let’s just stop… We won’t fight anymore, okay? Look, there are mountains and water here; let’s live here together.”

Lin Ran gazed at the scene before him, a gratified smile gracing his lips.

It was like an old father on the battlefield, watching his daughter come to see him off, as she cried and pleaded and fussed, desperate for him to stay.

‘But this romanticized scene has really gone off the rails, hasn’t it!’

Yet, he shook his head, still determined to leave.

Lim, her eyes still teary, nodded and, with a wave of her hand, conjured a black portal.

“Just go inside, and you can challenge again.”

Lin Ran nodded, entering without hesitation.

The portal began to activate, and his vision gradually shifted.

However, before his vision completely vanished, Lin Ran’s thoughts raced.

‘Lim spoke of six challenges…’

‘He had no memory of these six challenges.’

‘But—if he truly had sacrificed his life six times in a row to protect her…’

‘Six brutal deaths, six selfless acts of protection—even a stone would have warmed by now.’

‘So, the question arose—’

‘How much affinity would she have gained?’

‘The answer was zero.’

‘Indeed, the system had not displayed a single new message thus far.’

‘Even when actively querying the system for Lim’s affinity, it consistently remained at the value of [85].’

‘How could that silly child, who gained 25 affinity points just by being fed a sausage piece, have an affinity that hadn’t budged an inch by now!’

‘Therefore—’

“Who, exactly, are you?”

Lin Ran looked at the “Lim” before him; the moment he posed his question, the scene before his eyes reverted to the familiar appearance of the dorm room.