Martial Arts Tournament?
Upon hearing this term, Duge's eyes immediately lit up, even diminishing the sense of frustration brought about by the tragic start.
No man would refuse a martial arts world.
Of course, with only half a year left until the Martial Arts Tournament and without any fortuitous encounters, practicing martial arts seemed to hold little hope, but this was a game simulation, and it should not be so harsh on players.
On Earth, one could not experience such an immersive game, and besides, he had cheats.
Here he was.
He had to witness what the martial arts world was like.
Duge had been observing Feng Jiu all along.
In just a short while, Feng Jiu had devoured half of the straw mat; the swelling around his eyes visibly reduced, showing immediate results.
Since Gluttony aided in healing, his two keywords must be effective as well.
Feng Jiu said he would help him heal once his own injuries were recovered, but Duge didn't plan to leave his fate in someone else's hands, especially since Feng Jiu's words were filled with threats and manipulation—he had to be cautious.
Without the conditions to activate Backstab, Duge turned his attention to "Maintenance."
Maintenance: To protect, to guard with words and actions, to preserve, to shelter...
After carefully pondering the definition of maintenance, Duge struggled to shift his body, revealing the straw mat beneath him, and said with concern, "Brother Jiu, is your mat enough to eat? If not, I have more here, you can have it all."
Cough!
Feng Jiu, who was dry-chewing the straw mat and already choking, suddenly heard these words and got a mouthful of straw stuck in his throat, unable to swallow or cough it up.
He violently pounded on his chest with the hand he had been using to tear up the mat, and after much effort, he managed to spit out the straw in his throat.
Regaining his composure, Feng Jiu took deep breaths, his eyes angrily fixed on Duge as he roared, "Are you doing this on purpose or what? For a lousy straw mat, I need your damn permission?"
As if a warm current rose from within, Duge felt his pain lessen significantly, and his eyes slightly brightened—it worked!
This real sensation...
Was this the power of a keyword?
Loved it, loved it!
What about Gluttony, when Maintenance is this useful?
You still need to gnaw on straw mats, I just need to say a few words...
Seeing the furious experience pack across from him, Duge struck while the iron was hot, consoling, "Brother Jiu, don't be angry. You know the state we are both in; it's terrible. One of us getting better is the only hope for us to continue on! Your Gluttony can grow easily, and you have a higher chance than me. I can't move, and we don't have anything else to eat in this room, just this straw mat. Even if I have to sleep in the cold, I need Brother Jiu to recover first!"
Feng Jiu looked at Duge, deep in thought.
Another warm current rose, and Duge's injuries improved even more.
He was secretly delighted. Alright, a mere straw mat counted as maintaining their mutual interest—it turned out this was how to use keywords. I truly am a genius!
This game is interesting!
With the pain subsiding, Duge struggled to sit up and looked at Feng Jiu, who wore an expression of surprise. After a moment's thought, he decided to go for a severe approach, "Brother Jiu, eating straw mats recovers too slowly. How about drinking some of my blood? Blood is more nutritious than straw, and you'll recover much faster..."
"What..." Feng Jiu's eyes bulged.
Before he finished speaking.
Duge's strength recovered slightly, and he struggled to get off the bed, grabbing a porcelain bowl from the bedside and sharply knocking it on the table, breaking it into shards.
Seeing Duge holding the porcelain shard, Feng Jiu's face changed drastically, and he moved hurriedly toward the corner, asking urgently, "What are you doing? Brother, I'll call you my older brother, don't be impulsive, we can talk about anything..."
A person who is not ruthless cannot stand firm!
Besides, it wasn't his own body.
Duge looked at Feng Jiu, clenched his teeth, and cut a gash on his palm. The fresh blood began to drip steadily down his hand.
Bearing the pain, Duge inched toward Feng Jiu. With a bewildered look in his eyes, Duge brought his bleeding hand to Feng Jiu's mouth, "Come on, Brother Jiu, open your mouth. I'm the support, you're the main force. As long as you can recover, this sacrifice of mine is nothing..."
Feng Jiu seemed not to expect Duge to actually cut his palm, and his eyes widened in shock, "You..."
But Duge's act of Maintenance was sincere and imposing. Coupled with recovering strength faster than Feng Jiu could from eating straw mats, he easily held down Feng Jiu's hand and brought his bleeding palm to his mouth.
Blood was consumed.
Feng Jiu's pale face visibly flushed with color. Duge was right, blood was much more nutritious than grass.
However, he had only been forced to drink a mouthful of blood, while Duge had actually slit his own palm. It wasn't just a few words of protection he had spoken; he could be said to be guarding others with his life.
When compared, Duge's use of the keyword was even more significant, and he recovered faster than Feng Jiu.
The moment the blood entered Feng Jiu's mouth, Duge's internal injuries instantly improved by a large margin, even the freshly cut wound started to heal on its own.
And that was not all.
The personal panel that had been flickering before Duge's eyes flashed, and a new advanced skill appeared:
Sacrifice Oneself for Justice: The target you are protecting has their wariness towards you reduced by thirty percent.
...
He had gambled correctly.
