Chapter 13 Death Settlement and Inheritance Slots

Buzz—

With a shift of vision, consciousness once again entered the space for astral projection preparation.

The familiar, brilliant starry sky served as the backdrop, with a huge fluorescent screen suspended in the galaxy.

The moment Zhou Jing entered, the screen flashed with a torrent of information, catching him off guard before he could even react.

[“Willwood” placement completed]

[Earnings report for this placement available… Automatically expanded]

[Placement time: 3 days (Star Realm time)]

[Earnings this time: Star Realm Points +9]

[Cumulative earnings: Star Realm Points 9/2000]

[Ability growth: None]

[Achievement triggered: 【First Death (Unique)】]

[Placement rating this time: Indescribable]

[“Willwood” (Number 001) has died]

[View death replay?]

“What the hell? How did he kick the bucket!”

Zhou Jing was a little stunned.

Well, he hadn’t expected this… He’d better see what happened.

He fumbled around and activated the death replay, and the screen immediately displayed a video.

—

Inside the small wooden house.

『Willwood』 lay on the bed, his face a purplish-blue, deeply poisoned, his eyes tightly closed, and in a deep coma. The arrow wounds on his body had already festered.

Beside the bed, a strangely dressed old man was hopping around, his dance movements bizarre, chanting to himself as he danced, as if performing some kind of ritual.

The old man's wrinkled face was smeared with paint, and he wore two feathers in his hair and a robe woven from black feathers, making Zhou Jing think of the shamans and priests of primitive religions.

A familiar face was watching from the side, none other than Griff, looking worried.

After dancing like a shaman for a while, the old man stopped, drenched in sweat, and pressed his fists to his forehead, as if in prayer.

After about ten seconds or so, the old man stepped back and turned to Griff: “I have prayed for him for three days in a row, and I have done my best. The gods will try to save him.”

“I don’t believe in your gods.” Griff protested: “You gave potions to Captain Barron and the others, why not give him some!”

“The potions are all used up.” The old man shook his head: “He is too deeply poisoned. All I can do is clean the wounds and bleed him. The rest depends on the will of the gods.”

“How can that be! We went into the mountains to gather herbs for you so many times. How could they be used up so easily!”

“They’re used up, they’re used up. It’s too late to make more on the spot.” The old man lowered his eyes, his face compassionate: “But it doesn’t matter. I have sincerely prayed to the gods, and he will receive their blessing. If he still dies, then it is his fate, and no medicine will help.”

Without waiting for a response, the old man shakily picked up his crutch and hobbled out of the house.

Griff stayed behind to take care of him.

Day turned into night, and “Willwood” ultimately did not make it through, stopping breathing in a cold, dark night.

Griff brought the body to the village cemetery and, with the hunters standing in a circle in mourning, buried the body there.

The tombstone engraved with the name “Willwood” quietly watched as handfuls of sand covered his pale face.

[End of death replay]

—

The video ended, and Zhou Jing came back to his senses.

So that’s how he died… He still couldn’t withstand the invasion of the poison, and died of his injuries.

Before he returned, this vessel had already lost half its life, so it was no surprise he didn't make it.

“It seems that after my consciousness returns, the injuries of the Star Realm Apostle will not suddenly heal… So before returning, try not to let the Star Realm Apostle be in danger, otherwise, he may die during placement.”

Zhou Jing frowned slightly.

If he had the medical technology of the main world, he probably wouldn’t have died… But it was pointless to say that. Although he guessed that the medicine in the Otherworld might be backward, he didn’t expect them to use shamanistic dances to treat patients.

This wasn’t even a matter of medical skill; he was just messing around!

The most outrageous thing was that such a doctor was still qualified to practice medicine in the village, and the villagers hadn’t even killed him with pitchforks!

A quack doctor is harmful!

Zhou Jing was annoyed.

But what annoyed him the most now were those bastards, the Ground-Bone People.

To fight alongside the hunters and become friends, and even go to Frostwood Village to inquire about information, it was supposed to be double the happiness, but why did it turn out like this…

If the Ground-Bone People hadn’t taken advantage of the situation and ambushed them, this Star Realm Apostle wouldn’t have been poisoned and ultimately mourned.

