"Completion of basic task objectives—60 points;"

"Changing Moon: Successfully role-played three character labels—2 points;"

"Bright New Moon: All Apostles of the Moon God survived—5 points;"

"Waning Moon - Solitude: Cleared the game without companions—2 points;"

"Waxing Moon - Solitude: Never entered a Dream Death State—2 points;"

"Traces in the Dream: Total Dream Quota greater than 2,000—2 points;"

"Night of the Hunt: Trapped and killed the immortal 'Slayer Moon God'—5 points;"

"Eternal Full Moon: Luna became the Moon God, guarding The Dark Side of the Moon—10 points;"

"Total score: 88 points, rated as extraordinary."

"Current task score: 88 points (extraordinary), highest task score: 88 points (extraordinary)."

"As the Player has obtained an extraordinary rating, meeting the hidden requirements, you will receive information on the hidden side quest of this game."

"Side quest: Hundred-Change Moon Lady. Successfully role-play seven character labels."

"Side quest: Double Lodging, Double Flying. Clear the game with a companion of the opposite sex."

"Do you choose to upload this result as your final result? Upon successful upload, you will receive Merit Points and exclusive rewards commensurate with your rating level."

"This rating can only be retained until December 24 at 23:59."

"The rating can only be uploaded once."

Seeing the information provided in the hidden side quests, which were some optional tasks that had no severe consequences if left uncompleted, Ren Suo finally let out a sigh of relief—this should count as a perfect clear.

Also, after checking the achievement list, Ren Suo realized that the true meaning of "Night of the Hunt" was actually a night for hunting the Moon God, not a hunt among the Apostles of the Moon God!

However, after thinking about it, he felt that something was off, so he opened the Mystic Tavern and asked the bartender, "Hey, I'd like to request post-sales service."

The tavern owner was sitting upright in his armchair, but was wearing a pair of silver-blue, high-tech, fully enclosed glasses on his pitch-black head. Ren Suo tapped him, and the tavern owner then said, "Give me 3 minutes, and your question will be discounted by 3 Merit Points."

Ren Suo asked, "What are you doing?"

The tavern owner replied, "Working."

Ren Suo asked, "Isn't answering my questions your job?"

The tavern owner said, "What makes you so confident? My main business is running the tavern; I have many side jobs, one of which is an intelligence dealer. Don't disturb me."

Ren Suo asked, "Can't you pause it?"

The tavern owner replied, "No, if I pause, all the work I did before would be wasted."

Ren Suo looked at the tavern owner with suspicion, wearing the Silver-Blue Glasses device. It reminded him of the virtual reality devices launched by Liaoyuan Entertainment Company. However, Liaoyuan Entertainment's VR glasses still required other physical devices to function, but the tavern owner, wearing Silver-Blue Glasses, was motionless.

Could it be a virtual game device that immerses one's consciousness?

And the tavern owner's attitude seemed like he was playing a game—only games can't be paused!

Three minutes later, the tavern owner took off the Silver-Blue Glasses and quickly stuffed them into a drawer behind the bar. Ren Suo couldn't even catch a glimpse of the interior structure and had to ask, "Is that a gaming device?"

The tavern owner stated, "System error, unable to recognize your question. Please inquire again."

Tch, this move again.

Whenever the tavern owner didn't want to answer a question, he'd act like a rigid AI with his response. Ren Suo had seen through him by now.

So Ren Suo changed the topic, asking, "Do you like playing games?"

Without hesitation, the tavern owner replied, "No, especially electronic games!"

"Really? You don't like them?" Ren Suo asked.

The tavern owner was vehement in his response. "The thing I hate the most is playing games! Whether it's PVP games where you confront others, single-player games where you can grind for achievements, or card games that challenge your luck and intelligence, I hate them all! Unless there's a special reason, I will never touch electronic games! What I hate the most are people who play games, especially those who play them poorly!"

Ren Suo was taken aback by the tavern owner's comprehensive and heated response. It seemed he truly didn't enjoy playing games.

