Chapter 60: Fear

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Fear

Zhao Chi was checking the rankings.

He was paying special attention to the number of people who had quit the test.

About a dozen people had quit during the Harpies’ stage, but the number of students who had quit this stage had already risen to over 200.

Fewer than 800 students were still taking the test.

’The next stage will probably be the limit for even more students,’ he thought.

A dozen or so minutes passed quickly.

The fifth stage was about to begin.

Two hours had passed since the test began. Although the women all had 6 points in Constitution, their Physical Strength had been significantly drained.

It was hard to fully recover in just a dozen minutes.

But this was just a test, after all.

On a real battlefield, they might not even get these ten-odd minutes of rest.

Countdown: 3 minutes.

"Alright, everyone up. It’s on the left this time. Follow me."

Gu Qing and the others immediately got up and followed Zhao Chi.

Countdown: 1 minute.

Countdown: 3, 2, 1.

[The Fifth Stage Begins!]

The wall of fog trembled.

The mist dissipated.

All the women’s eyes went wide.

’What is that?’

Zhao Chi also narrowed his eyes, peering ahead.

In the distance were 50 pale blue, translucent figures, like humanoid ice sculptures.

But they clearly weren’t ice sculptures; they were floating, illusory silhouettes.

The phantoms flickered in and out of existence.

Sometimes they would become clearer, turning a pale blue.

Other times, they were so blurry they seemed to vanish, leaving only faint humanoid outlines. You could miss them if you didn’t look closely.

This couldn’t help but make everyone think of one thing: ghosts.

"Sir, are those ghosts?"

Tang Ruan voiced the question on her mind.

Gu Qing, however, asked, "How do we fight them?"

Zhao Chi quickly explained:

"These aren’t ordinary spirits, they’re Ghosts.

"Everyone, look closely. Their bodies are constantly changing.

"When their bodies turn transparent, none of our attacks can hit them.

"Attacking them then is like hitting thin air. But they can still attack us. You must be extremely careful.

"Wait until their bodies turn light blue. That’s the best time to attack.

"When you attack, it will feel like striking through wind—there’s some resistance, but it’s not obvious. That’s how you’ll know you can damage them."

Gu Qing nodded. "Understood. Did everyone get that?"

"Yes!" the Female Soldiers replied in unison.

Zhao Chi quickly grabbed Gu Qing, afraid she would charge right in.

"I’m not finished. These Ghosts attack with their arms. Their Attack Power isn’t too high, about the same as the Harpies.

"But the trickiest part is that when you hit them, they let out a piercing scream. This Ghostly Scream induces fear.

"I’m not sure if your Fearless Talent grants immunity to this type of fear. If it doesn’t, we’ll need to lure them out and kill them one by one.

"Because their scream is a Range Skill, anyone nearby will be affected, and the Effect stacks."

Gu Qing nodded. "So, we’ll test it first. If we’re immune, then it doesn’t matter?"

"Exactly!" Zhao Chi nodded.

Gu Qing smiled. "Simple enough. I’ll go test it."

Tang Ruan said, "Sister Gu, let me go. My Enhancement is Defense, so this is the kind of thing I should be doing."

Gu Qing waved her off. "It’s not time for that yet. My Attributes are higher. You all just watch. Sir, I’m going, alright?"

"Be careful," Zhao Chi said.

Gu Qing smiled and charged forward.

She ran straight up to the nearest Ghost and thrust her Iron Spear.

WHOOSH!

Gu Qing felt as if her spear had plunged into water.

There was some resistance, but it wasn’t strong.

"AAAAHHH—!!"

Suddenly, the Ghost in front of her let out a piercing scream.

A transparent wave washed over Gu Qing’s entire body.

But Gu Qing felt nothing at all.

’Is this the fear Sir was talking about?’

’It really is ineffective against us.’

Gu Qing took a step back and shouted, "Sir, is this it? I don’t feel anything!"

The scream was distant, and its power had weakened considerably by the time it reached Zhao Chi.

Still, Zhao Chi’s heart pounded.

He was happy, though.

’I’m scared, but these women feel nothing at all.’

’Does that mean... this is the perfect stage for us!’

"That’s right, Gu Qing! That’s the scream! It seems you’re immune. Everyone, advance! Break them up!"

"Yes, Sir!"

All the women charged forward.

Gu Qing turned back and focused on her attack.

WHOOSH!

A transparent, arm-like outline swung at her, and Gu Qing immediately raised her Shield.

BANG!

The Power was considerable, knocking Gu Qing back a step.

