Master, I'm Coming Out

"The Curse of the Ancient Castle..."

"It has finally come."

In the office.

Roger took a deep breath.

It's been almost five years since I came into this world.

He had once thought that this clue would never be triggered.

Who knew it would arrive right on the date the lockdown was supposed to be lifted! What's even more troublesome is...

I wonder if it's because his combat power has skyrocketed.

The difficulty of the clues has also increased significantly.

When creating a new character, this storyline still has room for rejection; the character can burn the envelope and then find a place to calm down.

But now this clue comes with a curse.

He has lost the power to escape or delay.

This left Roger somewhat helpless.

With a ripping sound.

The envelope was torn open.

On the mahogany table illuminated by a gas lamp.

A letter with neat handwriting and a deep, powerful stroke came into Roger's view.

This is a suicide note from his former best friend.

The man's name was Sven.

He served as a historian and advisor in the original team that explored the castle.

In Roger's memory.

In the unexpected accident deep within the castle.

He had saved Sven's life.

But since then...

He never received any more messages from Sven.

I never imagined that we would part ways for so many years.

The next message I received was in the form of a suicide note.

This made Roger feel a deep sense of emotion.

"What a standard tabletop RPG start!"

Thinking this way.

He began to read the contents of the letter.

Dear Roger:

When you see this letter.

I must be dead by now.

My flesh and blood will become the devil's meal.

My blood will become the spittle between the teeth of evil beings.

Looking back on these years.

That was a terrible nightmare!

I wrote to you for help.

But you never replied to me.

I know you are still alive.

I know you're trying to protect yourself by using the power of the Rain God Church.

I can understand everything you do.

Because that's what I've been doing myself all these years.

But I must warn you—

All of this is in vain!

Ever since we embarked on that adventure that should never have happened.

Fate was already predetermined.

The Undead Anomaly in the castle will not let us go.

Over the past few years.

I have heard his whispers countless times in my dreams.

He was also terrified by his grotesque appearance more than once.

This torment lasted for far too long.

I am exhausted, both physically and mentally, and powerless to resist.

not to mention.

His henchmen are now fully awakened.

They gathered us together and, using curses as leverage and power as bait, put us through a so-called game.

The rules of that game were cruel and inhumane.

Only the winners will survive.

I don't know how to describe what I've been going through these past few days.

I have committed too many sins.

But it also allowed me to glimpse immortality.

But that kind of immortality is not what I want at all!

(This line has messy handwriting and has been heavily crossed out)...

When I was writing this letter.

I have advanced to the next round.

This is also the final round of the game.

Tomorrow I will compete with another survivor for the final spot.

But I think this is just going through the motions.

Because I had long suspected that the other so-called survivor was a minion of that Undead Anomaly! The script was already set in stone.

He was just playing with me.

They simply derive that perverse pleasure from it.

But I have no choice but to give it my all.

For my wife, daughter and newborn son.

I have no choice but to Desperate Struggle.

If I die.

Then it's your turn.

That's all for now.

My mood suddenly calmed down a lot.

Perhaps this is our destiny.

Because of greed and ignorance, he ultimately met a violent end.

You saved my life, and I really can't bear to see you go down the same path as me, but what can I do?

I can only offer you some suggestions:...

First, the stack owners are clearly unreliable.

I once spent a huge sum of money to join the Furnace Sect.

He was eventually kicked out.

During the 'game'.

I heard that the Undead Anomaly has a terrible agreement with the Five Plank Road Masters.

They will not interfere in the evil deeds here.

Such is the Furnace Sect.

The Frost Sect probably won't support you either.

You need to be mentally prepared.

Secondly, it wasn't just our expedition team that was recruited to play the game.

There are others: psychics.

An ordinary person.

Military personnel.

tramp.

In short, there are all kinds of people.

There may be some pitiful people among them.

But most of them are evil people with ulterior motives.

You need to be careful.

Special.

The Undead Anomaly's minions may be hidden among the game's participants—

This is an old trick that evil gods often use.

Third, do you remember why we went to Weilun Castle in the first place? It was because of that damned Book of Ascension! We had to find it.

It might be helpful to you.

in addition.

The word "Willon" is very rare in the aristocratic lineages near Far Gaze Town.

I suspect it's a misrepresentation of the name.

It likely corresponds to an Ancient One was active in prehistoric times.

Otherwise, it's hard to believe that the five stack owners would sit idly by.

Especially the Frost Lord Mong.

Given his temperament.

To be able to commit such evil deeds on his own turf.

That Ancient One must be incredibly powerful.

It might even be related to the broken Sixth Stack Road!

Finally, trust no one except for Butler Motto! Not even...

You probably shouldn't believe me! Because right now my pen is trembling.

My consciousness is becoming blurred.

I don't know if what I wrote was my true feeling or misleading words influenced by evil.

