Underworld Player

Ever since he figured out the true nature of the quest, there was something Bai Zhi had been puzzling over.

As he had deduced, a reload happened whenever the number of people in the team dropped below a certain threshold. This, he estimated, was "half the initial number of Players". Since there were seven of them, that meant a reload should be triggered when four Players died.

But if so, considering that the difficulty of this quest should have been at its easiest during the first attempt, how did that take out four of them?

He expected Douchey,SoWhat had been the first to die, followed by Daoloth, simply because she didn't particularly stand out, but none of the other three Players not in his squad seemed likely to be so easily defeated.

He assumed that the Player groupings had not changed from the first reload to the second.

Thus, considering Temperance Gentleheart's exceptional luck—despite her foolish naivety—as well as the powerful defensive skill she possessed, the two of them should have easily survived the whole first attempt.

Traveler didn't lack for levels or intelligence, so he didn't seem like someone who would die during their first attempt. Iron Blood, with his apparent military background, and Viridescent, with her sword-wielding prowess, were hardly pushovers, either. If they survived the second reload, there was no logical reason why any of them should have fallen during the first attempt.

Bai Zhi's initial guess had been that the first reload was a result of sabotage by the hidden Fallen among the seven, but now, he had a vague idea of the true reason behind it.

Meanwhile, dark clouds had swallowed up the sun, and the orphanage, which had once been positively bathed in light by comparison, took on the air of a strange, gloomy forest. At the same time, an inexplicable chill settled in around the Players.

To put it another way, the orphanage had been in a stupor while touched by sunlight, but now, it had... awoken.

The overlapping cries of children could be heard coming from the ceiling.

It heralded more bizarre changes, as the corridor which had been silent as the grave before, now rang with the pitter-patter of running feet, and above it, a smacking sound reminiscent of a basketball being dribbled. The distinctive noise seemed to get louder and closer as whoever was doing it ran past the door to the Players' room.

Bai Zhi frowned wordlessly, his attention drawn to the fresh blood seeping into the room from under the door.

Suppose the thing that had run past the door had not been dribbling a basketball, but something else ball-shaped, one that leaked blood with each smack on the floor... whatever could it be?

Just then, the sound of a stifled gasp came from the direction of the bed. Bai Zhi turned to find Temperance Gentleheart with one hand clapped over her mouth, frantically pointing at the window.

A bloody handprint had appeared on the outside of the tightly-shut window facing the desk. As they watched in horror, another bloody handprint slowly appeared, as if there was an invisible creature scaling the building.

"Eek!"

Almost immediately, Viridescent, who had been lying down on the bed, was galvanized into action. She twisted herself off the bed, then in one fluid motion, grabbed Temperance Gentleheart and rolled under the bed with her. Ensuring their safety for the moment was undoubtedly the correct course of action.

Traveler also reacted quickly upon realizing the strange activity outside the window, by hunkering down and hiding beneath the desk. As for Bai Zhi, he had long since dissolved into the shadows with his skill, Shadow Sneak.

That was how, despite the very unusual angle from which he now looked at the window, Bai Zhi was the only one who clearly saw the thing crawling over it.

Its entire form gradually came into view as the lithe frame continued to move.

...Just how should one describe it?

It was ugly and misshapen, like a nightmare invented by a madman. Firstly, it had no skin, and bloody, bare flesh was exposed on every inch of its body. A proliferation of warts and other fleshy growths mushroomed out from amongst the muscle.

The creature stopped, and the fleshy bumps that pressed up against the window popped from the weight of its body, leaking unsightly yellow pus that oozed downward. Then, in the exact middle of said body, a large eye opened up, darting all over as it scanned the room.

After about ten seconds of this, the eye shut again and the creature seemed to fade into the air a little, before slowly crawling away. During that time, each of the Players was struck by a deep-seated terror in their hearts.

It felt like they were being bathed in pure malice—thick, viscous malice that dripped like saliva... like they were naked and trapped in the center of a circling pack of hungry wild beasts!

It wasn't until Bai Zhi rushed to draw the curtains that Traveler and the rest of them finally crawled out of their hiding places with relief.

Viridescent let out an empathic sigh. "What... what was that thing crawling on the window?" she asked Bai Zhi as she tended to her wounds, which had reopened with the sudden movements she'd had to make.

"No idea. Anyone?"

Bai Zhi simply shrugged and brought out his knife, Bane, which he tossed to Viridescent.

"Use this. I predict that this orphanage will get a lot more dangerous until the sun comes out again."

Nonplussed, Viridescent stared at the knife, which looked more suited for paring fruits than deterring brutes. In the end, she still reached for it and gripped it tightly.

That was the moment Bai Zhi had been waiting for. In his usual languid way, he said, "Oh, by the way, rental fee is 10 Coins. You're good for it, right?"

Viridescent gritted her teeth in silence.

There was no time to relax, however, since something strange was about to happen again.

Outside the door to the Players' room, the sound of a dribbled basketball, or something like it, started up again, prompting everyone inside to hold their breath in dread, their eyes glued to the door.