"Not bad. My turn!"

She thrust her spear again, but it passed through empty air.

This time, there wasn’t even the slightest hint of resistance.

Looking at the Ghost again, its form was almost invisible, with only a few pale white lines twisting about.

But Gu Qing saw two lines rapidly approaching.

"I see you."

She kicked off with her long legs, rapidly retreating.

A gust of wind pressure grazed her cheek.

It was clearly the Ghost’s attack.

Gu Qing continued to back away, realizing the Ghost’s Movement Speed wasn’t too fast.

Although it was floating, its Movement Speed was roughly equivalent to 5 points of agility. With 7 points in agility, Gu Qing could easily create distance.

After a few seconds, the Ghost’s body once again turned a translucent light blue.

Gu Qing sneered, "Die!"

SWISH!

"AAAAHHHHH—!!"

This time, the Ghost’s scream was extremely piercing. Gu Qing felt that any closer and her ears would have started ringing.

The next moment, the Ghost rapidly evaporated and dissipated, like a piece of burning tissue paper.

Before long, it had vanished completely.

"Is that all?" Gu Qing smiled and charged toward the next one.

Soon, screams echoed from all directions.

"AAAAHHH—!"

"AAAAHHHHH—!!"

"AAAAHHHHHH—!"

"AAAAHHH—!!!"

The Female Soldiers’ attacks had begun.

Wave after wave of transparent energy washed over them, but the Female Soldiers felt nothing. Finding it merely noisy, they all calmly defended and thrust their spears.

The Female Craftsmen were the same, though it took them 5-6 hits with their Wooden Spears to kill a Ghost.

Zhao Chi didn’t attack this time.

Instead, he watched from afar.

He wasn’t one of the Peach Blossom Human Race, after all. He didn’t have the Fearless Talent, so it was impossible for him to be immune to this Ghostly Scream.

All he had to do now was not get in the way.

He opened the system and carefully observed the women’s Morale.

The first few stages had been too Simple, so there was no need to worry about Morale.

But from now on, he had to monitor it in real time.

The Peach Blossom Women were fearless, but their Morale could still drop.

If anyone’s Morale fell, Zhao Chi would immediately help raise it.

After all, Encourage was the only Spiritual Technique he knew, and it could raise Morale.

[Zhao Chi Army Morale]

[Gu Qing] 91%

[Tang Ruan] 98%

[Female Militia] 88%

[Female Craftsman] 83%

Morale was a measure of eagerness.

That young lady, Tang Ruan, had a surprising 98% eagerness—very proactive.

Gu Qing, however, was only at 91%. Although that was still very high, she wasn’t fully engaged yet, perhaps because she still found these opponents a bit too weak.

The average Morale of the Female Militia was 88%, which was quite good.

The Female Craftsmen weren’t a combat Profession, so 83% Morale wasn’t low either.

’Everyone’s Morale is good.’

Zhao Chi was relieved.

Even though he was standing far away, he could still hear the screams.

The overlapping, tragic screams created a bone-deep sense of fear within him.

It was like camping in the wild and having an enraged brown bear break into your tent.

Or a large, brightly colored Spider dropping into your collar and crawling on your Body.

Or being alone on a leaking inflatable raft, adrift on the vast ocean.

Zhao Chi suppressed the fear in his inner heart and stood perfectly still.

He was terrified.

But he knew this fear was caused by the Skill and had a time limit.

"Sir, don’t be afraid. I’m here."

A charming female voice spoke.

But Zhao Chi flinched nervously and hurriedly turned his head to see Tang Ruan had run back.

Tang Ruan looked at Zhao Chi in surprise. "Sir, are you alright? Why are you sweating so much?"

Tang Ruan reached out her hand to wipe the sweat from Zhao Chi’s brow.

Her palm was soft and warm.

Zhao Chi’s heart calmed a little.

’This Ghostly Scream is really something else. Especially when multiple screams stack; the power is even greater.’

’I wonder how other players are handling this. They probably lure them out one by one, like with the Thunder Element, and kill them individually.’

The scream of a single Ghost wasn’t that strong, and Zhao Chi could endure it. But he couldn’t handle multiple screams at once.

Zhao Chi, his heart still pounding, looked at Tang Ruan. "I’m fine. Why did you come back?"

Tang Ruan said, "Sister Gu was a little worried you wouldn’t be able to hold up, so she sent me back to protect you."

After speaking, she switched to her cosmetic outfit and, leaning in for a soft hug, pressed her ample, proud chest against him.