Chapter 1406: 1406 Adjudicator Game: Game Invasion 11
There were no clocks or timers, yet at a certain moment, the Rubik’s Cubes on every player’s shackles began to spin.
As the cubes rotated, the rooms themselves shifted and tilted. Deceitful Bloom and Lightchaser, who had been in front of Rita, rotated counterclockwise to the left. Rita and the Quiet Mountain Rita above her rotated clockwise to the right.
With the rotation, the nearly transparent barriers between rooms transformed into black metal. Lamps lit up each of the four corners.
This was the rooms’ true form—it looked more and more like a prison.
Ding~
As the clear, bell-like sound chimed like the strike of a clock, all ambient noise outside vanished. A mechanical prompt sounded in Rita’s mind.
[Detected Prisoner8017-BS-319365910, Violet-Gold Talent: Alchemy]
[Prisoner8017-BS-319365910 triggered Four-Star Creation Game]
A scroll descended in a flash.
Rita turned her gaze from the vine-shaped lamp and looked at the scroll.
[Creation Game]★★★★: The time flow in this cube room will now be altered. One hour outside equates to one year inside the prison. Prisoner must, before the next cube rotation, invent a new alchemical item using materials in the room or improve an existing formula. Failure will result in erasure.
No sooner had Rita read the scroll than it rolled itself up and vanished.
The small room she had glanced around moments ago instantly expanded in all directions. Dozens of massive, dozens-of-meters-high material cabinets appeared out of nowhere.
Herbs, minerals, gemstones—everything was provided. Crucibles, carving knives, all at hand.
Rita’s gaze swept further. Several bookshelves had appeared as well.
A line of glowing numbers appeared in the center of the room. It was counting time for her.
Opening the chat channel, she sensed it was still functional, though the accelerated time flow meant no messages had arrived yet.
As she was about to close it, a message popped up.
[Foolishness]: Five-star Creation Game triggered. Detected my crafting talent. Task: create an item or toy of no less than SS rank. Time flow has been altered.
[Rita]: Same here. My alchemy talent is Violet-Gold. Task: invent or improve an existing alchemy formula.
[Drummer]: Same. Task: invent a treasure and write down the formula.
As players began chatting, a few more who had triggered learning tasks posted in the group.
Alchemy, gemstone crafting, engineering, magic inscriptions—all fields were covered.
Most players already knew each other’s achievements and reputations in these domains.
Yet exceptions existed. Some players weren’t aware of their talents, yet their time flow had been adjusted. Their task: reach a certain skill level within the time limit and pass an assessment.
[Mistblade (Starsea)]: Three-star learning game. My cooking talent is Violet-Gold. Task: master master-level cooking before time expires.
Gradually, the chat fell silent.
Every learning task implied other tasks were happening too. Everyone remembered the message BS Shadow.Q had shared:
"You must have incredible potential. Your soul fire must be special. You can comprehend unique skills and qualify as fuel for the game."
Players were now being forced, under the threat of death, to create and invent.
Were there other games layered within this one?
Alchemy formulas, gemstone crafting, item design—were there also magical or combat skills to be learned under extreme duress?
If the skills and creations were all "fuel" for the game, then who were they nourishing? Players outside the prison? Or some higher-dimensional game?
With such terrifying possibilities in mind, the players began completing their tasks.
Rita let Nivalis act freely, while she herself grabbed a few alchemy books to gauge the progress of this era’s alchemy.
The cube rotated every six hours. At the room’s accelerated time flow, she effectively had six years.
Nivalis followed her around, curious. Finally, she spoke, as if suddenly recalling something.
"My goodness, your ID starts with 8017, doesn’t it?"
Rita calmly flipped a page of the book she held and said lightly, "I thought you’d hate it."
After all, when B80 had erupted, it had several times dragged Nivalis down without regard for the years they had spent playing together.
The lights from the bookshelves cast shadows across Rita’s long lashes, veiling the colors in her eyes.
Nivalis stared at her side profile without blinking for a long moment.
"You don’t hate it. How could I?"
She and B80 had argued countless times. Every time they teamed up for a game, a fight was inevitable. B80 would switch through thousands of languages just to curse her, trying to overwhelm her with words.
But that argument was nothing. Nivalis had merely feared B80’s unstable mental state.
Rita twisted slightly, leaning against the bookshelf with her back fully to Nivalis.
"...Don’t bother me. Go play on your own."
Though this was a game meant to save the Tenth Era, Rita wouldn’t pass up the rare opportunity to study.
The number of alchemy books was staggering. She hadn’t yet checked the content or quality, but in sheer quantity, it dwarfed the Moonlake City Library.
Rita wasn’t concerned about the game’s tasks.
A Violet-Gold alchemy talent was no joke.
Anything she brewed would produce ideas and innovations.
Even when busy or when alchemy no longer offered tangible benefit, she had pursued it for pleasure.
As Rita started studying, Nivalis stayed busy too, monitoring the battlefield chat while searching through tens of thousands of books. She looked for alchemist memoirs and travelogues, hoping to glean information about the outside world.
One day... two days... three days...
Gradually, other players’ task updates began to appear in the group chat.
[Maple Syrup (Starsea)]: Four-star war game. Must lead troops against a virtual opposing army.
[Cinders]: Four-star inspector drop. Must defeat the opponent within the time limit.
[Deceitful Bloom (Starsea)]: Five-star inspector drop. Duel, same conditions.
[Lightchaser]: Five-star Prisoner drop. Must defeat designated targets within the time limit.
[Captain]: Three-star political game. Quell internal unrest.
[Deceitful Bloom (Quiet Mountain)]: Four-star puzzle game. Hard to describe, interesting.
Creation, learning, combat, slaughter, military strategy, politics, puzzles...
Every imaginable aspect of a player’s talent and potential was being fully tested and exploited.
It felt like a divine curriculum, yet everyone knew this was a prison.
And they were prisoners.
So what should they do with the formulas they created and the skills they learned... submit them, or keep them?
