Rose Heart

In the Eerie Game player plaza, the Ruins of Sunset, a black tower shot straight into the sky.

A massive golden tree grew before the tower, and beneath it, several stone steles of varying sizes were inscribed with dense text that shifted on its own as time passed.

The ranking on the largest stele was fixed, with the name "Fu Jue" perched prominently at the very top, drawing all eyes.

Slightly smaller than this one were a series of steles engraved with titles like "Guild Power Rankings" and "Newcomer Rankings," the bottom few entries of which were changing rapidly.

Suddenly, the tree's leaves stirred without a breeze, and several lines of text appeared in the center of a stele resembling a bulletin board, accompanied by a system broadcast:

[Rose Manor (Novice) Instance True End - "Cage of Obsession" has been recorded]

[MVP Player: **(This player has not set a display nickname)]

Every player resting in the plaza heard the broadcast, and a wave of discussion broke out instantly.

"What's going on? Is a novice instance even worth a special broadcast?"

"I remember that instance being quite unique; its difficulty is higher than many official-pool instances. It's been there for ten years, and only today has someone finally cleared the TE."

"Looks like this guy isn't simple. To be this fierce during the novice period, he might even make it to the top rankings in the future."

"Hard to say. Who knows if he'll survive his third instance. I'm more curious about how to trigger the TE ending for Rose Manor."

"Too bad the novice pool has neither live streams nor recordings. We can only check the forums later to see if anyone posts a guide."

The players only discussed it for a moment before scattering; a TE clear of a novice instance was, in the grand scheme of the entire game, a trivial matter.

After all, everyone appearing in the Ruins of Sunset was an official player; unless they spent points to specify an instance, they would never have anything to do with the novice pool again for the rest of their lives.

[Rose Manor evaluation grade S, reward 1000 points]

[Rose Manor True End line cleared, reward 1000 points]

[Worldview decryption 100%, reward 1000 points]

After the three-minute countdown ended, nothing but pitch-black darkness remained around Qi Si.

A full-length mirror stood before him, emitting a faint, azure glow.

The mirror reflected his image: white shirt, black trousers, light brows, dark eyes, thin lips, and a face as pale as a ghost.

The image flashed and sank into a dark vortex, replaced by the instance settlement prompts.

[Unlocked achievement "Mainstay" (made the greatest contribution to the clear in a team instance), reward 500 points]

[Unlocked achievement "Antinomy" (violated and utilized two rules simultaneously to complete the instance), reward 500 points]

[Unlocked achievement "Hate-Magnet" (became the primary target of a major NPC's hatred), reward 500 points]

[Total reward: 4500 points]

Qi Si took in all the text and values presented by the full-length mirror.

He didn't yet know how many points were required to "grant a wish," nor did he have a clear concept of the 4,500 points rewarded, but the characters "S," "True End," and "100%" satisfied his perfectionist tendencies quite well.

Looking at the shimmering silver text of the "Hate-Magnet" achievement, he touched his chin with an innocent expression: "To be hated just like that? How petty..."

The system prompts before him continued to refresh.

[Congratulations on perfectly clearing the Rose Manor instance, you have obtained the reward item: Rose Heart]

A thumb-sized crystal pendant hovered before him, carved into the shape of a rose on one side and a heart on the other; at a glance, it looked like a drop of blood falling into clear water.

Qi Si raised his hand to grasp it; the cool, smooth texture felt quite comfortable.

[Name: Rose Heart]

[Type: Item]

[Effect: After wearing it, you will find it easier to gain the favor and trust of other beings]

[Note: The rose symbolizing beauty and the heart appearing sincere are fused into one; beings of the past always find it hard not to indulge in gentle lies]

The detailed information about the item was revealed to Qi Si the moment he touched it.

He put the blood-red crystal pendant around his neck and curved his eyes: "It seems the rewards for decrypting the worldview and achieving a perfect clear are truly substantial."

The effect of [Rose Heart] could be said to be highly compatible with him; he was already adept at gaining the favor and trust of others through deception and performance, and the item's amplification might allow him to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

However, the phrasing "easier" was ambiguous, and the specific effects would still need to be tested in an instance.

[Your item "Pocket Watch of Fate" has been baptized by the instance, and its effects have changed]

The latest line of text appeared, and Qi Si's eyes lit up.

As the relic of Chang Xu, the Pocket Watch of Fate had been tucked into his shirt pocket and brought out with him.

He had originally worried that without a legal transfer process, the Eerie Game wouldn't acknowledge it; he hadn't expected the game to directly grant him ownership of the item.

In other words, from now on, as long as he could bring other players' items out of an instance, the ownership would belong to him?

Qi Si realized something, pulled the vintage-style pocket watch from his pocket, and read the prompt text appearing on it.

[Name: Pocket Watch of Fate (Damaged)]

[Type: Item]

[Effect: Reverts objective time by one minute (limited to once per instance)]

[Note: Time marks fate, and fate toys with time.]

Even for Qi Si, seeing the effects of the Pocket Watch of Fate made his breath hitch for a moment.

Time reversal touched upon the level of causality; it was clearly the authority of a god.

Even if it were only for one minute and limited to once per instance, it was still an incredible ability.

