Chapter 107: Exploding the Protagonist’s Gold, Comprehensive Power Boost
Pratt was a Psionic-type Esper Power user, and one major characteristic of such users was high attack and low defense.
This "low defense" had multiple layers of meaning: firstly, low HP; secondly, all resistances except for psionic resistance were extremely poor; and thirdly, he lacked any passive skills or talents that could serve as life-saving measures.
Thus, when Bai Fu’s Electric Knife slashed onto Pratt’s body, the damage numbers burst out like spraying bullets from a submachine gun in a shooting game.
–
31, –17, –29……
Pratt clearly saw his body sliced open by the Electric Knife, the surging current searing all flesh around the wound to a crisp, and the intense pain ceaselessly assaulted his nerves.
He wanted to scream, but his body was restrained and no sound could escape.
He wanted to dodge, but his body was locked down, and he couldn't move at all.
He could only watch helplessly as the Electric Knife cut deeper and deeper; a tidal wave of fear nearly drowned him completely. If this paralysis continued for another ten seconds or so, he would die right here!
To become a savior, he had spent a full ten years gaining the trust of the people in the camp and the Old Republic. He had also exhausted immense effort investigating matters. Out of fear that intel would leak, he even killed his childhood friend who had accidentally glimpsed his secret. If he died here now, wouldn’t all of that have been for nothing?
There was no one else around now, so he no longer needed to pretend to face death calmly.
Driven by a powerful survival instinct, Pratt was delighted to find that he could move. Without hesitation, he launched a Psionic Shock at Bai Fu.
He had assumed this attack would make Bai Fu loosen her grip so that he could seize the opportunity to escape. But unexpectedly, Bai Fu’s body didn’t even flinch.
“You’re a bit stronger than Rattlesnake, whom I took down when I first arrived in the Goli Desert, but only slightly. Back then, I could already tank Rattlesnake’s Psionic Shock. And now... to think this level of attack could leave me dizzy is pure fantasy.”
Bai Fu increased her strength.
She didn’t care what kind of identity Pratt had.
The official site made it clear that Beyond the Stars emphasized freedom and storyline autonomy. As long as players were willing, not to mention a protagonist of a hidden main storyline—even a designated Fated One of an entire planet could be taken down. From how she was gradually powered up from a passerby to a Regional BOSS, it was evident that the site’s promise of storyline autonomy was real.
Just kill, that’s all.
Pratt endured the excruciating pain and rolled backward. Just as he was about to flee, a pair of feet suddenly appeared in front of him. He looked up abruptly and saw that the owner of those feet was a woman who looked exactly like Bai Fu.
“You—”
Hei Fu punched Pratt squarely in the forehead without saying a word.
Pratt was sent flying. As he hit the ground, a blade crackling with electricity dropped from above, piercing straight through his heart.
“I can’t die, I can’t... ah!”
–
37, –12, –49!
Black-colored critical damage numbers floated up. Pratt’s body convulsed a few times, and then all went silent.
Bai Fu slowly withdrew her blade, and two system notifications rang in her ears.
【You have slain Pratt. Contribution: 100%. After adjustment for level difference, you have gained 200,000 XP】
【You have completed the Hidden Mission [All Just an Empty Dream]】
The first notification alone made Bai Fu’s eyes light up.
A typical level 31 monster would only give her around 100,000 XP at most now, but Pratt gave her 200,000 XP. As expected of an NPC with the Great Luck talent—the reward for that hidden mission surely wouldn’t be low either.
She opened the mission description, and sure enough, since Pratt was still in the growth stage, the base XP reward was only 500,000. But the additional rewards went beyond “generous.”
She gained a new Talent 【Death Immunity】, a special Title 【Fate Hunter】, and a rare Skill 【Psionic Burst】.
The Death Immunity talent was straightforward: with this, Bai Fu could no longer be one-shotted. No matter how high the opponent’s damage output, even if one strike could drain several bars of her HP, her HP would forcibly retain 5% the first time she was hit.
This Talent was practically a divine lifesaving technique. And with it, she could proudly call herself a high-end BOSS, unlike those field BOSSes she previously took down—whose only notable trait was their higher level.
The Fate Hunter Title wasn’t something to scoff at either—it granted Bai Fu +5% success rate in determinations.
For Bai Fu, who lived off Card Creation, this Title’s effect combined with her Lucky Talent granted a total +15% success rate in card-making—a truly game-breaking boost.
As for the rare Skill 【Psionic Burst】, it was also an excellent ability. It was a close-range, active attack skill that focused psionic energy into her hand and released it as a shockwave. When used, it consumed 50 Psionic Value per second and dealt (50 + Inspiration * 0.5) psionic damage to targets directly in front. Cooldown: 1 second.
While the damage multiplier of Psionic Burst was far less than Extra-dimensional Erosion or Tiny Bai Fu, its advantage lay in its ability to be continuously cast.
Bai Fu’s current Psionic Value cap was 1080, and her Inspiration was 105. This meant that if she went all out, she could deal over 2100 Psionic damage within 21 seconds, which was effectively like wielding a magic shotgun.
Of course, since opponents usually had some Psionic resistance and wouldn’t just stand there taking hits, it was actually very hard for her to instantly kill a strong enemy using a full combo of Psionic Burst.
But if she couldn’t get 21 seconds in, she could let Hei Fu use Battle Etiquette to control the enemy, and then force-feed them 2 seconds of Psionic Burst. Two seconds of shockwave bombardment was enough to stack 5 layers of the Extra-dimensional Erosion buff.
By that calculation, this combo could deal at least 15% of the opponent’s max HP plus 310 points of raw panel damage (not accounting for resistance reductions).
