"The Temple isn't safe."
The GM spoke with the weary tone of someone who had suffered a great deal.
Being pestered by an intruder was indeed a stroke of bad luck.
"Tell me more," Yue Shi said as he found a chair and sat down.
The GM watched as the only chair in his room was dragged through the air and placed in front of him.
Though the chair appeared empty, he knew someone was sitting there.
He sighed and said, "The Temple occasionally issues mandatory missions."
"Most of these mandatory missions involve clearing out intruders, especially those who have made it to the Temple's location."
"Being able to find the Temple's vicinity is proof enough of an intruder's strength. Consequently, these missions have high casualty rates, and low-level managers are often used as cannon fodder."
Yue Shi thought of the sea of red flowers outside the golden orb.
"Do intruders appear often?"
The GM nodded. "I haven't been a manager for long, yet I've already encountered several intruder incidents."
"Ordinary intruders aren't much of a threat; the real trouble comes from the scions of the Tree of Truth. They are the most difficult to deal with."
"According to some veterans, the Tree of Truth wasn't this active before. It only started flaring up recently, appearing every other day."
"Those supernatural plants always appear in the area surrounding the Temple, growing wildly."
"And they're incredibly hard to clear out. Even if just half a leaf remains, they'll grow back after a while."
Yue Shi curled his lip. Why was it always this damn tree? It seemed to have a hand in everything!
The GM continued, "The managers within the Temple are split into many small factions."
"Wherever there are people, there's competition. Conflicts are common."
"Besides, the managers were all players once. They've long since lost their sanity after being tormented by those game instances."
"When a bunch of lunatics are trapped together, infighting is inevitable. Occasionally, people will disappear or die for no apparent reason."
"Living in the Temple is essentially like entering a game instance that never ends."
"So you want to leave, don't you?" Yue Shi said, cutting straight to the point.
The GM paused for a moment, not denying it.
Yue Shi said, "I told you before, your attitude is a bit strange."
"At first, you really wanted to take me out to earn points."
"Even when I caught you and beat you up, you remained stubborn."
"But at some point, you suddenly changed and started answering everything. You even subtly tested me to see if I could defeat the forbidden zone masters."
"I'm curious, why the sudden shift?"
"Did I accidentally do something that gave you hope of escaping this place?"
The GM remained silent.
After a long silence, he finally spoke. "You unintentionally severed my connection with the Temple and the Supernatural Game Show."
"To be honest, before entering the supernatural game, I was just an ordinary person without any supernatural powers."
"However, my intuition was exceptionally sharp, allowing me to avoid many dangers. That's how I managed to survive so many game instances."
"Clearing a game earns you rewards. Supernatural powers are one such reward."
"I also gained supernatural powers bestowed by the game. Although I became stronger, my intuition has been sounding an alarm."
"These powers feel like a burden. Using them makes me feel like there are thorns in my back."
"The feeling is very subtle and hard to describe."
"But I could clearly feel that for a moment after coming into contact with you, I was free."
"Can you take me with you?" the young GM asked solemnly.
Yue Shi countered, "What can you give me?"
"What do you want? I'll give you whatever I can!"
The GM's eyes sparkled, though he added, "Just don't treat me like a turtle in a wishing well. I'm only a junior game manager."
Yue Shi stroked his chin. There were many things he wanted.
Ever since he entered this place, his instincts had been restless.
He wanted to collect, to devour, and to tear a piece of flesh right off the Supernatural Game Show!
"If you run away, won't you become a traitor manager and have a bounty placed on you by the Temple?"
The GM nodded. "Actually, very few people have truly managed to escape so far."
"I only know of one manager with the nickname 'Death Knell' who actually got away."
"Most other defectors just use some bug to bypass the detection mechanism and hide inside game instances, disguising themselves as NPCs."
"There are countless game instances, making it nearly impossible to find these defectors."
"Some game instances are indeed quite safe. Sometimes they even secretly help players and create more bugs."
Yue Shi asked another question, "Are all the game managers' actions carried out through missions issued by that stone tablet?"
"Most of them are," the GM replied.
"Most?"
"There is a highest manager with immense authority. He's the one who organizes collective activities."
"I don't know much about him, nor do I have the right to approach him..."
The GM gave a rough description of the information he knew.
As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding space rippled slightly. The scene before him shifted, and he was shoved into a chaotic sub-dimension.
Yue Shi stood up. He had gathered enough information.
He knew where to start.
Rate on N.U.