--In a dilemma of choosing one of two, he could trial-and-error without cost, locking in the correct answer one hundred percent of the time.

--When death arrived, he could trace the river of time upstream, foresee the future, and regain his life.

--He could strike someone, test their trump cards, and then, when the situation became unmanageable, return to the beginning to chat and laugh with that person as if nothing had happened.

--He could even kill; he could harvest those interesting souls once just to try it, without worrying about waste or trouble.

It could be said that, aside from the points, this pocket watch was the most valuable thing Qi Si had obtained in this instance.

Points were what he had sought, but the Pocket Watch of Fate would allow him to gain even more points and amusement in future instances.

With this, the last trace of disappointment over the death of an interesting teammate suddenly dissipated.

Qi Si felt genuine gratitude toward Chang Xu. He raised a hand to cover his face, his shoulders trembling as if weeping in mourning. But beneath the cover of his palm was a brilliant, beaming smile: "Chang Xu, you died so... miserably. Every holiday, when I think of you, I'll be sure to light a stick of incense for you."

Perhaps even the Eerie Game could not bear to watch any longer, as a cold, electronic voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Qi Si's untimely high spirits:

[Detected that you have not yet recorded a wish. Please record your wish.]

Qi Si finally remembered his original intention for entering the Eerie Game.

He reined in the corners of his mouth, which had been threatening to reach his ears, and said with a smile: "A wish, then. Let's tentatively set it as curing my illness."

Shortly after his birthday on January 1st, Qi Si had suddenly fainted, his soul drifting out of his body, wandering in the air for a long time before returning to his flesh.

The doctor called it a terminal illness known as "Soul Weightlessness." As the condition worsened, the patient would one day be unable to wake up forever.

At the time, the doctor had looked at Qi Si with sympathetic eyes: "Your illness is an extremely rare case, with fewer than ten confirmed cases worldwide. You can spend your final days doing what you want, or doing something meaningful."

Qi Si asked: "For example?"

The doctor said: "You could cooperate with our treatment and research. If our research achieves a breakthrough with you, your name will be recorded in history."

Qi Si asked again: "Has anyone ever been cured?"

The doctor was very honest: "Of course not. Otherwise, why would it be called a 'terminal illness'?"

Qi Si rejected the doctor's request for him to sign an organ donation form. Compared to leaving his name in medical history, he preferred his name to appear on the criminal list of a major heinous event.

He logically began to look for a cure, while simultaneously resolving to cherish the last few days of his life—toying with people, making a few more specimens, or finding some other form of amusement...

[Calculating the points required to fulfill your wish.]

A number appeared in the center of the system interface, changing rapidly before stopping after a long moment, yielding a result.

[Calculation result: 1,000,000 points.]

Qi Si counted the zeros and narrowed his eyes slightly.

One million points. Using the Rose Manor instance as a reference, he would need to clear over two hundred instances to save up enough.

No wonder the Eerie Game hadn't allowed him to gather more information before making a decision before he signed the contract.

Was it afraid that he would refuse to cooperate after weighing the risk-to-reward ratio?

Qi Si shook his head to himself and walked around the full-length mirror in the black space once more, but could not figure out any other functions.

He remembered something and asked: "Can I spend points to strengthen my combat power?"

The Eerie Game slowly typed out a line: [You may spend 1,000 points to change your wish to "Increase Combat Power," at which point the game will recommend practical weapon-type items for you.]

Qi Si asked: "Must I change the wish? Can't I set multiple wishes?"

The Eerie Game: [No.]

"Then never mind."

Changing the wish was out of the question. Although Qi Si had a significant obsession with combat power, he could not commit the logical fallacy of treating the means as the end.

He savored the meaning of the prompt text for a moment and raised an eyebrow: "In other words, you cannot directly improve the combat power of my physical body; I can only arm myself through items, is that it?"

[Yes. The data for human souls and bodies is written by The Rules of the world; this game has no authority to change it.]

Qi Si asked: "What are The Rules of the world? And what is this talk about writing data?"

[This game is produced by The Rules of the world, and the final right of interpretation belongs to The Rules of the world. Other information has been locked for you; you have no right to know.]

"..."

Qi Si crouched down in the darkness, lost in thought.

The scenes of Chang Xu crushing skulls and flattening dolls were still fresh in his mind, and that phrase "born with it" was something he could not forget.

Could it be... that guy wasn't lying, and the ability to deal with the eerie was truly innate?

Qi Si tapped his chin with his finger, feeling a sense of regret.

If he had known earlier that Chang Xu was such a special existence, he should have dug him out of the ruins of the ancient castle and found a way to trick him into his studio in reality, just to dissect him and see how he was constructed...

"May I ask what the situation is regarding Chang Xu's ability to deal with the Eerie Game?" Qi Si asked the Eerie Game tentatively.

The system interface popped up a line of cold text at the opportune moment: [You may spend 1000 points to change your wish to "Learn of Chang Xu's background."]

...It seemed there was no room for negotiation.

Qi Si let out a listless yawn, reined in his ill-timed curiosity, and muttered languidly, "Exit game."

[Safely exiting the game for you. We wish you a pleasant life.]