Ren Suo didn't want to pry further, so he asked about the main issue, "I want to ask about 'Night of the Hunt.' Why is it that both the descent of the Moon God and killing the Moon God result in clearing the game? Clearly, the former is a bad end!"

The tavern owner said, "8 Merit Points, but since you just waited 3 minutes for me, -3 Merit Points, so it's 5 Merit Points."

...

Ren Suo gave in. Previously, it only cost him 5 Merit Points to ask a question, and now the tavern owner suddenly raised the price to 8 Merit Points before giving a discount! It was clearly a ploy to hike up the price and then offer a markdown. But since it was a seller's market, and the tavern owner obviously had a 'take it or leave it' attitude, Ren Suo had no choice but to pay up, rationalizing it as feeling sorry for the tavern owner who was stuck in the tavern all day with no break.

After receiving the money, the tavern owner answered, "In 'Night of the Hunt,' the descent of the Moon God is not a bad end."

Ren Suo asked, "Why not? In that ending, the Moon Chanter seems to be possessed by the Moon God, and then the Moon God takes control of the Mask of the Moon, fulfilling the plot, right?"

In the ending where the Moon God descended, Luna had clearly gone berserk and was completely out of Ren Suo's control. After killing off all the other Apostles of the Moon God and outsiders, the Moon Masked World was on the brink of collapse. The Moon God then nearly effortlessly possessed Luna, taking control of the entire Moon Masked World...

This was entirely the rhythm of the bad guys succeeding and the evil plot prevailing!

In any other game, this would definitely count as a bad ending. Moreover, since the games in the Mini-World Game Console are reflected in reality, the fact that the Moon God took control of the Mask of the Moon would actually happen. This wasn't as simple as getting a bad ending—it meant a deity who advocates for slaughter would control the dreams of all beings.

What then? Would He cause everyone in the world to fall into slumber for a Battle Royale in their dreams? Brainwash a group of important individuals to start wars in reality? Share the power of the Slayer Moon God around the globe, turning most of humanity into zombies that only knew to kill and evolve ceaselessly?

Anything was possible, and Ren Suo certainly didn't dare allow the Slayer Moon God to descend.

Although, up to this point, the Mini-World Game Console had occasionally tricked him, most of the games it offered were of the "save the world" type. Therefore, Ren Suo had almost formed a thinking inertia, subconsciously believing in the integrity of the game console. When the game suddenly brought him such a bad end, Ren Suo was understandably both surprised and uneasy. If the Mini-World Game Console acknowledged the existence of such a bad end, then he would have to be even more cautious in his future gaming.

It seemed the tavern owner noticed Ren Suo's nervousness and began to slowly ask back, "If the Moon God occupies the body of the Moon Chanter, then who is the Moon Chanter?"

Ren Suo replied, "Luna."

The tavern owner asked again, "What relation do you have with Luna?"

Ren Suo said, "…The relationship between Anime Fans and the real world?"

The tavern owner stated, "More accurately, it's the relationship between a Player and a game character. So, when you clear the game, don't you get an additional cleared character?"

A cleared character was one that Ren Suo could summon using "Rippling Spring Sounds." He replied, "Yes."

The tavern owner asked, "Then who is the cleared character for 'Night of the Hunt'?"

Ren Suo replied, "It's Luna."

The tavern owner clapped his hands. "Isn't that right?"

Ren Suo was baffled. "What do you mean?"

The tavern owner waved his hand. "Luna is a character you can control, and the Moon God is possessing Luna, which means you can control the Moon God. Yes, the Moon God's plots have all been successful, and He has taken control of the Mask of the Moon... but as long as He is possessing Luna, there is only one outcome for Him: to become a game character."

"So, it's that simple. When your game character has collected 25 Silver Moon Crystals, you have essentially cleared the game."

"Not killing other Apostles of the Moon God lowers the difficulty of the final battle, providing you the opportunity to kill the Slayer Moon God and earn an additional achievement."

"Any more questions?"

Looking at the tavern owner's answers, Ren Suo was momentarily speechless. After a while, he asked, "So what's the difference between the Moon God descending and killing the Moon God in these two endings?"

