Chapter 100: The Correct Way to Clear
Tang Tai looked at Liu Xing, who seemed utterly bewildered, and began to explain, "This is the waiting room exclusive to promotion games. In other Cthulhu RPG Games, when players are eliminated or die, they are immediately torn back to the real world. However, in promotion games, as long as a player doesn't tear their card due to failing two promotion games, they will arrive in this waiting room after being eliminated or dying. They wait here until the entire promotion game is over, and the Keeper will come to settle the players who failed to clear this promotion game. It's like a debriefing session, in a way."
Liu Xing nodded, seeming to grasp the concept. He said, "So, everyone has successfully cleared their first promotion game."
"Of course, otherwise, we wouldn't have chosen to abandon this promotion game. Everyone knows how difficult the second promotion game is. And the exemption earned in the first promotion game is perfect for use in this second one. But, speaking of which, before I entered this promotion game, I thought we might encounter a village hidden by a Ghoul or perhaps seal away a lower-level mythical creature like the Formless Offspring. I never expected it would be a big boss like the Earth-boring Demon Worm. So, without hesitation, I chose to be eliminated," Xue Ba nodded, smiling.
Shi Ying took a sip of her tea before saying, "Indeed, I didn't anticipate that the boss of this promotion game would be the Earth-boring Demon Worm. I heard from my seniors in the club that while the second promotion game is very challenging, it should only feature some lower-level mythical creatures. Even if the Earth-boring Demon Worm is still in a sealed state, as an upper-level mythical creature, it could easily overwhelm us. Just the villagers under its control would be formidable opponents if we had to fight them."
"But come to think of it, Tang Tai, you had such bad luck. You ended up with a Lucky Great Failure and died immediately. And I assume you didn't take any special painkillers at that moment. Can you describe what it felt like to die?" Liu Xing asked with curiosity.
After all, Liu Xing and Shi Ying had both been controlled by the Earth-boring Demon Worm and killed after taking special painkillers. So, they didn't experience any pain; it was as if they had no sensations at all.
Tang Tai chuckled and shook his head, saying, "I can't answer that question because I died after taking special painkillers. The reason I died with a Lucky Great Failure was because I intentionally committed suicide."
Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised to learn that Tang Tai's death had been a suicide.
"Here's what happened. At the time, to prepare for any unexpected situations, I had hidden a special painkiller under my tongue. After all, this special painkiller doesn't dissolve when held under the tongue, and it only takes effect when swallowed. During the earthquake, I happened to be holding a pitchfork. When the result of the Lucky Great Failure came out, if I had kept holding onto the pitchfork, I would have at most been injured. But I saw it as a golden opportunity, so I deliberately let go of the pitchfork and swallowed the painkiller. As I expected, the pitchfork plunged directly into my heart and killed me," Tang Tai calmly described how he had taken his own life.
After listening to Tang Tai's account, Liu Xing nodded in understanding. What Tang Tai did could indeed be considered a prudent move to ensure his survival. However, Tang Tai probably didn't anticipate that his death would trigger a chain reaction, accelerating the storyline and advancing to the final act.
Just at that moment, Mo Jin also appeared in the waiting room, looking dejected. It appeared that Mo Jin hadn't managed to escape the pursuit of the Earth-boring Demon Worm in the end.
"Hey, Mo Jin, you're here too. I thought you might be able to breeze through this promotion game, but it turns out you also failed in the end. And judging by the time, Mo Jin, it seems you didn't even dodge the first attack from the Earth-boring Demon Worm," Shi Ying, showing no sympathy for her "killer," commented with a touch of sarcasm.
Mo Jin paid no attention to Shi Ying, simply sighing quietly and standing in place, deep in thought.
"Shi Ying, don't kick someone when they're down here. Mo Jin has suffered quite a loss this time," KP Snail's voice suddenly chimed in, but it remained unseen.
"Oh, KP, why don't you come out? Don't be shy. Let us see your true face," Liu Xing, quite satisfied with his gains from this promotion game thanks to the remaining pages of the "Seven Chapters of the Mysterious Lord," teased KP Snail.
KP Snail chuckled and pretended to be mysterious, saying, "Not this time. After all, we might meet again in the future. When the time comes, it won't be too late to reveal my true identity. Now, let's settle things first. Although your second promotion game ended in failure, Xue Ba will receive 50 basic points, Tang Tai will get 50 basic points along with a 25-point progress reward, and Liu Xing, Shi Ying, and Mo Jin will each receive 50 basic points and a 50-point progress reward."
As Xue Ba had dropped out during the storyline introduction, he could only earn basic points, while Tang Tai had died during the first stage of the mission, hence receiving additional progress reward points for that stage.
KP Snail continued after a moment, "Next is the debriefing session. First, let me briefly explain the correct way to clear this promotion game. Actually, the difficulty of this promotion game isn't as high as you all imagined. You were deterred primarily by the Earth-boring Demon Worm's reputation. In the correct plot sequence, there's a fifty-fifty chance you won't have to face the Earth-boring Demon Worm at all."
"Firstly, to completely lift the seal on the Earth-boring Demon Worm, four sacrifices are needed. After that, it will return underground, indicating that if you followed the plot, at least one of you would have survived. If you carried items like the Qingming Sacrificial Offerings, you could have saved even more people. However, you all gave up on clearing this promotion game from the beginning, and Xue Ba even dropped out. Therefore, you were destined to enter the 'wipeout' storyline."
"Once you entered the Earth Dragon Village area after getting off the vehicle, it meant you couldn't drop out anymore. Any attempt to leave the Earth Dragon Village would trigger the Earth-boring Demon Worm's control."
"Inside the Earth Dragon Village, you could have found Tang Zilin, and through him, you would have learned that something was amiss in the village, including the whereabouts of the remaining pages of the 'Seven Chapters of the Mysterious Lord.' After the earthquake scene, if none of you had been injured or killed, you would have safely arrived at the Ancestral Hall."
"Upon reaching the Ancestral Hall, you would have encountered Tang Zilin again, this time heavily wounded. He would have informed you that the villagers had gone mad and were trying to kill you, leading to the start of the second stage of the mission."
"At this point, you would have had two choices. The first option would be to continue and participate in the sacrificial ceremony, making yourselves sacrifices for the Earth-boring Demon Worm. However, all players would roll a die, and the order of being devoured by the Earth-boring Demon Worm would be determined by the dice roll. Of course, when being devoured by the Earth-boring Demon Worm, there would also be a Sanity (SAN) check."
"As for the second choice, it would be to escape directly. At this point, you would face attacks from the villagers. You would encounter 1d3+1 waves of villagers in total, with each wave consisting of 1d2+2 villagers attacking you. However, you could choose to flee directly. As long as you evaded the villagers' attacks, you would make a hidden roll. If the hidden roll succeeded, the Earth-boring Demon Worm would chase you and only perform one tentacle attack and one crushing attack on you. If the hidden roll failed, then you would be able to clear the game directly."
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