A Fine Line

Entertainment Area.

"Take a fruit platter with you, and I'll go get a few bottles of wine."

Heavenless Heretic reached out and rubbed his temples vigorously before answering.

"Because of that video from noon today, I'm starving..."

"Let's not talk about that. That guy's just pure weird taste... Does he really think everyone has the same twisted tastes as him?"

Rolling her eyes, PrayerUnderDreams took a plate from the Cabinet and casually started putting fruit on it.

"If it weren't for the fact that I probably couldn't beat him, I would have run off and punched him already..."

"... To be honest, I also really wanted to punch him."

Shrugging, Heavenless Heretic turned and walked towards the Bar.

"I'm going to get the wine. Come back to me after you've finished things here..."

The voice of Heavenless Heretic suddenly stopped there.

"Huh? What...!?"

When PrayerUnderDreams turned her head slightly, somewhat puzzled, she witnessed an extremely horrifying scene.

Standing at the entrance of the Ingredient Area, Heavenless Heretic seemed to be affected by some kind of Strength. Her body suddenly turned into flowing black liquid, and she collapsed rapidly like collapsing Plasticine, then completely merged into the Shadow beside her.

After that, the Shadow darted towards his feet like lightning.

"!!!"

Ignoring the fruit platter she was filling, PrayerUnderDreams's expression changed drastically upon witnessing the other party's mysterious disappearance. She quickly formed her right hand into a knife shape with her fingers and then slashed it fiercely in front of her.

"Frontline!!"

[Skill Name: First Line]

[Type: Active Skill]

[Level: Rare]

[Special Effect ①: Barrier. With fingers forming a blade, draw a line in front of you; nothing that is not permitted by you can cross this line.]

[Special Effect ②: Slash. Using fingers as a blade, slash forward, dealing damage to enemy creatures.]

[Consumption:: 50-??? Spiritual Energy / 25-??? Spiritual Energy]

[Learning Requirements: Perception ≥ 15 / None]

[Note:: The duration of the attack and the damage Slash depend on the amount of Spiritual Energy consumed.]

As PrayerUnderDreams, a wall of light rose out of thin air on the ground in front of him, and the rapidly moving Shadow crashed straight into the wall of light.

After several more attempts, it seemed to realize that it had no way to break through the light wall. The Shadow quickly ran out of the door and disappeared without a trace.

"What the hell is that Eerie Thing... and who exactly is Heavenless Heretic...?"

Taking a slight breath, PrayerUnderDreams showed surprise and uncertainty.

At that moment, the door leading to the Entertainment Area opened, and Bai Zhi and his two companions finally arrived.

Five minutes later, in the central Circular Hall.

"... You found Heavenless Heretic's corpse near the Store?"

After listening to Bai Zhi's calm explanation, PrayerUnderDreams incredulously.

"How is that possible? He was talking to me just a few minutes ago, and he seemed perfectly normal to me. How could he be someone who's already dead?"

"And what about others?"

Zither-Drum Harmony's expression was rather unpleasant.

"Whether we like it or not, this is the truth. Seeing is believing. We found his body here, and your Heavenless Heretic just happened to disappear. Is there any coincidence more striking than this?"

"... He melted before my eyes."

After a moment of silence, PrayerUnderDreams began to speak in a low voice.

"It scurried into the darkness like melted black Plasticine and then attacked me... before you arrived."

"Based on your description, it seems he has become one of the Anomaly of this Apartment."

Bai Zhi nodded.

"Based on the previous clues, the incident happened that night when he was heading to the Supermarket. The following day, he mentioned that he seemed to have lost something very important... It was definitely his body; he left his body at the supermarket."

"But he's the highest -Level one among us. Even you were able to come back from there unscathed. How could he possibly die in a place like that? It just doesn't make sense."

PrayerUnderDreams frowned deeply.

"The other party's behavior before was completely normal, not at all like some kind of Anomaly. Furthermore, the Player Information panel they showed was all correct. Player Information panels are absolutely impossible to fake. How do you explain that?"

"Don't come to me with everything, because I don't know the answers either."

Shrugging, Bai Zhi casually spread his hands in front of him.

"If I gave you a jigsaw puzzle that was actually missing many pieces, could you put it together to form a complete puzzle? Impossible, don't even think about it. In fact, in some ways, I'm even more confused than you are right now..."

"Something unusual is bound to happen; there must be something wrong here."

PrayerUnderDreams pressed her forehead hard with her fingers.

"First of all, the Player Information panel is absolutely impossible to fake, but somehow..."

"That's just him, why would he need to pretend?"

Interrupting the other person, Bai Zhi asked a question in return.

"But he's already dead. How could someone who's dead still..."

"... Perhaps it's because he hadn't realized he was dead until then."

The Night Owl spoke in a low voice.

"From your description, when you and he left alone towards the Entertainment Area, he had quite a few opportunities to successfully ambush you. But because we found his body, we subtly disrupted some delicate balance, which is why..."

"Excessive speculation is pointless. The deceased is gone; what we need to focus on now is what matters..."

Bai Zhi reached up and pressed his forehead, then exhaled.

"Logically speaking, he shouldn't have died so easily, and so quietly... So I suspect he must have unintentionally violated some inviolable taboo, which led to his death."

"... Does the Base Attributes reach 15 points?"

After a moment of silence, PrayerUnderDreams asked.

"It's possible, it's possible, and who knows the specifics? I think only he himself knows the truth about such private matters..."

Bai Zhi shook his head almost imperceptibly.

"Let's go into his room and take a look."