“Ground-Bone People, huh? I’ll get it back sooner or later.”

Zhou Jing made a note of it in his mental notebook.

Composing himself, Zhou Jing looked at the screen. The death of “Willwood” had temporarily disrupted his plans, and he wanted to see what would happen next.

At this moment, following the death replay, an interface popped up.

[“Willwood” (Number 001) Death Settlement]

[Total survival time: 9 days]

[Synchronization rate: 32%]

[Strength: Not yet transcendent]

[Total Star Realm Point earnings: 1477]

[Total Information State Particle earnings: 0]

[Legendary status: 0]

[Lifetime evaluation: Died young]

[Evaluation reward: None]

[Free inheritance slots: 【Random】x3, 【Specified】x2]

“There’s even a death settlement? It has compiled the lifelong earnings and achievements of a Star Realm Apostle.”

Zhou Jing carefully read it once, pondering.

It seemed that there were quite a few settlement steps in the Star Realm projection.

Each return had a small settlement, which tallied the collection earnings of that projection.

Each placement had a settlement, which tallied the actions and gains of the Star Realm Apostle during the placement period.

And the death settlement was a lifetime tally of a Star Realm Apostle, which directly displayed all of an Apostle’s achievements.

“If I’m not mistaken, there will also be a completion settlement if the Star Realm Apostle completes the game.

So there may be four different settlement modes… Return, Placement, Death, Completion, two small and two large.”

Zhou Jing silently mused, roughly understanding the process.

The death settlement would give rewards based on the lifetime evaluation. This time, it seemed to have ended too abruptly, so there were no rewards.

However, the function of 【Free Inheritance Slots】 surprised Zhou Jing.

The use of this thing was that when the previous apostle kicked the bucket, you could select some abilities to freely inherit to the next Star Realm Apostle!

Although in the character creation phase, you could also consume Star Realm Points to select the abilities of other Star Realm Apostles from the 《Record Compendium》 and inherit them to the new Star Realm Apostle…

But free stuff is always better!

As long as the death evaluation was higher, the more 【Free Inheritance Slots】 there would be, which was equivalent to letting the next Apostle immediately possess the strength and skills of their predecessor at the start.

“Good stuff!”

Zhou Jing was immediately excited.

He had been worried that after the Star Realm Apostle died, whether the abilities they possessed would have to be re-cultivated. Now it seemed that they could be passed down from generation to generation.

Even if they couldn’t be converted to the main body, they would greatly increase the chances of completion!

The key cultivation results would not be wasted, and even if they died, they would be passed down from generation to generation until one of the apostles completed the game, and then it could still be converted to himself.

— That feeling could be exhilarating!

Zhou Jing perked up and quickly studied it carefully.

He found that free inheritance slots were divided into two types: 【Random】 and 【Specified】. The difference was self-explanatory: one randomly drew abilities, and the other specifically inherited abilities.

This evaluation gave a total of 5 free inheritance slots. “Willwood” only had 4 skills, which was completely enough.

The ability inheritance between Star Realm Apostles was affected by their respective aptitudes. If the ability and the new template’s aptitude were extremely mismatched, the skill level would also increase or decrease.

However, that was something to consider after the ability level was high. The level of “Willwood’s” four skills was very low, far from needing to worry about aptitude… Being weak also has its advantages!

[Free inheritance slots have been used]

[4 skills have been inherited: 【Terran Empire Language - Northern Dialect Edition】lv2, 【Weapon Mastery - Hunting Knife】lv1, 【Weapon Mastery - Dagger】lv1, 【Wilderness Survival】lv1]

[The selected abilities will be inherited when the next Star Realm Apostle template is generated]

“Wonderful!”

Zhou Jing felt relieved.

Although these few abilities were nothing, their significance was great… As long as the newcomer could inherit the important abilities of their predecessor, the predecessor’s hard cultivation would not be wasted.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered that he still had a few unused aptitude and attribute enhancement rewards.

