It's the end of the month, and you must all have a backlog of Monthly Tickets! I'm issuing an urgent call for them right here! The folks in fourth place are gaining on us with fifty-odd tickets daily, so our position is precarious; I need everyone to help me build a higher defensive rampart!

If I can maintain my standing this month, next month the passion will continue, leading to a third consecutive month of ten-thousand-word epic updates!

So, please lend a hand and cast your Monthly Tickets for me... bows with a cute gesture in thanks!

...

Lin Luo was aware of Nightmare-level worlds; Arthur had just explained that when assigning suitable worlds to Walkers based on their abilities, the Proxy Gods generally offer four tiers, escalating in difficulty: Normal, Hard, Hell, and Nightmare, much like dungeon instances in a game.

In terms of survival rate, as long as one isn't a complete brain-dead idiot, or actively seeking death, survival in a Normal-level world is almost guaranteed, boasting a rate above 95%. Of course, with low danger comes diminished opportunity. Thus, unless they are utterly brainless, most people avoid this tier, exceptions being those purely looking for a vacation.

Survival in the Hard tier hovers around 50%, balancing opportunity and peril; this is where the majority of Walkers choose to hone their strength. Hell-level worlds are genuinely dangerous, with a survival rate dipping below 15%. Few choose these unless they are desperate to become stronger or are utterly fearless.

But the most perilous of all is Nightmare-level—a world virtually guaranteed to bring death, boasting a survival rate of only 1%. Among all the Walkers, only the Dark King has ever challenged one. Even the Evil King has only dared to face a Hell-level world.

Lin Luo could grasp the Dark King's motivations for taking such a risk. Since his Guardian Beast is the most important entity to him, akin to family or a close friend, Lin Luo understood that if Mikoto and the others were killed for his sake, he too would challenge a Nightmare world to gain strength and seek revenge.

However, the worlds Lin Luo chooses are not designated by a Proxy God but by his Hosts; after signing the Heart Pact with them, their respective worlds become his dungeons.

Calculating by difficulty, the Toaru Majutsu no Index plane likely falls into the Hard tier, while the Type-Moon plane is firmly Hell-level. The planes of Beelzebub and Katekyo Hitman Reborn! are probably comparable to Normal-level. Though he encountered his strongest opponent in the Reborn! world, his life was never in danger there.

After surviving a Nightmare world, it’s entirely plausible the Dark King vaulted from the peak of the Human Rank to become the strongest entity second only to Lin Luo and the Evil King. After all, he achieved such massive growth in the Reborn! world alone; surviving a Nightmare realm without a qualitative and quantitative leap would be absurd.

What Lin Luo couldn't comprehend, however, was that the Dark King’s Heart Codex was the Beast Taming Tome? That was impossible! The master of the Beast Taming Tome should be Liu Ziwen, and Liu Ziwen is dead. How could it end up in the Dark King’s hands? Could a Heart Codex change owners?

"That shouldn't be possible," Arthur replied, looking utterly perplexed when Lin Luo posed the question. "According to my Proxy God, a Heart Codex cannot change hands, unlike a World Heart, which can merge once compatibility is achieved. Big Brother, perhaps the Walker you encountered didn't possess the true Beast Taming Tome?"

"A fake?" Lin Luo couldn't help but frown slightly. Arthur’s logic wasn't baseless. First, he never found Liu Ziwen’s Heart Codex after defeating him, which was highly irregular. Second, while Liu Ziwen initially seemed strong, the power displayed by that Walker during the God War suggested Liu Ziwen was far, far too weak.

The weakest Level 2 Walkers should be at the early Spirit Rank, with many reaching the mid-Spirit Rank. But Liu Ziwen... setting aside his own strength, the summoned beasts he called forth couldn't even defeat a Level 5 Esper. He wasn't even at the peak of the Human Rank! How could such an individual qualify as a Level 2 Walker?

Yet, believing his Heart Codex to be a fraudulent imitation was also hard to swallow...

"Forget it for now; we can't figure it out right now anyway. Once we run into the Dark King, everything will become clear," Lin Luo said dismissively, waving a hand.

"Understood." Arthur nodded, then turned serious. "Big Brother, if it’s the Dark King, it's fine. But if you encounter the Evil King, you absolutely must not fight him!"

"Why? Do you think I can't beat him?" Lin Luo paused, asking with a slight smile.

"Yes." An idol is always number one in the eyes of their fans. Lin Luo had expected Arthur to deny it or hedge his bets, but instead, he nodded without hesitation. "Though I haven't met the Evil King and don't know his abilities, before I came to this world, my Proxy God told me that the Evil King is currently the strongest Walker, and anyone who meets him is doomed to die!"

"Eh!" Lin Luo’s expression froze. Arthur’s tone held no hint of joking. If it were just Arthur saying it, Lin Luo might ignore it, but coming from the Proxy God behind him, it demanded serious consideration. "Even if the Dark King and I ran into him, is it only death?"

"Most likely, yes."

