Chapter 301: Chapter 193: The Endpoint of Despair (Part 2)_2

“Eric, just give it up, you’re still lacking here.”

“Yeah, just keep streaming ‘Hammer of Thor,’ you won’t succeed.”

Facing these doubts, Eric turned a deaf ear and just played his game.

Behind him, his father was still supportive, Qiu Yu in the group was still offering help, and he himself wasn’t interested in who cleared the game first; he just wanted to see the end.

Compared to when he started the challenge, he had lost seven pounds, and each day he would gaze at the screen unconsciously, with only his fingers moving on the controller.

The popularity of his livestream had plummeted to rock bottom, ranking had fallen beyond the top hundred, and almost speechless throughout his gameplay, only the loyal fans were accustomed to this and kept it on.

Although his focus was in the game, Eric felt as if his consciousness had transcended his body, allowing him to observe himself from the perspective of a bystander.

Now it was 10:13 PM, the dead of night.

He could hear the sound of the clock’s second hand moving, the dehumidifier was softly humming, and a cricket was stealthily crawling on the floor.

His attention was highly concentrated, yet his consciousness felt as if it were floating in the room, this state allowed him to watch himself from a third-person point of view, and also enabled him to spot the mistakes in his character’s movements.

His consciousness became infinitely ethereal, his execution at this moment was nearly perfect, and the game began to follow his commands, all random events started to serve him.

He easily defeated the boss of the previous area, and the penultimate boss fell under his sword.

His outstanding state drew the attention of some, which led to a rise in his popularity, but facing the final boss, a mistake caused him to be reduced to critical health, and his supplies were exhausted at this moment.

“Sigh…”

A sigh arose, letting everyone know that there was no hope this time.

In a high-level run, failing against a boss meant instant death, no saving, players would be sent back to the beginning of the game, and all effort would be in vain.

Next, the final boss’s second phase started with an almost certain-death full-range attack, requiring dodging within three frames (0.25 seconds), or else you’d lose health.

This attack would continue thirteen times, but one hit and Eric would be done for.

Experts would rely on their health to get through this, but if you mismanaged your time and didn’t have enough health left, then this phase meant certain death.

One could say, Eric had already failed.

The recently gathered popularity began to dissipate again, only Qiu Yu and Alan remained till the end, silently watching Eric’s performance.

Even though he made a mistake, Eric didn’t back down.

As the terrifying full-screen attack began, he calmly observed the boss’s attack direction, then began to react.

Once, twice, three times…

He dodged all thirteen attacks with miraculous agility, his heroic feat exploded the chat in the livestream room in an instant.

Viewers who heard about it held their breaths, silently watching Eric’s performance.

And after that, it was as if Eric was possessed by the gods.

The character he controlled seemed to come alive, each movement radiating with brilliant vitality, responding to every strong attack by the boss with powerful breaths.

The smooth movements burst forth like a waterfall, shining as bright as moonlight, his current health so low that the slightest touch would bring him down, but there he was like a lighthouse in a storm, defiantly standing strong against the roaring waves, before launching relentless counterattacks.

10%…

5%…

The boss’s health visibly dropped, dazzling counters kept appearing, but Eric navigated through the nearly impossible onslaught, repeatedly launching bold strikes.

Finally…

On the thirteenth night at 11:43 PM, the final boss was defeated.

The viewers who came upon the news almost burst Eric’s livestream room, with incessant congratulations and cheers, his earnings in tips for the single day exceeded 300,000 euros, the wild popularity pushing him to the top of the charts, commemorating this historic moment.

Compared to the frenzied audience, Eric was unusually composed.

He quietly watched the ending animation and then began his tenth week.

After thanking everyone calmly, he quietly walked upstairs, lay on his bed, and fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

The next day, after waking up, Eric found that his phone had exploded with messages.

Hoffman himself had sent congratulations and invited him to Cologne to receive his award, with all expenses for the plane ticket covered.

Streamers he knew had all sent texts, congratulating him for being the first person to complete the ninth round.

Up to that moment, Eric still didn’t feel like it was real.

It wasn’t until he went to the living room and found his father watching the video of him clearing the game the night before on repeat.

In the video, Eric looked stiff and wooden, a stark contrast to the agility of his character in the game, and at the moment the final boss was defeated, he saw his usually stoic father’s eyes glisten with tears.

Since his mother had passed away, he had never seen his father cry.

When his father saw Eric walking down, he quickly wiped his eyes and sincerely said, “Son, I’m proud of you.”

“…Thank you.”

After hugging his father, the joy of victory finally swept over him, making him realize that he had won.

But the victory of the ninth round was just the beginning.

He hadn’t forgotten his initial purpose and immediately began to livestream to reveal the truth behind the easter egg.

In the tenth round, he saw that the mysterious symbol in the tank had been completed and, when all the water was drained, the symbol began to draw in the surrounding spiritual energy and emitted an eerie black light.

A brand new teleportation array appeared above the tank; behind the teleportation array, nothing could be seen but rolling black fog surging and lingering.

Seeing this scene, Eric knew they had truly found the easter egg.

Yet after personally encountering the easter egg, he felt more anxious than ever.

He worried that there was actually nothing behind the teleportation array.

It could possibly be just a word of encouragement from the development team and nothing else.

But in the end, he still stepped forth and walked into the teleportation array.

As he entered, he found the light around him fading, and his entire field of vision gradually darkened.

He was surrounded by pitch-black fog, deprived of light and guidance, alone in a world shrouded in black fog, wandering aimlessly.

He didn’t know how long he had walked when the fog around him dispersed, and he found himself standing in front of a huge altar.

This altar looked like an ancient sacrificial platform, with half-meter-high stone steps extending upwards layer by layer; the whole platform couldn’t be seen from end to end, leaving one to wonder about its true height.

Even as he began his sword flight, it took him a full ten minutes to reach the end, and upon the spacious platform sat a handsome young man, cross-legged, lightly laughing while watching Eric fly up.

“Thanks to fellow Daoist’s help in retrieving this strand of divine sense for me. Although I have not yet resurrected, with this strand of divine sense as a lead, it shall not be long now,” said the young man.

Then, looking at Eric with curiosity, he asked, “Strange, why is your physical body also made up of mana, yet internally you are a barbarian? After a thousand years, you all play in such fanciful ways, huh?”

“Forget it, it doesn’t matter. To thank you, tell me what you want, and speak to this Demon Lord.”

Looking at the young man, Eric felt as though he wasn’t speaking to the game character, but to him directly.

Just as he pondered how to express his desire for a perfect ending, the young man burst into a roar of laughter, holding his belly.

“Naive, to have struggled this far only for a perfect ending? All this is my doing, Barefaced Demon Lord. You want me to grant them a complete resolution? Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!” the young man exclaimed after his laughter.

Then, looking at Eric, he said, “There will be no perfect ending, as long as I exist, nothing can be perfect! I am the Barefaced Demon Lord, and despair is my finest sustenance. Not only this world but you too shall become nourishment for me… Great Heavenly Lord?”

The next moment, Eric’s screen went completely black.