He quickly checked, and these rewards were still in the warehouse. The death of the Star Realm Apostle did not affect the accumulated achievement rewards.

— Except for certain special achievements that could only be used by the trigger, most achievement rewards were universal and could be used on other Star Realm Apostles.

A flash of inspiration struck Zhou Jing, and he quickly thought of a plan:

“In that case, maybe I can save the triggered achievement rewards and, when I encounter a Star Realm Apostle worth investing in, activate them all at once to stack power.”

Hmm, it seems that this operation is feasible… Comfortable, I’ve found another trick!

It’s a pity that the achievement rewards for improving aptitude and attributes seem to only be used for Star Realm Apostles and cannot be used for the main body. Otherwise, he would also like to experience what it feels like to become a genius overnight.

“This is not bad either. Improving the Apostle’s aptitude also increases the chances of completion.”

Zhou Jing shook his head and noticed that there was an extra achievement in the warehouse.

In the “Willwood” placement report, a unique achievement was triggered after death, turning into a “legacy” left for himself.

[Triggered 【First Death (Unique)】]

[Unlocked Star Realm Apostle Template Auxiliary Function Bar]

[Obtained 【Auxiliary Function】x4]

[【Character Level System (10 level cap)】]

[【Item Analysis Function】]

[【Follower Function】]

[【Pet Function】]

“Auxiliary functions…”

Zhou Jing read through the explanations and was immediately invigorated, his face beaming with joy.

In the attribute profile of a Star Realm Apostle, there was an auxiliary function bar, and the number of empty slots depended on the rarity of the template.

When creating a character, you could equip auxiliary functions in the empty slots for the Star Realm Apostle to use when acting. Different auxiliary functions would consume different amounts of Star Realm Points when equipped.

Auxiliary functions seemed to be diverse in type, and their specific use was to give the Star Realm Apostle certain unconventional special advantages.

And according to Zhou Jing’s simple understanding…

— Isn’t this just paying to cheat? And you can choose your own cheats for the Star Realm Apostle!

Good lord, this is a bit much!

“But since they can already materially recombine to create Star Realm Apostles, it doesn’t seem strange to add a little something extra…”

Zhou Jing calmed his excited heart and muttered to himself.

Judging from their effects, the content of these four auxiliary functions should be basic-level “cheat tools,” like quick language parsing, which belongs to the initial benefits – helpful but not too exaggerated.

If a Star Realm Apostle was equipped with auxiliary functions, their actions and growth could be much more convenient.

Moreover, he had saved some Star Realm Points and had plenty of money on hand. The next time he created a Star Realm Apostle, he could use the paid character creation function – use these resources to create a new Star Realm Apostle with higher potential and a smoother start.

Thinking about it this way… “Willwood” died well!

If this Star Realm Apostle hadn’t died, he wouldn’t have been able to unlock the auxiliary functions or create a more powerful new template.

He only had two months, and because “Willwood” died early, he didn’t waste too much time on this mediocre template and didn’t take a detour. From the results, it seemed to be a good thing.

“Wonderful, died wonderfully…”

Zhou Jing instantly wasn’t depressed anymore.

Not only did he not lose, but he also felt like he had gained.

Willwood, the organization will remember your sacrifice!

At the thought of not having to have such a miserable start next time he created a character, he was secretly excited.

Moreover, time in the Otherworld and the main world moved forward together, and the events and connections he had experienced last time would not disappear.

He had explored the map of Frostwood Village, and Zhou Jing decided to designate his next placement there so he wouldn’t have to randomly descend into dangerous places.

“Willwood” died, but the impact he left on the hunters still existed, and he might be able to use this to continue interacting with Barron, Griff, and the others…

It felt like the next apostle would be very smooth… Zhou Jing excitedly clenched his fist.

However, “Willwood’s” corpse was not yet cold, and it would take time to generate a new template.

Zhou Jing saw that the new template would be generated in “1 day.”

“I’ll just wait one day. I can take the time to sort out the Star Realm projection mechanism that I’ve explored so far… and consider how the new apostle should act.”

Zhou Jing’s eyes flickered, and a vague plan appeared in his mind.