Chapter Text
[Player Liu Jiayi recommended Player Klein Moretti’s small TV!]
The murmurs quieted down as soon as the system message appeared. All eyes darted to the group of five people at the back.
Liu Jiayi, who was all this time in Bai Liu’s hands, already relocated behind Tang Erda. Capitan Tang was quite useful as he with only one glare could drive away most of the attention. The brave ones who still choose to stare right at them couldn’t see the little girl, so this wasn’t much of a problem. The Wandering Circus members didn’t even spare them a glance, choosing to watch a performance of the newcomer instead.
Suddenly the silence was broken by players that just rushed into the viewing area after seeing that it was Liu Jiayi, the Little Witch herself, who recommended this small TV. She held quite a lot of influence between the players. A literal child that managed to climb to the first place of the Rising Star Leaderboard, and was an important member of the second largest guild in the game — The King’s Guild. After leaving the King’s Guild and joining the Wandering Circus she gained even more attention, since the situation caused a huge scene.
It was nothing unexpected that people entered the viewing area like ants.
Once the room was filled with commotion once again Liu Jiayi tugged on Bai Liu’s sleeve to get his attention.
“Was it really necessary?”
Bai Liu smiled at her with one of his smiles that she knows won't bring anything good. Shameless bastard Bai Liu.
“Isn’t it nice to support a person who managed to skip half of the main story and walk in so fearlessly?” His gentle smile and expression made Liu Jiayi and Mu Sicheng get goosebumps. It was that kind of expression that they all knew and every single time he scammed someone into selling their soul to him after talking to them or about them in this way.
But the thing is they all could clearly see that this newcomer guy is just as much of a smart freak as Bai Liu is, and no matter how good he was or what kind of miracle he did, it would be weird for Bai Liu to go after him. They see that Klein Moretti has a sharp mind and his game panel confirmed it.
But Bai Liu is just a complete bastard, and if he gave you that expression and some stupidly obvious manipulative comment then it means that he lies straight to your face.
Liu Jiayi sighed, crossing her arms on her chest and looking back at the screen.
“I really do hope that whatever you planned will be worth it.”
***
Klein stared at the book in his hands. System messages were about to drown him but he couldn’t even hear them. For some reason he had this nagging feeling that he knows who one of the characters from this story was. But was his conclusion even correct? Or was it his mental value playing cruel jokes? Maybe, just maybe , he saw incorrectly?
He read it again.
And again.
And again.
He was halfway through reading for another time as his spirituality gave a warning and he had no choice but drop the book and jump away.
In the next moment a humanoid creature landed at the spot he was on just a second ago. Bookshelves were crushed under the impact, dust and wood pieces were sent flying in every direction accompanied by thorn books.
Klein was pretty sure that the book the story is in was just as ruthlessly turned into scraps of paper as well.
Unfortunately his spirituality gave him a vision: a figure jumping at him at an incredibly fast speed. To be more precise it was going after the book he held in his hands. Klein had no other choice but to drop it in order to have his arm attached after avoiding the strike.
Pity, but he’ll just use dream divination if he needs to remember its content.
Right now he has a more pressing problem. And this problem already freed itself from the pieces of broken furniture and was now walking out of the dust cloud that raised in the moment of impact.
[Congratulations to the player for discovering the second monster of the monster book! — ‘Wax Soul Collector’ Special (2/3)]
[Monster Name: Human Marionette]
[Attack Value: ??? (Unknown. Unlocked after battle)]
[Attack Method: ??? (Unexplored)]
[Weaknesses: ??? (Unexplored)]
Klein avoided as the monster lunged at him once again, wood fragments flying everywhere — a few even managed to hit Klein. As he jumped on the railing to get away from another attack a distant memory came to mind: he, too, jumped around like that, but his movements were awkward and foreign. Moving from one piece of furniture to another he watched the sluggish zombie that tried to catch him. Funnily enough he found it quite similar to the situation he is in right now, just maybe a slightly higher difficulty was before him.
What is it with me and cat and mouse games? He inwardly lampooned, jumping on the railing from the table that was crushed a second later.
Now that the dust settled he finally got the chance to look at the creature that rudely interrupted his reading session and internal conflict.
It was human. Well, at least something that once was a human. A hint of recognition flashed in his mind. He saw this person on one of the family portraits in the household of the bakery owner — his son, Klein noted in his mind. But the main difference was that this… creature looked nothing like a living person. The young man in the portrait looked cheerful and full of life, and what was in front of Klein was just a mere shell. His skin seemed to turn into a wax and eyes were soulless as if one stared into a puddle of ink.
Klein even used his spiritual vision to see the condition of his soul only to see pitch darkness. This person was dead for a long time now, it seems.
While continuing playing around with this soulless puppet — he made a bold assumption with this one, but it would be easier for him to call it that for now — Klein tactically made his way towards the areas that were lighted up by a faint moonlight from the windows.
