With nothing else to do, they began assigning rooms. As the only woman, Wang Si Yi naturally had a small room to herself. Since no one was willing to share a room with Bai He Cheng, he also got a room to himself. Liu Xing, Wang Qi, and Chen Ling had to make do with the large room together. Still, barring any accidents, Liu Xing and the others would not be spending the night in the castle. Once they completed the Main Quest, they would find a way to leave the castle and Ains Town.
After the rooms were assigned, Wang Si Yi, seeing that there was nothing else to do, went to her room alone to rest. Under Liu Xing and Chen Ling's insistent demands, along with Wang Qi's persuasion—physical persuasion—Bai He Cheng returned to his own room with an unhappy expression.
This large guest room in the castle was over fifty square meters in size. It had some simple furnishings and decorations, along with two large beds. Through its window, they could see the castle's Back Garden.
Of course, rather than calling it a Back Garden, it would be more accurate to call it a somewhat dilapidated courtyard. It was overgrown with weeds, and it was obvious that it had not been maintained for a long time.
Thinking about it, though, since entering the castle, Liu Xing had only seen Old Wayne, the Butler. He had not seen any other servants in the castle. It seemed that the Castle Lord either feared that too many people would expose his secrets, or he simply lacked the money to hire more servants.
Liu Xing felt that the latter was more likely. Judging from the furnishings in this guest room, it was far too shabby for British nobles who valued comfort and appearances. Even the Back Garden had gone untended for a long time, and the entire castle had only one Old Butler. This showed that the Castle Lord was already facing a financial crisis.
Liu Xing stroked his chin and began considering a question. Could he make something of this?
If Liu Xing's earlier guess was correct, the Castle Lord was very likely a human with Cthulhu Mythos Knowledge. He might know some spells or be able to summon relatively low-level Mythical Creatures. However, as long as his SAN Value had not dropped into the single digits, Liu Xing believed he could use the Persuade Skill on the Castle Lord. For example, he could pretend to be the son of a wealthy family and offer the Castle Lord financial assistance.
That seemed like a pretty good idea.
"Player Old Chinese Doctor, after observing the castle's Back Garden for a long time, your vision suddenly blurred. It seems that something is hidden deep within the grass. Please make an Inspiration Check." Suddenly, KP004's voice sounded beside Liu Xing's ear.
Liu Xing frowned. He had not expected to trigger an Inspiration Check. In a situation like this, passing the check would most likely mean seeing some Mythical Creature or supernatural phenomenon, ultimately causing his SAN Value to drop. In a Cthulhu Mythos RPG, this was one of the checks players least wanted to pass.
But Liu Xing's Inspiration was as high as 90. It would be difficult for him to fail even if he wanted to.
Thus, Liu Xing could only say helplessly, "KP, start the Inspiration Check."
Inspiration, 95/90, failed. (The author swears on his character that he personally rolled a 95. He absolutely did not manipulate the Dice Goddess.)
Liu Xing and KP004 both fell silent. Neither had expected a check with a ninety percent success rate to fail.
KP004 said somewhat helplessly, "I didn't expect you to be so lucky that you could fail even this. But since the result was a failure, you discovered nothing and merely thought your eyes had played tricks on you."
Liu Xing let out a sigh of relief. It was truly wonderful that he had failed this Inspiration Check. He had already prepared himself to lose SAN Value.
But then again, Liu Xing noticed that Wang Qi and Chen Ling were not looking at him. It was as though they did not know he had just made an Inspiration Check.
With that in mind, Liu Xing contacted KP004. "KP, were the other players not told the results of that Inspiration Check?"
KP004 was perhaps still depressed over the failed Inspiration Check and did not reply to Liu Xing immediately. "Ah, right. Players can make Open Rolls or Hidden Rolls. We KPs may have players make Hidden Rolls depending on the situation. Only the player himself knows when a Hidden Roll takes place and what its result is. The other players will not receive any related messages or prompts. Of course, players can choose to tell the others themselves."
Liu Xing nodded silently, understanding what KP004 meant. It was like a player had triggered an individual storyline. Only the player who triggered it could make the relevant checks and receive the various information from that storyline.
Liu Xing felt that if he had passed the Inspiration Check just now, there was a ninety percent chance he would have triggered a Side Quest. He did not know whether that would have been a blessing or a curse.
Of course, Liu Xing decided to tell his teammates about this, so they could be careful not to get caught up in it. Losing SAN Value was a minor matter, but triggering some unnecessary plotline or drawing out a Mythical Creature would not be fun.
But just then, a new check began.
Library Use, 70/70, success.
Library Use was actually an information-gathering skill. It did not require players to use it in an actual library. Whenever players searched for information through books, newspapers, the internet, or other means, this skill allowed them to obtain intelligence faster and uncover more of it.
Therefore, Library Use was also a very practical skill. Unfortunately, Liu Xing did not have enough Interest Skill Points, so he had not invested in it.
Liu Xing guessed that Wang Si Yi had used this Library Skill, because if Liu Xin remembered correctly, Library Use was among a reporter's Professional Skills.
A moment later, Wang Si Yi entered the room with a book in hand. Bai He Cheng, having rushed over after hearing the news, followed her inside.
"I found this book in my room. It records various events that happened in this castle, and I also learned that the castle belongs to the Raphael Family." Wang Si Yi placed the book on the table and spoke.
"There are three major incidents. The first took place a thousand years ago. Raphael I, the castle's founder, was a marquis whose fief was Ains Town. During the site selection and construction of this castle, workers suffered casualties. The recorded death toll was thirteen, while more than ten others went missing. Afterward, Raphael I discovered a demon beneath the castle's foundation and defeated it."
"The second incident happened around three hundred years ago. A Secret Society that worshipped demons appeared in Ains Town. The Castle Lord at the time led soldiers to destroy the Secret Society. In the garden behind the castle, he smashed the Evil God Statue worshipped by the Secret Society and buried it in the ground."
"The third incident took place a hundred years ago. One hundred well-equipped England soldiers encountered a rainstorm and temporarily stationed themselves in this castle. After a stormy night, the entire group of England soldiers mysteriously vanished. Officials from Manchester came to hold the Castle Lord at the time accountable, but they returned empty-handed because they could find no evidence."
P.S. Keep asking for everything, mwah.
Before you continue