Sane's Psychological Trauma

If Bearded Tus were a time traveler, this song would surely be playing in his mind right now:

"Give me a hug, bro."

They were indeed hugging very tightly, and the Living Dead in front of them really looked like a big brother. Under normal circumstances, Tus wouldn't mind having a buddy-like hug with the Living Dead, as long as the other person didn't rot.

But now all he can say is, "Brother, you can hug me, but please don't pour anything into my body, okay?"

Tus instantly fell into a state of mental confusion, looking like he was about to die, but it was unclear whether he was strangled, poisoned, or simply disgusted to death.

Just as he was finishing his drink, he caught a glimpse of Fingel rushing towards him out of the corner of his eye, and was immediately moved to tears.

Finally, we don't have to fight anymore.

With that thought in mind, he calmly drifted into unconsciousness.

Not much time had passed. When he slowly woke up, he found that people had left the cemetery and returned to the Cleansing Chapel.

"I!"

The first thing he did when he woke up was to quickly touch his body. Just then, he heard Fingel's voice beside him, "Don't worry, all the bugs have been cleared out. You've escaped with your life."

When Tus saw Fingel, he acted like he'd seen family, grabbing Fingri's leg and howling, completely disregarding his personal image.

Fingel was an angel for rescuing him from that disgusting situation!

"Don't just thank me, it was Aleya who picked the bugs for you."

Tus looked in the direction the other person was pointing and saw that the Straw Man had set up a large pot above the campfire, simmering porridge, and there were skewers of dried meat hanging around the campfire.

What a genius! How did he come up with the idea of cooking over a campfire?

He quickly went over to express his gratitude, and the latter nodded and pointed to the side. Only then did Tus realize that his teammates were all holding wooden bowls filled with porridge and staring blankly.

"Oh, timely replenishment of energy, no wonder you're a Gold-level expert." He exclaimed repeatedly, and Aleya warmly served him a bowl of porridge as well.

"Thank you!"

When Tus took the porridge, he noticed that his teammates were all staring at him with very intriguing expressions.

It was as if they were waiting to see his reaction.

"What's wrong? Why are you taking so long to drink your porridge?"

When his gaze fell upon the white rice porridge in front of him, his entire body stiffened.

The rice porridge was cooked to perfection, with plump, glistening grains of rice bobbing up and down in the perfectly thick broth, releasing a rich aroma that whetted the appetite just by smelling it. It was clear that the chef had put a lot of effort into it.

But in his eyes, this bowl of rice porridge looked different.

"Insects!"

Clang—

Tus screamed and fell to the ground, spilling rice porridge that was still steaming. He was so frightened that he couldn't stop himself from backing away.

Behind him was a wall, and he accidentally knocked down some small pebbles. The pebbles Ghrū around on the ground, and he saw it and exclaimed.

"How come there are maggots here too!"

Rice grains, pebbles, ropes— Tus kept screaming until even the buttons looked like maggots in his eyes. He fainted again, feeling relieved and happy.

"I knew the boss would be traumatized."

"I didn't expect the reaction to be so slow."

"Fortunately, we have strong mental fortitude and are not afraid at all."

The members of the Guzha Squad discussed it for a while, then picked up their bowls of porridge and slurped it around, seemingly unconcerned that the rice looked very similar to the things they had just encountered in the cemetery.

But a few seconds later, someone put down their bowl.

Then came the second, the third, and finally, they looked left and right, each staring at the remaining porridge in their hands, looking worried.

No one spoke, yet it was as if everything had been said.

Aleya was cleaning up the spilled porridge on the floor, looking a little sad that the food had been wasted. Fingel leaned over and said, "Didn't I tell you not to make porridge? She just saw so many bugs, how could she drink it?"

She pointed to the supplies backpack with a pitiful expression, Fingel then discovered that it only contained rice and a little bit of other ingredients. It turned out that they had forgotten to replenish their food supplies and only had rice left.

"Okay, my mistake."

He looked helplessly at the members of the Guzha Squad and asked, "Do you need a memory erasure spell?"

The people said in unison:

Please help me.

The magic took effect on each person in turn. When it was Tus's turn, the guy slowly woke up and said defiantly, "I'm not. I don't have any psychological trauma. I don't need my memories erased."

"Really?"

"Really! I'm going to the restroom!"

He wiped his pale face and walked out of the Cleansing Chapel. A moment later, screams came from outside. People ran out to see what was happening and found that Tus had fainted again.

His belt had just been unbuckled and he hadn't had time to take it off yet. Anyone who uses the toilet standing up knows what you see first when you unbuckle your belt.

Fingel instantly understood that this guy was hallucinating something as maggots, and immediately showed a look of pity that only men could understand.

Ultimately, Tus was subjected to a short-term memory erasure.

Otherwise, he'll faint every time he goes to the toilet.

Once everyone has recovered, the adventure will continue.

To take care of these juniors who genuinely respected them, the Hasawi Squad took the initiative to go first. Before setting off, Aleya even grew a few mushrooms from the Straw Man and gave them to the Guzha Squad.

"This is.?"

"Hallucinogenic mushrooms, after eating them you will see a different world," Fingel explained. "If you really can't stand it, just take a bite."

"Then, isn't that the same as being poisoned?"

"Which would you choose: poisoning or psychological trauma?"

"."

Having learned from past experiences, no one was willing to engage in close combat with these Living Dead anymore. As a result, the shield guards were protected, while the rangers and mages took on the main fighting force outside.

Then people discovered that deliberately keeping a distance from the Living Dead would cause them to go crazy.

Putting aside the spitting, once you get a distance away, the Living Dead's strength increases in every aspect. They even have more energy when running, and a single punch can leave a shallow dent in their armor.

Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that there are many types of Living Dead: some are completely Living Dead, some emerge from their bellies as twisted humanoids after being attacked, and some have their entire bodies transformed into twisted humanoid shapes.

Each of their attacks scatters insects that, once they land on a person, will gnaw at their flesh and blood, causing blood to gush out of the wounds. Conventional treatments other than magic and potions are useless.

Besides the Living Dead, a type of monster called the Grave Keeper, which is taller and stronger, is worth noting. Their tricky and swift fighting style makes them much more threatening. If they weren't so fragile that a single heavy punch could take half their life, a single Grave Keeper could probably be considered Elite Monster.

The Living Dead and the Grave Keeper are the only two monsters in this small area of the cemetery, each with its own unique characteristics.

The cemetery's terrain is somewhat tricky, mainly due to the repetitive scenery that can cause disorientation, making it more than enough to confuse ordinary adventurers.

Hasawi Squad found the way after wandering around for a few hours. It's hard to say whether it was experience or intuition, but their terrifying speed of exploration was even faster than that of the Strategy Team.

However, compared to the Strategy Team, Fingel and his group are not obsessed with rewards. Sometimes, even if there are light spots right in front of them that they can get with just a little effort, they are too lazy to pick them up. It's as if the rewards are not important. What interests them most is the map of Sion and the monsters.

Thanks to this, the Guzha Squad reaped a great harvest, obtaining items including but not limited to Grave Keeper series weapons and equipment, Astora Greatsword, Flame Gem, etc., but the most numerous were torches?

Strange, why are there so many unlit torches here?

They never considered using torches to deal with the maggot- