61. Enlightenment at Longchang

Up to this point, Li Nuo had not used a single one of the characteristic points he had accumulated...
A total of 13 points.
[Selected to consume 11 characteristic points, increasing Spiritual Power to 30]
Li Nuo waved his hand, looked around while turning his head in all directions, and then concluded: "The increase in Spiritual Power does not manifest in physiological and physical reactions, nor does it provide any buff to observation and analytical skills. It should simply be a pathway and means to enhance things like magic power and internal energy."
He looked again at the page marked "Signs".
[Your Spiritual Power allows you to learn two Signs]
[I remember Cha Bai has an "Elementary Fireball" rewarded from "Final Fantasy", which requires a Spiritual Power of 10 to learn...]
[But the requirements for Signs are significantly higher. What is the reason?]
[Could it be that after learning all the Signs, I'll be blessed with a Witcher Sign Fusion? Or perhaps... do skill upgrades yield higher returns?]
The [Bone Marrow Ash] needed to upgrade skills was still resting in his pants pocket, but remembering Cha Bai's instructions that skill upgrades were best reserved for "life-saving" skills, Li Nuo suppressed his desire.
As for which two Signs to choose, he had long since found the answer in his heart.
First, he ruled out the two offensive Signs.
Igni could spew flames to incinerate enemies, but it was not as useful as a flamethrower.
Aard could release a shockwave to push back, stun, knock down, or even disarm opponents—essentially a human-mutilated version of Shinra Tensei, yet still less practical than a few fragment grenades.
The remaining four were all supportive.
Quen, which provided a one-time perfect defense; Yrden, which created buff traps; Axii, which hypnotized targets; and Heliotrope, which defended against magic.
"Quen and Axii."
These two Signs were much better suited to his low-health critical-strike combat style.
[Learned "Sign of Quen"]
[Learned "Sign of Axii"]
...
[Sign of Quen]
[Type: Skill]
[Prerequisites: Spiritual Power 20, Witcher Constitution]
[Effect: A passive-type Sign that forms a magical shield around the Witcher, rendering him temporarily immune to damage and capable of absorbing physical damage. Cooldown: 2 minutes]
[Description: A one-time-use sanitary napkin]
...
[Sign of Axii]
[Type: Skill]
[Prerequisites: Spiritual Power 20, Witcher Constitution]
[Effect: An active-type Sign that allows the Witcher to influence the minds of others, using it to charm and control them. The use of the Axii Sign does not take effect instantly; it requires you to concentrate your mind on the opponent. Certain monsters are immune to the Axii Sign. Cooldown: 1 minute. Using it too frequently will induce hallucinations in the user]
[Description: The culmination of southern-style pyramid scheme techniques]
...
Li Nuo stroked his chin, pondering in his mind.
Between the two skills, the first was easy enough to understand, but the [Sign of Axii] was rather troublesome, and he had no idea what the requirements for the target were during use.
For instance, how did its effectiveness on a lunatic or a madman differ from its effectiveness on an extremely rational person?

At this moment, Abashiri Hihikuma was sitting bound hand and foot directly opposite him.
Yes, this fellow had not been killed by Li Nuo; he was still useful alive. But Abashiri Hihikuma had long since panicked, watching Li Nuo continuously flip through a white-bound book, wondering if the other party was about to use him for target practice...
Players could not interact in reality, which meant that once they encountered each other in script missions and found themselves in a hostile relationship, it was very likely that the loser would meet an extremely miserable end.
Mr. Abashiri was currently regretting: Why on earth did we launch an attack on him...
Right now, the best course of action for him was to commit suicide as soon as possible. Although suicide also carried failure penalties, it was still better than waiting for the other party to render him disabled.
Biting his tongue to commit suicide...
Li Nuo's pupils swept toward him, reminding him: "Biting your tongue to commit suicide is theoretically impossible. You can give it a try."
Abashiri Hihikuma pursed his lips and said in a harsh tone, "You'd better kill me quickly, otherwise if someone comes over later, you will definitely be exposed."
"Then I must thank you and your teammates. The two of you slaughtered all the guards on the second basement level. The soundproofing here is excellent; you could shout until your throat breaks and no one would hear you. Besides..." Li Nuo changed his tone, saying with a cheap grin, "If someone really comes, I'll just stab you to death with two big iron rods, and then play dead myself—wouldn't that work?"
Abashiri Hihikuma lowered his head: "Big brother... how about this? Put me out of my misery, and I'll give you everything in my inventory..."
Li Nuo ignored him and prepared to begin his experiment.
He asked, "What is your ID number?"
"5771..."
Li Nuo snapped his fingers and cast the [Sign of Axii] on Abashiri Hihikuma.
When the skill activated, an inverted triangular holographic graphic appeared between the two of them. As the graphic vanished, Abashiri Hihikuma's gaze grew increasingly hazy.
Li Nuo asked, "What is your ID number?"
"5779..."
As the words fell, Abashiri Hihikuma snapped violently awake.
Li Nuo looked at him with great interest.
"So it was 5779 after all."
"I... I, sorry... I didn't want to lie either..."
"Don't be scared." Li Nuo comforted him, "Look, I'm not some kind of pervert, am I?"
Abashiri Hihikuma nodded reluctantly.
Li Nuo asked, "I promise you I won't cripple you. So, in exchange for me not dismembering you but executing you cleanly instead, what reward will you pay me?"
Abashiri Hihikuma was stunned for a moment, looking at him as if gazing at a filthy lifeform more viscous than excrement.
"I... I'll listen to whatever you say."
And just like that, about ten minutes later, Li Nuo extracted quite a bit of information from Mr. Abashiri regarding the players within this script.
The "Witcher" script had two very peculiar traits.
First, because the main quest set by the system was extremely difficult to complete, it had transformed into a script where players competed for resources and fought among themselves.
Second, due to the script's massive worldview, even if players failed their missions, they still had the option to enter the game a second time.
The team leader of Abashiri Hihikuma and Tom Page's group was entering this script for the second time.
Their team currently consisted of 5 members, scattered across various corners of the world due to different task assignments.
In the "Witcher" script, the Witcher's [Grasses Decoction], Ciri's Elder Blood, and the power-ceiling Gaunter O'Dim were all treasures that players vied to contend for.
The [Grasses Decoction] appeared in the early stages of the script, and players could find it with a little effort.
The Elder Blood was rumored to be stored in the developed region known as Cintra.
Gaunter O'Dim should have been sealed by the protagonist "Geralt" a century ago, leaving no trace.

