Chapter 310: Misleading Prophecy
It’s the same old story. Liu Xing had always felt that the magic in the Cthulhu RPG Game, in essence, was quite useless. These magic spells either had demanding conditions for use, low success rates, or simply lacked substantial effects.
Take, for instance, the fireball art that Ling Ishikawa was currently using. It sounded decent enough because, in many fantasy novels or movies and TV series, fireball art had a high appearance rate and delivered satisfactory results. However, in the world of the Cthulhu RPG Game, fireball art appeared rather lackluster.
Firstly, Liu Xing could now see that casting fireball art required a certain amount of casting time. Moreover, for an apprentice-level Wizard like Ling Ishikawa, the effectiveness of fireball art was almost on par with a lighter...
What’s more important was that the ceiling for the development of fireball art was too low. Even if it was wielded by a Wizard with a renowned name in the Cthulhu Mythos, Serak, the power of his fireball art was equivalent to that of a hand grenade. To be honest, that level of power didn’t impress much.
And let’s not forget that the Cthulhu RPG Game’s backdrop was mostly set in the modern era. So, Liu Xing could easily obtain a batch of hand grenades, pistols, and other modern weapons. These modern weapons were undoubtedly more convenient and efficient than fireball art.
Therefore, Liu Xing considered Ling Ishikawa’s fireball art to be quite subpar. According to the current pace of the game, by the time Ling Ishikawa could attain the same level of power as his cheap master, Serak, Liu Xing would have already organized a private army. When the time came, if he and Ling Ishikawa were to engage in a fight, he would most likely emerge as the victor.
Of course, Yin En understood this too. He could see that Liu Xing was just going through the motions or consoling himself. However, because "Ling Ishikawa" was unaware of this fact and took pride in becoming a Wizard, Yin En could only choose to ignore it.
"Alright, now I’m going to show you, our leader, my final Magic Spells. This Magic Spells, though it won’t have any substantial effect, is incredibly powerful. So, leader, are you interested in guessing what my last Magic Spells is?" Ling Ishikawa said with a smile.
Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. Judging by Ling Ishikawa’s descriptions, the last Magic Spells he had learned from Wizard Serak must be something extraordinary.
So, Liu Xing, with great interest, said, "Oh, it seems like Ling Ishikawa, you’ve found a treasure from Wizard Serak. Let me take a guess then. If the Magic Spells you’ve learned won’t have any substantial effects, it means it won’t be an offensive Magic Spells like fireball art or ice arrow spells. It also won’t be auxiliary Magic Spells like ice armor or restoration art. So, I guess your last Magic Spells, Ling Ishikawa, should be related to the mind, like mind-reading art, right?"
The reason Liu Xing guessed that Ling Ishikawa had learned mind-reading art was that it belonged to a relatively low-level category of Magic Spells, fitting the descriptions Ling Ishikawa had given earlier. But Ling Ishikawa shook his head, pretending to be mysterious, and said, "Leader, you’ve guessed wrong, and you’re underestimating me. I wouldn’t bother learning low-level Magic Spells like mind-reading art. After all, if I wanted to delve into mind-related skills, I’d go to a university and study psychology. So, I’ll reveal the answer now. The last Magic Spells I learned from Wizard Serak is none other than the legendary Prophecy Art!"
Prophecy Art?!
Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, looking surprised at Ling Ishikawa. In any game, Prophecy Art could be considered one of the top-tier Magic Spells. Although it couldn’t produce any tangible effects, the ability to foresee the future was almost enough to make the caster invincible.
Even in the Cthulhu RPG Game, as long as there wasn’t an entity like Nyarlathotep disrupting things, Ling Ishikawa’s ability to foresee the future would practically guarantee that he wouldn’t be caught off guard. He could predict how to pass through each module, avoiding triggering plot encounters.
Of course, this was in the best-case scenario. In reality, Ling Ishikawa wouldn’t achieve a hundred percent success rate in his predictions, and he wouldn’t have enough MP to use Prophecy Art countless times.
Nevertheless, as long as Ling Ishikawa could successfully use Prophecy Art at a critical moment within a module, it would be a guaranteed win.
Therefore, what Liu Xing was most curious about right now was the quality of the Prophecy Art that Ling Ishikawa had learned from Wizard Serak. Even if they shared the same name, the specific effects of Magic Spells could vary depending on the creator.
So, Liu Xing asked with great anticipation, "In that case, Ling Ishikawa, what’s your success rate with this Prophecy Art? Would you like to predict something right now?"
Hearing Liu Xing’s words, Ling Ishikawa smiled awkwardly and said with a hint of hesitation, "Well, leader, you should be able to guess. I’ve just become a Wizard, and my abilities are limited at the moment. It’s generous to even say that I’m a novice. I’ve only learned this Prophecy Art a few hours ago. So, even though I should be able to use Prophecy Art, I can’t guarantee the success rate, or whether the Prophecy Art’s predictions are accurate."
As Ling Ishikawa spoke, he sent the description of Prophecy Art to Liu Xing.
Prophecy Art (Serak’s version), a Prophecy Art developed by Serak, the disciple of Ibon, after receiving guidance from the Great Old One, Tsathoggua. However, this Prophecy Art is still in its most basic form, so its effectiveness is debatable. When using this Prophecy Art, players will consume 5 MP and perform a 50-minute continuous spell chant. Afterward, the player will receive a prophecy message. As for the accuracy of this prophecy message, it’s up to you to judge.
Liu Xing looked at the description of this Prophecy Art and felt baffled.
In simple terms, this Prophecy Art was essentially a black hole, a complete shot in the dark, as it didn’t even specify a success rate.
