Chapter 11 : Is This Really a Neutral God
Chapter 11: Is This Really a Neutral God?
And just as Vivian’s mind was surging with emotion, Jiang Chen’s voice once again echoed in her head:
“This reward this time is pretty decent. Let’s see what breaking the record on the next floor will give.”
Vivian: “.......”
Hearing what Lord God said, Vivian finally understood the gap between them.
Achievements that she and Lilith wouldn’t even dare to imagine—Lord God could obtain them effortlessly.
“And from what Lord God said, he even wants to take the record for the second floor.”
“That’s just way too amazing!”
Right after, Vivian seemed to think of something.
“Lord God is using my body... which means I can do this too?” That thought suddenly popped into Vivian’s mind.
Huh? That wording felt a bit strange somehow?
“Forget it, that’s not important!”
Pushing aside the messy thoughts, Vivian began to think.
“Lord God’s actions just now didn’t look complicated! The most important thing is using skills properly. If I can learn that kind of thinking, then even without Lord God, I can still become very strong!”
“Right! Why didn’t I think of that? Even though I can’t control my body right now—”
“I can still think about what I would do on the second floor, and see how my approach differs from Lord God’s.”
“And then correct it!”
At that moment, Vivian felt as if she had opened the door to a whole new world.
Of course, what she didn’t know was just how harsh the conditions behind Jiang Chen’s seemingly effortless operation actually were.
First, you needed full-map vision.
Relying on the map to grasp the distribution of all monsters, their nest routes, and precisely find a path with no forks that ran through the center of monster clusters... without a full-map cheat, it was simply impossible.
And so, believing it wasn’t that difficult at all, Vivian made her decision full of enthusiasm.
“While Lord God is still controlling my body, I need to observe more and learn more! Even if I only learn a tiny bit, it’ll be enough to benefit me for a lifetime!”
Just as she silently steeled her resolve, the surrounding scenery gradually blurred.
When she opened her eyes again, she and Lilith were already standing in a brand-new environment.
Eternal Tower Second Floor: Ghoul Graveyard
Crooked tombstones were covered in dark green moss, shrouded in a dense fog that never dissipated.
Withered trees stretched toward the lead-gray sky like ghostly claws. Pale white bones were scattered across the ground, and from the distance came intermittent scratching sounds, as if something was awakening beneath the damp soil.
“Th-this floor... how are we supposed to fight it?” Looking at the eerie surroundings, Lilith shivered instinctively and turned her gaze toward Vivian, who remained calm beside her.
This question wasn’t just something Lilith wanted to know—Vivian herself was also very curious about how Lord God would handle it.
“No! Vivian, you can’t always rely on Lord God’s answers!” Vivian warned herself inwardly. “You must learn to think on your own!”
With that thought, Vivian began analyzing rapidly:
“Ghouls revive from underground. Using skills too early would be a waste—they must be saved for the Ghoul Lord.”
“We can take advantage of their awakening mechanic—clear the normal ghouls first, then use skills to instantly kill the elite when it appears!”
Very quickly, she drafted a seemingly feasible tactic, then waited with some anticipation to see what Jiang Chen would do.
......
“How do we fight this floor?” Hearing Lilith’s question, Jiang Chen couldn’t help but laugh.
“This game is kind of interesting. Not only can NPCs provide emotional value, they even ask you what to do.”
Although this was just a dungeon where one glance was enough to know how to operate.
Still, Jiang Chen had to admit that Lilith had indeed provided him with some emotional value.
“Looks like the devs actually put in some effort.”
With that thought, Jiang Chen immediately began operating.
For a dungeon that required a speedrun, and with a tool-like NPC by his side, what to do next was obvious.
Why would this kind of dungeon include an NPC?
What was the purpose of that NPC?
Wasn’t it obvious?
And so, not long after...
“Ahhh! Help! Isn’t it too much to make me pull the monsters?!”
Looking at the horde of ghouls behind her, moving almost as fast as she was, Lilith was on the verge of breaking down.
“Run another circle. That should be enough to pull them all out.”
Vivian’s calm voice came from the distance, making Lilith—who was acting as a human lure—want to cry without tears: “Wuuu... I don’t want to be cannon fodder!”
“And can you not say such terrifying things in such a calm tone?!”
Finally, through Lilith’s desperate efforts, more than thirty ghouls along with one leader were all pulled out.
Without even turning her head, she sprinted toward the wooden hut Jiang Chen had pointed out earlier.
Watching Lilith bring the monsters over, Jiang Chen also made his preparations.
“Most ghouls have around 800 HP. Only that one elite ghoul has 3000 HP, but it’s still within execution range—no problem!”
As he spoke, Jiang Chen aimed at the target and then—
“Off you go!”
Meanwhile, on Lilith’s side—
Just as she was halfway through her run, she caught sight of a familiar arc streaking across the sky—the little bear satchel!
Lilith’s pupils shrank.
Somehow, she burst with strength from who-knows-where, her speed increasing again. Just before the explosion, she finally dashed into the wooden hut!
Instinctively, she threw herself to the ground, covering her head tightly.
The next moment—
“BOOM——!!!”
-HP4100... -HP3600...
A string of bright red numbers floated up.
The deafening explosion swept across the entire graveyard, and the violent shockwave nearly blew the roof off the wooden hut.
Smoke and dust filled the air. Bones and wood fragments scattered everywhere.
When everything finally settled, Lilith looked at the massive crater behind her, along with the scattered remains of ghouls, and couldn’t help but swallow hard.
“Not bad, very good. All wiped out instantly.” Vivian walked over with a calm expression, nodding in satisfaction at Lilith.
At this moment, Lilith—dirty all over and looking rather miserable—also climbed up from the ground.
She stared at Vivian with eyes that seemed to spit fire.
“Damn it! I hadn’t even gotten into cover yet and you already threw the skill!”
“If I had been just a bit slower, I would’ve died! I definitely would’ve died, right?!”
Seeing Lilith’s gaze that looked like she wanted to devour someone, Jiang Chen was also full of surprise.
“Oh damn, this NPC’s got something. She can actually get angry—I’ll be damned.”
As he spoke, Jiang Chen zoomed in and carefully observed Lilith’s facial expression. “Damn, maxed out. The detail is maxed out.”
“But judging by this, her favorability probably dropped a bit.”
Hearing Jiang Chen’s words, Vivian couldn’t help but complain inwardly:
Even though death in Eternal Tower wasn’t real death, anyone would get angry if something like that happened.
She had been completely treated as expendable cannon fodder!
And no matter who experienced something like that, they would definitely hate it.
Just as Vivian was still thinking this, Jiang Chen’s voice sounded again.
“Forget it. To make this NPC willingly continue being cannon fodder later, I’ll just casually comfort her.”
“Anyway, this NPC doesn’t look very smart—should be easy to coax.”
What did he mean by “doesn’t look very smart and easy to coax”?
And Lord God—what did he mean by “willingly being cannon fodder”? That sounded like something only those evil gods would do!
Was this really a neutral god?
Vivian once again found herself thinking that.