There's this kind of operation?

Liu Xing looked at the parchment, knowing that it was more than likely inscribed with magic, or perhaps a method for sacrificing to an evil god. Therefore, Liu Xing felt that this parchment must have been obtained by the Castle Lord from that Secret Society three hundred years ago.

However, Liu Xing was now facing a problem: whether or not to take the parchment. If nothing unexpected happened, this parchment was definitely an important item, even a crucial one, in this Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, directly influencing the direction of the plot.

But, a parchment like this, exuding an ominous aura, gave him an extremely uncomfortable feeling. It was practically begging for a sign to be placed next to it, reading "Pick this up and lose SAN."

So, Liu Xing was still a bit nervous. After all, Liu Xing's Cthulhu Mythos Knowledge was zero. If he rashly came into contact with a Mythical item like this parchment, losing SAN points would be inevitable. He was afraid that the parchment might also come with other negative effects, such as blindness, his skin rotting all over, or losing the ability to speak. After all, to gain power beyond the mundane, one must pay a price, and Liu Xing didn't want to become a Blind Monk right here...

But, the current progression of the RPG had clearly entered the mid-to-late stages. It wouldn't be long before Liu Xing and the other Players had to face the BOSS directly, and this BOSS was likely a Magician.

Therefore, this parchment could also be one of the BOSS's equipment. In the context of the Cthulhu Mythos, there was a significant difference in spellcasting for a Magician with or without a Magic Book.

Thus, if Liu Xing took the parchment now, it would be equivalent to indirectly weakening the BOSS's combat power.

Thinking this, Liu Xing gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and took the parchment into his hand.

The moment Liu Xing picked up the parchment, he felt a chill invade his body, causing him to shiver involuntarily.

At this moment, KP004, gloating, stepped forward. "As you pick up this parchment, you feel an bone-chilling cold emanate from it, sweeping over your entire body. You feel an indescribable numbness in your body, so all your attributes are temporarily reduced by 10 points for 1d10 hours. Furthermore, because this situation has exceeded your imagination, your mind has suffered a great shock, so you will undergo a SAN Value Check. Success will deduct 2 SAN points, and failure will deduct 1d6+2 SAN points! Now, let's proceed with the delightful SAN Value Check. I'm really looking forward to you going mad!"

When a Player loses more than five SAN points at once, they enter a state of temporary madness, randomly choosing one of ten symptoms, including hysteria, memory loss, and catatonia.

Clearly, this time Liu Xing would lose at least two SAN points, and at most eight SAN points.

"Alright, let's begin," Liu Xing said resignedly.

The familiar sound of dice hitting the table echoed, and Liu Xing nervously awaited the result.

Time Check, 1d10, 3.

First, the check for the temporary reduction of Liu Xing's attributes. The result was quite good; only three hours. It was currently around 1:30 PM, so Liu Xing would recover his attributes and return to his full strength before the Castle Lord returned and held the Banquet.

However, the main event was coming.

Willpower, 69/70 (temporarily reduced by 10 points), Success.

Thanks to the favor of the Dice Goddess (absolutely not authorial manipulation!).

Liu Xing let out a long sigh of relief. He had almost failed.

KP004 spoke with a tone of disappointment, "What kind of lousy dice are these? I'm going to replace them after this run. I'll get some loaded ones."

Liu Xing felt like he had heard something incredible.

KP004 realized he had misspoke and immediately smiled. "Yes, you're quite lucky. Although this supernatural event caught you off guard, because you've read a lot of supernatural novels, you quickly accepted the premise and only lost 2 SAN points. You also gained 2 points of Cthulhu Mythos Knowledge (Cthulhu Mythos Knowledge is generally not directly obtainable; it can only be acquired by encountering Mythical Creatures, Mythical Items, or Mythical Events. The amount of SAN points lost is usually equal to the amount of Cthulhu Mythos Knowledge gained, though there are exceptions, which we won't discuss here). However, you also experienced auditory hallucinations just now, making you think that the chill you felt might have just been a hallucination caused by excessive tension. So, please perform a Psychoanalysis. If successful, you can recover 1d2 SAN points."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected KP004 to pull a stunt like this. To make him overlook those explosive remarks, he was willing to let him perform a Psychoanalysis to recover his SAN points. Moreover, under normal circumstances, if the Psychoanalysis were successful, he should realize that he hadn't hallucinated and that the chill wasn't an illusion, thus not recovering SAN points. But Liu Xing's Psychoanalysis was 70 points, so the success rate was definitely higher than the failure rate. That's why KP004 made such a strange check to silence him.

However, this was a good thing for Liu Xing, as every point of SAN saved was a point saved.

kp004 saw that Liu Xing had no objections and immediately made a check.

Psychoanalysis, 29/70, Success.

Restore SAN Value, 1d2, 2.

Liu Xing's luck was as good as ever. This time, he not only got the Parchment but also didn't lose any SAN Value.

"You analyzed your own mental state and found that you were a bit tense due to secretly infiltrating this Study. Therefore, you believe that everything that happened before was just your hallucination. However, because your SAN Value was restored, you did not gain Cthulhu knowledge," kp004 said, his tone becoming slightly threatening towards the end.

Liu Xing naturally understood the implied meaning behind kp004's words, so he nodded with a chuckle, indicating that he and kp004 had reached a clandestine deal.

Liu Xing carefully put the Parchment in his hand into his pocket. He then looked around the Study again and found nothing worth Exploration. He then left the Study.

Of course, Liu Xing did not forget to restore the Study door to its original state as much as possible, ensuring that the Castle Lord, upon returning, would not immediately discover anything amiss.

Now, seeing that it was still early, Liu Xing decided to go and check on the Castle Lord's Daughter's room. Liu Xing felt that the Castle Lord's Daughter might be an important NPC, and that the Castle Lord would likely bring his daughter along when he went out to visit friends.

Thus, Liu Xing stood outside the Castle Lord's Daughter's room.

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