When Richard finished speaking, the players, who were initially on the verge of a mental breakdown, seemed to regain a bit of vitality and hope.

However, their eyes were still filled with skepticism. After all, they had already been deceived by the Dark Moon Alliance once, or perhaps even twice.

The players had come to understand the ruthlessness and maliciousness of this organization backed by a deity. Why would they believe that just by handing over enough items after entering The Netherworld, they could truly free themselves from control based on Richard's words alone?

Moreover, it wasn't just the players marked with the Lunar Mark who were mentally exploding. The remaining players were also in shock.

On the surface, they seemed normal, still able to enter The Netherworld and gain contributions from the Dark Moon Alliance. But who couldn't see that the Lunar Mark was merely a conversion of the Lunar Restriction?

It appeared that only a third of the unlucky players were controlled and enslaved by the Dark Moon Alliance. But in reality, all players were in the same boat!

Who knows if the Lunar Restriction would be removed once they left The Netherworld? If not, wouldn't that mean their lives would forever be under the control of the Dark Moon Alliance?

As long as the Dark Moon Alliance had the inclination, they could turn these players into slaves at any moment.

The players, who were initially excited about exploring a different world, now looked pale and terrified.

They gazed at their marked companions with a sense of shared misfortune, deeply regretting their decision to accept this cursed mission.

Even Sterl showed a look of despair, following the crowd. However, Faye remained calm. She took small steps and ran to Sterl's side. "Mr. David, don't panic."

"I have a way to break Gloria's divine power."

As she spoke, she placed a small metal object into Sterl's hand.

"After we enter the other world, we'll most likely be randomly teleported. This resonator will alert us when we're within a certain range of each other."

"When that happens, find me, and I'll help you lift the restriction." Faye said, while in her consciousness, Felicia was screaming in frustration: "Name your terms! Name your terms!"

"I told you to name your terms!"

"How could you just give it away for free?"

"The items needed to break divine power are not cheap!"

Sterl looked at Faye, stunned, and for the first time, showed a genuine sense of gratitude.

"Alright, I'll come find you then." Sterl said seriously.

"It's okay! It's okay!"

"Aren't we good friends? We should help each other."

"My ancestor taught me that."

Faye's eyes sparkled with excitement, feeling that her genuine friendship had been reciprocated. Only Felicia sighed in the consciousness space: "How did I end up with a successor like you?"

The two chatted happily, but they both maintained a sorrowful appearance to avoid standing out.

The fourth prince, finding a moment to interject, said, "Mr. David, Miss Felicia, I honestly didn't know about this." His face was full of guilt and even a bit of discomfort.

If he had known that the Dark Moon Alliance could control both Felicia and David, turning them into their lackeys, the fourth prince would have been distraught.

Unless this exploration of the other world yielded an arcane skill of grade A or higher, it would be a massive loss for the Divine Mountain Empire.

Losing two top talents directly—how could the fourth prince accept that?

However, Sterl had no time to comfort the fourth prince. He needed to maintain his façade of panic, just like the other players.

At this moment, the demigod Richard wasted no time and waved his arm, once again revealing a smile. No, he had always maintained a gentle, smiling demeanor.

"Everyone, you are now officially ready to enter The Netherworld for exploration." Richard announced.

"On behalf of the Dark Moon Alliance, I wish you all the best of luck. As long as you collect enough items, you can exchange them for the numerous resources we offer, helping you easily advance to the third rank and even accumulate what you need for legendary status."

"Trust me, the resources accumulated by an alliance under a deity's command far exceed your imagination."

Richard painted a rosy picture, and the players, having no other options, were somewhat convinced by his rhetoric. A glimmer of hope appeared in their eyes.

After all, The Netherworld was just a world with a power cap at the second class level. Ancient treasures existed, but not everyone could obtain them.

It seemed more practical to collect items and exchange them for contributions, at least ensuring they could choose skills and equipment they could actually use.

