Chapter 146: The Sword Soul Is a Kind of Faith

"Tsk tsk tsk, I finally won! If the Elder could see my performance just now, he'd definitely praise me like crazy. Too bad, that guy went off to adjust his biological clock."

Chen Fan did a cringe-worthy little dance, hit the settlement button, and waited to be returned to the game interface.

[A string of 666s sent to Shen Gongbao, absolute hard carry.]
[Wuyun Xian, who was eliminated in the first round purely for being ugly, sends congratulations.]
[I am so freaking depressed. Didn't I keep suspecting Number 6 just because there weren't enough divine deduction pits left, hoping to force him to cave in and admit he was a villager early on? I never expected... sigh.]

Having a rare opportunity to bathe in such high praise, Chen Fan couldn't help but swell with pride.

[You flatter me, it was all about good teamwork, leaving me with plenty of room to bluff and jump roles, ha哈哈哈~]
[Shen Gongbao, I hope I run into you again next round.]

Chen Fan checked the messages, and this one was from Zhao Gongming. To be fair, in the previous round, Zhao Gongming had maintained a high level of stable performance. His night-time werewolf-hunting analysis and daytime logic formulation were both spot-on, and he had a very firm grasp of the game's momentum. He could be counted as a semi-advanced player.

[Haha, me too. I hope we can share the same alignment again.]

Chen Fan replied politely. It was better to leave such a formidable enemy for others to deal with; he was planning to coast all the way to the finals.

Next up was the third round of the preliminaries, which was also the final match of the first two days. Winning would secure a spot in the semi-finals, while losing would still leave a chance for resurrection. According to the rules of the Wolf King Championship, if there weren't enough players for the semi-finals, the corresponding number of contestants would be revived using a weighted average of win count and win rate.

Chen Fan checked his win count ranking and found he was still outside the top 80%. Then he checked his win rate, and including the two games he won today, it wasn't even 15%...

"This is blatant discrimination," Chen Fan cursed inwardly, then cheerfully hit the match button.

"Game settlement complete. You have successfully advanced to the next round. The third preliminary round is a standard 12-player match. The role setup is Bear, Hunter, Guard, Seer, with the Sheriff ruling the game. You have fifteen minutes of waiting time before the game starts, feel free to rest."

Chen Fan hadn't played the Bear setup very often, even less than Cupid. He only knew that the Bear's function was similar to the Seer's, though slightly weaker in practicality. It could only verify the alignments of the players on its immediate left and right, and it heavily relied on RNG, constantly at risk of messing up.

Humming a little tune, Chen Fan unconsciously slipped into the rhythm of a cigar-smoking, sunglasses-wearing boss, and began scheming about what tactics to play if he drew different roles.

"I'll jump as the Hunter, claim the Bear, and snatch the Sheriff badge, hahaha."
"Should I try my luck with a blind poison as the Witch on the first night?"
"The Guard self-confidently crippling himself by passing every night and never shielding anyone sounds pretty good too."
"Hide in the bottom row as the Bear and secretly verify people? Haven't tried this wild setup before."
"Let's play an aggressive charging werewolf for once; I feel like I've improved a lot lately."

Chen Fan fantasized about all sorts of strategies, getting a bit carried away.

"Wait a minute, I don't think I've ever played the Bear card..."

Chen Fan suddenly realized a serious problem: he only knew the basic abilities of the Bear card, but if he had never played it himself, he wouldn't even know how to give his speech when his turn came...

"I am a bear, please give me the Sheriff badge?" Chen Fan cast himself into the role of the bear, simulating his opening speech on the podium.
"No, no, that's way too weak..." After rejecting his own idea, Chen Fan tried again: "I am a polar bear, last night I verified Number 5 and Number 7... wait a minute, isn't this freaking redundant..."

Adjusting his mindset, Chen Fan tried once more. "I am a kind bear, yesterday I verified Number 5 and Number 7 as good guys. Wait, something's not right... verification information is only known during the day. During the speech phase on the podium, I don't even know the alignments of my neighbors yet."

