Bizarre Voyage: Summoning The Fourth Crisis

While Li Miao was killing monsters off to the side, he made sure to observe Faraway’s movements.

He also tried to replicate the side-step dodge that Faraway had used during their first fight.

Practicality aside, the main thing was that it looked way too cool!

Li Miao swore he would master it just to show off.

But it wasn’t until he actually tried it himself that he discovered... ’Damn, this is hard to learn!’

The key to the side-step dodge wasn’t the difficulty of the maneuver, but the mastery of its ”timing.”

Even though the Fish People only acted on instinct, they would still adjust their movements after seeing their prey reposition. They didn’t follow a fixed script.

This made the timing required for a successful side-step dodge extremely demanding.

If you did it too early, the monster would adjust its attack. If you did it too late... well, that goes without saying.

Li Miao had to take a good beating from a Beach Fishman before he could barely get the hang of it.

’If that kid Faraway’s Talent isn’t one in a million, then his job in real life must be something else...’

Li Miao thought to himself.

Just as he was mulling it over, he suddenly heard a low roar coming from Faraway’s direction.

The familiar sound made Li Miao’s heart clench. The unforgettable scene from yesterday flashed through his mind.

He whipped his head around... Just as he’d feared!

The Beach Fishman Leader!

Li Miao was about to shout a warning when he noticed Faraway across from him making a hushing gesture.

At that moment, Faraway was standing to the Beach Fishman Leader’s side.

However, after he took two steps, the Beach Fishman Leader didn’t attack and instead just wandered about.

This made Faraway pause in thought for a moment before reaching out and waving a hand right in front of its eyes.

The Fishman Leader still didn’t react. Its vision problems seemed rather severe.

Faraway expanded the range of his tests.

It wasn’t until Faraway tested right under the Fishman Leader’s nose that it suddenly reacted, lashing out with a claw.

Li Miao was about to rush forward to help, but he froze after just two steps.

He watched as Faraway, seeming to have predicted the attack, dodged to the side and quickly circled to a position behind the Fishman Leader.

”ROAR?”

The Fishman Leader seemed to have suddenly lost its target. It looked left and right, trying to find him.

Meanwhile, Faraway made small movements in sync with the swing of its head, keeping himself perfectly hidden in its blind spot.

’No fucking way that works?!’

Li Miao roared internally, a look of utter disbelief on his face as if he’d seen a ghost.

Then he saw Faraway thoughtfully raise his Dagger and move toward the Fishman Leader’s back...

Li Miao had a bad feeling, but at the same time, he had a strange premonition.

’If it’s Faraway... maybe he can actually...’

THWACK!

A dull thud decisively shattered Li Miao’s fantasy.

One moment, Faraway was standing there perfectly fine. The next, he was a blur, sent flying across the sand, carving a long trench before finally skidding to a halt.

SHIIING—

The Fishman Leader mercilessly followed up with a thrown Bone Fork before pouncing.

But Faraway’s body was already gone, leaving behind only a smudge of Wax Ash.

”ROAR...”

Seeing its enemy dead, the fury in the Fishman Leader’s eyes gradually subsided. It pulled its Bone Fork from the ground and slowly walked back to its original spot.

[DEATH]

”...”

Li Miao’s eye twitched.

To be honest, for a split second there, he’d actually deluded himself into thinking Faraway would pull off some insane maneuver and kill the Fishman Leader...

But the result was obvious. He had been overthinking it.

Before the Fishman Leader’s mighty slap... all are equal.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but want to laugh.

Faraway usually seemed so calm and brilliant, but he never expected the guy to have such a reckless side.

Watching him get sent flying by the Fishman Leader’s slap was just hilarious...

Just then, a faint, blue, smoke-like Wandering Soul drifted slowly to his side. It propped its chin in its hand and mused:

”Hmm... The monsters’ combat AI is very realistic. The force and speed of their exploratory attacks are completely different from when they’re enraged...”

”By the way, Brother Miao, can I be attacked in this state?”

Li Miao was speechless.

”You literally just had your soul slapped out of your body, and you’re already planning to stir up more trouble?”

”I think you should hurry back and get your gear. If you wait too long, it’ll disappear.”

Li Miao thought this would convince Faraway to back down.

But he hadn’t expected Faraway to get even more serious and ask, ”How long, specifically?”

”Oh, and can you try to pick up the Wax Ash I dropped?”

”...” Li Miao was struck speechless, not knowing how to respond.

Without a doubt, Faraway wanted to test the mechanics of the Wandering Soul State...

Speechless or not, since Faraway had asked, Li Miao didn’t refuse. He walked over to Faraway’s Wax Ash and tried to pick it up, but he couldn’t. There was no interaction prompt.

Seeing this, Faraway became thoughtful. ’Looks like it’s a measure to prevent toxic competition between players?’

”Next, let’s see how long the Wax Ash takes to disappear,” Faraway said.

His words made Li Miao facepalm. ”I suggest you resurrect first and get your things back. You can test the Wandering Soul State later. Your Weapon is a big deal. If you lose your starting Weapon, you might have to fight monsters with rocks...”

It was already obvious they would be dying a lot more in this game...

”...Good point.”

After considering Li Miao’s words, Faraway nodded and floated into the Reef Cave.

Li Miao gave a resigned smile and followed him in.

「By the Spirit Candle.」

After his body was reformed, Faraway gave Li Miao a heads-up before retrieving his Wax Oil and Weapon from the Wax Ash.

”Next, let me tell you what I discovered.”

Faraway didn’t seem all that interested in the Fishman Leader, shifting the topic to his own findings.

Hearing this, Li Miao naturally began to listen intently.

Faraway didn’t mince words and got straight to the point. ”During the fight just now, I spent my five saved Attribute Points one by one, testing the specific effects of most of the Attributes through combat and movement.”

”First is Power. Not much to say about this one; it mainly affects the damage dealt by a character’s Weapon.”

”Second is Constitution. It affects a character’s Blood Volume and stamina. The game doesn’t show explicit numbers, but we can get a general sense of it as players.”

”Then there’s Agility, which most likely affects reaction speed and movement speed...”

At this, Faraway stroked his chin, his brow furrowed slightly as if he didn’t quite understand something.

”But... an increase in Power is an increase in the whole body’s strength. This should mean that if my explosive muscle strength increases, my movement speed should also be affected, but I didn’t feel that...”

Surprised by his conclusion, Li Miao couldn’t help but laugh. ”It’s just a game. Why get hung up on that? You’re not taking it that seriously, are you?”

Faraway froze for a second, then let out a small, self-deprecating laugh. ”Right... It’s just a game...”

Perhaps it was because all his senses felt too real, but for a moment, he had treated this place as reality instead of a game, which was why he had gotten bogged down by that question...

If Li Miao hadn’t reminded him, he might still be obsessing over that minor detail.

Seeing that Faraway was no longer hung up on it, Li Miao spoke up. ”What about the Spirit and Faith Attributes? Did you get any results from testing them?”