His speculations were proved correct the moment he stepped into the light and saw the puppet freeze momentarily. It almost seemed hesitant.
[Congratulations to the player for discovering a weakness of a monster from a Monster book! — ‘Wax Soul Collector’ Special (2/3)]
[Monster Name: Human Marionette]
[Attack Value: ??? (Unknown. Unlocked after battle)]
[Attack Method: ??? (Unexplored)]
[Weaknesses: Light, ???]
Klein looked around as he stood in a relatively safe place when he noticed monsters from the paintings looking at him with malice. Of course he hadn’t forgotten about them, no; most of the paintings were hung in the corridors, and there was not even a single portrait of a person in the reading hall. They were not much of a threat as long as he didn’t entered any of the places where they were.
To get out from the library there was no need for him to return to where he had entered from, anyway. He will just use the style of his dear poet — out of the window. Honestly, Leonard is a bad influence, but whatever works the best in this situation.
Without thinking too much Klein turned on his heels and, using the chair from the nearest table, shattered the glass of the window and jumped straight out. When he landed on the ground under the window he felt momentarily relieved when silence enveloped his mind and system messages stopped flooding his vision. But it didn’t last long enough for him as notifications started popping up with newfound intensity. It was almost impossible to see when a new message popped out and when the previous disappeared.
He’ll definitely have a headache for at least a week after that.
Klein walked away from the library with quick steps, not batting an eye at the ominous silence and eerie atmosphere around him. He saw a faint barrier just outside the gates. It was probably the limitations of the current location and he silently wished that he would be able to just pass through it without much problems.
At this point he completely abandoned the main storyline, just doing what he felt was necessary.
Before he transmigrated for the first time he read a few stories with similar setting — where the main character for one or another reason appeared in the system where they have to clear games to just survive — and maybe his past self would be ripping hair on his head right now, seeing how Klein casually pretended like the game rewards did not matter, but after dealing with Adam it just felt wrong to follow already existing pattern.
A red system message suddenly appeared once Klein approached the barrier.
[Attention! Player Klein Moretti is going against the game rules!]
Klein immediately stopped and just stared at the message.
Game rules? Maybe if someone was gracious enough to tell me them then I would’ve followed.
System, as if sensing his thoughts, spat out another message window.
[Game rules are easy to understand: follow the plot, finish the quests, and survive. It is quite straightforward and everyone will get them without explanations, but you’ve managed to fail here.]
What a bold system. Klein raised his eyebrows at this. It was the first time the system answered in such a disrespectful way. Of course, he didn’t expect it to behave like Arrodes, but really? Was it a system of a deadly game or some teenager that goes through puberty?
“There was never a message that I should do exactly that.”
The screen before him flickered a few times, and if it had a humanoid form it would probably roll its eyes in annoyance. It was funny in a way that this thing behaved like a human being.
Was it with everyone like that or is it just me who gets special treatment? Klein, for some reason, did not want any special treatment from whatever this world can offer to him.
[It is the core of the game.]
[Player Klein Moretti, please continue with the plot, or you will not like the consequences.]
At this point there was no turning back. He already skipped a good part of the story, and he wants to go to the Magicians house like… now. To Klein, there’s no real use in staying and continuing with the plot. The main objective is, probably, has something to do with him, and at this point he knows everything that could possibly be useful to him.
You see, RPG games can be quite bothersome, filled with unnecessary long quests — main or side playing no big difference. And from what Klein can understand, this game is exactly like that.
For the audience behind the streaming system it is probably an interesting sight to look at, and, probably, for bloodthirsty maniacs it is a perfect playground in case they are too afraid to commit crimes in real life. To Klein though it is just a lot of needless effort to put in, considering he can just devine if he misses a piece of information.
Celestial Worthy, after all, seems to have a close connection to the creator of this game.
And, coincidentally, Klein just so happens to have close ties to Celestial Worthy. Why not give it a go? If he guessed right then something in the Magician's house, or even Magician himself, will react to his aura.
The only problem right now is…
He looked at the system, and noticed that the world around him was abnormally motionless, not even a slight wave of leaves on the trees could be seen. The flood of notifications also stopped, as if someone hit a switch button.
Huh. So that’s what is happening.
Does it want a private conversation? Is it able to cut off the game from the stream? Or did it stop the time itself? No, a system is probably unable to do the last thing. Being cut off from the stream is the most logical explanation right now.
It works for him, anyway.
“What if I don’t want to follow the game plot?” He asked.
Klein’s question was left unanswered, but everything around him came back to life once again, however the atmosphere changed drastically. The previously clear night sky in only a few seconds was enveloped by dark clouds that cut off the only source of light — the moon. The temperature also dropped by a few degrees and a cold midnight wind played with leaves and Klein’s hair which made him shiver involuntarily.
