novelraw Chapter 159-1: Altar of the Stars, the Stargazer Who Gazes Upward (1)
Chapter 159-1: Altar of the Stars, the Stargazer Who Gazes Upward (1)
[Under your intense gaze, Bennett lowers his head in fear and begins to explain…]
[The third floor of the clinic was originally meant as a place for customers to rest and recover after undergoing transplant surgery, but after staying on the third floor, every customer underwent a dramatic shift in temperament, and no longer revered the Omniscient True Knowledge.]
[This terrified him, and he could only seek help from the Direct Vision Association and the Multivision Association…]
[After the President of the Multivision Association personally inspected the clinic’s third floor, he informed Bennett that there was a bizarre phenomenon there known as the Residual Illusion of Knowledge.]
[The illusion’s content may have been related to the evil heresy known as the radiant stars. Those who enter the illusion often fall under the sway of this heresy due to their weak willpower, causing them to lose their faith in the Omniscient True Knowledge.]
[Bennett is a child of the True God, firm and pure in faith. Of course he wanted nothing to do with any heretical forces, so he spent a fortune and begged the President of the Multivision Association to erase the illusion on the third floor for him.]
[The President agreed to his request, accepted the payment, and entered the third floor alone. Bennett waited silently at the stairwell. He waited for an entire day and night…]
[When the President finally descended the stairs, he returned the payment. He told Bennett that the third floor’s connection to the heresy was too deep, so deep that even someone as learned as himself could not erase the illusion.]
[The President sternly warned him that the best course of action was to permanently seal off the third floor, lest anyone else fall under the influence of the heresy.]
[Being a devout believer, Bennett agreed immediately. But he noticed that just before the President left, stars flickered in his eyes, countless stars twinkling, as if a galaxy was reflected within them…][Having finished speaking, Bennett looked utterly terrified. He hurriedly explained to you that he hadn’t brought up the third floor earlier only because he feared the True God’s Envoy would think he was connected to the heresy.]
[He is the most loyal follower of the Omniscient True Knowledge, and would never associate with heretics who blaspheme the True God. He begs the powerful Envoy of the True God to believe him…]
[Do you wish to explore the third floor of the clinic?]
According to Bennett’s description, the President of the Multivision Association had his faith completely transformed while experiencing the illusion on the third floor, ultimately converting to the radiant stars.
But it’s also possible that the President had long since begun pursuing the path of the stars, and just happened to encounter the illusion on the third floor of the clinic, where he finally received the favor of the radiant stars.
Now the only question is, should he go to the third floor of the clinic and enter the illusion?
Lin Xun still remembered that after he renounced his oath to the radiant stars, the game text had once stated: ‘You will now be permanently hated by the radiant stars’ oath faction.’
If he enters the illusion on the third floor to explore, the risk will no doubt increase drastically.
But if he chooses not to go… don’t forget, the transplant clinic is highly likely to become the next target of a behemoth.
By the time the behemoth actually arrives, and he regrets not going into the third floor earlier, all that will be left will be a pile of rubble.
After some hesitation, Lin Xun still decided to investigate.
The newly obtained Shell of the President of the Direct Vision Association and its powerful legendary skill, Falling Starlight, gave him the courage to face danger head-on.
Besides, death within the illusion wouldn’t cost him any soul strength, let alone reduce his soul strength cap.
The only real concern was whether the behemoth might attack the clinic while he was inside the illusion.
After all, while immersed in the illusion, the Shell’s physical body would be nearly defenseless.
After some thought, he clicked ‘Yes.’
[You tell Bennett that you believe he is a loyal follower of the Omniscient True Knowledge. What he must do now is immediately take you to the third floor of the transplant clinic, and then, without delay, pack up his surgical tools and rush straight to the Multivision School Association.]
[Because a Veiled Aberration Overlord has already begun to form in Sophia City. It is a terrifying enemy, tens or even hundreds of times more powerful than the behemoth you just defeated. The transplant clinic is very likely to be its next target.]
[But as long as he escapes to the Multivision School Association, finds Grand Scholar Rona, and explains the situation clearly, he will no longer have to worry about the danger.]
[Upon hearing this, Bennett froze in place, then suddenly snapped out of it and led you in a sprint toward the second floor of the clinic.]
[On the second floor, against one of the walls, Bennett struggled to push aside a massive cabinet filled with bottles and jars.]
[Behind the cabinet was a shadowy staircase leading to the third floor of the clinic.]
[Bennett pulled out a key and handed it to you, telling you that ascending the stairs would take you to the third floor. Even if it’s just an illusion, he asked the Envoy of the True God to be extremely careful when facing the heresy.]
[You have obtained: Key to the Clinic’s Third Floor (Key)]
[Bennett is deeply grateful that you warned him of the impending danger. He follows your orders and hurriedly begins packing up the surgical tools in a flustered panic…]
Lin Xun doesn’t need to flee with Bennett.
As long as he completes his exploration of the illusion before the behemoth arrives, he can use the teleportation function of the Resting Page to return directly to the Multivision Association.
[You step onto the staircase. The long-sealed stairwell is blanketed in dust. With every step you take, a cloud of dust rises, forcing you to cough repeatedly.]
[The windows in the corridor are boarded up with wooden planks, sealing out all light. In the absence of a kerosene lamp, the enclosed space is pitch-black. But the Eyeball of the Subterranean Oculomass Demon grants your vision full clarity, nothing escapes your sight.]
[You ascend the stairs, and at the top, a tightly shut door comes into view.]
[You take out the Key to the Clinic’s Third Floor and unlock the door. The scene that greets your eyes is a room lined with neatly arranged hospital beds.]
[Perhaps due to having been sealed for so long, a pungent smell of decay fills the entire space. The bedclothes on the beds are coated in a layer of dust visible to the naked eye.]
[You walk up to a bed, lift the filthy sheets, lie down, and quietly gaze up at the cobweb-covered ceiling.]
[…]
[A strange drowsiness slowly creeps into your mind. You struggle to keep your eyes open, but in the end, you are dragged into an unknown dream…]
[You have entered the Residual Illusion of Knowledge…]
[Countless radiant stars flicker across the vast night sky. The glaring starlight shines down on the desolate land.]
[Everything before your eyes carries a hazy double image, like a faded and yellowing memory.]
[You stand upon a wide plain. Before you is a colossal altar glowing under the starlight.]
[The altar is empty, save for a single lonely figure gazing up at the star-filled heavens…]
[Do you wish to approach and inspect the altar more closely?]
Lin Xun prepares to instantly cast Knowledge Barrier at any moment and clicks ‘Yes.’