I can't see clearly anymore...

The handwriting on the suicide note was neat and legible.

Only the last few paragraphs appear messy in style.

The letter ended with an ellipsis followed by some words, the gist of which was that if Roger survived, Sven hoped Roger could help take care of his wife and children.

But these words were all lightly crossed out.

He probably thought it was unlikely.

After watching it.

Roger's expression remained calm.

He was internally screaming, "This is already an enemy at the level of the Five Plank Road Masters?"

"Sealing, Anomaly Value, and powerful enemies—are you trying to make the game unplayable?!"

"What kind of ridiculous game can't it be postponed for two months?!"

Criticism is one thing.

We still have to face reality.

Now it seems...

Higher quality traits have better attributes.

However, the clues provided often conceal enormous dangers.

The 1 point of combat power provided by "The Curse of the Ancient Castle" and other items greatly helped Roger smoothly get through the early stages.

But once the middle of the game is over, they can't help but start causing trouble.

This made Roger deeply realize what "malice from the world" meant.

Too.

In the past, whether in Mystra or Qionan, he was a genuine top student blessed by the Planet Will.

Now they have changed their identity to 'illegal immigrants'.

The experience is naturally different.

It's normal to experience setbacks! He quickly adjusted his mindset.

Along with the suicide note, an invitation was also sent.

The invitation contained only a few words.

Time: Evening of September 30th

Location: 300 kilometers northeast of Far Gaze Town, Weilun Castle, Lakeside Village

Let's play a game for adults.

"Inviter: Butler Motto"

"September 30th? That means we only have less than a week to prepare."

Roger gently closed the invitation.

Gazing at the dark green claw that had appeared on the back of his hand, he fell into deep thought.

After "The Curse of the Ancient Castle" is triggered.

The data is displayed in the data column.

The new map "Lakeside Village" is now active and can be explored at any time.

It is worth mentioning.

In the relevant notes.

Like the Lost Ancient Castle, Lakeside Village is listed as "Explorable/Requires a large amount of money".

This gave Roger room for imagination.

"The invitation didn't say that I had to travel alone."

"Wouldn't that mean we could recruit some scapegoats... cough cough, no, I mean companions to go with us?"

In the present world.

Roger certainly didn't want to involve others.

But he remembered very clearly that this was Historical World, and the historical figures were incredibly lifelike.

Those were just historical figures.

Their existence was meaningless to Roger.

This thought came to mind.

Roger quickly came up with several feasible plans.

Next.

It's time for preparations.

Three days later.

The Spirit World Treasure Land, the Rust Sword Forest.

"Ah..."

After a long, muffled wail.

The Headless Knight's body dissipated helplessly into the air.

All that remained was an ordinary, rusty sword.

The instigator slowly put away the large cleaver.

He stared blankly at the data panel.

"You have killed 1 Rust Sword Ghost, bringing your total number of Rust Sword Ghost killed to 301."

"Historical Panel: Your Blade School aptitude has been upgraded to three stars (You can now directly learn Blade School Grimoire of three stars or higher!)"

"Present World Panel: Your Blade Speed has been slightly increased (700 points)"

Progress bar: 60%

"Has it reached its limit?"

In the lush, verdant woodland.

Roger frowned slightly.

Although he had expected it, he still felt a little disappointed when his guess came true.

now.

He has confirmed that this will happen before the upgrade.

This body's maximum attributes are all around 700 points! This includes everything from rate of fire and attack speed to nerve reaction speed, as well as other attributes such as kidney and liver metabolism.

Its limit is 700 points.

In the past.

Once the Sin Mark are maxed out, that's basically 700 points.

But this time was different.

The progress bar isn't full yet.

However, the attributes have already reached their limit.

This indicates that there is still room for growth in attributes, but Roger's un-upgraded body is limiting this! "There may be more and more similar incidents in the future."

Roger realized it.

Upgrading is now an urgent matter!

Although the progress bar did not reach its full size.

However, Blade Speed of 700 points is still a commendable achievement.

Roger tested it.

That's roughly equivalent to 16 cuts per second.

Without being upgraded.

This is already terrifying.

Combining the various supernatural abilities of the Red Moon and the Formless Sword.

Roger's fighting power has now expanded to an unbelievable level.

Therefore, in practical terms...

Whether or not it is upgraded is actually not that important.

His refined character only affected his subsequent self-improvement.

in other words.

On the road to invincibility.

Roger's enemy is gradually becoming himself.

For him.

This is actually good news.

In addition to the Blade Speed provided by the "Rust Sword Ghost".

As early as last month.

Roger had already filled the "Wilds of Chaos" with Mount Meru Hound —the weakness of spirit world monsters was their rarity; it took him five years to fill the 26th Sin Mark, most of them being on their way to hunt prey.

Anyway.

The attributes granted by the fully-developed Mount Meru Hound are quite substantial.

