Nursery

[You killed "Paper Doll", Universal Experience Points +6]

[You broke free of the hallucination, Occultism experience +1]

[Occultism lv0→lv1]

["In a world full of filth, eyes are a curse"]

[Hint: Knowledge is a double-edged sword. Beware of contamination.]

[Rusty Two-Handed Sword]

Zhou Kai shifted his gaze away from the sword hilt embedded in the ground not far away.

Huff, huff...

He panted heavily, lying on his side in the damp, icy soil.

He still clutched the sprout that had saved his life.

The oil lamp, which he had thought had gone out, now stood steadily nearby, stubbornly burning with a tiny flame.

Zhou Kai forced out an ugly smile, struggled to his feet, and picked up the oil lamp.

The hallucination shattered. The grand hall vanished, replaced by the smell of earth rushing into his face.

The real basement was not large, only around thirty square meters. It was low, damp, and cramped.

At its center stood a square brick pit filled with black soil and rotting grass leaves.

Several shattered clay jars lay scattered in the corner, along with a pitch-black little hole leading who knew where.

The sight of that hole made Zhou Kai's scalp prickle. He had a feeling this was not somewhere he should stay for long.

He decided to make this quick and head upstairs as soon as he finished exploring.

Inside the brick pit, Zhou Kai found a notebook with only a few pages written in it.

The notebook's pages were damp, soft and wrinkled to the touch, yet the ink was strangely clear, as if it had just been written.

[Clean soil is hard to come by. Even underground has been contaminated by insect eggs... This is the last patch of clean soil.]

[Putting it here should keep the filth beneath the ground out.]

[A miraculous plant. It does not need sunlight.]

[But... the Nursery can barely hold on any longer.]

"Nursery?"

Zhou Kai's eyes lit up as he thoughtfully looked at the grass sprouts he had just tucked back into his pocket.

"Could they be planted here?"

Zhou Kai carefully buried the sprouts in the soil of the Nursery, one by one.

Suddenly, a chat box popped up above the Nursery as well.

[Moonlight Orchid is growing vigorously.]

[The aura she emits will disperse despair within a certain range.]

Zhou Kai laughed, feeling better than he had in a long time.

This trip to the basement had not been wasted. This thing was definitely a special structure, just like the fireplace!

"So these seeds are called Moonlight Orchid... I wonder what they'll be like when they grow up."

Zhou Kai stared at those spots of tender green and took a deep breath.

As he looked at his panel, a wild idea suddenly sprang into his mind.

"Since they saved my life, I'll invest a little and see what happens."

Zhou Kai focused his thoughts on the sprouts, and a small plus sign appeared.

Sure enough, this point-allocation panel was far more flexible than he had imagined!

Zhou Kai could not help but grow curious...

If the others who had been dragged into the Nightmare World like him obtained proof of identity, could they also unlock a panel?

Was this thing a cheat unique to him?

Of course, now was not the time to think about that.

Because a new dialog box suddenly appeared above the Nursery.

[Fertilizer lacking.]

Zhou Kai's heart skipped a beat.

Special structures were great, but he still needed to be able to afford to maintain them.

The fertilizer for this thing would probably have to be monster corpses...

After hesitating for a moment, he picked up a clump of rotten paper from the ground, tore off a small piece, and buried it in the soil.

Then, he took out most of the remaining seeds in his pocket and planted them as well.

Afterward, he silently chose Moonlight Orchid's upgrade path.

[Moonlight Orchid's growth will consume less fertilizer.]

[You paid 2 Universal Experience Points.]

Standing beside the Moonlight Orchid Nursery, Zhou Kai could feel a positive effect similar to the fireplace's. However, because the plants were still too weak, the sensation came and went faintly.

"I'll come check on you later."

Zhou Kai shook his head, picked up the oil lamp and axe, and walked toward the black hole in the corner.

That place gave him a terrible feeling. It would be best to find something to block it up.

Zhou Kai carried the broken clay jars and miscellaneous debris from the corner to the hole one piece at a time, tossing them down.

The opening slanted downward. It seemed as though something had once crawled out of it, or crawled inside.

