Two people were sitting beside her, playing games with her.
Combining all of Merusu’s experiences in the “real world” and this world, her current situation was something she had never encountered before.
In the “real world,” she would sit with her dad in front of the television and play games.
In this world, the Zoldyck elders and the butler wouldn’t play games with her, so she could only play with her “brother.”
Do you see the problem? That’s right, Merusu never had “friends” to the extent of being able to go to each other’s houses to play games.
Later, even when playing online mobile games, she tended to prefer simulation games because simulation games were often single-player and didn’t require online play with strangers.
Her poor social skills were only one reason; another was that her gaming skills weren’t very good, and she was afraid of dragging her teammates down.
It’s okay, her current physical hardware was excellent, and her reaction time and agility were many times better than in the “real world.” She shouldn’t be a burden to Shalnark and Feitan, nor be looked down upon by them.
She must not back down!
She was so focused on these unnecessary worries that when Shalnark suggested inviting another person to play, she didn’t think much and blurted out “Phinks.”
Following that, Shalnark and Feitan’s reactions made her realize that she would probably need to provide a special explanation because they had both chosen “Chrollo,” unlike her.
“...Doesn’t Chrollo like reading? Shouldn’t we invite Phinks to play games then?” Merusu answered truthfully using her voice transmitter.
“……” x2
The two spiders, who had been staring intently, retracted their gazes, and the atmosphere returned to its previous peaceful state.
This is rather troublesome, Merusu thought.
Although she had achieved what is often said online, "Children make choices, adults want it all," the consequences were not something ordinary people could easily bear, as it required considering the feelings of more than one person simultaneously. Merusu, who often found interpersonal interactions difficult, felt increasingly like she was on a tiger and couldn’t get off.
Stopping was impossible.
Shalnark and Feitan were both accommodating her. Shalnark was a given, but even Feitan was accommodating her, which was something she had never expected. Things had progressed to this point, and she had played a key role. If she went back on her word and suddenly demanded to "part ways," wouldn’t that be like playing with them?
“……” Her emotional intelligence wasn't so low as to do that.
“Merusu.” Shalnark reminded her, “It’s your turn to choose a character.”
They were playing a role-playing game, or RPG for short. This game offered three character classes for players to choose from: Swordsman, Mage, and Priest. The main story of the game was cliché: the hero and their companions continuously destroy demon forces and save the human kingdom.
Shalnark chose Mage, and Feitan chose Swordsman.
“……” Was this them hoping she’d choose the Priest, the only class left unchosen?
If it were in the “real world,” Merusu would be willing to choose the Priest class. Support classes could replenish health and provide buffs for teammates, making them an indispensable part of a team and ensuring she'd never lack teammates. The tasks were also simple. In the Phantom Troupe, support-type members were more important than combat-type members because their functions were rarer and harder to replace.
But here, in this RPG, it was best for her not to choose Priest.
Shalnark and Feitan had spent more time together than she had. They shared the concept of “wanting to possess” and had a closer relationship than she did, so they chose to unite against outsiders – and this “outsider” was Merusu, who “wanted it all.”
That’s right, they wanted to take her down together and then decide how to divide her spoils at her “corpse.”
Just like when they asked her earlier who she wanted to join the game as the “fourth person,” this was also a test. This time, it was to see if she was willing to be their dependent (support) for the team.
In this world that believed in “survival of the fittest,” the weak were rarely shown mercy; instead, they became the best prey.
Once she started her first compromise, the second and third would soon follow, like being slowly boiled in warm water, escalating step by step. She knew she wasn't strong-minded enough and might easily get drawn in, lose herself, and become a tool for their amusement!
Don't forget, among everyone she could contact, apart from Killua, none of the other characters were good people. After all, she was simultaneously in two world-renowned evil organizations, the Zoldycks and the Phantom Troupe!
So, she cautiously chose… Mage.
The Swordsman, which required close-quarters combat, had higher operation requirements. Her gaming skills weren’t as good as Kalluto’s, and Kalluto was slightly inferior to Feitan (Chapter 174). Therefore, she didn’t need to embarrass herself in front of Feitan, a hardcore gaming enthusiast.
The strength of the demon enemies in the game was not fixed; it was proportional to the number of players. Coupled with the lack of a Priest to replenish health and provide buffs for teammates, although monsters and quests could yield health potions, their numbers were limited, and they had cooldown times, preventing rapid successive healing. This greatly reduced the margin for error.
Under the second boss’s inescapable full-screen attack, Feitan, with the lowest remaining health, was the first to die. With one less teammate, it was even harder to clear the game. So, everyone chose to return to the save point, wait for the potion cooldown to end, replenish their health, and then enter the boss map again.
After dealing with the second boss using the "load and restart" tactic, the next boss’s even fiercer offensive made "load and restart" futile.
After the fifth game over, Feitan put down the game controller and fell into deep thought, perhaps contemplating life, or a new strategy, or… thinking about how to have an “in-depth discussion” with the game developers face-to-face.