Wracking his brain to the utmost, Chen Fan finally gave up. "I am a big clumsy bear, I don't know anything. I beg you dads out there not to counter-claim against me; just let me peacefully take the Sheriff badge and coast to a win."

"Impossible. With a one-in-twelve probability, it won't be that easy to draw the Bear..." Chen Fan convinced himself using mental victory.

"Matching opponents for you..."
"Game loading..."
"Story Dungeon: Dungeon & Fighter"

Chen Fan held his breath. At this moment, time seemed to stand still. The next identity announced would be his own...

"Your identity: Guard" (Note: the original text puns on the mispronunciation "xiouwei" sounding like bear-feeding).

"You scared the crap out of me. Your accent panicked me so much—your Mandarin is totally non-standard, I thought you said bear-feeding." After patting his chest in relief, Chen Fan finally calmed his anxious heart.

The map assets rapidly loaded into shape, and Chen Fan's hand gained a dim, fluorescent lightsachen. Looking down at his outfit, it was shockingly shabby, consisting only of a blue-bottomed tank top and boxers. Pushing down his non-mainstream bangs, he discovered his hair had also turned silvery-white.

"I'm a Blademaster, hahaha."

Chen Fan burst out laughing. When he used to play DNF, the very first class he encountered was the Ghost Slayer. Back then, he liked fast attack speeds because they felt cool, so he transitioned into a Blademaster without a second thought. As a result, he couldn't even afford a lightsaber later on and had to make do with a katana instead.

"Boom boom boom~ curry gay gay, boom boom boom~ curry gay gay."

With slow-motion movements of his left and right hands, Chen Fan proudly and recklessly waved his sword to test the feel of it. The knee-high grass in front of him was slashed flat with a flurry of swishes. Still unsatisfied, Chen Fan sprinted forward, slashing wildly all the way, leaving absolute barrenness in his wake.

An arched stone gate soon appeared in his field of vision, carved with strange epitaphs and inscriptions, with eerie blue flames flickering within.

"Looks like this isn't the boss's door. The murderous aura isn't heavy enough." Chen Fan looked around and didn't see a dark stone gate glowing with scarlet radiance.

"Help! Someone save me!"

The voice came from behind. Chen Fan whipped around, immediately realizing this was the mandatory tutorial for DNF beginners.

"Seria, don't be afraid, I'm here!" Guided by the voice, Chen Fan ran over excitedly.

The blocking Goblins—neither more nor less—numbered exactly three. Their models were identical to the game, down to the exact proportions, perfectly recreated. They were drop-dead ugly with leering, obscene expressions. Previously, they were only 2D side-scrollers; this was his first time seeing them in full 3D.

"Goblins! How dare you kidnap Seria? Prepare to meet your maker!" Chen Fan rushed forward with sword in hand, launching a Mountain Crashing Strike right into their faces without giving them any chance to explain.

"What? It's a misunderstanding, it was actually her—"

The lead Goblin was still in a daze before being beaten into a pulp of flesh. Seeing that things had gone south, the remaining two didn't even wait for Chen Fan's cooldown to finish for his second move; they tucked tail and bolted.

"Miss Seria, are you alright? You can just call me Adventurer." Chen Fan put away his sword, stood with his back to her, and deliberately maintained a lofty, mysterious vibe.

"Yes, Adventurer, please save me! I'm trapped in a cage."

Seria's sweet voice melted into Chen Fan's heart. The rush of pleasure at that instant almost caused him to fail to hold his sword steady.

"Don't worry, Miss Seria, you'll be free soon." With a spinning Thomas-style sword flourish, Chen Fan's blade tip gently brushed against the iron cage, shattering her bonds.

"Thank you, Adventurer." Seria's cheeks flushed red as their eyes met.

"It's nothing, I just..." The moment Chen Fan laid eyes on Seria's actual appearance, the smile on his face froze, and he instantly felt a strong urge to swallow his sword and commit suicide.