Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls - Chapter 341: Contents of the Second Letter

“It’s Shoggoth,” Alice said.

Then, Alice proceeded to explain the situation of Shoggoth to everyone present.

Zhang Jingxu seemed to have an epiphany and chimed in, “I see, these mythical creatures are Shoggoths. My master once mentioned that Shoggoths are a peculiar kind of mythical creature. Unlike other mythical creatures that only appear in specific environments, Shoggoths can be found in various parts of the world, whether it’s in deserts or icy mountains, oceans or rainforests. However, what surprises me is that Shoggoths have been in existence for so long and are somehow connected to the Ancient One. Initially, my master believed that Shoggoths were alchemical creations by Wizards.”

Alice nodded in agreement, “Exactly, even before this, my master suspected that Shoggoths might be magical beings created by ancient Wizards. Many powerful Wizards have Shoggoths as their servants, and some Wizards have even developed spells to tame them. But we never imagined that Shoggoths had a connection with the Ancient One. However, it’s not entirely surprising since the Ancient One is such a mysterious race.”

Unconsciously, the conversation had drifted off-topic.

However, Zhang Jingxu quickly realized this, especially since he was holding the letter in his hand.

So, Zhang Jingxu cleared his throat and continued, “Um, let’s get back to discussing the contents of this letter. To return to the main point, at that time, the villagers of Fisher’s Village discovered that a Shoggoth had emerged from that sinkhole. As a result, the villagers of Fisher’s Village were too scared to explore the sinkhole further. After all, everyone feared being attacked by Shoggoths. However, as you can see, Fisher’s Village is not that large, and the sudden appearance of a sinkhole was a cause for concern. Inoue Kenjiro was worried that if the sinkhole was indeed dangerous, it could lead to the destruction of Fisher’s Village, and there would be no escape.”

“So, Inoue Kenjiro gathered some brave villagers from Fisher’s Village and made preparations to explore the sinkhole. However, he couldn’t bring himself to enter the sinkhole directly because, at first glance, it seemed bottomless, and the area around the sinkhole was covered in black, unidentified liquid. It looked terrifying no matter how you saw it.”

“Therefore, Inoue Kenjiro’s plan was to dig next to the sinkhole, creating a tunnel leading to it. However, what surprised Inoue Kenjiro and his group was that they had only dug about a meter when they fell into an underground passage. This took them completely by surprise because the villagers of Fisher’s Village had lived on this small island for years without ever discovering such an extensive underground network.”

“The sudden appearance of this passage caught Inoue Kenjiro’s group off guard, forcing them to temporarily return to the surface and rethink their plans. However, it was at this moment that Matsui Ichiro stepped forward and claimed that he knew what lay beneath Fisher’s Village and that only he could deal with the monsters lurking underground.”

“While Inoue Kenjiro had his doubts, considering Matsui Ichiro as something of a charlatan, Matsui Ichiro’s confident and well-prepared speech convinced him to at least listen to Matsui Ichiro’s advice. Matsui Ichiro, however, took this opportunity to propose a condition: if Inoue Kenjiro allowed him to build a so-called temple in Fisher’s Village, Matsui Ichiro would reveal the truth to him.”

“Before this, Matsui Ichiro had repeatedly expressed his desire to build a temple, which, in reality, was nothing more than a large building. However, the symbolic significance of this temple was evident. As the de facto Village Chief of Fisher’s Village at the time, Inoue Kenjiro had consistently rejected Matsui Ichiro’s request to prevent the further expansion of Matsui Ichiro’s influence in Fisher’s Village.”

