Liu Xing looked at the parchment scroll and knew that it most likely recorded magic, or perhaps some method of worshipping an evil god. He figured that the Castle Lord from three hundred years ago had obtained this parchment from that Secret Society.
But now Liu Xing faced a problem: should he take the parchment or not? Barring any surprises, it was definitely an important item in this Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG—perhaps even a key item that directly affected the direction of the plot.
Yet a parchment that radiated such an ominous aura made him profoundly uncomfortable. It was practically begging for a sign to be placed beside it reading, "Pick this up and lose SAN."
So Liu Xing still felt a little uneasy. After all, his Cthulhu Mythos Knowledge was zero. If he rashly came into contact with a Mythos item like this parchment, losing SAN Value was inevitable. What he feared was that the parchment might come with other harmful effects, such as blindness, festering skin all over his body, or losing the ability to speak. After all, obtaining power beyond the mundane always came at a price, and Liu Xing had no desire to turn into a Blind Monk here...
However, the current tabletop RPG was clearly already in its middle to late stages. Before long, Liu Xing and the other Players would have to face the BOSS directly, and that BOSS was likely a mage.
Then this parchment might also be one of the BOSS's pieces of equipment. In the setting of the Cthulhu Mythos, there was a clear difference between a mage casting spells with and without a Magic Book.
Therefore, if Liu Xing took this parchment now, it would be equivalent to indirectly weakening the BOSS's combat power.
With that in mind, Liu Xing gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and picked up the parchment.
The instant Liu Xing picked up the parchment, he felt a chill invade his body, making him shudder.
At that moment, KP004 stepped forward with undisguised glee. "When you pick up this parchment, you feel a bone-chilling cold radiate from it and sweep through your entire body. Your body feels indescribably numb, so all your attributes are temporarily reduced by 10 points for 1d10 hours. And because this situation has far exceeded the limits of your imagination, your mind suffers a tremendous shock, so you must make a SAN Value Check. On a success, you lose two SAN Value; on a failure, you lose 1d6+2 SAN Value! Now then, let's have a delightful SAN Value Check. I'm really looking forward to seeing you go insane!"
When a Player lost more than five SAN Value at once, they fell into Temporary Insanity and randomly developed one of ten symptoms, including hysteria, amnesia, catatonia, and so on.
Clearly, Liu Xing would lose at least two SAN Value this time, and at most eight.
"Then let's begin," Liu Xing said resignedly.
The familiar sound of dice hitting the ground rang out, and Liu Xing nervously awaited the result.
Duration Check, 1d10, 3.
The first roll was still the duration check for Liu Xing's temporarily reduced attributes. The result was fairly good—only three hours. It was around one thirty now, so Liu Xing would recover his attributes and return to peak condition before the Castle Lord returned to the castle for the dinner banquet.
But now came the main event.
Willpower, 69/70 (temporarily reduced by 10), success.
Thank the Dice Goddess for her blessing. (This was absolutely not authorial rigging!)
Liu Xing let out a long breath. He had come dangerously close to failing.
KP004, however, said in a tone of frustrated disappointment, "What kind of lousy dice are these? Once this session is over, I'm replacing them with weighted ones."
Liu Xing felt as though he had just heard something rather shocking.
KP004 also realized that he had misspoken and immediately said with a smile, "Well, your luck is pretty good. Although this supernatural situation caught you off guard, you've read a great deal of supernatural fiction, so you quickly accepted it. You only lose two SAN Value and gain two points of Cthulhu Mythos Knowledge. Normally, Cthulhu Mythos Knowledge cannot be directly acquired; it can only be gained through encountering Mythical Creatures, Mythos items, or Mythos events. The amount gained is equal to the SAN Value lost, though there are exceptions, which we won't discuss for now. However, you also experienced auditory hallucinations just now, making you think that the chill may have merely been an illusion caused by excessive nervousness. So please make a Psychoanalysis check. If you succeed, you can recover 1d2 SAN Value."
Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. He had not expected KP004 to pull something like this. To make him overlook those explosive remarks from before, KP004 was actually willing to let him make a Psychoanalysis check to recover SAN Value. Under normal circumstances, if Psychoanalysis succeeded, Liu Xing should realize that he had not experienced auditory hallucinations and that the chill had not been an illusion, meaning he should not be able to recover SAN Value. But Liu Xing's Psychoanalysis was 70, so his chance of success was definitely higher than his chance of failure. That was why KP004 had arranged such a strange check just to keep his mouth shut.
But this was a good thing for Liu Xing. After all, every point of SAN Value he could avoid losing was a point saved.
Seeing that Liu Xing had no objections, KP004 immediately made the roll.
Psychoanalysis, 29/70, success. SAN Value recovered, 1d2, 2.
Liu Xing's luck was as good as ever. Not only had he obtained the parchment this time, but he did not even have to lose any SAN Value.
"You analyzed your mental state and discovered that secretly sneaking into this study had made you somewhat nervous. Therefore, you believed that everything which happened earlier had merely been an illusion. However, because your SAN Value recovered, you did not gain any Cthulhu Mythos Knowledge." By the end, KP004's tone carried a faint threat.
Naturally, Liu Xing understood KP004's implication, so he nodded with a grin, indicating that he and KP004 had reached an unspeakable deal.
Liu Xing carefully placed the parchment in his pocket, then looked around the study once more. Finding nothing else worth investigating, he left the room.
Of course, Liu Xing did not forget to restore the study door as closely as possible to its original state, ensuring that the returning Castle Lord would not notice anything unusual at a glance.
Seeing that it was still early, Liu Xing decided to visit the Castle Lord's Daughter's room. He felt that the Castle Lord's Daughter was likely an important NPC, and if the Castle Lord had gone out to visit a friend, he should have brought his daughter with him.
Thus, Liu Xing stood outside the Castle Lord's Daughter's room.
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