"..." Lin Luo fell silent. His current strength was at the peak of the Spirit Rank, vaguely sensing the edge of the Earth Rank. Was that Evil King already at the Earth Rank? Even if he were Earth Rank, if Lin Luo couldn't win, he could escape using the Starlight Avenue. But the Proxy God sounded so certain. Could the Evil King nullify the Starlight Avenue's activation?

No, that seemed impossible! The defense of the Starlight Avenue was currently unbreakable. In that case... the Evil King must have a method to suppress the activation of the Starlight Avenue?

In Lin Luo’s view, this was the only explanation for the Proxy God’s declaration of certain death. Furthermore, during the Second God War, where eight Walkers were killed consecutively—surely someone among them considered escaping via the Starlight Avenue back then?

"What about the Dark King? How does his strength compare to mine?" Lin Luo inquired next.

"My Proxy God didn't specify that. However, I have met the Dark King once and have some understanding of his strength." As he spoke, Arthur picked up a stick and began drawing on the ground. "My ability allows me to roughly estimate an individual's specific strength. If we were to assign a benchmark of 100 as the maximum combat power for the three World Kings, the results would look like this..."

Lin Luo looked down, and his expression immediately shifted.

The Bright King: Fighting Strength at half power: 80 points. The Dark King: Combat Strength: 85 points. The Evil King: Combat Strength: 99 points (minimum assessment). ...

He was the weakest among the three World Kings?

"How accurate is your assessment ability?" Lin Luo asked in a deep voice.

"One hundred percent accurate. At least, I've never been wrong before," Arthur stated firmly. "Big Brother is currently at the High Spirit Rank. If the Power of Rules could be fully unleashed, I estimate you could reach the peak Spirit Rank, perhaps even brushing against the Earth Rank threshold. But even so, Big Brother's strength would still only rank third."

"That’s rather dreadful..." Lin Luo frowned instantly. He had initially predicted one stronger than him, and one comparable to him. The reality was one vastly superior and one slightly stronger. If that Evil King managed to break into the Sky City, he’d be finished!

"Actually, Big Brother, you don't need to worry too much. This combat power chart doesn't account for your Contracted Ones. If you have powerful Contracted Ones by your side, you might not be weaker than those two," Arthur reminded him.

Hearing this, Lin Luo felt a measure of relief. Indeed, Yven was also at the peak Spirit Rank, just like him. Two peak Spirit Rank individuals combined—even if they couldn't defeat the Evil King, they could certainly surpass the Dark King. Moreover, the other girls had boundless potential. Given enough time, if they could bring someone like Yukari Yakumo or Yuuka Kazami back from Gensokyo next time...

"Fine, enough about the God War for now. Let's talk about the present situation," Lin Luo nodded, telling Arthur. Whether it was the Dark King, the Evil King, or Gensokyo, they were still distant prospects he could put aside for the moment. The more pressing concern was resolving the issue with the other Walker in this Shokurei world.

"Understood, Big Brother." Arthur nodded in compliance, then turned serious. "I clashed with that Walker in another world before. Although I never won, I gathered some information on him..."

Youming (Netherworld), master of the Ghost Dao Book. His ability is the free control over spiritual entities. He possesses a World Heart and is a Rule-level expert, though his Power of Rules is still unknown—speculated to be related to undead or similar forces. The anomaly in this world was caused by him manipulating vengeful spirits into rampaging, with the goal of killing Huangquan and Kagura. For some unknown reason, however, he couldn't act personally.

"A Rule-level expert? You managed to survive clashes with him?" Lin Luo gave him a second look, speaking half-jokingly. Although Arthur didn't know everything, it was enough for Lin Luo. If it was merely a Rule-level expert, the threat wasn't overly significant. Even if another expert like Mo Xinming appeared—someone who was a 100% Rule-level entity who hadn't fully unlocked their Power of Rules—Lin Luo still had a solid chance of victory.

"Heh heh, that's because my ability is Eternal Spirit. As long as my Knight Spirit remains undestroyed, even the Power of Rules can't kill me," Arthur scratched his head, chuckling sheepishly.

A powerhouse on the level of Haruno Yohei, Lin Luo thought to himself. After their conversation, Arthur had held nothing back, revealing everything about his abilities. In summary, Arthur was a man kept alive by his Knight Spirit: spirit intact, body lives. At least the power of the Second Evolution couldn't kill him; whether the Third Evolution could was unknown.

Of course, Lin Luo had no intention of testing that. He now trusted Arthur by nine-tenths; passing this final test would secure Arthur as his first ally in this God War.

"What exactly are this Walker and the God War you were discussing? And is the anomaly in this world the doing of that Walker?" At that moment, Huangquan stepped in front of them and said in a low voice.

Before Lin Luo could respond, Arthur looked at her strangely and said, "Sister-in-law, you still don't know?"

"..." Lin Luo felt speechless. Sister-in-law was already being used.

The Nine Knights, GD!

Only half of your test remains. A