Nursery

[You killed "Paper Doll," universal experience +6]

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

[Occultism lv0→lv1]

["In a world filled with filth, the eyes themselves are a curse."]

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

[Rusty Two-Handed Sword]

Zhou Kai tore his gaze away from the sword hilt embedded in the ground nearby.

Huff, huff...

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

He was still clutching the tender sprout that had saved his life.

The Oil Lamp, which he had thought had gone out, stood steadily not far away, stubbornly holding a tiny flame.

Zhou Kai forced an ugly smile and struggled to his feet, picking up the Oil Lamp.

The hallucination shattered, and the grand hall vanished, replaced by the smell of earth rushing at him.

The real basement was small, barely thirty square meters, low-ceilinged and damp.

In the center stood a square brick trough filled with black soil and rotting leaves.

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

The sight of that hole made Zhou Kai's skin crawl. He had a feeling this was not a place to linger.

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

Inside the brick trough, Zhou Kai found a notebook containing only a few pages.

The pages were damp, soft and wrinkled to the touch, yet the ink was unnervingly 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 below ground at bay.]

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

[But... the Nursery cannot hold on much longer.]

"Nursery?"

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

"Could it be planted here?"

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

Suddenly, a dialogue box appeared above the Nursery.

[The Moonlight Orchid is growing vigorously.]

[The aura it emits will dispel despair within a certain range.]

Zhou Kai laughed, happier than he had ever been.

This trip to the basement had not been in vain. This thing was definitely a special structure, just like the Fireplace!

"So these seeds are called Moonlight Orchids... I wonder what they'll look like once they grow."

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

He looked at his panel, and a wild idea suddenly came to him.

"Since they saved my life, I might as well invest a little and see."

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 growing curious...

Could those, like him, who had been dragged into the Nightmare World also activate their panels if they obtained identification?

Was this thing a cheat unique to him?

Of course, now was not the time to dwell on that.

Because a new dialogue box had suddenly appeared above the Nursery.

[Fertilizer lacking.]

Zhou Kai's heart skipped a beat.

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

The fertilizer for this thing probably had to be monster corpses...

After hesitating for a moment, he picked up a wad 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 an upgrade path for the Moonlight Orchid.

[Moonlight Orchid 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. It was faint, however, because the plants were still too weak.

"I'll come check on you later."

Zhou Kai shook his head, carrying the Oil Lamp and axe as he 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.

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 sloped downward. It seemed as though something had once crawled out of it—or crawled into it.

The thought made him deeply uncomfortable, but thankfully, the opening was small and easy enough to block.

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

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

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

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

Blocking it was merely for peace of mind.

If he wanted to eliminate 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 several times.

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

So, he buried all the remaining scraps of paper in the soil.

"Some lousy paper probably won't burn for long anyway. Might as well leave it for you as fertilizer."

There was a hint of poverty in his smile.

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

As he turned and walked up the stairs, a new dialogue box appeared in the Nursery behind him.

[The painting tainted by misfortune dissolves beneath the roots of the sacred flower.]

[You have received a gift from the Moonlight Orchid.]

[Status gained: Clear-Headed]

Zhou Kai abruptly stopped.

His gaze drifted toward 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 Seed (Plump), Oil Lamp About to Run Dry, Rusty Two-Handed Sword]

[Universal experience: 7]

"Clear-Headed?"

Zhou Kai focused 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 did not directly provide experience points, but it granted beneficial statuses!

Its help was no less significant than the Fireplace's. 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 even give different gifts..."

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

Zhou Kai's condition rapidly recovered beneath the firelight.

With Clear-Headed's enhancement, everything he had recently learned and practiced flashed through his mind like a movie on fast-forward.

Zhou Kai suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.

It was as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over his head, washing every stray thought and trace of exhaustion from his mind.

The world had never been clearer.

"Perfect. Let's try this out."

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

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

The greatsword no longer felt heavy, and the moves 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 of times.

Ten minutes later, he completed a full set of swordsmanship drills.

Subtitles floated before Zhou Kai's eyes.

[You reviewed the movements in your memory.]

[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 felt weightless in his hands.

Zhou Kai knew it had not suddenly become lighter. His strength had increased.

Compared to Comprehensive Combat, which enhanced bodily coordination and agility to a greater degree, Soraka Swordsmanship, as a greatsword technique, had granted him a tangible improvement after rising by only one level.