Beginning!

After confirming the time for his next Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG session, Liu Xing sought out Tumor, the administrator from the guild who had spoken to him before.

"Oh, you've already decided when to play your next game?" Though they were not speaking face-to-face, Liu Xing could still sense Tumor's surprise through the text.

Liu Xing scratched his head. Of course he knew why Tumor thought that way. Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG was a game played with one's life on the line. No one knew whether they would survive the next session, so most Players chose to delay participating for as long as possible and enjoy what remained of their lives. They would not enter a game until the very last day.

Moreover, from the dates when Players joined the guild as listed in the announcement, Liu Xing could infer that Players who cleared the Novice Room mission generally received around twenty to twenty-five Points. Therefore, Liu Xing felt that Players like himself, who were "rushing off to die," were probably few and far between.

As for the ten Points given out when registering with the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG Game Hall, everyone had probably exchanged them for cash right away...

With that in mind, Liu Xing typed his reply. "Uh, if Cthulhu wants me dead at midnight, who would dare keep me alive until five? Besides, I still need to scrape together the money for the Newbie Gift Pack."

Liu Xing had lied here. After all, in Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, teammates always fell somewhere between trustworthy and untrustworthy. No one knew whether their teammate might be a deeply concealed fanatic, or simply a Ghoul or a Deep One. In the setting of the Cthulhu Mythos System, Ghoul-Deep One hybrids retained human appearances until they reached a certain age. All in all, while maintaining a certain degree of trust in your teammates, you still had to stay alert and guard against someone stabbing you in the back.

While watching Wu Lei play Cthulhu Mythos RPG, Liu Xing had seen Wu Lei's teammates suddenly turn on him more than once. He had also seen Wu Lei attack his teammates with a sinister grin!

Better a dead teammate than a dead me. That was one of Liu Xing's principles in life. Reality was not some webnovel; do-gooders did not live long in The Real Cthulhu TRPG.

Therefore, having already steeled himself, Liu Xing naturally kept something in reserve and would not tell others everything about his situation. That was why he did not tell Tumor that he had already bought the Newbie Gift Pack.

"As expected, you exchanged the ten Points you received at the start directly for cash too. Still, that Newbie Gift Pack really is a good thing. If you're lucky enough, you can get two life-saving items from it. So if you have enough Points, you should buy the Newbie Gift Pack as soon as possible. And your mindset is very good. In this Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, Players with a good mindset generally live longer than those with negative ones. I even have statistics here: among Players who wait until the final day or two before starting a game, the survival rate is only twenty percent. But for Players like you, who start early, the survival rate is as high as around eighty percent. And every Player I've seen who successfully advanced to the next area had a mindset like yours." A moment later, Tumor sent over a long message.

Liu Xing naturally agreed with Tumor's view. It was like cancer patients: those who actively accepted treatment and remained optimistic would certainly live longer than those who passively waited around, merely muddling through each day.

"Alright, I'll add your name to the announcement now. Remember, at five in the afternoon that day, I'll pull all of you participating in the game into a discussion group. You can agree on a code phrase for the game then. Players' names won't be displayed above their heads in this game, so you'll need an appropriate code phrase to confirm each other's identities." As soon as Tumor finished speaking, Liu Xing saw his name appear in the announcement.

Ten days later.

Liu Xing returned to his residence at three in the afternoon. During those ten days, he had enjoyed himself properly. After all, he had one hundred thousand yuan in cash on hand. He first deposited fifty thousand into a bank card, whose password was known by his family. That way, if he unfortunately failed this Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG session, his family could still receive that fifty-thousand-yuan "compensation." As for the remaining fifty thousand, Liu Xing spent it all over those ten days, fulfilling a few wishes of his own. The details, naturally, were not for outsiders to hear.

After taking a shower, Liu Xing logged into the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG Game Hall early. He then entered the Guild Interface and discovered that all eighteen guild members participating in today's game had already joined the discussion group specially set up by Tumor.

After Liu Xing entered the discussion group, everyone quickly agreed upon a code phrase. One person would take the initiative to ask whether the other's birthday was November 3, 1994. The person being asked would reply that they had Type A Blood. Finally, the questioner would say that they were a Scorpio. Once that entire sequence was completed, they would have found their people.

After settling on the code phrase, it was only four o'clock. Everyone in the discussion group felt that a quick death was better than prolonged suffering, so they simply chose to begin the game now.

Liu Xing took a deep breath, clicked his mouse, and entered the game matching interface for the Ghoul Area.

Three seconds later, with a ding, Liu Xing's vision blurred, and he found himself sitting in a car.

Scenario: Castle Lord

Difficulty: Easy

Number of Players: Five

Background: In 21st Century England, many old and solemn castles still remained, and some old aristocratic families continued to live in them. In a town called Eins—an invented location near Manchester, England—there was such a castle. However, aside from the Tavern Owner, none of the townspeople had ever seen the Castle Lord.

Character Card Used by the Player

Name: Liu Xing

Occupation: Doctor

Education: Graduate Student

Birthplace: China, Shu Region, Rong City

Gender: Male

Age: 23

Background: Born into a Traditional Chinese Medicine Family, Liu Xing had studied traditional Chinese medicine since childhood. As a result, despite his young age, he possessed considerable Medical Skill. He had also taught himself Psychology in college. Although Liu Xing's Physical Fitness left something to be desired, he possessed jumping ability far beyond that of ordinary people. At his university sports meet, Liu Xing dominated the men's high jump event for his year.

Connection to This Scenario: Liu Xing, who was interning at a hospital, had finally gotten a seven-day vacation. As a Manchester United fan, he traveled to Manchester, England, to watch the Manchester Derby. After the match ended, Liu Xing learned from nearby fans that thirty kilometers west of Manchester was a town called Eins. The town had a castle open for foreign tourists to visit. However, because there was no passenger route between the town and Manchester, Liu Xing could only take a taxi to Ains Town.

Character Attributes

Strength: 55

Constitution: 40

Willpower: 80

Luck: 80

Dexterity: 50

Appearance: 70

Size: 45

Intelligence: 85

Inspiration: 90

Education: 87

Cthulhu Mythos Knowledge: 0

Sanity Value: 80

HP: 8

MP: 16

Damage Bonus: None

Skills: First Aid 80, Medicine 78, Psychology 70, Psychoanalysis 70, Persuasion 60, Investigation 60, Jump 70

PS: The protagonist's first multiplayer RPG session officially begins. Congratulations! So please bookmark and recommend it. Thanks in advance for everyone's support.