“Is it possible… that we’re missing…”
Shalnark’s words pulled Feitan out of his thoughts.
“Missing what?” Feitan couldn’t help but recall Merusu’s previous answer, “Missing Phinks?”
What kind of trick was Shalnark trying to pull now?
“...Phinks can’t come here immediately, right?” Shalnark waved his hand. “Our team still needs a support. I mean, we’re missing a Priest.”
If they wanted to change their team and character classes, they would have to start the game from the beginning.
“Isn’t it because you’re too weak, Shalnark?” Feitan retorted. “This game allows single-player mode, meaning even a Priest with the lowest attack power can clear it solo. It doesn’t restrict player character class selection – that’s the foundation of game design.”
“If it were just me, or…” Feitan reached out and picked up Merusu’s game controller, “if Feitan and I played together, we could definitely clear it quickly.”
Never! Merusu’s surface was calm, but her heart was sounding the alarm.
If Shalnark wasn't there to stir the pot, then in all senses, she would have to face Feitan alone, making it difficult to muddle through!
What to do? What if Feitan also couldn't carry her? That would be so awkward! Urgent! Urgent, urgent, urgent, waiting for an answer online!
“Sure,” Shalnark picked up his own game controller and shook it at Feitan. “Then let’s form an all-Priest team, how about that?”
“……”
“……”
“……”
Ten minutes passed. The second boss was not dead, and the player team was not dead. While it seemed hopeless, the players had indeed dealt some damage to the boss. But their attack power was abysmal, or as one might say, “scratching.”
This scene reminded Merusu of that distant afternoon when her “biological father’s” relentless punches almost sent her to see God (Chapter 114).
“……”
“……”
“……”
With persistent effort, even an iron rod can be ground into a needle.
More than two hours later, Shalnark, Feitan, and Merusu’s three-person Priest squad finally scratched the second boss to death.
Save me… playing this game is too painful! Merusu’s surface was calm, but her heart was wearing a mask of suffering.
However, Shalnark and Feitan’s enthusiasm remained undiminished after achieving victory. They discovered that weapons above level 30 in the game had no class restrictions, so they decided to change their attribute point allocation and pursue their self-created “Violent Priest” playstyle.
“……” Merusu had given up thinking.
[Mental Custody]
As a bottom-level wage slave, a cog that could be replaced at any time, “Mental Custody” was a skill Merusu acquired during long periods of repetitive labor in the “real world.” It was applicable to any repetitive labor that had formed muscle memory and did not require complex thinking. During the skill’s duration, Merusu’s mind would enter a state of blankness, retaining only the most basic information processing functions, minimizing mental fatigue.
From Shalnark and Feitan’s perspective, Merusu was like a quiet combat machine, steadily maintaining a rhythm of pressing the game controller.
So, they played along until the end, playing the game with Merusu in their three-person Priest squad and clearing it.
“Mental Custody” caused Merusu to lose her sense of time. When the game’s clear screen appeared, she hadn’t realized it was already the next day. It wasn’t until the clear screen finished playing and displayed the time taken that she, as if waking up, realized she had played for over 12 hours straight.
“……” Leaning back, she held the game controller, closed her eyes, and lay down on the carpet.
This damn game was finally over.
“Tired?” Shalnark reached out to touch her forehead.
“I’ll take her to rest,” Feitan grabbed her ankle.
“Rest? What kind of rest?” Shalnark then pressed on her shoulder, stopping Feitan from dragging her away.
“The kind of rest you’re thinking of,” Feitan sneered.
“……” Merusu opened her eyes, glanced at them both, then slowly got up and went to the bathroom to wash up.
………………
…………
……
Water overflowed from the bathtub, splashing everywhere.
………………
…………
……
“……” Merusu covered her mouth, finally realizing that she seemed to have become too engrossed in games and neglected her life.
She needed to do something more meaningful to balance it out, like taking on bounty hunting missions as "Mo Er Zhan Jiang," so she wouldn't let her skills go rusty.
Due to Merusu’s concerns about personal privacy, Shalnark utilized his enhancer abilities to control ordinary people to clean up the indoor space.
There wasn't much to say about the bounty hunting missions; the outcome was successful. If Merusu lost her ability to fight, she would have no meaning or face left in this world.
After all, apart from combat power and appearance, she was useless.
The Phantom Troupe’s style was free and undisciplined, with no unhealthy trend of “involution.” When Merusu returned from her bounty hunting mission, she saw Feitan playing games and Shalnark playing on his phone. Seeing this unmotivated atmosphere made her feel incredibly at ease.
Her simple, harmless, and unpretentious joy was unfortunately misunderstood. Feitan and Shalnark both assumed she was happy because she had enjoyed killing people out there.
Apart from the Troupe, there was no organization more suitable for her; she was meant to be a “Spider.” x2
In the future, when Feitan and Shalnark realized she was originally a member of the Zoldyck family, a family of assassins…
Oh, that makes sense. x2