Chapter 345: Silencing

Chapter 345: Chapter 345: Silencing

Seraphina Sinclair’s gaze landed on the word "silenced."

She didn’t really care what Lyra Lowell had said, but from the looks of it, Fayestar cared more than just a little.

’That’s understandable, though. After all, I use a long blade and runes for direct combat.’

’But Fayestar is different. Her trump card is that C-level dagger. If word got out, it would be a huge blow to an assassin like her.’

’Compared to her own safety, what was Lyra Lowell’s life worth?’

’He brought it on himself. No one else to blame.’

"So that Lyra-what’s-his-name got silenced. What about Alaric Hawthorn?"

"Wow, dying alone wasn’t enough for him? He had to drag his teammate down with him!"

"A guy like that is a real Tiger’s Thrall. What did Alaric Hawthorn ever do? He got caught up in this for no reason at all!"

"Got curious and checked. That name, Alaric Hawthorn, is probably a fake. Can’t find anyone by that name."

...

Everything that happened after that had nothing to do with Seraphina Sinclair.

Her attention had already been captured by the system’s latest announcement.

[This instance was an official instance! Therefore, all survivors will receive a motivational reward!]

[Motivational rewards include: Black Fog Coin x10, one tasty little bread x1!]

The reward was the same as last time, yet not quite the same.

Seraphina Sinclair thought for a moment and suddenly understood something.

’Excluding the novice instance, the rewards for the first week’s instances are average, but the second week’s rewards are a bit better.’

’This was a first-week instance, so the motivational reward was just this.’

’As for why the second week’s rewards are so much better, I’m guessing it’s because a new phase-based leaderboard will appear after the second week’s instances are over.’

But no matter how generous the second week’s rewards were, they couldn’t compare to the rewards from the novice instance.

That one gave you a D-level Legendary piece of equipment of your choice!

Seraphina Sinclair pushed the thoughts from her mind and continued to inspect the reward tiers for this instance.

[This instance was a puzzle-solving escape instance!]

[The criteria for Evaluation are: 1. The final instance ending achieved! 2. Whether all team members survived! 3. Individual contributions made during instance exploration!]

[Points are allocated for these three criteria based on detailed requirements, and the player’s final Evaluation is determined by their total score!]

"Huh?" Seraphina Sinclair frowned slightly. The criteria for the instance Evaluation were different this time, too.

She closed the looping system announcement and opened the detailed scoring page.

At a glance, it was a dense wall of single-point scores, with only a few high-scoring items scattered here and there.

The most eye-catching was the number next to the "Achieve Hidden Ending" entry. It was the only two-digit number: a full ten points!

And an A-level Evaluation required exactly 10 points!

In other words, even if this lucky survivor were an idiot, as long as they were matched with two pro teammates like Seraphina Sinclair and Fayestar, and those two carried them through the instance to the hidden ending, they would get an A-level Evaluation.

The regional channel was in an uproar over this:

"Holy shit! Ten points?! You get ten points just for getting the hidden ending?!"

"Doesn’t that basically guarantee an A-level?! You can get an A just by lying down and riding someone’s coattails?!"

"This is so unfair! My team fought tooth and nail, argued forever about who to sacrifice, and barely cleared it in the end, only to get a C-level Evaluation! This system is broken! Totally broken!"

"Stop being so salty, user above. This instance was clearly meant to encourage cooperation and exploring hidden routes. Whose fault is it that you didn’t get matched with pro teammates?"

"Exactly. And you really think the hidden ending is that easy? Didn’t you hear what that Lyra-what’s-his-name said? A C-level BOSS! A normal team would get wiped. It takes real skill for a pro to carry someone through that."

"But it’s too luck-based... What if you get matched with useless teammates, or someone with a big mouth like that Lyra guy? Aren’t you just screwed?"

"That’s probably why they added the ’All Members Survive’ scoring item, right? Look, it’s worth 5 points! It’s clearly encouraging teamwork and trying to prevent infighting."

"I’m so jealous I could cry. I guess luck really is a part of your strength... My team got one B-level, and the rest were C and D. Our rewards are probably just more Basic Supplies."

"Be grateful. It’s a miracle you even made it out alive. Just look at the number of people left in the regional channel, and you’ll know how many people died fighting each other inside the instance because they couldn’t agree on who to sacrifice."

Seeing this message, Seraphina Sinclair almost instinctively glanced at the population count in the corner of the regional channel.

A lot of people had died right after the server merge, but there were still a good 6,000 people right before they entered the instance.

And now...

Seraphina Sinclair stared at the number: 5282.

Seraphina Sinclair’s gaze lingered on the number for a moment.

Nearly a thousand fewer people than before the instance.

In the past, Seraphina Sinclair would have found that number terrifyingly large.

But now, having been baptized by several instances, she just felt that the death toll for this one was actually quite low.

However, the implication behind the number grew heavy when she remembered that this only counted those who died inside the instance. The people who had lost their Sunflowers after being sacrificed were still alive. Their true deaths had not yet come.

The discussion in the regional channel continued, but the atmosphere had quietly shifted:

"5282... Nearly eight hundred people died? From a single instance?!"

"It’s more than that. Some people whose Sunflowers have withered haven’t died yet... The number of survivors will only go down, not up."

"There was one on my team. His Sunflower wilted right after he was sacrificed. I wonder how he’s doing now."

"The only way for everyone to survive is the hidden ending, but how are you supposed to do that? It’s a C-level BOSS! My team couldn’t even beat the Releaser, if it weren’t for the lantern..."

"That’s why you need pros! Is the system hinting that we should actively latch onto powerful people? Or... improve ourselves as fast as possible?"

"Improve? Easier said than done! All the resources are monopolized. I can’t even buy an Expansion Crystal. How am I supposed to improve?"

"Haven’t the rewards for this instance been sent out yet? Maybe you’ll get something good?"

"How are you supposed to get anything good with a low Evaluation? Unless you get incredibly lucky and a special zone with items stops right at your doorstep."

"Sigh... It feels like a vicious cycle. The weak get weaker, and the strong get stronger."

"Not necessarily. Look at that Lyra Lowell. Didn’t he almost leak a pro’s info? He was courting death, sure, but it proves... even the pros aren’t invincible. They have things they’re afraid of."

"Now that you mention it... I wonder if those pros who monopolize the market are also afraid of their real identities being exposed? If everyone knew who was hoarding supplies..."

"And then what? You challenge them? In the arena, it’s one-on-one. You’d just be running to your death."

"We could use public opinion to pressure them! Expose their IDs in the regional channel, get everyone to boycott the stuff they sell! Or... at least make them too scared to jack up the prices so shamelessly!"