Chapter 17

Jack Avery was unaware that he had inadvertently revealed too much. Having endured the challenges of "Love Left or Right," he had become proficient at handling eccentric characters, mastering the art of feigned compliance.

Despite his frustration, Jack clenched his teeth and kept his composure, knowing better than to confront someone far stronger than himself. Patience was his strategy; he would bide his time and carefully plan his next steps.

Ethan Grey, noticing Jack's approval rating plummet to -99, asked cautiously, "Have you claimed your game rewards?"

Mentioning the game only worsened things—Jack's approval rating dropped to -100 as he watched.

Ethan coughed, slightly amused. Apparently, -99 was not the lowest score possible.

Jack responded, "I claimed a thousand gold coins, which is way too many." What use were gold coins to a Novice Level player with such limited purchasing options?

Had Ethan not seen another drop in approval, he might have believed Jack's seemingly harmless comment.

"It's not just coins," Ethan attempted to rectify the conversation. "There are special rewards as well."

Special rewards? This piqued Jack's interest; he had heard from Jonas and others that completing S-level quasi-worlds would yield special rewards. He had previously checked the items section and found it empty, with no rewards in sight.

"The special rewards are in a separate section, scroll down," Ethan instructed with patience.

Jack then discovered he could scroll down the water screen interface—an interaction he hadn't realized was possible. As he scrolled, a prominent golden icon labeled "Special Rewards" caught his eye.

Indeed, there were special rewards! Feeling a glimmer of excitement, Jack thought that surviving a twisted game and receiving a satisfying reward would certainly be a consolation.

He tapped on the special rewards, and after a flash of golden light, it disappeared.

What was the reward?

Blinking, Jack noticed a new notification in the skills section. Had the reward been a skill that was directly added there?

With his extensive gaming experience, Jack opened the skills menu and, as expected, found a new skill:

— Summon a clone of Designer X, lasting three minutes.

Jack: "..."

Ethan, unaware of the implications of his creation, only noticed Jack's rapidly dropping approval rating.

-1, -1, -1, -1, -1...

"What's wrong? Don't you like the reward?" Ethan blurted out, perplexed by the continued decline.

His inquiry only accelerated the fall, changing the decrement in approval to -2, -2, -2, -2...

Ethan: "..."

It took Jack some time to regain his composure. He regarded the new skill with mixed feelings: a special reward to summon X's clone? Was that supposed to be special?

He would have much preferred another thousand gold coins.

Ethan was genuinely perplexed. The reward pool was random; he had no control over its contents. He had asked about Jack's reaction because he had noticed the swift drop in approval, assuming Jack was displeased with the reward. This was understandable; Ethan Grey himself, despite his infamous luck, had once completed an SSS-level quasi-world and received a similar 'beneficial' skill, which only allowed him to view approval ratings from players below the Intermediate Level. This skill was proving to be less than accurate.

Jack sighed and replied sarcastically, "I received a summoning spell that can conjure a clone of the great X, really looking forward to it ^_^."

The approval rating fell another ten points.

Ethan Grey paused and then chuckled; Jack had somehow drawn the one-in-a-million chance reward. Of course, he didn't voice this thought, knowing that doing so would only further degrade the already low approval rating.

Jack Avery had a lingering question. "By the way, did you set up the public display on the water screen?" he asked Ethan.

Ethan, known for his sharp wit, replied succinctly, "No."

Jack remained skeptical.

Ethan continued, "When a world's story is sold, the system automatically pays royalties to both the designer and the player who completed it. If Cloud Pavilion were involved, they'd cut our profits significantly." His words had a dual purpose: to clear his own name and subtly cast Cloud Pavilion in a negative light. He didn't want Jack, already distrustful, to join them impulsively.

Jack had never planned to join any organization, and Ethan's implications only solidified his resolve. He wasn't concerned about the royalties; rather, he was troubled that his real trials were being trivialized for others' amusement. Even anonymous, it was discomforting.

Realizing it wasn't X's doing, Jack mentally absolved him of blame.

At that moment, Ethan noticed a green +1 appear amidst a sea of red approval ratings at -168. Against such stark negativity, this small hint of approval felt both feeble and oddly endearing.

Having exchanged pleasantries, Jack was not in the mood for more dialogue. "Master X, I'm heading off to conquer a new game. Goodbye," he said briskly.

Ethan, cautious not to worsen Jack's opinion further, simply wished him, "Good luck."

The prospect of tackling another game designed by X weighed heavily on Jack.

As such, the minor increase in goodwill he had just gained started to diminish once more.

Ethan was perplexed, "???"

With a quick thought, Ethan guessed the reason—was Jack about to play another one of his games?

Which one could it be? Ethan accessed the water screen, waiting for the game to activate. As the designer, he had the privilege of watching live.

As Jack moved away from the water screen, Jonas Kim approached eagerly. "Ready to go?"

"I'm all set," Jack responded, intent on completing a rally mission first; he was not keen on dealing with another complex challenge from X.

"Don't worry, the D-level task is easy," Jonas reassured him.

Jack nodded.

"Did you choose a class?" Jonas asked.

"I went with Collector," Jack replied. He had evaluated the three classes: Explorers received a stamina boost, Collectors a visual boost, and Recorders an agility boost. Since these were Novice Level enhancements, the benefits were minimal. Jack chose Collector purely based on personal preference, as he favored collecting tasks over exploration and documentation.

"That's a good choice," Jonas remarked, his eyes twinkling. "Collectors have some night vision, which comes in handy at the Novice Level."

"Let's hope it does," Jack murmured.

Together, they entered the game. It was similar to his first experience: the screen loaded, then displayed a welcome message.

— Welcome to the quasi-world, please read the following information board carefully. — Game Name: Fairy Tale Town. — Game Summary: A picturesque town with quaint, charming villagers living peacefully by mountains and waters, their tranquility only disturbed by a mysterious dark cave that has appeared on the hillside. What could be hiding there? — Main Task: Collect the Dragon Heart. — Side Tasks: To be updated. — Save Attempts: None. — Carriable Items: Novice Level Collectors may carry three types. — Privileges to Select: None.

Nathan York messaged Ethan Grey: "Starting a new field?"

"No," Ethan replied.

"Why are you still hanging around in the garden when Little Rose has ventured into the quasi-world?" Nathan prodded.

"I'm observing his progress," Ethan explained.

Nathan was taken aback. "Did you design the rally mission that was just released?"

Ethan was momentarily startled by Nathan's reaction. "Ethan, are you serious? A D-level quasi-world? I thought we agreed that X never launches below an A!"

Ethan opened his communicator and saw Jack Avery's status: "Has entered the quasi-world—Fairy Tale Town."

Ethan Grey: "…"

Oh, he's intentionally avoiding my games.