The boost from a 100% increase in the designated storage space is quite substantial!

The original capacity of a single compartment in the Tinder Pouch was equivalent to that of a suitcase.

And now.

That's equivalent to putting two suitcases together.

It can hold not only a larger total amount of things.

It can also provide a place for props with large individual sizes.

Nowadays.

Roger had unknowingly accumulated 12,064 Tinder Pouch.

Even someone as stingy as him.

Looking at those 48,256 squares around her waist, it's hard not to feel a pang of pity for Cindy.

"How about we give it a raise?"

"Huh?"

While thinking this way.

Roger suddenly discovered something astonishing!

He saw Cindy in the Tinder Pouch on the Present World Panel!

The absurd part is—

Roger noticed that the Tinder Pouch itself and other items were in a gray, sealed state.

Only Cindy's was lit up! Roger immediately tried to sink his consciousness into the Tinder Pouch.

He quickly found Cindy and asked:

"What are you doing here?"

Cindy was startled.

It grabbed the rag in its hand, wiped away its sweat, and said blankly, "Cleaning, cleaning..."

Roger pondered for a moment and said, "No..."

How did you get in?

He was extremely puzzled.

This is Historical World preserved in the Legacy of Time!

Everything except Roger was sealed away.

He guessed it was similar to the effect of time freezing.

But here's the problem.

Why is Cindy still able to work in the Tinder Pouch all by herself?

However, Cindy herself looked completely bewildered.

"I... I..."

"I didn't go anywhere!"

"I realized I couldn't go back to the Xia Yin Realm, so I just kept working and working..."

Regarding Cindy's explanation.

Roger remained skeptical.

This guy's presence is so weak!

Five years have passed since the beginning of the year.

Roger only discovered its existence now! Roger even suspected it had stolen his "Hidden in Plain Sight" technique!...

The two sides argued for a while inside the Tinder Pouch.

Since we can't reach a conclusion through discussion.

Roger then decided to put it into practice. "Can you leave the Tinder Pouch and enter the Historical World I inhabit?"

Cindy said timidly, "I think... I think it's okay."

"But I don't know what I'll become..."

Roger asked curiously, "What does it look like?"

"Do you have other forms?"

Cindy just scratched her head awkwardly.

"Come out and give it a try."

Roger said.

It hesitated and struggled for a moment before whispering, "Master, I'm coming out now."

"Hurry up."

Roger urged.

His consciousness then returned to the spirit world.

To avoid any unforeseen circumstances.

He returned from the spirit world to Far Gaze Town.

The next second.

A flash of white light appeared at his waist.

Cindy is here!

Roger instinctively grabbed at it.

Instead, she grabbed something slippery.

"A meticulously crafted soap (a historical projection of Cindy)"

Description: Can be used to take a bath. After bathing, your appearance increases by 1.

"???"

Roger was taken aback. "Could this be your true form in the Celestial Realm?"

As he was speaking, his hand slipped.

The soap accidentally fell to the ground.

Cindy exclaimed "Ouch!"

Roger was completely bewildered.

Cindy quickly said, "No, Master!"

"I have two more chances to choose!"

"Wait a minute!"

With a pop! The soap exploded on the spot.

After the smoke cleared.

A pink, long-spouted watering can appeared on the floor.

"An exquisite long-spouted watering can"

Description: This watering can can be used to water flowers. Flowers watered with this watering can grow particularly vibrant and can usually fetch a good price.

"Um..."

Roger looked meaningfully at the watering can on the ground, without saying anything more.

Cindy was silent for a moment, then a grinding sound came from the watering can:

"The last time."

After a mild explosion.

What reappeared before Roger was a revolver emitting a soft, white glow!...

"A revolver with unlimited ammo"

"Description: Can fire light bullets that deal double damage to evil creatures."

Wow!

Roger excitedly stepped forward, picked up the gun, and examined it closely in his hand.

After a while.

He suddenly laughed and said:

"None of these are your original form in the Historical World, right?"

The revolver trembled slightly.

The gun barrel bent completely...

"I still can't hide it from you, Master!"

Cindy's voice sounded somewhat dejected, "I wouldn't dare deceive my master, but please be a little careful and don't break me..."

As he spoke.

The revolver changed again.

Its shape has returned to the original form of soap.

But their attributes are completely different!

"Psychic Soap (Legendary Item)"

"Description: With enough inspiration, the Psychic Soap can transform into any emergency item at will, lasting up to 5 minutes."

"Warning: Revealing legendary items will attract the covetous eyes of psychics below the level of Stack Master. Please use with caution."

"My Cindy is amazing!"

After reviewing the attributes.

Roger's spirits immediately lifted! Is this the legendary all-purpose soap?

It can be transformed into any emergency item, and there's no limit to the number of uses! No wonder it's a legendary item! But then he thought about it again.

