Eldritch Horror Theatre

Another surprise?

Was losing SAN Value a staple of this place, a must-have experience?

The last time he took a hit this heavy was right after arriving at Starfall Point. Giving him such a courteous greeting the moment he walked through the door was honestly a bit too enthusiastic.

"Sorry I'm a bit late."

Having lost two lives after speaking a single sentence, Fu Qian marveled inwardly as he stepped forward to chat with his welcomer. He even took a moment to observe the rather serious-looking robe the person wore.

Unfortunately, it looked noticeably different from the one Nepheli had worn. Furthermore, he couldn't spot any obvious starry-sky patterns against its pure black background.

The only real decoration was the gray fabric draped over the shoulders and back.

If it came with a tasseled cap, Fu Qian felt he might as well be at a graduation ceremony.

"So you do know..."

As for why he would admit to a fault he didn't commit?

Who said he hadn't? How long had it been since he obtained the Star Map? Showing up only now to leave the other party waiting anxiously was perfectly normal.

Not to mention, Fu Qian was extremely curious about what this person was waiting for him to do.

[SAN Value -1]

Unfortunately, he didn't get to wait for a further dialogue option. The prompt chimed again first, proving that he was still taking continuous damage.

But looking on the bright side, the numbers were at least consistent. It wasn't hitting him with an arithmetic or geometric progression.

Despite suffering another loss in the blink of an eye, SAN Value consumer Fu Qian remained emotionally stable.

While it seemed unfriendly, when it came down to it, wasn't this just a standard hourly billing model?

Back in the Sacred Night Capital, when he was preparing to meet Blazing Rainbow, he had already thought about treating SAN Value as a prepaid time card. This time was just more formalized.

"Alright, let's not waste time. Follow me."

...

Everything was relative. Compared to his numerous exploration activities in the past, his treatment this time was actually quite humane.

Naturally, he wouldn't refuse. Fu Qian answered the call and followed along, curiously observing his surroundings.

Although it cost him prepaid time, and he still didn't know exactly what the other party was waiting for him to do, the overall situation was already quite mild.

It even made him wonder if the Academy Exploration Team had received such good hospitality back then.

According to Cass, the team's lineup back then should have been quite massive. If the reception standards were too high, the budget would have been stretched a bit thin, right?

Though, this place did seem to have robust financial resources.

After standing up, the receptionist walked straight toward the Multi-Faced Hourglass, circled around it, and stepped through a small door behind it.

Following him the entire way, Fu Qian could truly appreciate the exquisite design of the place.

While its square footage wasn't overly exaggerated, the spatial utilization clearly showed great ingenuity. The structure was complex yet maintained a solemn and dignified atmosphere, genuinely possessing the aura of a hall of knowledge.

By comparison, the Academy seemed a bit crude and bulky, its temperament slightly vulgar.

"This way."

After taking two successive spiral staircases—one going up and one going down—the receptionist signaled for Fu Qian to continue descending deeper.

The overall route was so convoluted that it would be extremely unfriendly to anyone with a poor sense of direction.

"I'm not sure if you can handle this alone, but the rules cannot be changed. You can still only pick one."

Fortunately, they finally stopped trekking. Roughly two levels Underground, the receptionist gestured to stop in front of a door lined with two rows of rivets, issuing a special warning before opening it.

Pick one? Were the perks this good?

Studying his surroundings, Fu Qian felt this door looked quite extraordinary at a glance. And judging by the receptionist's words, were there gifts waiting for him behind it?

It was just that the rules sounded a bit strict, leaving no room for accommodation.

Also, it seemed they wouldn't have minded if a larger number of people had showed up to report in.

[SAN Value -1]

While he silently summarized the information gleaned from the conversation, the familiar prompt chimed for a third time.

"Understood."

Amid the pleasant chiming, Fu Qian nodded without any objections.

"Good."

Seemingly satisfied with his behavior at last, the receptionist pulled open the heavy door.

...

It really was a storehouse?

Without even entering, Fu Qian could easily see the scene inside.

To be honest, the layout even had a bit of a Warehouse vibe to it.

Tall and short shelves, wooden boxes of all sizes...

The only difference was its truly pocket-sized scale, barely taking up the area of Layer 1 in his own Laboratory.

In addition, most of the wooden boxes were open, allowing a direct view of the contents inside.

Long blades, jagged teeth, Spikes... Their shapes were surprisingly vicious, brimming with fierce hostility.

For a moment, the sense of déjà vu only grew stronger, evoking scenes from countless games where players picked their killing tools at the start.

"These are all specially crafted weapons. When dealing with the Shadow roaming the surroundings, every single one of them can come in handy."

The receptionist even confirmed this thought as he gestured for Fu Qian to enter.

"Shadow?"

However, a certain word in his explanation was rather strange.

Additionally, it sounded like his duty for this trip was already set: to take these murder weapons and dispose of the unwelcome guests known as the "Shadow."

But such an act involving killing obviously required a bit of caution. Fu Qian immediately expressed his curiosity without any reservation.

"You..."

Unsurprisingly, the receptionist was left speechless for a moment, his gaze instantly turning sharp as he stared at him.

"You don't even know what you're here to do? What the hell are those people picking candidates on the shore even doing?"

Fortunately, Fu Qian's honesty seemed to have won him a bit of favor. Soon enough, the target of the receptionist's dissatisfaction shifted to his "colleagues" handling other jobs.

He could only say that it actually sounded like a fairly mature assembly-line operation.

Besides, the term "on the shore" also evoked a strong sense of familiarity.

After all, theoretically, the closest "shore" to here was Moore.

"...Throughout the entire area of The Lake, a very special kind of entity will suddenly appear and roam around. They can't be observed directly, but our arrangements in the surroundings will cause their Shadow to be cast."

At this point, the receptionist let out a resigned sigh and was forced to explain patiently.

"And what you need to do is take an item from here... any item, then patrol the area and kill them.

"These are all specially formulated masterpieces that can bring true finality to the Shadow; otherwise, there will be no end to them—do you understand?"

Gesturing at the wooden boxes one by one, the receptionist looked as though his patience was nearly depleted.

"Understood."

To be fair, the other party had explained it quite clearly. Fu Qian walked over to the shelves and examined the weapons inside the boxes one by one.

They certainly had a flair for design, and there was no shortage of flashy but impractical features—Fu Qian's gaze finally landed on a short spear adorned with fretwork patterns.

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