novelraw Chapter 108-1: An Eerie New Chapter (1)
Chapter 108-1: An Eerie New Chapter (1)
[You have chosen Level 4 Difficulty Chapter (Hell)!]
[You have entered an Apocalyptic Chapter.]
[Chapter 82740874]
What the hell, little bro?
When Lin Xun was reading strategy guides on the forum earlier, he had noticed the chapter numbers experienced by other Apostles.
But something this long, tens of millions? Completely unheard of!
“Did I stumble into some hidden secret world?”
After joining Thunder Tribulation, the black-stocking lady had upgraded his forum account privileges.
Now, he could browse previously hidden high-level strategy boards.
The number of guides in those sections had increased dramatically compared to before. Most were Grade C, with a fair number of Grade B guides, but there were barely any Grade A guides, you could count them on two hands.Thunder Tribulation’s clearance level wasn’t the highest, so he couldn’t access the top-tier walkthroughs.
Lin Xun skimmed through the guides, but found no mention of any chapter with such a ridiculously long number.
Which made sense. He had only entered this Hell-Difficulty chapter thanks to his SSS-rank evaluation.
How could an average Apostle possibly achieve that rating?
Still, it didn’t matter. A top student doesn’t need to copy a failing student’s answers.
He turned his attention back to the game text and began his journey.
[An ordinary wandering soul awakens in an old lecture hall…]
[You look around. Kerosene lamps burn inside the hall, casting a faint orange glow that just barely illuminates the furnishings.]
[The hall is densely packed with tiered wooden desks and chairs. Bloodstains streak the surfaces, and dried, shredded bits of flesh are still stuck in places.]
[A wave of putrid, rotten stench assaults your nose, making you nauseous.]
[You are standing in the aisle between the rows of seats. At the front is an equally worn-down podium…]
[Floating beside you is a faintly glowing, oversized Soul Page. Next to it lies a long-dead corpse.]
[Will you touch the Resting Page, or inspect the corpse beside it?]
This lecture hall was clearly the spawn point, a safe zone.
Since entering a chapter automatically sets your spawn as the respawn point, and he had just come from the Library, there was no need to touch the Resting Page again.
[You crouch down and inspect the corpse carefully.]
[It’s wearing a scholar’s cap and a black academic robe, and it holds a thick teaching baton in one hand.]
[Its face, apart from two gray pupils, is covered in coin-sized pits, densely packed. Whatever organs were inside those holes had long been gouged out.]
[You examine the Shell before you…]
[Shell of the Knowledge-Seeking Multivision School Mentor: A mentor whose desire for knowledge swelled uncontrollably, spending a fortune to transplant additional eyes in pursuit of truth. This long-dead Shell, preserved under an unknown glow, has not decayed. It died of massive blood loss after its extra eyes were removed. Compatibility: 125% (+45%)]
[Would you like to possess this Shell?]
Knowledge-seeking… Multivision School… an insatiable thirst for knowledge… extra eyes…
Knowledge-seeking?
Usually, prefix tags in monster names carry special meaning, like ‘Corrupted’ in the Blood Sun world.
‘Multivision School’ might refer to a specific faction in this chapter. He could very well be in their territory.
Lin Xun picked up on a few keywords, but with so little information, he couldn’t draw a full picture yet, only form a rough guess.
This mentor Shell was a default starter, like the three standard Shells back in the church of the Blood Sun world.
He discarded the trash-tier Corrupted Blood Beastman from his Shell Slots and prepared to possess the mentor to see if it contained any background memories for this chapter.
Suddenly, the game text popped up a new notification.
[You have gained knowledge. Your Knowledge stat has increased by 10! Current Knowledge: 10/100]
What the…
He hadn’t even done anything yet, and already his ‘Knowledge’ stat increased?
He had never heard of a ‘Knowledge’ stat before, nor did he know what it did.
Frowning slightly, he muttered, “Anything abnormal is cause for concern…”
And with the earlier mention of the Knowledge-Seeking prefix in creature names, a bad feeling welled up inside him.
He tapped “Possess.”
[You have possessed the Shell of the Nameless Knowledge-Seeking Mentor!]
[This Shell has received Soul Enhancement. Shell strength increased by 60%!]
[The Shell retains fragments of memories from its life…]
[…]
[Student Lir is developing into quite the alluring young woman…]
[But why does she refuse the pursuit of great knowledge?]
[Does she really think that wearing a blindfold will block her innate thirst for truth?]
[I must educate this rebellious schoolgirl.]
[To pursue knowledge is the sole meaning of life. As a commoner, this is her only path to advancement.]
[So after class, I brought Student Lir into my private office…]
[To correct her misguided values, I used my thick baton to give her a stern ‘education.’]
[Amid her heart-wrenching sobs, she came to deeply recognize her errors, and drank in the knowledge I so passionately imparted.]
[That’s more like it! As a reward for this ‘lesson,’ I took her by carriage to Bennett’s Transplant Clinic.]
[There, I selflessly spent my savings to grant Student Lir a new pair of charming eyes.]
[When her parents found out, they were moved to tears, and spread my noble deeds throughout the Multivision School.]
[For a time, my reputation soared, and I stood in glory…]
[The fragmented memories end here.]
“…”
At that moment, Lin Xun wore the classic subway uncle reading memes on his phone expression.
Carefully examining the memory fragments, he noted that this world wasn’t set in a modern era, but it appeared to possess surprisingly advanced organ transplant technology.
Its inhabitants craved knowledge and had an inexplicable obsession with transplanting eyes.
[You have gained knowledge. Your Knowledge stat increased by 20! Current Knowledge: 30/100]
The game text popped up again. Another increase in his Knowledge stat.
Lin Xun guessed that gaining key information through game text might be what triggered these Knowledge boosts.
He still didn’t know whether reaching 100 Knowledge would bring a benefit, or a consequence.
Opening the Shell Panel.
[Shell – Knowledge-Seeking Mentor of the Multivision School]
[True Name: Unknown]
[Compatibility: 125% (+45%) – Compatibility threshold exceeded. Shell Quality improved!]
[Shell Quality: Ruined+]
[Shell Level: 29 (+9)]
[Shell Equipment: Academic Mentor’s Robe (Ruined+) – A black standard-issue robe stained with grime and blood, with four massive eyes sewn in a square pattern across the chest.]
[Shell Equipment: Thick Baton (Ruined) – A thick, black, solid baton with cloudy white stains still clinging to it.]
[Shell Skills: None]
A pretty trash Shell overall. Both its quality and equipment were junk-tier.
He still wasn’t sure whether using this Shell accelerated Knowledge gain.
But he wanted to push Knowledge to 100 as soon as possible, in order to figure out this chapter’s core mechanics.
Whether the stat was beneficial or dangerous, reaching the cap would likely trigger a system prompt.