Cindy is just too outrageous!

In the Real World, I can only be a porter.

The Two-Dimensional World can be a universal card.

The Historical World has been turned into a multi-purpose soap! "Could it be that I've been using it incorrectly?"

"It's actually better suited for a better position?"

Roger is still reflecting on his actions.

From his hand came Cindy's trembling voice. "Master..."

"Please be careful with how you use it!"

"I don't have much inspiration."

Roger nodded understandingly. "Don't worry."

"I know that inspiration is the hardest thing to cultivate in this world."

"I've worked hard for five years, and I've only managed to accumulate 3 stars!"

"Oh, right."

"How much inspiration do you actually have?"

Cindy thought for a moment, "3 stars... a little more than 3 stars, I guess?"

This familiar rhetoric...

Roger immediately sensed something was wrong!

Based on his experience.

It's a little over 3 stars, it might even be 5 stars!

"How much exactly?"

"Tell me the truth!"

"Otherwise, you'll have to work overtime!"

Roger asked seriously.

"I confess, I confess!"

Cindy stammered:

"It's about 7 stars."

Roger:

"..."

"I'm hungry. Conjure up a sandwich for me. Don't worry, I'll just look, I won't eat a single bite!"

After the interlude.

It was still a tedious but important preparation period.

With Cindy joining the team.

Roger felt that this trip to Lakeside Village was like adding wings to a tiger! Yes.

He is that 'wing'.

In summary...

Roger's current combat power has just broken through to the 4-star level, and he is protected by abilities such as Blade Speed, Desperate Struggle, and Self-Immolation, so his strength should not be underestimated.

The only drawback was that, in order to stay on the low-level platform and farm monsters, he delayed performing the second Spirit Ascension Ritual.

Therefore, his level of Psychic Art seems not high enough.

However, all of this can be remedied.

After purchasing large quantities of Spirit Medium, weapons, equipment, and materials.

Roger then specifically asked Madam O'Glan for "exploration funds" and a carriage for long-distance travel.

Madam O'Glan was initially unwilling.

But after Roger mentioned that the destination was "Lakeside Village".

She immediately changed her attitude.

She immediately gave Roger everything he wanted.

But her usual enthusiasm was completely gone.

Considering that Madam O'Glan held a high position in the Rain God Church.

Roger had a clear idea of what to do about this trip.

Apart from Madam O'Glan.

Roger's plan to recruit thugs also failed.

People shake their heads when they hear the name Lakeside Village.

Only one clueless newbie expressed his willingness to protect Roger.

That newbie's combat power was only 1 star.

Roger, of course, wouldn't want it.

final.

He had no choice but to go it alone.

"It seems Sven's letter was not lying; at least the Blade Master and Frost Master are unreliable."

"I still have to rely on myself—no, this time I have to rely on Brother Cindy!"

"I want to see just what kind of den of dragons and tigers this so-called Weilun Castle is!"

With that thought in mind.

Roger slowly left Far Gaze Town in a luxurious carriage.

It was dawn.

The thin mist gradually dissipated.

The carriage traveled eastward along the gravel road.

The autumn atmosphere in the deep mountains is palpable.

The fallen leaves flew quickly backward.

It vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Only the silent mountains and the setting sun remained.

A day and a half later.

Noon.

The carriage arrived at the roadside, less than 3 kilometers from Lakeside Village.

We've arrived here.

The Carriage Driver refused to go any further.

Roger didn't press the issue.

He got off the car, carrying large and small bags of luggage, and walked to the Lakeside Village.

Halfway there.

He then bumped into a young man resting by the roadside.

The young man looked frail and was sitting by the roadside, panting and sweating profusely.

He wore black-rimmed glasses and had a natural scholarly air about him.

Roger recognized him the moment he saw him!

It was the Spring Cult follower he had saved before!

The other person clearly recognized him too! "It's you!"

"I haven't had a chance to thank you for your help yet. Do you remember the Rust Sword Forest in the Spirit Realm last time?"

The young man stood up excitedly:

"My name is Blue Will!"

"Are you also here to search for the legacy and treasures left behind by the ' Ancient One Vilan '?"

Roger was about to reply.

He was immediately taken aback, and blurted out, "Ancient One? Vilan?"

"Yes!"

Blue Will said quite naturally, "Don't you know Mr. Vilan?"

"He was the strongest expert who came closest to the Five Plank Road Masters at the end of the Second Era!"

"Some say he has opened up part of the Sixth Stack Road and has become someone who can stand on equal footing with the five plank road masters."

"However, most people believe that he has already passed away."

"Before he died, he left his life's work at Weilun Castle. Well, Velen is another translation of Vilan!"

"Otherwise, it wouldn't be so lively here, would it? Everyone knows that Lakeside Village isn't exactly a suitable place for travel and vacation!"