บท 5: Divine Eye of Transcendence
With every countdown, it felt as though a clenched fist was mercilessly striking Tyler's heart.
The sudden, unexpected choice was akin to a suffocating race against time, as though a "spend 1000, save 999" promotion was about to end in a mere 10 seconds, and one hadn't yet determined their desired purchase.
In this tense, heated moment, Tyler quickly settled on his decision without much hesitation—opting for "Difficulty Level One," the most prudent choice given the current uncertainty of abundant information.
However, the message emitted by the parchment scroll after Tyler selected the hovering "Difficulty Level One" differed entirely from his intended choice.
"Selection confirmed."
"Parallel World No. 77: Prison Star; Selector: Tyler; Submitted choice: 'Difficulty Level Three.'"
"Selection data transmission complete."
"Wait! You made a mistake! I chose Level One! Difficulty Lev...!"
"Good luck."
Before Tyler could finish speaking, the parchment scroll responded with a bitterly sarcastic blessing, then promptly self-ignited, disintegrating into ashes that vanished into thin air.
"I chose Difficulty Level One..."
Tyler stood bewildered, utterly baffled.
(Although I pressed Level One, it informed me that I had chosen Level Three. What went wrong?)
Tyler closed his eyes and contemplated for a few seconds before deciding to abandon further inquiry. With his current abilities in this parallel world, there was no way to rectify the "bug" that had just occurred. The most rational course of action was to calm down, study this parallel world, and expedite the task's progress.
Regulating his emotions and initiating action were among Tyler's strengths. He picked up a tree branch and found a patch of soft earth, beginning to list the critical information about the events that occurred after his "death":
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The self-proclaimed divine luminous humanoid;
The deity (luminous humanoid) is familiar with webnovels, WuXiaWorld, Reddit, and other aspects of human society;
The deity knows the cause and manner of my death;
The deity acknowledges the concepts of "investment" and "return";
There are things even the deity cannot accomplish;
The Universal Stone;
Parallel World No. 37: Scarlet Star; Parallel World No. 77: Prison Star → Multiple parallel worlds exist;
Known difficulty levels include "Trial Level" and "Impossible";
Abilities: "Pseudo-Eye of Transcendence", adaptation, ascension, "Divine Eye of Transcendence";
Curses: "Thorn of the Heartless", ascension, "Purgatory of the Heartless";
"Singular Demon God - The Unutterable Name";
The Abyssal Empire, the Alliance of Light;
Soul-engraved equipment;
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Based on these known objective pieces of information, Tyler made six inferences:
First, the luminous humanoid and himself, as the task executor, share a symbiotic relationship to some extent, but it is more akin to a hierarchical relationship between a chess player and a chess piece, a general and a soldier, rather than an equal partnership or alliance;
Second, the luminous humanoid cannot prevent certain things from happening, so it is likely not a true deity, but rather a higher-dimensional existence than humans;
Third, it is likely that he is not the only one carrying out tasks in parallel worlds, and it is even possible that multiple traversers like himself exist within the same parallel world. This also implies that there might be more than one luminous humanoid, and they are in competition with each other;
Fourth, based on the appearance of terms such as "Singular Demon God - The Unutterable Name" and "Abyssal Empire" in the tasks, this parallel world is probably one of sword and sorcery;
Fifth, judging from the difficulty names, the current parallel world's difficulty is likely close to the most difficult, or even the most difficult tier;
Sixth, after the abilities' ascension, the newly acquired abilities are suspiciously "excavated" from the eyes of the luminous humanoid, and should be treated with caution;
Seventh, abilities, curses, and world difficulties are likely directly proportional. No matter how strong he becomes, he must always maintain caution and humility.
(Once I die, my father's surgery fees will be too late, and if both my father and I are gone, then my mother...)
Tyler heaved a heavy sigh, picking up a sharp stone from the ground and, clenching his teeth, carved a "T" into his palm.
Having read some stories about traversing and reincarnation, Tyler was familiar with characters who lost themselves in their new lives. He didn't want to forget the reason he came to this place, and at the same time, he experienced "real pain" for the first time in this new world.
Watching the blood drip from his wrist onto the ground, Tyler became convinced that this series of inconceivable events was real. Following his usual approach, he planned to understand this world as inconspicuously as possible, collecting information on the so-called "Singular Demon God - The Unutterable Name" and the "Abyssal Empire" without attracting attention, while also finding a suitable fighting style and diligently cultivating his skills.
(So, before heading to the town, let's first figure out my "abilities" and "curses.")
"Divine Eye of Transcendence."
Tyler attempted to activate his ability by speaking, but there was no response. He looked at the Universal Stone he had fought for from the luminous humanoid, feeling that he had been somewhat overzealous in obtaining resources. Perhaps a basic understanding would have saved him some trouble.
However, Tyler did not regret it. This was his nature. Despite usually being calm and rational, he did not shy away from taking risks and gambling when necessary.
As such, Tyler tried another way to use his ability. He closed his eyes, focusing his attention on the concept of the "Divine Eye of Transcendence." This time, something magical happened. Even though his eyes were closed and everything should have been pitch-black, he could see an abundance of floating text in his field of vision, which remained even after opening his eyes.
(It's the same type of writing as on the parchment scrolls; I can understand it even though I've never learned it.)
Tyler examined the text closely, which mainly fell into two categories. One was explanatory and appraisal-type text, such as the name "yew wood" next to a tree, with the date and time displayed in the corner of his vision. The other was information about Tyler's own status, including his name, attributes, and other details, encompassing descriptions of his "inherent abilities" and "soul curses":
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Inherent Ability: Divine Eye of Transcendence
Level: 1
Experience: 0/1
Energy Points: 0
Ability Details:
Identify the names of objects.
Obtain the current world's time information.
Obtain information about one's own status.
Obtain information about one's own skills.
Obtain information about one's "inherent abilities" and "soul curses."
Obtain an image of one's own death scene and generate a photo, consuming 1 energy point per use.
Other Notes:
Energy Points: Can be increased by receiving genuine confessions from the opposite sex. Each confession increases the energy points by one, with repeated confessions from the same individual only counting once. Alternatively, energy points can be increased by using the Universal Stone, with each stone adding one energy point.
Experience: Gain one experience point for the Divine Eye of Transcendence for each energy point used.
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Having read the description of the Divine Eye of Transcendence, Tyler did not feel like proceeding to the "soul curse" section for now. His gaze rested on the sixth ability of the Divine Eye of Transcendence, deciding to use the Universal Stone to foresee his own death scene once.
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