Bizarre Voyage: Summoning The Fourth Crisis

"That means this abnormal status isn’t like ordinary negative statuses. For things like being Poisoned, Law Oath just dispels it directly," Shore said.

As the power of the Spirit Candle warmed his body, the bloodshot veins in Li Miao’s eyes gradually faded.

After Shore retrieved his equipment from the Wax Ash, the two sat beside the Spirit Candle under the eaves. They didn’t speak, silently savoring the rare tranquility.

At the same time, they finally had the energy to check their surroundings.

It was a Seaside Town that bore the clear marks of human habitation. Houses built from a combination of wood and stone showed the wear of years of sea wind and spray. A faint fishy smell drifted in from somewhere...

And that eerie lighthouse.

DRIP...

Shore held out his hand, and a raindrop fell from the eaves into his palm. Gusts of spray from the waves crashing against the harbor drifted in on the wind.

"I can’t tell what’s real and what’s not anymore..."

Shore remarked with a sudden sigh.

The recent ordeal made him feel as if he were truly struggling to survive in a strange, fantastical world.

"Dumbass, is this really the time to be getting sentimental?"

Li Miao was speechless. He then began to look around, his gaze shifting from the nearby houses to the distant lighthouse.

"That ’Madness’ status bar just now—if it fills up, do you get instantly killed?" Li Miao asked.

"Yeah, once the status bar fills up, you lose control of your body and just self-mutilate until you die," Shore nodded.

Just moments before, he had helplessly watched himself shove the Devil Fish Tail Staff into his own stomach and churn it around violently. It was incredibly gory.

Although the pain sensitivity was set very low and it wasn’t that painful, the realism of the sensation was still physically unsettling.

But thankfully, it seemed the game Spirit Candle had some protective measures in place. Their Souls weren’t affected, and they were pulled right out of that bizarre state upon death.

"...This should be in the same category as the ’Rotten’ effect from the Rotting Prisoners and Law Knights, right?"

Compared to negative statuses like being Poisoned or burned, these abnormal statuses were clearly far more bizarre and terrifying.

"Who cares," Shore shrugged. "We still don’t have a single clue what ’Rotten’ on Exile Island is all about. This ’Madness’ is probably the same. Let’s leave deconstructing the lore to the Storytellers."

"True," Li Miao nodded.

They didn’t have the energy to spare for things like background stories.

After resting for a while, both of them were mostly recovered. They replenished their Recovery Wax Blocks, then stood up to plan their next move.

"Where to next? Follow the shore toward the center of town, or...?"

"Let’s check out that lighthouse first. I want to see what the hell is going on in there."

"Sounds good."

Having made their decision, they both drew their weapons and proceeded cautiously toward the lighthouse.

However, when Shore came to the door of one of the houses, he couldn’t help but feel a flicker of curiosity.

’This house... I should be able to go inside, right?’

"Hold on."

Shore didn’t act on his own; he called out to Li Miao.

"I’m going to see if I can get into this house."

"..." Li Miao.

Although Li Miao was exasperated, the suggestion did pique his curiosity.

’Spirit Candle is a realistic game, but there’s no way they went to the trouble of designing the interior of every single house, right?’

"Let me do it. You’re too squishy." Li Miao stepped forward to take his place. Shore didn’t object. For this kind of work, Li Miao, a Warrior, was indeed much better suited than a squishy Mage like him.

’There are so many houses in this town. If you could really enter every single one, that would be insane...’

CREAK...

The thought had barely crossed Li Miao’s mind when his outstretched hand pushed open the ajar wooden door. He stepped inside slowly.

But... something seemed to be blocking the door from behind, making it a bit difficult to open.

THUD!

Suddenly, a shriveled, headless corpse toppled over by the door. An eerie crimson seeped from the wound at its neck.

Li Miao flinched violently in shock, his armor rattling. He almost drew his sword.

"Hahaha, look at you, scared stiff!"

Though Shore had also been startled for a moment, he couldn’t help but gloat at Li Miao’s reaction.

But surprisingly, Li Miao didn’t retort.

Because beyond the grotesque headless corpse, he had seen another bizarre scene deeper within the house.

"...Kevin... my dear son, don’t cry, don’t cry... Mommy will kiss you... give you all my love, my son, Lake..."

A skeletal old woman with hair as dry and withered as weeds was cradling a human head, gently comforting it. As she spoke, she even lowered her head to plant a kiss on it.

Several knives were stuck in her head, yet they looked as if they were hairpins.

Her speech was illogical and unnervingly bizarre.

[Crazed Townsperson]

[Tier: Residual Ash]

[Level: 1]

[Talent: None]

[Skill: None]

[Explanation: She has gone mad.]

This was the lowest-level, and also the strangest, monster they had seen so far.

Li Miao glanced back at Shore, who was looking back at him.

They stared at each other, unsure of what to do.

"Kill it?"

"...Whatever."

"Did that old hag twist her son’s head off? Creepy..."

After a flash of red light, the two entered the room, lit a Candlefire for illumination, and began to search.

Mostly, they found useless trinkets, common household items, and spoiled food.

The only two items the game registered were half a bottle of wine in the headless corpse’s hand and a letter on its body.

In addition, Shore also found some Copper Coins and a Silver Coin. He operated on the principle that every little bit helps, so he pocketed them without a second thought, not considering it a bother.

[Half-Bottle of Wine]

[Type: Consumable]

[Explanation: Wine that some Special Items were soaked in. Although only slightly infused, it can still restore a sliver of Life Value.]

Shore took a swig of the wine and smacked his lips. "Nope. Tasteless."

"Check the letter."

Without needing the reminder, Li Miao had already opened and was reading the letter from the corpse.

[Letter to Uncle Merk]

[Type: Item]

[Content: (Language: A remote regional dialect)... Dear Uncle Merk, for my father’s sake, I hope you can find me a job in the city. I can’t stand staying in this damn place, Regga Town, any longer. It’s filled with a pervasive strangeness. And those cultists who appeared out of nowhere... I don’t know what kind of power they have, but the Lords and ship captains all trust them implicitly. It’s not normal...]

[Explanation: A letter from the deceased, which obviously was never sent.]

It was full of rambling and complaints, with little useful information. Still, Li Miao managed to extract three key details.

A remote regional language, the name Regga Town, and cultists of unknown origin.

First was the language. This was a notification from Spirit Candle’s translation function, which explicitly told them the local language was different from what they had encountered before.

Second was "Regga Town," which was obviously the name of this Seaside Town.

Finally, and most importantly, were the "cultists of unknown origin."

"Are these cultists the cause of the Madness?"

After Shore finished reading, he voiced the very same question that was on Li Miao’s mind.

"There’s no way to be sure."

Li Miao shook his head. After confirming there was nothing else in the house, he walked out the door.

When he saw Shore was still rummaging around, trying to find secret passages or a basement, he couldn’t help but facepalm.

"Come on. What’s worth searching for in this little shack?"

"The items in here are clearly just filler. Even if there is something important, we should check out the lighthouse first and come back to search later."

"In a minute, in a minute," Shore replied, still rummaging through drawers and cabinets, leaving no stone unturned.

Strangely enough, he wasn’t expecting to find any treasure. He simply enjoyed the act of searching; even unearthing a bit of trash felt satisfying.

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