Infinity, The Arcade Age

Although Qin Ming had already guessed that Ghostshadow's Constitution stat wouldn't be very high, there was one thing he hadn't expected—just how ridiculously slow her reaction would be!

Standing in front of the now-possessed Kasamoto Eri, who was lowering her head to examine her body, Qin Ming wore a strange expression.

At this point, he was seriously starting to question whether that Ghostshadow was even really a high-level adventurer. How could someone react that slowly?

If it had been him who accidentally got hit with such a trick, he would've chopped off his arm the moment something seemed off—before that unknown black fog had the chance to spread any further.

But Ghostshadow? She panicked. Took forever just to register what was happening, then finally got around to hacking off her arm.

Is that seriously a high-level adventurer? Even a mid-level one should have some degree of ruthlessness.

Anyone who climbed the ranks through sheer strength would naturally be ruthless—not just toward enemies, but toward themselves as well.

Qin Ming himself had already cut off his own arm more than once. It had basically become routine.

He'd originally only intended to use the Demonic Sword to catch Ghostshadow off guard—at most, maybe force her to lose an arm.

But to his surprise, the move had straight-up killed her. Now that was an unexpected bonus!

What Qin Ming didn't know was that Ghostshadow had risen to her current position purely by relying on her unique talent skill. She'd had an easy, smooth path the whole way up.

She had almost never fought any proper battles. She was always the one hunting others down—no one ever even got close enough to land a hit on her.

And on the rare occasion that she encountered someone who countered her abilities, she could easily just escape.

In other words, Ghostshadow barely had any real combat experience. Naturally, she lacked the cutthroat instincts a high-level adventurer was supposed to possess.

This was a common issue for those who relied too heavily on powerful innate talents.

If your skill is too strong, beating others becomes too easy.

But if you always win effortlessly, you don't learn from your fights.

And a lack of experience leads to poor combat instincts.

Eventually, this forms a vicious cycle: the stronger your talent, the weaker your actual combat ability becomes. Sure, bullying weaklings is a breeze—but once you face a real expert, it's over.

This was the classic case of high expectations, low competence, with poor adaptability.

Ghostshadow died because she lacked that experience.

…..

While Qin Ming was standing there watching Kasamoto Eri and thinking all this over, she suddenly looked up from studying her new body, her expression growing strangely serious.

Looking at Qin Ming, Kasamoto Eri spoke softly.

"Boss… I think I just became an adventurer."

"…What?!"

Her sudden statement left Qin Ming stunned. And just as he stood there dumbfounded, Kasamoto Eri reached into her chest pocket and pulled something out.

Qin Ming was shocked to find that he recognized the item instantly—it was a respawn token from the arcade!

Holding the coin in her hand, Kasamoto Eri looked both surprised and confused.

"I think I inherited Ghostshadow's adventurer status and ID number! Nightmare Space even sent me a notification just now! I also inherited all her items and talent skills!"

As she spoke, Kasamoto Eri opened her status panel.

[ID Number: 369427 (Possessed State)]

[Talent Skill: Phantom Ghost]

[Strength: 54]

[Constitution: 40]

[Agility: 55]

[Spirit: 83]

[Skills: Clairvoyance (Grade A), Earring Bomb (Grade B), Chun-Li's Hadou Wave (Grade A), Mind Control (Grade S)]

[Equipment: Magneto's Helmet (Standard Gold Story), Chun-Li's Battle Suit (Radiant Gold Story), Death God's Sniper Rifle (Dull Legendary), Professor X's Cloak (Standard Legendary Story)]

[Description: A poor soul possessed and taken over by another]

When Kasamoto Eri pulled out a respawn coin, Qin Ming's eyes went wide on the spot.

A respawn coin?! Wasn't that the kind of item that let its owner come back to life after death?

An adventurer who got possessed while still alive couldn't even activate their own respawn coin?! That had to mean Ghostshadow was completely dead!

Truth be told, Qin Ming hadn't intended to kill this opponent outright. He figured since all of them were reserve candidates for the Chosen, each probably had some kind of ace up their sleeve.

It was highly likely that every single one of them had at least one or two ways to come back to life—just like he did.

What he hadn't expected was that Kasamoto Eri's demonic sword could bypass resurrection altogether!

At first, Qin Ming had thought Kasamoto Eri's demonic sword had stats too low for a legendary-grade weapon. It felt like a letdown.

But now? That was not a letdown—it was overpowered! Its special effect far exceeded what should be possible for legendary-grade gear!

It could possess an adventurer, sure. But more than that—it could replace them, making the wielder an adventurer in their place even while the original was still alive!

What did that mean? It meant that Kasamoto Eri, by using this method, had effectively become an adventurer herself! And if she wasn't satisfied with her body? She could just switch!

So this was the power of the demonic sword? Or more precisely—the power of a legendary sword that shouldn't have existed in the first place!

Looking at Kasamoto Eri, the coin in her hand, and the two keys and pile of consumables she pulled from her pocket, Qin Ming couldn't help but let out a sigh.

Back when he'd first seen the talent skills of Ghostshadow and Golden Horn King, Qin Ming had felt a little envious.

After all, their talents had seemed stronger than his own at first glance.

But now it looked like his own talent might be even better. After all, when equipment levels up, who knows what kind of hidden effects might awaken?

The unknown… is always the most terrifying.

Qin Ming quickly collected the two keys and the respawn coin that Kasamoto Eri couldn't use anyway. Then he and the others exchanged glances, a flicker of understanding passing between them.

Now that Silver Horn King was dead, Qin Ming's spot as an official Chosen candidate was basically locked in.

But this place had now become dangerous. Taishang Laojun could descend at any moment to avenge his disciple.

Since they were already enemies with Taishang Laojun, there was no point holding back now. Might as well make a few more enemies while they were at it.

This dump wasn't safe anymore anyway—so they might as well make the most of it and cash out big.

"Let's go! Time to grab Tang Monk!"

With that order, Qin Ming turned and left. Mai Shiranui quickly followed.

Kasamoto Eri blinked and teleported after them, flitting around in a way that made Qin Ming's teeth ache just watching her.

The three quickly made their way to the deepest part of the cave and successfully located Tang Monk, who was tied to a pillar.

Since his bodyguards only appeared when his life was in danger, Tang Monk was currently all alone.

The three of them exchanged glances and nodded in unison.

The next second, Kasamoto Eri blinked forward and appeared right in front of Tang Monk—then, without hesitation, raised her blade and slashed down!

Qin Ming still hadn't given up on Tang Monk meat!

And if possible, he also wanted to try some pig head meat, monkey mushrooms, and maybe even a taste of dragon-horse blood!

Sure, childhood idols were childhood idols—but that wasn't going to stop him from chasing after good loot.

After all, you can't eat nostalgia!

(End of Chapter)