Chapter 290: You Are All Mistakes
The clown wore a straitjacket that was reminiscent of those used in old psychiatric hospitals. The white foundation on his face, the lipstick that was drawn beyond his lips and the black rings around his eyes were stereotypical of a clown, yet it also made him look hysterical.
Su Jin couldn’t help but feel fear in his heart. He knew that some people had a phobia of clowns, which could be considered a psychological phobia, but Su Jin was certain that he had never been afraid of clowns. However, when faced with this clown, he felt a genuine fear deep in his heart that sent chills down his spine.
“36 people, six teams!” Su Jin scanned the crowd of owners around him. There were 36 of them in total and they were standing in their groups, so it was clear that they formed six small teams.
Su Jin had never gone through a Challenge with this many people before. Wu Chen and Ye Yun looked horrified as well. They were old timers who had gone through dozens of Challenges, but they had never seen so many people being involved at once either.
“Hello everyone, we’re old friends now, but this is the first time you’re seeing me.” The clown sat on an adjustable swivel barstool commonly seen in a bar. His eyes were completely red with no differentiation between his iris and pupils, so he looked really creepy. But what terrified all of them was his voice.
There was no owner among the 36 present who didn’t know this voice. Or rather, there wasn’t a single person here who would forget this voice. This voice was their greatest nightmare, the beginning of their nightmarish lives… this was the voice of death that narrated the introduction of each Challenge, the voice that carried all the negative emotions of the world.
Su Jin took a step forward and instinctively stood protectively in front of his team. He was the team leader of Team Boning Knife and he had slowly grown this instinct to protect his team members.
All 36 owners seemed to be pretty resilient people. Even after hearing the clown’s voice, nobody went into a panic and most of them became extra wary and ready to fight, ready to launch an aggressive attack.
The clown didn’t care about their response to him and just went on, “I’m able to appear in front of all of you today thanks to one person. That person is… the team leader of Team Boning Knife, Mr. Su Jin!”
The clown pointed a finger at Su Jin and a beam of light shone down from above, highlighting Su Jin and causing everyone to turn to face him.
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All members of the team felt their hearts tighten and Su Jin gathered his psychokinesis together. He didn’t know what this clown was up to, but… he had to be prepared for anything.
“Oh no, no, don’t be so nervous. In theory, I will not kill any owners.” The clown wagged his finger from side to side, then used one hand to hold his chin as he took a good look at Su Jin. After a few moments, he said, “But you are pretty dangerous, so… I have to ensure my own safety.”
The clown snapped and to the other owners, nothing had changed. But Su Jin’s expression fell because he could sense that his psychokinesis had disappeared.
It wasn’t the feeling of having his Spirit Power sealed away. It was gone. It was as though he had never activated Spirit Power at all. He couldn’t sense even the tiniest bit of it.
“What… what did you do to me?!” Su Jin immediately cried out in protest.
“Nothing, really. Everyone will go through the same thing later, you just went first,” said the clown with a shrug. He smiled at Su Jin and said, “Let me explain! You can take me as a manifestation of Hell’s Handbook, a spokesperson, like the game master of a game or the one in charge of the server.”
“My role was originally just to introduce the Challenges to all of you and decide on a few key areas. If things continued on like that, I would never have met all of you. But… someone has done something they shouldn’t have, so it can’t be helped! I had to give up my leisurely life and come here to play a game with all of you.”
“My new Boning Knife!” Su Jin’s thoughts flew quickly. The clown said that his appearance had something to do with himself, and then said that someone had done something they shouldn’t have. The only thing Su Jin could think of was the Boning Knife he had just received.
“Bingo! You’re right! Just like I said, I’m just in charge of running the game and I’d appear only if those who shouldn’t be here appear, and things that shouldn’t be here appear.”
“The Boning Knife is the first God Grade Spirit Power item in the Handbook, and based on the way the Handbook has developed so far, it is not time yet for such an item to appear. The Handbook has always operated in a mode where everything applies to all owners in all universes, so the appearance of a God Grade Spirit Power item is also connected in some way to Hell’s Handbook. You could say that Mr. Su is both a beneficiary and a victim at the same time.”