Oh, and if the opponent happened to be immune to Battle Etiquette control, then this whole combo would be for nothing.
But regardless, with the Psionic Burst skill, both she and Hei Fu—especially Hei Fu—would see a substantial boost in combat power.
“This gold drop was...”
Looking at Pratt’s corpse lying on the ground, Bai Fu couldn’t help but feel like lighting a stick of incense for him.
You were right, bro. The wannabe savior was part of a hidden main storyline in the game Beyond the Stars, with its plot set on the Beginner Planet Origin Star. Now I’ll be taking over your role, guiding players through quests, defeating powerful foes with them, and gradually uncovering the truth behind the Cataclysm of Origin Star!
Bai Fu tossed Pratt’s corpse into the sandworm pile. Once the sandworms had gnawed him down to the bones, she chased them off, then buried the skeleton deep in the desert.
“Now no one knows where he went.”
Bai Fu clapped the fine sand off her hands with satisfaction.
If players found out she had taken out Pratt, they’d most likely praise her and send her a little red flower.
After all, she had indirectly improved the players’ game experience. They were both issuing main storyline quests, but while she just wanted the players’ money, Pratt was trying to toy with their sense of justice.
“Come on, let’s go back.”
Bai Fu called to Hei Fu.
Task complete, she dusted her sleeves and left, hiding her achievements and fame.
Back at the Research Institute, she acted like nothing had happened as she opened her stats panel. After killing Pratt, she now had 1.22 million XP—enough to level up again.
She used the XP to raise the level of 【Apprentice Psionic Illustrator】 to Lv18. Upon leveling up, her Constitution automatically increased by 1 due to the effect of Psionic Enhancement, reaching 89. Even without the attribute boost from Hei Fu, her HP cap had officially broken the 2000 threshold, now at 2010. With Hei Fu on the field, she’d get an extra 60 HP.
“Got tankiness, got a substitute, got control, got scouting, got percentage damage, got a close-range active attack skill. Now all I lack is a stable long-range attack method, and I’ll basically have no real weaknesses.”
Considering the upcoming hidden main storyline quests would involve the Truth Society, Old Republic, and Gene Primordials, Bai Fu decided to patch this gap.
She went and took a bath, then warmed her hands with a few breaths before beginning her card-pulling journey based on face-luck.
She still had 620,000 XP left. Even if her luck was horrible, she should still be able to craft a practical long-range attack-type Prayer Card, right?
“My turn, draw card!”
【Synthesis Failed】
【Synthesis Failed】
Because Bai Fu had imposed very strict limitations on the type of Prayer Card she wanted, she heard the failure prompt over twenty times before she finally received a success message.
That single success had cost over 200,000 XP, but the result was worth it.
The Prayer Card Piercing Spear could attack targets up to 2000 units away, with a range comparable to a Sniper Rifle and equally impressive damage. Depending on the remaining Psionic Value, it could deal 50–100 points of base Psionic damage. The only downside was its relatively high crafting cost.
But for Bai Fu, who already had nearly 1500 players in her leek field, this wasn’t a problem at all.
Now everything was set.
……
The next day, news of Pratt’s disappearance spread.
Bai Fu silently walked out of the Research Institute. Players and members of the Holy Spirit Cult followed her, their expressions grave.
Under the scorching sun, they headed west and finally arrived at the “Spawn Box.”
The good news was that the Sacred Relic was still there. The bad news was that the white-robed men of the Holy Spirit Cult had discovered traces of battle left by the sandworms on the road.
They were starting to have a bad feeling. Pratt had very likely snuck out of the Research Institute alone the previous night, aiming to steal the Sacred Relic. But luck wasn’t on his side—he encountered a sandworm attack on the way.
“Can anyone tell me what the hell is going on here?”
Bai Fu started off by accusing them, staring coldly at the white-robed men. Her beautiful eyes were filled with frost.
“This...”
None of the white-robed men dared to speak first. It was Fragrant Fried Fish who broke the silence.
“I’ve long thought that Pratt was no good. He definitely tried to steal Fu Fu’s Obsidian Shard and got killed by a sandworm.”
The white-robed men all lowered their heads in shame.
They were panicking now. Thanks to Pratt’s stunt, Bai Fu’s Favorability toward the Holy Spirit Cult was likely going to drop straight into Hostile territory. If that happened, how were they supposed to borrow the Sacred Relic to save the sick people in the camp?
They would die. Those sick people would die!
One white-robed man anxiously looked up: “We didn’t expect Pratt to do something like this. At this point, there’s no point in making excuses. I know you must be very upset with us, but the people in the camp are innocent. If you’re willing to help save them, I’ll do whatever you want. I can give you my money—it’s not much, but I’ll find a way to earn more and give it all to you.”
The other white-robed men followed suit, expressing their willingness to sell themselves to repay the debt.
Bai Fu stared at them for a long time, then finally sighed. “Whether you sell yourselves or not is another matter. First, I want to visit your camp. I’ll decide whether to help you after confirming the situation.”
The Holy Spirit Cult had to be visited—there was still an Obsidian Shard there, after all. As for the rescue mission, that could be handed off to the players. Recently, players from the Garden of Silence had been complaining about getting bored with commission and extermination quests every day. Well then, here’s something fresh for you!
Hearing Bai Fu say that, the white-robed men were so moved they nearly cried. While thanking Bai Fu, they cursed Pratt in their hearts for pulling such a backstabbing stunt at a crucial moment.
Even the players watching the drama unfold were touched.
【This is Fu Fu, the True Monarch Bai Fu Who Saves the Suffering and the Needy!】