Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 53: Two Great Successes

Akira Akashi nodded in agreement and began to share his story, "My experience was similar to Tian Dao's. It happened not long ago, when I went to the seaside with classmates. As it was the peak travel season, the hotel room we had reserved was given away when we arrived two hours late. With no other choice, we had to find a new place to stay and ended up being introduced to a guesthouse."

"The next day, while playing on the beach, we helped an elderly man who was suffering from heatstroke. He gave me a bracelet that bore the symbol of the Elder Sign and shared local legends about the Deep Ones with us. At first, we didn't take it seriously. But, in the middle of the night, we discovered that the owner of the guesthouse we were staying in was actually a Deep One. Fortunately, we realized just in time and managed to escape."

After finishing his story, Akira Akashi showed the bracelet on his left wrist. It was made of an unknown black metal, etched with the Elder Sign.

Liu Xing, though he had lost control of his body, his sight and hearing were still sharp. Listening to the conversations of Akira Akashi and the others, he couldn't help but remark internally that Ghouls and Deep Ones, typical beginners' monsters in the Cthulhu RPG Game, seemed to be everywhere.

But even for beginners, these creatures weren't something just any player could kill. Thus, most players, like Akira Akashi, would seize any chance to flee. Players like Tian Dao, who managed to clear the game by slaying mythical creatures, were exceedingly rare. Liu Xing surmised that Tian Dao's team must have had an excellent setup, acquiring weapons that suited their story's background and, most importantly, luck on their side, which allowed them to ultimately kill the Ghoul.

However, the reason Tian Dao and his team engaged in battle with the Ghoul, Liu Xing reckoned, was likely due to the recklessness of the archaeologist in their group. In the world of the Cthulhu RPG Game, roles like archaeologists, occultists, and zealots were disasters waiting to happen — engines of team annihilation, with a propensity for getting into deadly situations, often having stats maxed out at 99.

"Alright, the question now is whether we should enter this temple to take a look," Tina suggested, looking at the temple's door. "I think it's necessary. After all, these Elder Sign charms are affixed on the outside, meant to prevent mythical creatures from entering. And as we can see, there's no sign the temple's door has been opened, so it's likely safe inside, and there might be something very important stored there, something that could perhaps help us leave this place and return to the real world."

Akira Akashi and Tian Dao nodded in agreement with Tina's idea. However, Tian Dao appeared troubled as he looked at the temple's door, "That's true, but how do we open this door? After all, one of us has to stay behind to look after Li Ming and the others. For the remaining two to open such a sturdy and tall door seems quite troublesome."

As Tian Dao pointed out, the temple door was about three meters high, sheathed in iron with no rings or handles on the outside. It seemed likely that it was meant to be opened from the inside, making the task of opening it from the outside no easy feat.

Akira Akashi furrowed his brows and said, "Tian Dao is right. This temple door is not easy to open, especially without a proper leverage point."

"Sigh, it doesn't matter. Isn't there a saying that practice is the sole criterion for testing truth? No matter what we think, we have to try to know whether it works or not. So, Tian Dao, you come with me to give it a try, and Akira Akashi, you take care of Nan Xiaoniao and the others."

As Tina spoke, she began to roll up her sleeves... Ah, it was then she remembered that due to the time setting of this scenario, her spring attire had been swapped for summer wear. To avoid breaking character, Tina could only make do with an awkward rub of her arm, which resulted in a somewhat embarrassing moment.

"Damn, I thought I could declare Tina as out of character, but you managed to awkwardly smooth it over," KP Cao said somewhat disinterestedly. "However, now Tina, Akira Akashi, and Tian Dao, the three players, may proceed to inspect the temple's main gate."

Tina, inspection, 82/55, failed.

Akira Akashi, inspection, 6/70, successful.

Tian Dao, inspection, 54/60, successful.

"So, Akira Akashi and Tian Dao have discovered that a few of the Elder Sign glyphs on the temple's door differ in style from the rest. Therefore, you can now have an inspiration," KP Cao continued.

Akira Akashi, inspiration, 2/75, great success.

Tian Dao, inspiration, 1/75, great success.

"Damn it, these Europeans, how could they both achieve a great success? Then the trap I prepared is useless," KP Cao complained, somewhat speechless. "So Tian Dao and Akira Akashi simultaneously feel that tearing off a certain Elder Sign glyph might work wonders. You both should have seen by now which one it is."

Akira Akashi and Tian Dao nodded, then Tian Dao stepped forward, peeled off an Elder Sign glyph, and the temple's main doors silently swung open!

Tina, having contributed nothing to this effort, and relying on her rapport with KP Cao, cheerfully said to him, "Cao, what kind of trap did you design? Tell your sister here so I can have a good laugh."

KP Cao sighed resignedly and said, "I'm quite a bit older than you, Tina, so you should be calling me 'Brother Cao.' And besides, it's not a trap I designed—it's how the scenario is arranged. If your inspiration checks pass, you'll uncover one of the three Elder Sign glyphs which could open the temple's door. However, only one glyph has that effect; if you peel off the others, they will seal one skill of the player who chose it until the end of this scenario. If a player achieves a great success, one incorrect option will be canceled. But I didn't expect two great successes to come up, leading you directly to the right answer."

Akira Akashi and Tian Dao shared a smile, as the saying goes, those who smile are often the luckiest.

"Wow, Tian Dao, how did you know that peeling off this Elder Sign glyph would open the temple door? That's pretty amazing," Tina exaggeratedly "played" her role.

Tian Dao rubbed his head, chuckling, "Maybe it's just a man's sixth sense."