In other words, this Prophecy Art can be summed up as a complete shot in the dark, only giving you a result to guess. From a certain perspective, this Prophecy Art seemed utterly useless.
However, as player characters, Liu Xing and Yin En could infer from the description of this Prophecy Art that it didn’t have much practical utility. But "Ling Ishikawa" was unaware of this fact, so Yin En, playing the role of "Ling Ishikawa," was still quite pleased with having learned such a powerful Magic Spells.
They knew but didn’t let on.
Moreover, Liu Xing could extract an important yet seemingly unimportant piece of information from the description of this Prophecy Art: Wizard Serak was now associated with Tsathoggua.
The reason Liu Xing considered this information unimportant was that it held no significance for him. He believed he wouldn’t have any encounters with Wizard Serak or Tsathoggua. On the other hand, it was important for Yin En, as it was evident that Yin En’s world mission was likely linked to Tsathoggua.
Initially, Liu Xing had thought that Yin En’s world mission might involve Ibon, either becoming friends with him or replacing him. Now it seemed that Yin En’s mission was still connected to Tsathoggua.
Liu Xing was currently contemplating another question – what would his world mission ultimately entail? Would it involve Cthulhu or Hastur? After all, his enemies were Cthulhu’s followers, and "he" was a follower of Hastur. So, it was possible that he might encounter both Cthulhu and Hastur, or even both simultaneously.
Thinking about this, Liu Xing decided it was best not to dwell too far into the future. It was starting to feel like needless worry, considering that meeting the Great Old One Cthulhu required entry into the Cthulhu zone. And right now, he wasn’t even sure if he could advance to the Hound of Tindalos zone.
So, Liu Xing shook his head and spoke to Ling Ishikawa, saying, "Well, Ling Ishikawa, you’ll need to try out this Prophecy Art to see its effectiveness. How about after breakfast, you give it a shot and predict how Matsui Yui will deal with us?"
Hearing Liu Xing’s suggestion, Ling Ishikawa felt confident and patted his chest, saying, "Sure, since you say so, leader. I’ll give this Prophecy Art a try later. But according to my master Serak, this Prophecy Art requires an extremely long spell chant, approximately an hour of preparation. So, I’ll need you all to cover for me when the time comes."
Liu Xing was about to agree when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It seemed Dogo Aige, Panda Pig, and Alice were coming downstairs.
"Let’s go. We should head downstairs now to avoid raising any suspicion from Dogo Aige and Alice," Liu Xing suggested.
After all, it felt a bit strange for a group of men to be alone in one room.
So, Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa, upon hearing Dogo Aige and the others reach the first floor, went downstairs together. By this time, the first-floor living room was filled with people. Zhang Jingxu, Lu Tianya, and Miyako Goudong had strategically taken seats on the outer side of the table, forming a barrier to obstruct Dogo Aige and Alice’s view of the fire pit.
Of course, Dogo Aige and Alice didn’t notice anything unusual about the fire pit, so they didn’t linger in the living room for long. After exchanging a few words with Liu Xing and the others, they left.
Once Dogo Aige and Alice left, the rest of the group showed great interest in Ling Ishikawa’s return and began to inquire about his experiences in Hybrier.
Ling Ishikawa then took out the Lighter and said to Panda Pig, "Mr. Panda Pig, I want to thank you for this. When I was forcibly summoned to Hybrier, I happened to have your Lighter with me. Little did I know that this Lighter would be of tremendous help to me, or rather, it saved my life!"
Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised that a Lighter could have saved Ling Ishikawa’s life. However, upon closer thought, he seemed to understand the Lighter’s role.
Ling Ishikawa continued, "Here’s what happened. When I returned to Hybrier, it was in the evening, and I was still in shock when my fellow apprentice called me to the cafeteria. There, my mentor Serak was giving a lecture, explaining that the first round of the Mage Tower’s elimination round had begun. The task of this elimination round was simple: Serak was teaching us fireball art."
Ling Ishikawa then demonstrated the fireball art. Fortunately, no one sneezed this time, so his small fireball seemed somewhat convincing.
However, Ling Ishikawa was aware that his fireball was weak, so to avoid any accidents, he extinguished it.
He continued, "Though I had learned the spell for fireball art right from the start, I was too nervous to cast it. After all, this round of elimination would eliminate half of the apprentices. Based on what Ryuusei and the others had guessed earlier, the apprentices who were eliminated might become experimental subjects for Serak’s magic research, essentially facing a fate worse than death."
"The immense pressure made me fail multiple times in my attempts. Moreover, the apprentice named Ibon sitting beside me was the first to successfully cast the fireball art. This only added to my frustration because it felt like taking a critical exam. When you’re still thinking about how to answer the questions, someone in front of you has already turned in their paper. It makes you anxious, fearing that more students will submit their papers one after another."
"So, I was practically on the verge of a mental breakdown. I was even thinking about what would happen if I couldn’t return here, whether you all would be affected by my sudden disappearance. While I was lost in my thoughts, I discovered that there was a Lighter in my pocket."
"I almost laughed at myself because the goal of this elimination round was to use fireball art. However, because the fireball art cast by Wizard apprentices had limited power, there were some easily ignitable hay piles placed in front of us. Once these hay piles were set on fire, it counted as a successful use of fireball art."
"So, I found an opportune moment when no one was paying attention to me, and I used the Lighter to ignite those hay piles. Then, I acted as if I had successfully cast the fireball art, fooling Serak. But everyone knows that using a Lighter makes some noise, so I was noticed by Ibon."
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