Looking at the derivative skill that newly appeared on his personal list, Duge pursed his lips. It turned out that as long as one's words and actions conformed to the definition of the keyword, injuries would heal. The more fitting, the faster the recovery.
The keyword is the persona, and the so-called simulation arena turns out to be about acting skills. This damn simulation arena is essentially an actor training base!
Following this logic, one could infer the keywords from the other party's behavior and thereby devise targeted plans against them.
Of course, one must also be careful with advanced skills...
As Duge was summarizing the rules of the simulation arena, he also glanced at the other values.
Nothing else had changed, but the ranking had decreased by over three hundred people in just a short time, the number becoming 187\936.
Duge speculated that the 187 must be his ranking, while the 936 likely represented the total number of people remaining in the simulation arena.
In ten minutes, out of 3000 people in the simulation arena, only a little over nine hundred remained.
It had to be said, this so-called trial of the simulation arena was truly cruel.
However, now that he knew the growth rules, Duge felt quite confident he could survive in this simulation arena.
...
Perhaps it was the effect of Sacrifice Oneself for Justice lowering wariness, but seeing Duge not make the next move, Feng Jiu quietly let out a sigh of relief. He stealthily extended the tip of his tongue and licked the blood that had dripped to the corner of his mouth, sincerely saying, "I misjudged you, Feng Qi; you are more outstanding than I imagined, adapting to the keyword so quickly. If I were in your position, I definitely couldn't give my blood to aid others."
"Brother Jiu, this has nothing to do with whether I'm outstanding or not, it's all for the benefit of our team," Duge humbly said as if he had only done an insignificant act, "You know, my keyword is 'protection,' an assistive type of keyword. Without finding a teammate to cooperate with, I won't get far in the simulation arena. Both emotionally and logically, I should save you. I hope when we fight together in the future, you can trust me with your back. After all, when I protect you, I can grow as well."
Feng Jiu was stunned for a moment, then he laughed, "Well said. That's the proper way to cooperate. I'm just afraid of those who hide their true intentions and plot schemes behind one's back. Little Seven, I acknowledge you as a friend. My family still has some influence; if we get a chance to enter the top ten, I'll definitely try to get you transferred to an elite school."
Civilian schools, elite schools...
Duge had gathered more information about the other world, and he nodded with a smile, "Thank you, Brother Jiu."
...
Duge observed his personal panel and stretched out his hand to press the close button. The panel was transparent, but it was always fluctuating before his eyes, somewhat obstructing his vision.
"Got any blood left, give me some more," Feng Jiu looked up at Duge, hoping, "I must say, drinking your blood is more effective than gnawing on half a mat of grass."
How greedy indeed!
Duge looked down at Feng Jiu and smiled, "No blood left, but how about some 'that thing?' One drop of gold for ten drops of blood, I think that stuff works even better than blood..."
Feng Jiu's smile froze on his face, recalling Duge's manic self-harming. Seeing Duge eager to try, he dryly said, fearful that Duge might impulsively do something rash, "Laoqi, I was joking... ugh..."
"Relax, I was joking too!" Seeing Feng Jiu gagging, a hint of amusement crossed Duge's lips, "If you were a woman, I might consider it, but a big burly man like you, if you don't find it disgusting, I still do! Brother Jiu, what's so good about drinking blood? It was just a temporary measure. Now that I can move, I have to go outside and find you two bundles of fresh grass, no, proper food to bring back. Relying on drinking blood, you'd drain me dry and still not recover..."
Feng Jiu's eyes twitched a few times, and he spat several times to clear the bits of grass mat from his mouth, urging, "It was my own narrow-mindedness. Well then, please Little Seven, go quickly and return quickly. To tell the truth, I'm about to vomit from eating all these grass mats; they're truly not fit for human consumption."
"Sure." Duge nodded, "But before going out, you need to give me an overview of the Feng family's Mansion layout and personnel structure. Otherwise, I'll be going in blind, and who knows if I'll be able to make it back alive, let alone find food."
"I was negligent." Struggling to sit up, Feng Jiu picked up a tile piece and started drawing the layout of the Feng family's Mansion on the wall, explaining as he drew, "Our current location is called the Martial Art Academy, inhabited by training partners like us. The compound opposite is called the Martial Arts Academy, where the Feng family's disciples and guards live. Deeper inside is the Martial Arts Stage, and the kitchen is just by the Martial Arts Academy..."
Feng Jiu took a full three minutes describing the Feng family's Mansion layout, including the main characters and their features.
Duge listened patiently, remembering carefully, and repeated inquiries about several uncertain areas until he was sure there were no omissions. Then he nodded and walked towards the door, "Wait for me."
The moment he stepped out of the door, his figure hunched, clutching his chest, moving forward with a limp. Having been severely injured just before and then bouncing around the next moment didn't fit with reality. When it was time to act, he would act, for it's better to be safe than sorry.
Watching Duge suddenly feign weakness, Feng Jiu looked particularly stern. He stared blankly at the doorway for a moment, then pulled out another piece of the grass mat from underneath him and shoved it into his mouth, chewing quickly.