Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls - Chapter 317: Shadows

Since Zhang Jingxu was about to talk about the Great Old One, Liu Xing felt that his sanity was in danger. Although his character card was very unique and had received special treatment in previous sanity checks, the information about the Great Old One was too explosive.

At this moment, Zhang Jingxu also spoke up, saying, “The concept of the Great Old One was told to me by my master. Because my master was once entrusted by the Chinese Taoist sect to go on a mission, he ended up returning severely injured after a few months of recuperation. He then told me why he had been so gravely wounded during the mission.”

“The original goal of this mission was to deal with a secret cult that worshipped the Earthworm. This secret cult conducted live human sacrifices, throwing innocent victims directly into a bottomless pit where this Earthworm lived. This Earthworm, known as the Earth-boring Demon Worm, is a mythical creature that resembles an earthworm in form. They reside deep within the Earth’s Core and rarely surface. In general, they do not interfere with the surface world. So my master and his companions believed it would be no problem to deal with this secret cult. After all, under normal circumstances, the Earthworms should not have assisted the cult.”

“But when my master’s group infiltrated the secret cult’s headquarters and successfully located the key members, ready to capture them all, an unexpected incident occurred. The cult’s leader suddenly produced a stone and summoned five Earth-boring Demon Worms. However, even the cult’s leader couldn’t control these five creatures, so the Earth-boring Demon Worms began to destroy the cult’s main base.”

“Based on prior intelligence, there were at least several hundred followers praying inside the cult’s main base at that time. Most of these followers were merely followers who could be used as backup sacrifices. So my master’s group decided to rescue them while engaging in combat with the five Earth-boring Demon Worms.”

“Originally, in my master’s opinion, these five Earth-boring Demon Worms, although formidable, had a clear weakness – they were highly averse to water. Fortunately, my master had some knowledge of water-based Taoist arts, which allowed him to barely control the Earth-boring Demon Worms. However, what no one expected was the appearance of a sixth Earth-boring Demon Worm, or rather, the cult leader transformed into one. The cult leader’s upper body appeared on top of the Earth-boring Demon Worm’s head, and it retained a clear consciousness, shouting and screaming.”

“And this special Earth-boring Demon Worm did not share the aversion to water that the others had. It immediately lunged at my master, resulting in a fierce battle. My master was severely injured, and several of his companions were also injured. It was only after a fierce struggle that they managed to defeat this unique Earth-boring Demon Worm. Fortunately, the remaining five Earth-boring Demon Worms chose to retreat underground when the unique one was defeated, or else my master’s group would have been wiped out.”

“Investigations by the Chinese Taoist sect afterward revealed that the stone used by the cult leader was actually the chieftain of the Earth-boring Demon Worm clan, a Great Old One named Shudei·Meier. This is why the cult leader was able to summon five Earth-boring Demon Worms and transform himself into one. These Great Old Ones, as the name implies, were once powerful beings that ruled over the Earth and even the solar system and galaxy. So calling them gods would not be an exaggeration.”

“However, despite their great power, these Great Old Ones were not invincible. They were defeated by other powerful beings long ago. But since most of these Great Old Ones are immortal, the other powerful beings could only seal them away. Many of these Great Old Ones are currently sealed on Earth and still retain some level of consciousness and action, which is how the cult leader obtained that stone.”

“In summary, the Great Old One represents one of the most formidable forces in the world. If even one of them were to awaken on Earth, it could easily destroy the planet. Creatures like Ghouls and Deep Ones also worship certain Great Old Ones. However, even in the Chinese Taoist sect, the knowledge of the names of Great Old Ones is limited and not publicly disclosed. So my master only knew of Shudei·Meier among the Great Old Ones.”

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised that Zhang Jingxu’s master had encountered Earth-boring Demon Worms, referred to as Earthworms. This made Liu Xing wonder if the secret cult was located in the southwestern region of China.

However, Liu Xing knew he couldn’t ask such questions, as Earth Dragon Village belonged to his “Liu Xing” memory, not “WatanabeRyuusei’s” memory.

At this point, KP Green Light spoke up, “Since everyone has heard about the Great Old One now, let’s proceed to the verbal sanity check. However, because Zhang Jingxu’s knowledge about the Great Old One is incomplete, the result of this sanity check is that everyone except Zhang Jingxu loses 2 sanity points and gains 2 Cthulhu Mythos knowledge points.”

As expected, Liu Xing did not receive any special treatment this time.

Furthermore, at this moment, KP Green Light specifically contacted Liu Xing, saying, “Player Liu Xing, you can now choose to use an Inspiration Judgment to determine if your faith in King Hastur in Yellow Robes is indeed a Great Old One.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Xing became cautious. After all, there was a saying that went, “Give a dog a bad name and hang him.”

Now, for “WatanabeRyuusei,” King Hastur in Yellow Robes was his deity, which was not an issue. But if he were to believe that King Hastur in Yellow Robes was a Great Old One, that would pose a significant problem.

After all, “deity” and “Great Old One” were two completely different concepts. Gods were saviors and benefactors, while Great Old Ones aimed to destroy the Earth.

So even as the leader of a secret cult, “WatanabeRyuusei” was not like the typical supervillains from movies or TV shows who simply wanted to destroy the Earth for no reason. “WatanabeRyuusei” desired power and influence, which was why he worshipped King Hastur in Yellow Robes.

Therefore, if he were lucky, or rather unlucky enough to pass this Inspiration Judgment, he would consider King Hastur in Yellow Robes a “Great Old One.” This would lead “WatanabeRyuusei” to doubt his own unwavering faith in King Hastur in Yellow Robes, ultimately forcing him to make the decision of “opposites do not work together.”