“So, you’re saying that Hell’s Handbook is going to punish me?” asked Su Jin in a grim voice. He didn’t feel nervous anymore. If the Handbook had decided to kill him, then there was no point in even trying to fight back. Even gods like the Mad Hatter had trouble fighting against the power of the Handbook and barely managed to escape the control of the Handbook after pulling several stunts. For a mere owner like him, being anxious was pointless.
To his surprise, the clown looked surprised by his words. He shook his head and said, “Why would I do that? Like I explained earlier, the appearance of a God Grade Spirit Power item is also partly the fault of the Handbook. Why would we punish Mr. Su alone?”
“Then… then what do you want? Do you want me to hand the Boning Knife over?” asked Su Jin puzzledly.
The clown shook his head and smiled. “Hell’s Handbook will not interfere with the owners directly, so since you’ve received a God Grade Spirit Power item, that’s yours. But… a God Grade Spirit Power item was supposed to only be made available after the Handbook started Earth and Heaven Level Challenges. These have not started for the current owners, but a God Grade Spirit Power item has already made an appearance. In that case, the Handbook has no choice but to start Earth and Heaven Level Challenges.”
Su Jin’s heart sank. He now knew why there were so many owners here. They were all going to be involved in a very difficult Challenge.
The faces of the other owners changed dramatically. This whole thing was targeted at Su Jin, but since they had been chosen for the Challenge, they wouldn’t be able to avoid the dangers involved.
The clown scanned the crowd, then suddenly sneered, “Does everyone feel that they’ve been unfairly implicated in a matter that’s caused by Mr. Su alone?”
Nobody said anything, but it was clear from the look in their eyes that they thought that way.
“Hell’s Handbook is fair, especially when it comes to human lives. I have chosen 36 people, six small teams, all of whom have used some special methods to get through Challenges in the past. In short, all of you have cheated before,” said the clown calmly.
“That’s ridiculous! I’ve gone through 31 Challenges and I’ve never cheated!” retorted a muscular owner who looked like he had a pretty bad temper.
The clown turned to look at him and said, “Mr. Kevin, team leader of Team Black-headed Gull. During your seventh Challenge, you should have died. But… you made a deal with an elder god of the Challenge, became their believer and activated your Spirit Power as a result!”
The man was taken aback and his eyes widened, but he did not say anything in the end, because the clown was right. He had made a deal with an elder god during that Challenge and became a worshipper of that god.
“What about us? Our team has only been around for two months and most of us are newbies too. Who among us cheated?” asked another woman.
“Miss Lin Yu’er, your team is a new one, but if I’m not wrong, the strategist of Team Poseidon, Mr. Zhang Tiankai, obtained his Handbook through illicit means. A friend of yours did something in order to transfer their Handbook to you, which is not allowed by Hell’s Handbook. To put it simply, you are not a registered user of the Handbook. It’s as if you’re using a different person’s account to login.”
The clown scanned the crowd and continued, “Someone in each of the six teams here has done something like that. As long as just one person has done such a thing, then I’m sorry, but the entire team will have to be punished. There might be some among you who are completely innocent, but don’t blame me… blame those who didn’t follow the rules!”
Team Boning Knife had grim smiles on their faces. They might very well be the team who committed the most offences here. Besides the fact that Su Jin had made a deal with a whole bunch of gods, Situ Jin and Bo Ya’s Handbooks were obtained through illicit means as well.
The clown went on, “But you’re all pretty lucky, since Earth Level Challenges haven’t been made available yet. It’s a punishment, but you’re given some grace here. All survivors of this Challenge will have their previous wrongs written off. Also, even though it’s an Earth Level Challenge, it will still be a little easier than usual.”
The clown waved his hand and a little island appeared in the darkness beneath his feet. Everyone looked down to see the island.
“Mistakes should be punished by mistakes. This island is situated in the middle of all spaces and it’s a cage that is impossible to escape from. This place holds a series of mistakes that have appeared in the development of the Handbook and you will be transported into this island. You will be given three days… to survive the Challenge!”
“Also, a small treat for all of you: every time you kill an owner, you will get one point. For every ten points, you get to revive someone, and this person has to be someone who died in this Challenge.”
The owners started cursing inwardly. The Handbook was making owners turn against each other, which could end up getting all of them killed.
“One more thing. Anyone who dies in this Challenge… cannot be revived with the Ceremony of the Gods!” The clown looked at Team Boning Knife as a creepy and sly smile spread across his face.
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