novelraw Chapter 55: The Ancient Theater of Saint Rance
Chapter 55: The Ancient Theater of Saint Rance
Lin Xun pondered for a moment. Now that he had joined the Golden Blazing Sun, he wasn’t sure if using the herb would still help relieve fatigue.
The last item on the list needed no further debate—it was a special item, and even had the effect of increasing luck. That alone made it worth every drop of Spirit.
Since he had a spellcaster shell, items like throwable flame jars and arrows were redundant. No need to waste money on those.
After some thought, Lin Xun decided to first buy the Lucky Gold Coin and one Corrupted Red Sorrel.
He’d test whether the herb could relieve fatigue—and if it worked, he’d come back and buy them all.
Just as he was about to confirm the purchase—
His sixth sense, honed by years of gaming, kicked in.
Lin Xun glanced at the two “junk” items at the bottom of the list. Buying both would only cost him 30 Spirit.
“Maybe they’ll come in handy somehow.”
It was just 30 points—pocket change—so he tossed them into the cart on impulse.[You have gifted 3,230 Spirit to the “Unknown Shadow” behind the barred window…]
Gifted?
Wait a minute, wasn’t this a transaction? Why did it say gifted?
Lin Xun frowned—something felt off.
[From inside the hut came a chilling, spine-tingling laugh.]
[The Unknown Shadow has not handed over any goods—it has toyed with you.]
???
Wasn’t this supposed to be a clean deal—Spirit for goods?
This NPC was more cursed than the game itself! It just robbed him of over 3,000 points with no hesitation!
[Foolish Apostle, what will you do now?]
[1. Accept your loss, curse under your breath, retreat to a quiet corner, and silently lick your wounds.]
[2. Rage impotently, curse its entire family, then pick up a stone and throw it through the window—maybe it’ll help you feel better.]
[3. Raise your staff-spear and blast the place open with a Corrupting Blood Sun spell. Make the bastard die with dishonor and a ruptured backside.]
“I was trying to be a kind and lawful Apostle…”
Lin Xun narrowed his eyes and immediately chose Option 3—blast it to hell!
[You stride up to the Exchange’s front door, raise your staff-spear, and chant an incantation…]
[A flash of red light…]
[The wooden door is instantly reduced to ash. The sparse furnishings inside come into full view. The Unknown Shadow is revealed to be a dancer in a resplendent costume.]
[Its eyes glow crimson, its limbs now grotesquely transformed into jointed, bristly appendages. One arm ends in a blade-sharp claw, catching flickers of light from the room’s lone candle.]
[You raise your staff-spear, chanting again…]
[The Corrupted Theater Dancer lets out a bizarre laugh and begins a graceful dance. Its figure turns translucent—then vanishes completely.]
[A flash of red light…]
[You blast a massive hole in the inner wall of the exchange, but your target is long gone.]
Lin Xun stared in disbelief.
“What the actual—!”
It could go invisible?
And it just robbed him of 3,000 Spirit and vanished?
The more Lin Xun thought about it, the angrier he got—but strangely, his mind remained clear.
During the earlier interaction, the game had described the transaction as a “gift.” That meant, if he could kill the dancer, he could reclaim his Spirit.
He scoured the interior of the Exchange, but found no useful items or clues.
So he left, and the game text continued.
[Under the pale moonlight, you proceed along the ruined road of the town. Soon, the path ahead splits into three.]
[Where will you go?]
[1. The left path: You raise your hand and peer into the distance. There appears to be a marketplace—deserted and deathly still. Tattered canopies stretch over wooden stakes.]
[2. The middle path: This leads out of Saint Rance. You recall there’s a graveyard there.]
[3. The right path: In the far distance, you glimpse a massive, squat domed structure—likely the ancient theater of Saint Rance.]
The ancient theater!
This was clearly the dancer’s lair.
“Heh, you can run, but your lair can’t. I’ll raze it to the ground!”
Lin Xun smashed the third option.
[You proceed down the right path.]
[On the desolate road, your footsteps crunch over scattered stones, composing a grim melody of vengeance in the dead of night.]
[You arrive before the Ancient Theater of Saint Rance, a massive, squat circular structure made of pale stone. Arched doorways ring its perimeter. Once a place for enjoying music and dance, it was later turned into a blood-splattered arena for beast fights and gladiator matches.]
[Do you wish to enter the Ancient Theater?]
[You stride through the arched doorway and enter the “Interior of the Ancient Theater.”]
[You pass through a dark, narrow corridor and emerge at the open-air stands.]
[Moonlight pours in, illuminating the open-air stage at the center like daylight. A dancer in ornate costume twirls elegantly, each step trailing blood-red afterimages.]
[Around the stage, the stone steps of the audience seats are filled with dozens of Corrupted Blood Sun Cultists watching the performance.]
[Your sudden arrival draws all eyes to you.]
[What will the furious Apostle do?]
[1. Smack your forehead, pretend you forgot to buy a ticket, and flee the theater in shame.]
[2. Shout “What’re you looking at? Never seen a stalker fan before?” and open fire on the audience.]
[3. Wave your “glowstick,” unleash sunlight, and strike the dancer’s face in a wild show of support.]
Option 1 was a retreat, Option 2 targeted the minions, Option 3 was a direct strike on the dancer.
Lin Xun didn’t hesitate—he picked Option 3.
[You raise your staff-spear, chant the incantation…]
[The dancer in the center of the stage seems to sense your intent. It glances at you, its crimson eyes filled with scorn.]
[The Corrupted Theater Dancer twirls again, its form becoming transparent, then disappearing entirely.]
[A flash of red light…]
[Unfortunately, you missed your target.]
Lin Xun took a deep breath, forcing down his rage.
The dancer refused to fight head-on—it just went invisible and ran.
If only it would face him directly, Lin Xun was confident that, with the Yellow-Robed Bishop’s laser cannon, he could vaporize it in seconds.
He waited a while, but the “Corrupted Theater Dancer” never reappeared.
Frowning slightly, he wondered whether he had scared the boss off, or if it was just a special enemy programmed to flee after being attacked.
He opened the Apostle Panel—Soul Strength: 1/2. He couldn’t reshape the Paladin of Discipline or the Engineer shells.
But even with those shells, if the boss wouldn’t fight directly and kept disappearing, it would just be a frustrating loop.
He opened his inventory and reviewed his items.
His gaze paused on the Boiling Subspecies Dragon Blood Essence. After a moment, he shook his head.
It wasn’t time to use that yet—there had to be another way to deal with the dancer.
Suddenly, an idea came to him—maybe there was a way to lure the dancer back.
Not entirely sure it would work, but it was worth trying.
He exited the theater and traveled to the chapel at Lord Fox’s Castle.
There, he selected the Resting Page to set a new respawn point, then rested to refresh the instance.
After that, he returned to the Ancient Theater.
[You pass through the dark corridor and enter the open-air stands.]
[Moonlight falls upon the central stage, and once again, the dancer in ornate costume is twirling gracefully, leaving trails of crimson with every step.]
Just as he suspected—resting and refreshing had brought the dancer back!
Lin Xun licked his lips. Now that he knew he could respawn the dancer with every reset, he had unlimited chances to experiment.
He wasn’t worried at all—he’d kill this thing no matter what.