However, what was even more crucial was that “WatanabeRyuusei” had received the favor of King Hastur in Yellow Robes. This was equivalent to being labeled by King Hastur in Yellow Robes, and Liu Xing even began to suspect that “WatanabeRyuusei” was being monitored by King Hastur in Yellow Robes. If “WatanabeRyuusei” were to doubt King Hastur in Yellow Robes, would King Hastur in Yellow Robes subject “WatanabeRyuusei” to some kind of divine punishment?

Thinking about this, Liu Xing decisively said to KP Green Light, “Never mind, thank you for your kindness, but I’d rather not undergo this Inspiration Judgment.”

KP Green Light chuckled, using a tempting tone, “Oh, Liu Xing, are you really sure you don’t want to undergo the Inspiration Judgment? You know, there’s a difference between being proactive and passive.”

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow and couldn’t help but ponder the underlying meaning behind KP Green Light’s words. Was KP Green Light implying something to him?

For instance, after this, would “WatanabeRyuusei” come to realize that King Hastur in Yellow Robes was a Great Old One through some other means?

So now, Liu Xing was torn about whether to undergo the Inspiration Judgment.

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Xing decided not to undergo the Inspiration Judgment. After all, staying alive was better than the alternative, and finding out that “King Hastur in Yellow Robes was a Great Old One” could wait a little longer.

However, on second thought, Liu Xing was becoming increasingly interested in Zhang Jingxu’s master. He hadn’t expected Zhang Jingxu’s master to have such a rich history. What’s more, Liu Xing couldn’t help but feel that Zhang Jingxu’s master might also be a player.

With this in mind, Liu Xing decided that during the private room time later that night, he would have a proper conversation with Zhang Jingxu.

“Well, in that case, the Ocean True Deity Sect is even more formidable than we imagined, given that they directly serve a Great Old One,” Ling Ishikawa spoke up.

Zhang Jingxu nodded, somewhat despondent, and said, “That’s right. You see, whether it’s humans or mythical creatures, they need the recognition of a Great Old One to qualify for using magic or items related to that Great Old One. So, Liu Xing, if you haven’t misunderstood, it’s safe to assume that Matsui Ichiro and the Ocean True Deity Sect are connected to a Great Old One. Escaping from Fisher’s Village may prove to be much more challenging than we initially thought.”

Even though everyone knew that this module wouldn’t involve a Great Old One directly, it could still be troublesome if Matsui Ichiro had items related to a Great Old One.

Hearing Zhang Jingxu’s words, everyone fell silent.

To break the tension, Liu Xing had to step in, saying, “Well, don’t worry too much, everyone. My knowledge of magic arrays is only average, so it’s possible that my analysis is off. Maybe this last magic array is related to some powerful mythical creatures rather than a Great Old One. Let’s just relax for now.”

Zhang Jingxu nodded and said with a smile, “That’s right. We can’t do much by overthinking it now. We’ll have to take it step by step. And even if Matsui Ichiro and the Ocean True Deity Sect are connected to a Great Old One, our previously discussed escape plan should still work unless a Great Old One intervenes, which is highly unlikely.”

Finally, the atmosphere returned to normal.

But just then, Dogo Aige brought in the food.

“Everyone, Matsui Yui will take you to the Ancestral Hall in Fisher’s Village for a ceremony shortly. Due to certain reasons, I cannot accompany you to the Ancestral Hall, so I hope you’ll listen to Matsui Yui. You should be aware that Fisher’s Village has its own rules and some peculiar customs,” Dogo Aige said somewhat apologetically.

Liu Xing nodded and then smiled as he ventured, “Dogo Aige, did you sleep well last night? It rained for a long time yesterday, and I hope there were no issues with your grass hut.”

When Liu Xing began to ask questions, everyone instinctively started observing Dogo Aige’s expression.

Dogo Aige, in a natural manner, shook his head and said, “There were no issues. Although the grass hut may seem fragile, it’s actually quite sturdy. There were no signs of leaks, and it’s well-insulated. However, I didn’t sleep well last night because I heard strange noises outside the hut. I was worried that something might happen, so I didn’t dare to go out and see what was going on.”

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected the situation to be different from what he had imagined. If Dogo Aige wasn’t lying, then the noises coming from outside the hut were likely caused by the three Fisher’s Village villagers.

Furthermore, Liu Xing carefully observed Dogo Aige’s facial expressions and found nothing unusual.

In other words, Dogo Aige probably wasn’t lying unless he had an Acting skill level of 80.

So, Liu Xing put on a curious look and asked, “Oh, what kind of noises were they? If I remember correctly, the area around your grass hut is mostly empty.”

Dogo Aige nodded and said with some confusion, “That’s right, there’s almost nothing around my grass hut, and the noises I heard came from the seaside. It sounded like many people walking in the water simultaneously, and there were no other sounds.”

Walking in the water?

Could it be that the three villagers went swimming by the seaside last night?

Liu Xing immediately ruled out this possibility, as it didn’t make sense.

“Well, I’ll take my leave now. Please enjoy your meal,” Dogo Aige said as he left.

Once Dogo Aige had left, Liu Xing brought up the issue of how to deal with the magic arrays. He was concerned that if they didn’t destroy these magic arrays, they would continue to be affected by them. However, if they did destroy the magic arrays, he was worried that Matsui Ichiro would find out, as many magic arrays had built-in alarm systems that alerted the person who had drawn the magic array if it was destroyed.

Zhang Jingxu took a sip of fish soup and chuckled, “It seems that Ryuusei is not very familiar with magic arrays. The alarm systems of magic arrays are typically triggered by physical means.”

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