The tavern owner explained, "The difference lies in the life and death of the Apostles of the Moon God and their companions, as well as your game character, Luna. If the Moon God descends, dozens will die within the Moon Masked World, and Luna will be possessed by the Moon God. If you kill the Moon God, they can live, and Luna becomes the new Moon God."

"That's all there is to it."

"The lives of those individuals will affect your final evaluation score. As for the life and death of the Moon God, it determines whether the game character you get is the Moon God who has become Luna, or Luna who has become the Moon God."

"Regardless, the Player is always the final victor. The Moon God will ultimately be controlled by the Player."

"After receiving a generous tip, the tavern owner quietly told you: The difference between the endings is merely related to the lives of some insignificant people."

The words of the tavern owner subtly revealed a sort of supreme indifference.

Yes, as long as Ren Suo cleared the game, the Mini-World Game Console would acknowledge his gaming record. As long as the end result was good, the game console would issue a warning by reducing Ren Suo's final clear rating score for any casualties along the way.

But that was all.

It didn't require Ren Suo to replay several times. If Ren Suo was willing to gloss over things, it was too—after all, the biggest menace, the Moon God, had already been dealt with, and the lives of the other fifty-something people weren't that important.

This was not a gamble with human lives, nor was it questioning whether Ren Suo should sacrifice the few to save the many. 'Night of the Hunt' wasn't that obnoxious; it merely required Ren Suo to deal with a boss, except on the way there, Ren Suo could incidentally save some people.

Whether or not to save them, and whether or not he was able to save them, depended on Ren Suo's own abilities.

If he could save them, there were rewards. If he couldn't, he'd have to drink three glasses as a punishment, but the objective Ren Suo must deal with was always only the BOSS.

"However, my gaming skills are good enough that I achieved the perfect ending!" Ren Suo replied, "I saved everyone, and Luna achieved Divine Enthronement preserving her will! I secured the perfect reunion ending!"

The tavern owner responded apathetically, "Oh, mm-hmm, yes, yes, yes."

Yes, if Ren Suo couldn't achieve the perfect ending, he could not blame anything—it was his own incompetence. As a Player, he couldn't blame the game for being too difficult, could he?

Now, Ren Suo had achieved the perfect ending, so nothing was an issue. He didn't need to sacrifice anything, nor did he need to regret anything, because! He! Was! Awesome!

"I'm going to upload the game record now, goodbye," Ren Suo said.

The tavern owner, shrouded in darkness, politely bid farewell before lifting his gaze towards the void.

CREAK. The tavern door echoed as it was pushed open, and a fashionable blonde girl walked into the tavern, saying, "Boss, a Lemon Sprite, please."

The tavern owner nodded silently, prepared a glass of lemon soda, and placed it on the bar. The blonde girl sat at the bar, her red lips clutching a straw. While sipping the transparent, bubbly soda, she asked, "You seem off."

"You can tell?" the tavern owner said, a tinge of surprise in his voice. "You truly are a Truth Seeker."

The Truth Seeker smiled and said, "So what happened?"

The tavern owner replied, "He's been here."

The Truth Seeker asked, "Oh, I see... and then? What did he say?"

"He said his gaming skills were good enough... Heh," the tavern owner said. He picked up the Silver-Blue Glasses from the drawer, shook his head, and let out a laugh tinged with contempt.

The Truth Seeker was a good listener, and she continued the conversation, "What else? When I came in, it felt like you were pondering something."

Tapping the wooden bar with his finger, the tavern owner replied, "He also bragged a bit, said he had achieved the perfect reunion ending, saving everyone, quite impressive indeed."

The Truth Seeker laughed. "That's pretty normal. He finally saved everyone and had no place to share it. He must have been feeling pent-up."

The tavern owner said, "Yeah, I could also tell that he was really happy and proud of himself for achieving that perfect reunion ending. Always carrying the right amount of kindness, he's like a child who never grows up..."

"But... this guy... why..."

Looking at the Silver-Blue Glasses in his hand, the tavern owner first heaved a heavy sigh. Then, suddenly, as if remembering something, he burst into an unsympathetic, gloating laugh.

"Isn't it a bit early for him to say that he's saved everyone?"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.