Of course, the main reason the players were convinced was that they had no other choice. They had to believe that the Dark Moon Alliance would keep its promises.

Only Sterl and Faye showed a flash of disdain in their eyes.

Sterl remembered very clearly that Felicia had previously mentioned that a deity's realm possessed the power to deceive the Transcendence system.

In other words, without reaching the deity realm, it was absolutely impossible to achieve this.

As a demigod, no matter how powerful Richard was, he could not deceive the players into thinking they could quit the mission without any warning from the Transcendence system about the consequences.

The idea that he could convert the Lunar Restriction into the Lunar Mark through his own will was nonsense. The core rule of the Transcendence game was that NPCs must submit to the mission system.

Thus, for Richard to be causing trouble, the only explanation was: it seemed that this demigod was acting out of anger because the players didn't appreciate his power. In reality, behind everything, there must be the goddess Gloria secretly pulling the strings.

Ordinary players and NPCs had no way of knowing information about deities, which allowed the demigod to use his rhetoric to successfully calm the players down.

Unlike Sterl, "Faye" furrowed her brows, looking extremely troubled. She suddenly realized something:

Was the Dark Moon Alliance really so desperate that they needed to seize all the gains from the entire world? Was it really necessary to force players who wanted to quit to continue exploring? Even the goddess behind the scenes was scheming.

The only explanation was...

In The Netherworld...

"There's something Gloria absolutely needs to obtain. So she must ensure enough players are collecting all the items."

"This world has been sealed off for hundreds of years, yet she can still find it."

"It's just like you..." Felicia, occupying the body of her descendant, felt a slight unease in her eyes. Over a year ago, when she first learned that Gloria had discovered The Netherworld, she felt smug, thinking that wretch had inadvertently done her a favor.

But now, Felicia sensed that something was increasingly amiss...

At this moment, the demigod Richard was already channeling his magic, fully activating the portal above the vast plain.

The originally deep vortex expanded wildly, encompassing countless players. Apart from NPCs from various countries, the players' figures disappeared one by one into the vortex.

Richard thoughtfully reminded them, "You may experience some dizziness during the teleportation, which is normal. Additionally, please refrain from using any skills or magic to avoid complications. After all, this is a journey across worlds, and any mishap could result in a faulty teleport. If you fall into the interdimensional turbulence, not even the goddess can save you."

As these words resonated, Sterl felt his body gradually being peeled away from space, transported to a strange realm.

His vision turned into an expanse of pure, pitch-black nothingness, so intense that even a few extra seconds of staring made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Sterl was caught in the turbulence of space.

After what seemed like an eternity, Sterl sensed the spatial currents gradually cease.

He slowly opened his eyes and found himself beside a hillside, surrounded by lush trees. In the distance, he could vaguely see a village with smoke curling up from it, indicating habitation.

The pastoral scenery made Sterl feel quite refreshed.

At the same time, a series of prompts appeared before him—

[You have entered the other world: The Netherworld.]

[Warning: The world consciousness of this other world has sensed the presence of intruders.]

[You are forced to accept the quest: Survival in the Other World.]

[Quest Description: In this world, you cannot directly accept all quests from native NPCs, nor can you trade with NPCs. You must first gain a basic level of favorability before you can communicate with NPCs normally.

Your loot drops from killing monsters are halved.

Your cultivation speed is halved.

Strive to survive.]

[Quest Reward: Title [Heaven's Challenger]]

"So this is the so-called suppression by the world consciousness?" Sterl muttered, feeling a rush of malevolence. The once beautiful pastoral scenery now felt to him as if it were menacing and clawing at him.

However, the opportunity to earn a title intrigued him, as it meant an additional combat power boost, and it might even evolve through skill points.

"A title earned by challenging an entire world should have a decent quality." he pondered.

In the next second, Sterl felt a light within him shoot into the sky, merging with countless similar lights, eventually forming a peculiar net that drifted away.

[Your quest to explore The Netherworld has officially begun.]