The thought made him deeply uncomfortable, but fortunately, the opening was not large and was fairly easy to block.

"I hope this hole doesn't lead somewhere hellish."

"The day after tomorrow, I'll have to spend the night in this house. I don't want to be stretched too thin."

"Having to deal with attacks aboveground and underground at the same time? Give me a break."

But he also knew that if something really crawled out of that hole, a few broken jars would not stop it. Even sealing it shut with cement would be useless.

Filling it was nothing more than a way to ease his mind.

If he wanted to resolve the danger underground, he would have to rely on these Moonlight Orchids.

"But before that night arrives, how much can the Moonlight Orchids grow?"

Zhou Kai completely filled the hole, then stomped down on it hard a few times.

He returned to the Nursery again, fully aware that the ground floor and basement were equally important.

So, he buried every remaining scrap of paper in the soil.

"These scraps probably won't burn for long anyway. Might as well leave them for you as fertilizer."

His smile carried a hint of poverty.

Zhou Kai pulled the Two-Handed Sword from the soil beside the Nursery, intending to take it up to the first floor.

As he turned and started up the stairs, a new dialog box appeared above the Nursery behind him.

[The ominous painting dissolves beneath the roots of the Sacred Flower.]

[You received a gift from Moonlight Orchid.]

[Status acquired: Clear-Headed.]

Zhou Kai abruptly stopped.

His gaze drifted to his personal panel.

[Character: Zhou Kai]

[Status: Erosion, Clear-Headed]

[Skills: Comprehensive Combat lv2 (3/25), Light Footwork lv2 (5/25), Occultism lv1 (0/15)]

[Items: Residence Permit, Blood-Stained Axe, Rusted Chef Knife, Morning Star Notes, Moonlight Orchid Seeds (Plump), oil lamp About to Run Dry, Rusty Two-Handed Sword]

[Universal Experience Points: 7]

"Clear-Headed?"

Zhou Kai focused his consciousness on the new status, and a secondary page unfolded.

[Status: Clear-Headed]

[Effect: While this status is active, you will not easily fall into hallucinations. Sensory acuity is enhanced, and learning efficiency is moderately increased.]

[Duration: 36h]

"Huh?!"

"I hit the jackpot!"

The Nursery might not directly grant experience points, but it gave buffs!

This thing was no less helpful than the fireplace. In certain situations, it was even more useful than the fireplace!

A duration of thirty-six hours meant he could bring this buff back to reality...

With that, Zhou Kai's confidence in the Nightmare summons the day after tomorrow instantly soared.

"And different plants might have different gifts too..."

Back on the first floor, the fireplace's warm glow dispersed the chill brought up from the basement.

Zhou Kai's condition rapidly recovered beneath the firelight.

With Clear-Headed's boost, everything he had recently learned and practiced raced through his mind like a fast-forwarded film.

Zhou Kai suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity.

It was as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over his head, washing every distracting thought and trace of fatigue clean away.

The world had never been clearer.

"Perfect. Let's test this."

Zhou Kai propped the axe against the wall and gripped the heavy Two-Handed Sword with both hands.

Recalling the instructional video Flash Dirham had shared, he began to practice.

The greatsword no longer felt heavy, and the techniques in his memory were no longer scattered fragments, but a ceaselessly flowing river.

He did not even need to think. His body moved on its own.

Every turn and every slash was precise, as though he had practiced them thousands upon thousands of times.

Ten minutes later, he completed a full swordsmanship routine.

Text drifted before Zhou Kai's eyes.

[You reviewed the movements from your Memory Fragment.]

[You gained the skill: Soraka Swordsmanship.]

[You completed a precise practice session. Soraka Swordsmanship experience +1.]

[Soraka Swordsmanship lv0→lv1]

The three-kilogram Two-Handed Sword instantly became as light as nothing in his hands.

Zhou Kai knew it had not suddenly become lighter. Rather, he had become stronger.

Compared to Comprehensive Combat, which improved bodily coordination and agility more, Soraka Swordsmanship, as a greatsword technique, had given him a perceptible improvement after only one level.