Yang Qizhou agreed, but he had plenty of complaints about the text pack.
Could you stop being so snide, you bastard?
"You skillfully concealed your infatuation with the young girl's beauty and generously offered to help."
"Aliceina was grateful for your kindness and told you how to return to Fire-Stealing Village. It turned out the village was protected by the Ancient Fire-Stealing God. Without the guidance of a 'Fire Kindling,' you couldn't follow the right path into the village. Making a 'Fire Kindling' wasn't complicated. You only needed to gather 'Fire-Kindling Stone,' 'deadwood,' and 'Fire-Oil Cloth.'"
"You asked where you could find these materials."
"Aliceina said they weren't hard to find. 'Fire-Kindling Stone' could be found on Fire-Stealing Mountain, the site where the Ancient Fire-Stealing God was worshipped. Stones imbued with the Ancient Fire-Stealing God's aura could be used as Fire-Kindling Stone. 'Deadwood' could be found all over the forest; you just had to pick up a piece. Fire-Oil Cloth was trickier. It was only found in Fire-Stealing Village, but Aliceina said that when she was younger and mischievous, she'd stolen some 'Fire-Oil Cloth' from her father and hidden it in a cave three hundred meters from here."
"You were troubled and subtly pointed out the dangers lurking in the Wilderness, saying that wandering around would get you killed. You asked whether there was another way."
"Aliceina said there was no other way into the village."
"After a long hesitation, Aliceina took out a palm-sized piece of bone and said that the 'Remains of the Night Watcher' would keep you safe."
"You obtained the item 'Remains of the Night Watcher.'"
Fire-Stealing Village must have been the village beyond the gray-white mist.
Yang Qizhou had been ready to die again, so he hadn't expected the NPC who'd called for help to be good-aligned and give him a quest to enter the village.
Too bad it was a text-based game. He couldn't see just how beautiful Aliceina was.
Remains of the Night Watcher (Quest Item): It contained immense power, enough to make the uncanny things in the Wilderness tremble. It could not be brought back to reality.
"You took the 'Remains of the Night Watcher.' An uncontrollable greed welled up inside you, but to win the beautiful Aliceina's favor, you decided to be a good person for once."
"Before setting out, you recalled the terrifying experience from your previous fate, when you had been devoured in the night."
"You asked Aliceina why she seemed so afraid of nightfall."
"Aliceina looked at you strangely, as if she couldn't believe you didn't even know something so basic. Still, beautiful Aliceina answered your question."
"Night was the domain of Lord of the Dark Night, a great and exalted ancient deity. His people lived in the darkness, and any living thing that entered it became food for the children of Lord of the Dark Night. If you didn't enter Fire-Stealing Village and find protection before nightfall, you would be devoured by those children."
"You saw Aliceina trembling and hurried over to comfort her, promising that you would get her back to the village safely."
This text... Why did it sound so awkward?
Yang Qizhou frowned. He felt there was something off, but couldn't put his finger on it, so he set the thought aside and continued playing.
"You arrived at Fire-Stealing Mountain. You felt countless terrifying, malicious eyes watching you in the dusk, but the 'Remains of the Night Watcher' in your hand drove them away."
"You obtained Fire-Kindling Stone."
"You arrived at the woods. There was none of the shuddering sensation you'd felt on Fire-Stealing Mountain, but the place was still gloomy. Night was nearly upon you, and you hurried your movements."
"You obtained deadwood."
"You arrived at the cave where the Fire-Oil Cloth was hidden. Some terrifying creatures seemed to lurk inside, but they feared the 'Remains of the Night Watcher' in your hand and didn't attack."
"You obtained Fire-Oil Cloth."
"You returned to Aliceina. The beautiful girl from Fire-Stealing Village was grateful for your kindness. After giving you a fragrant kiss, she took back the 'Remains of the Night Watcher' and began making a Fire Kindling."
"You lost the 'Remains of the Night Watcher.'"
"You obtained a Fire Kindling..."
Fire Kindling (Common): A torch that lights the darkness. It contains a faint trace of the Ancient Fire-Stealing God's power, which can dispel illusions in the mist and guide you along the true path into Fire-Stealing Village.
With no deaths along the way, the whole quest had gone smoothly. Yang Qizhou, who was used to dying, felt strangely uncomfortable.
The text kept scrolling.
"You helped Aliceina to her feet and headed toward Fire-Stealing Village. Along the way, you felt the girl's heartbeat quicken."
"Just then, a twisted monster that had roamed this desolate land for a long time attacked you. At the critical moment, Aliceina stepped in front of you and was badly wounded. Weakly, she took out the 'Remains of the Night Watcher' and shouted for you to run, staying behind to hold off the twisted monster."
"You chose to run."
Guided by the Fire Kindling, you passed through the Ancient Fire-Stealing God's protection and arrived at Fire-Stealing Village, where you happened to run into a Night Watcher.
"You asked the Night Watcher for help and told him Aliceina was in danger. He looked shocked and said that there had indeed been a member of the Night Watcher squad named Porter, who had once been favored by the Ancient Fire-Stealing God and slain many twisted monsters. He had been a powerful god-blessed, but he had died three years ago."
"You suddenly felt your scalp prickle with dread. You had the vague sense that a terrifying monster had followed you to Fire-Stealing Village."
"Something horrible happened. The buildings in Fire-Stealing Village decayed and crumbled before your eyes. The Night Watcher in front of you looked terrified as he rapidly aged and died. You felt weak all over, your mind sluggish, your skin wrinkled, your vision blurred, and several of your teeth fell out."
"You faintly heard Aliceina's voice. She was thanking you for leading her here."
"You died."
My suspicion had been right. There really was something wrong with Aliceina.
Yang Qizhou hammered the sofa with his fist. He'd felt something was strange before. If Aliceina was afraid of nightfall, why had she used words like "exalted," "great," and "ancient"—words of reverence—when describing Lord of the Dark Night? And when the twisted monster attacked, why hadn't the 'Remains of the Night Watcher' done anything?
Now he understood.
She was most likely a follower of Lord of the Dark Night, and she'd summoned the twisted monster too.
"If I'm right, Aliceina got the Fire-Oil Cloth by killing a 'Night Watcher.' The monsters on Fire-Stealing Mountain and in the cave were also hers. And the power in the 'Remains of the Night Watcher' that made the twisted monsters afraid didn't come from the Night Watcher himself at all. It came from what she had left behind when she killed him."
"Come to think of it,"
"Could she also be the old god's follower who loathes the aura of wizards?"
Knowing how the World of Weirdness affected reality, Yang Qizhou no longer treated it as an ordinary game. He took it seriously, analyzing every line of text.
The game continued.
"How many times have you returned to the River of Death? Though the flame of fate's protection still flickers and the 'Doom-Bringing Raven' still caws, please cherish your life."
"Now choose, adventurer who has died again and again."
"Will you use the power of fate to rewrite the ending of your death?"
"Or use the power of the 'Doom-Bringing Raven' to return to the moment you made your last choice?"
He still had two normal revivals left, and could use the 'Doom-Bringing Raven' once more. Yang Qizhou had already made up his mind. He might not have immediately realized that Aliceina was a follower of Lord of the Dark Night, but he'd long anticipated that death could strike at any moment.
He chose the 'Doom-Bringing Raven' and returned to the moment of his last choice.
Don't forget—
He still had the "Fire Kindling."
Before you continue