“But now, Inoue Kenjiro was concerned that something dangerous might be in the sinkhole, posing a potentially devastating threat to Fisher’s Village. Therefore, he reluctantly agreed to Matsui Ichiro’s condition. This was when Matsui Ichiro finally revealed the underground situation of Fisher’s Village, in simple terms: Fisher’s Village was built on a small island used by a sea deity to imprison monsters. These monsters were the rebellious ones who had betrayed the sea deity.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Xing raised an eyebrow and commented, “This is intriguing. Matsui Ichiro’s so-called truth seems to be somewhat close to reality. After all, the Ancient One has always resided in the ocean, possessing formidable power and technology. Referring to them as a ’sea deity’ might not be entirely inaccurate. Moreover, it’s possible that Shoggoths did betray the Ancient One; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been confined to the deepest levels of the Underground Ruins, and the Ancient One wouldn’t have invented devices specifically designed to control them.”

Ling Ishikawa shook his head and smiled, “However, Matsui Ichiro couldn’t possibly have known about the connection between Shoggoths and the Ancient One. So, I think this can only be considered as his attempt to deceive or an improvised lie.”

Zhang Jingxu nodded and said seriously, “Exactly, as Ling Ishikawa mentioned, Inoue Kenjiro also suspected that Matsui Ichiro was trying to deceive him. So, he strongly rebuked Matsui Ichiro’s behavior. However, what Inoue Kenjiro didn’t expect was that Matsui Ichiro would smear the black, unidentified liquid from the sinkhole onto his left hand and then proceed to set his own left hand on fire with the prepared torch.”

“Wow,” everyone in the room was taken aback by this revelation. They hadn’t expected Matsui Ichiro to be so audacious.

However, the players present were aware that Shoggoths had a special trait of reduced fire damage, and it was plausible that the liquid on their surface had a similar effect.

So, Liu Xing speculated that Matsui Ichiro must have studied the effects of the black liquid in advance, which explained his confidence in carrying out such a bold act.

Zhang Jingxu sighed and admiringly remarked, “It appears that Matsui Ichiro had quite a bit of courage to do what he did. Inoue Kenjiro must have thought Matsui Ichiro was well-prepared for this situation. In any case, returning to the contents of the letter, Matsui Ichiro placed his left hand on the torch for about ten seconds and then showed it to everyone. Inoue Kenjiro noticed that Matsui Ichiro’s left hand had only turned slightly red, with no signs of burns occurring.”

“As for the black, unidentified liquid on Matsui Ichiro’s hand, it had completely disappeared at this point. At this moment, Matsui Ichiro dramatically stated that while these Monsters had indeed betrayed the sea deity, they had previously been granted immunity to fire damage by the sea deity. After all, the sea deity and the fire deity were naturally opposed.”

“Therefore, even though Inoue Kenjiro still suspected Matsui Ichiro of fabricating the story, other villagers were convinced by Matsui Ichiro’s words. So, Inoue Kenjiro had no choice but to believe Matsui Ichiro and seek his advice on dealing with Shoggoth. However, Matsui Ichiro shrugged and claimed that he had no way to deal with Shoggoth either. He argued that these Monsters, despite betraying the sea deity, were not something humans could handle.”

“Upon hearing this, the villagers of Fisher’s Village were devastated. They expressed their desire to leave Fisher’s Village and seek a new life elsewhere. According to Matsui Ichiro, humans were defenseless against Shoggoth, and if Shoggoth were to attack, Fisher’s Village would be doomed. Thus, leaving Fisher’s Village was the only way to potentially avoid Shoggoth’s threat.”

“However, in Inoue Kenjiro’s eyes, this was Matsui Ichiro’s attempt to deceive the villagers of Fisher’s Village into leaving their homeland. Matsui Ichiro aimed to weaken Inoue Kenjiro’s influence and eventually take his place. Therefore, Inoue Kenjiro stepped forward and argued that since Shoggoth had not attacked initially, it indicated that Shoggoth might not currently possess the ability to threaten Fisher’s Village. Inoue Kenjiro proposed taking the initiative and entering the sinkhole to deal with Shoggoth. After all, judging from the effects of the black liquid, it didn’t seem to be harmful.”

