Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World

The meaning between the lines practically told Yang Qizhou outright: there was something valuable in this room, so hurry up and open the door.

The Doom-Bringing Raven could still be used four more times. At worst, he could make another choice, so Yang Qizhou felt no pressure and made his decision at once.

"The explorer's greed led you to make another bold choice."

"You pushed the door open and walked inside."

"You saw an altar steeped in evil, with a bizarre statue enshrined upon it. Offerings made from human organs had been arranged all around it. Fighting back his nausea, you searched the room."

"You discovered a piece of rag stained with dark-red blood on the altar."

"You picked up 'Rag Stained with the Great Lord's Blood.'"

Rag Stained with the Great Lord's Blood (Fine): It had once been an ordinary cleaning rag, but had accidentally become stained with the blood of the "Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World." It could be used as a sacred relic medium for a divine descent, or as an ingredient for crafting an "Old Day Item."

This was most likely another evil god.

Yang Qizhou didn't know what to say. The game had only just begun, and he hadn't even left the newbie village, yet he had already gotten involved with so many deities.

The Moonlight Ancient God, Mother of Beauty and Fertility, Master of the Dream Realm, Lord of the Dark Night, Ancient Fire-Stealing God.

And now there was the Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World...

Any one of those names could have belonged to a final boss in some other game.

Jokes aside, finding something was always cause for celebration, so Yang Qizhou continued clicking through the text.

"Just after picking up the 'Rag Stained with the Great Lord's Blood,' you suddenly heard a dog barking, but there wasn't a dog in sight."

"Your throat was bitten open."

"You died."

???

All right, that was a very Lovecraftian way to die.

The narrator once again mocked the arrogant explorer, asking whether he wanted to use the power of fate to rewrite his death, or rely on the Doom-Bringing Raven's ability to return to the moment he had made his last choice.

Yang Qizhou thought it over.

Stealing the "Rag Stained with the Great Lord's Blood" might alert the one who had set up the Evil Altar. If that happened, sneaking back in would surely be impossible.

And judging from the information in the text, there were clearly more secrets hidden in the house.

So Yang Qizhou chose to... use the power of the Doom-Bringing Raven.

"You returned to the moment you had made your last choice. You saw a purple glow spilling out of the room. You knew there was an altar inside, used to worship the 'Lord of the Dreamy Hidden World,' and that an invisible monster lurked there. The moment you pushed open the door, you would surely die."

"So, you despicable, shameless, cheat-using explorer, will you enter the room again and be bitten to death by the unknown monster?"

"Or will you look around somewhere else?"

Yang Qizhou chose the second option.

"You chose not to provoke the invisible monster. After all, having your throat bitten open was no pleasant experience. Of course, you wouldn't admit that you were afraid. You reassured yourself that searching the rest of the house might turn up more."

"You searched many other places, but found nothing."

"You entered the study."

"You found a diary, but its contents struck you as both strange and horrifying."

"I had a dream. It was such a wonderful dream. There was none of the ever-present, bone-deep terror, none of the terrifying, unnatural things that might appear at any moment in the Wilderness. As a great being sang, I was able to sleep peacefully."

"I am waking up. I am terrified, desperately trying to hold on to this dream, but I can't. This land has already been ruled by an evil god. The light of the great one can no longer reach here."

"No, no, no, no..."

"I absolutely won't let anyone take my dream away. Not even an evil god."

"I will make the great glory shine over this place once more."

"Just wait. Everyone will be saved."

"You fearfully threw the diary away, feeling that whoever had written it must have something seriously wrong with them."

"Footsteps sounded outside. You knew the owner of the house had returned, and you hurriedly hid."

"The owner came in. He noticed that someone had touched his diary and realized a thief had broken in."

"The owner of the house had discovered you."

"You suddenly heard a dog barking. Remembering the terrifying experience at the Evil Altar, you tried to flee in a panic. Before you could even make out the owner's appearance, your head was bitten to pieces."

"You died."

Same old formula, same old flavor. If he kept playing a little longer, he could probably compile a hundred thousand ways for the protagonist to die.

Yang Qizhou's attention wandered to a strange detail again.

Fortunately, he soon came back to his senses.

The world's secrets had only been revealed in a tiny fraction so far, and he couldn't analyze much, so he couldn't be bothered to try.

The game continued.

This time, Yang Qizhou didn't use the Doom-Bringing Raven's ability. He chose to respawn normally.

"You opened your eyes once more in the lodgings Yixiu had arranged for you."

"Thinking back on the diary's contents filled you with dread. You couldn't shake the feeling that something big was about to happen in Fire-Stealing Village."

"Yixiu returned and told you that, after hearing about Aliceina, Captain Lena wanted to meet with you. But night was about to fall, and the villagers had to perform the 'Fire-Stealing' ritual immediately, so the meeting would have to wait until tomorrow."

"You wanted to tell Yixiu what you had seen in the big house, but hesitated in the end. The owner clearly held a high position in Fire-Stealing Village, and you couldn't be sure whether this Night Watcher was human or a wolf."

"Yixiu noticed your doubts and said you could speak freely."

"You changed the subject and asked about 'Fire-Stealing.'"

"Your excellent acting fooled Yixiu, who explained the origins of 'Fire-Stealing.'"

"The Ancient Fire-Stealing God was a great deity who had been active since the previous epoch. He once stole the fire that lit the darkness from the gods of the Astral Realm, protecting his followers from being devoured by the horrors of the night."

"Whenever night fell, the villagers had to perform the 'Fire-Stealing' ritual, using the flames stolen from the gods of the Astral Realm to light the lamps in their homes. Only then could they avoid being devoured by the horrors of the night."

So that was it. Yang Qizhou understood now.

He had wondered before: if there were horrors in the night, then surely every living thing on the land would have perished long ago, leaving it barren. How had the people of Fire-Stealing Village survived? Now he understood. With the protection of the Ancient Fire-Stealing God, the villagers used flames stolen from the gods of the Astral Realm to light the darkness and defend against the offspring of the Lord of the Dark Night.

Of course, that was only a conclusion based on the information revealed so far. Whether it was true remained to be seen.

The game continued.

"The next day, you met Night Watcher Captain Lena. She didn't immediately ask about Aliceina, who was suspected of being a 'follower of an Old God.' Instead, she asked about the 'Moonlight Ancient God Altar.'"