"Why is the Church of the Eternal Fire manufacturing Witchers?" Li Nuo asked.
"If you know the original work, you should know that the Eternal Fire is a radical organization in the original lore; they are an organization that hunts sorceresses..." Abashiri Hihikuma drooped his head, speaking listlessly, "I only heard this from our leader. Over the past century, the Eternal Fire has evolved into an even more extreme organization. They dug up some strange ruins, but it seems normal people who go in never return; they even summoned creatures from the ruins onto the Continent. Cannons cannot be used there, but countless treasures exist within. These treasures are the Eternal Fire's only chance to rise again and fight the Sorceress Tribunal, so they thought of manufacturing the long-extinct hunting experts—'Witchers'."
"What ruins?"
"The leader didn't tell us, saying knowing brings no good." Abashiri Hihikuma was telling the truth, but he felt the leader hadn't been honest; their team's cohesion was mediocre at best because the leader's personality was somewhat... violent, and full of lies.
Li Nuo nodded and finally asked, "Is there anything else you can reveal?"
He's so gentle... Abashiri Hihikuma fell under a misconception and shook his head: "I only know this much..."
Li Nuo thought for a moment and asked, "Let me ask you again. This script is essentially a stage set up for player vs. player combat, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Good. Tell me the information on your other teammates, as well as any other player information you know."
"Ah, this..."
"You can choose to remain silent. What is your team leader's name?"
"So this is where the threats escalate, huh... Rest assured, I'll talk... The leader's name is 'Adam Ireland'."
Li Nuo took out a piece of paper and recorded all the player profiles he described. Because Abashiri Hihikuma hadn't joined the team for long, he lacked some details, but it was enough for Li Nuo.
Adam Ireland—good with a bow, strength-type player.
Ni Yuexing—skilled in throwing knives and hand-to-hand combat, specializing in reflexes and strength.
Kanter Doranny Ronaldoly Bowes—black player, skilled at assassination in the dead of night...
Li Nuo made a note of them.
After asking some more questions about the "Endless Corridor" and draining Mr. Abashiri of his usefulness, Li Nuo said, "Please take everything out of your inventory slots. Trying any tricks is useless; I can hypnotize you."
Abashiri Hihikuma had no choice. Out of the six slots in his inventory panel, five were already occupied by [Grasses Decoction], and the item in the remaining single slot was a [Burst Bead Grenade].
[Burst Bead Grenade]
[Quality: Common]
[Effect: Hard to detect with good stealth, but be careful—its pull-ring is very loose, and the explosion radiation radius is only 0.2 meters. Dedicated for assassinations]
[Description: Its former name was "Three Thrusts of the Chrysanthemum"]
Seeing this item, Li Nuo thought of something fun.
He picked up a club, knocked Abashiri Hihikuma unconscious, found a fine thread from the experimental equipment, carefully tied down the pull-ring of the [Burst Bead Grenade], and shoved it into Abashiri Hihikuma's throat—during which he had to knock Mr. Abashiri unconscious one more time halfway through.
Then, following Abashiri Hihikuma's description, Li Nuo found a piece of cardboard, drew portraits of "Adam" and the "Black Guy" from their team on it, and after scribbling and drawing, connected the cardboard to the other end of the thread attached to the [Burst Bead Grenade], strapping it backward onto Abashiri Hihikuma's thigh.
"Time to go."
Li Nuo stood up and surveyed his surroundings.
If it were most people, they would now be thinking about how to blend in with the guards and leave this place.
However, Li Nuo knew that the closer any matter drew to its conclusion, the more calm contemplation it required.
The truly good things in Kaer Morhen Prison couldn't possibly be just in the basement; the upper levels of this fortress must also conceal hidden treasures.
A thief never leaves empty-handed—that too was a form of enlightenment.