Before he could react a loud crashing sound could be heard from behind him, forcing Klein to quicken up and leave the library yard — the barrier that was there minutes ago disappeared, he noted, — and make his way out of the town.
At least he won’t be distracted anymore.
Was the system not in the mood to deal with me and just set the difficulty higher? Is it even a thing, to just say that you don’t like the plot and it will give you free choice of what to do?
Klein’s mind raced as he quickly walked in the direction of the Magician’s house, leaving monsters in the library behind.
No, it can’t be that easy.
He suddenly stopped at his tracks, freezing completely, not daring to even breathe too frequently and deeply.
The world around was dead silent, even with the wind blowing and flashes in the sky clearly promising rain and thunder he didn’t hear a thing. But just now he catched on to the sound of footsteps. Running. In his direction.
To avoid being seen by townsfolks or monsters that could lurk somewhere in the dark Klein chose a path hidden by bushes and trees, each step soundless despite quick pace.
[Player Klein Moretti’s Mental Value dropped to 50! Every wish has its consequences.]
He took a deep breath to calm his rising panic that he didn’t immediately notice, clenching slightly trembling fingers into fists. Logically, his spirituality didn’t send out any warning, so it should have been obvious that it was an illusion, yet still… it felt so real . The unease he felt from being followed by something (or someone ?) was also real.
Swallowing, Klein looked around himself warily before taking a slow step forward, and then another, and before he knew he was running out of the town, towards the forest. He did not like it here. Not in the slightest. And the gray for, that seemed to be thicker now, didn’t help his situation.
Never let your mental value fall down so low , he thought almost desperately, hoping that cold air will help him snap out. Never .
He just can’t afford to succumb to his own thoughts. He didn’t have Miss Justice there so he could ask for help in regulating his own emotions, and falling apart mentally will do no good in fight against Celestial Worthy.
Klein felt himself like a scared animal, not daring to stop no matter what sound he heard. His spirituality kept quiet, so it wasn’t anything dangerous, nor was it necessary real.
He remembered breathing exercises he heard about once long ago, so he tried focusing on his own breathing.
In battle with his own mind he arrived to the Magician’s house. It wasn’t too hard to spot, and seeing his destination helped him slightly, so when he stopped before the entrance door he had almost calmed down. He was still breathless from running, but mostly fine if not for the slight tremor at the tips of his fingers.
With one last breath Klein reached out for the handle, noticing that the door wasn’t closed. Pushing it open he stepped inside, being met with a dark entrance and creaky floor. The damp smell indicated that no one was here for some time, meaning he wouldn’t find any candle to light up the room.
Luckily the game had a game shop, about which he forgot while running around and annoying the system like a tooth pain. He opened it and, just as expected, there were different items that could help him in clearing the game. If he was doing it in a traditional way, that’s it. He just needed one candle and matches. Of course, after strolling through some weird items he found them, but the praise was unreasonably and painfully high.
What is wrong with this system? Who charges so much for such simple items? And for what I can possibly need a canvas and paint that cost thrice as less?
With pain in his heart Klein still purchased needed items. He looked for other things that could emit light, but everything cost even more or couldn’t be used in this particular setting. A shame, honestly.
Even so he could afford it. Generous people from behind the screen practically threw their points at him all this time, so he wasn't short on money but it still hurt nonetheless.
The warm orange light illuminated the room and Klein was not really ready to see dozens of statues right from the entrance. All of them looked like disappeared people from the town, but now they’ve had empty eyes and wax looking skin. For a few seconds Klein just stood there, looking at them with a candle in his hand, waiting for them to move. But nothing happened, so he took a few steps in and the door behind him was suddenly slammed shut by the wind. The fire almost went out, but Klein shielded it with his hand. It wasn’t clear what would happen if he got trapped in the dark room with all of those statues and he didn’t dare risking.
As he stepped further inside Klein made sure to never turn his back at them even while looking around. In every room that he visited there would be a considerable amount of those statues, filling the whole room so that there was no space for even a needle to fall down.
While walking he noticed that beside a certain door there were less statues than anywhere in the whole house, so it should probably be the Magician's personal space. As he approached and extended his hand to grab the handle Klein heard a weird sound. It was similar to clay being played with, so soft and quiet that it would be hard to detect. But the whole house was silent — minus Klein’s breathing and cracking of the floor as he walked — and the sound was multiplied, as if there wasn’t only one source.
Slowly he turned his gaze back at the statues only to be met with a sight that sent a shiver down his spine: every wax statue now stared right at him with their lifeless empty eyes, their necks turned in weird angles.
For a few seconds Klein and statues just looked at each other, before Klein quickly turned around and yanked the door open and stepped into the Magician’s personal room as fast as he could, shutting the door behind himself.