“At this point, Matsui Ichiro naturally tried to stop Inoue Kenjiro. However, due to Inoue Kenjiro’s higher standing in Fisher’s Village, his proposal garnered support from the villagers. Nobody wanted to leave their homes, so Inoue Kenjiro organized a team of ten villagers armed with the best weapons available, which were mainly old hunting rifles and harpoons, and they entered the underground passage.”

“Inside the passage, Inoue Kenjiro noticed that these tunnels had been excavated by Shoggoths. The walls were covered in the black, unidentified liquid and emitted a foul odor. Before long, some villagers began experiencing difficulty breathing and nausea due to the foul air. Inoue Kenjiro himself didn’t fare much better, so he decided to temporarily leave the tunnel.”

“When they returned to the surface, Matsui Ichiro taunted Inoue Kenjiro with a few words. Inoue Kenjiro, already irritable due to the Shoggoth situation, nearly lashed out at Matsui Ichiro but was restrained by the surrounding villagers. Matsui Ichiro, realizing he couldn’t match Inoue Kenjiro’s physical strength, chose to flee instead.”

“After driving Matsui Ichiro away, Inoue Kenjiro went home and prepared a small oxygen tank and a diving gear. These items had been given to him by Li Yongjie, who, being a ship captain, understood their importance for a fisherman like Inoue Kenjiro. Li Yongjie had arranged for these items to be delivered to Inoue Kenjiro shortly after leaving Fisher’s Village.”

“Once prepared, Inoue Kenjiro returned to the underground passage, ready to explore the unknown underground world. It’s worth noting that in the letter, Inoue Kenjiro mentioned that when he entered the tunnel alone for the first time, he regretted it immensely. After all, he knew that Shoggoths might be lurking inside, and he felt powerless to confront them on his own.”

“Therefore, Inoue Kenjiro was torn between continuing his journey, possibly encountering Shoggoths and facing certain danger, or leaving the tunnel. He feared being ridiculed by Matsui Ichiro if he chose to leave, which would likely diminish his prestige in Fisher’s Village. In the end, Inoue Kenjiro, who had a strong sense of pride, decided to press on.”

“At this point, Lu Tianya couldn’t help but comment to Zhang Jingxu, ’It seems that Inoue Kenjiro is quite similar to you, both willing to sacrifice everything for their pride. If we manage to survive and leave Fisher’s Village, I’ll definitely buy you some insurance. Who knows, I might get rich overnight.’”

“Zhang Jingxu raised an eyebrow and shook his head, saying, ’No, no, I’m not like Inoue Kenjiro. While I believe that maintaining one’s pride is important as a man, life is even more precious. If there’s no imminent danger to life, I’d prioritize saving face. But if it came to a life-or-death situation, I’d choose the most practical option, even if it meant setting aside my pride. Of course, if it’s for your sake, I’d be willing to part with this life.’”

“Alright, another dose of sweetness.”

Liu Xing gave Zhang Jingxu a look that seemed to say, ’Just as expected,’ and said with a hint of exasperation, “Hey, hey, Zhang Jingxu, can you guys pay attention to the seriousness of the situation here? We’re discussing matters of life and death, and you’re flirting.”

Zhang Jingxu’s face turned red, and he quickly said, “Um, after Inoue Kenjiro made his decision, he began to explore the tunnels. He meticulously recorded their directions and, upon leaving the tunnels, drew a map, which is the paper on the table. Although Inoue Kenjiro didn’t encounter Shoggoths during his multiple trips into the tunnels, he did hear the sound of Shoggoths moving. One time, the sound seemed to be very close, perhaps just one or two meters away from him, which terrified him.”

“Fortunately, Inoue Kenjiro never directly encountered Shoggoths. However, during this time, his wife’s behavior became increasingly strange. This led Inoue Kenjiro to suspect that someone had been approaching his wife while he was in the tunnels.”

“Then, one night, when Inoue Kenjiro got up to use the bathroom, he found that his wife was not at home. This raised suspicions, so Inoue Kenjiro left his home and followed his wife’s footprints to a beach area. From behind some bushes, Inoue Kenjiro overheard his wife apparently talking to someone else.”

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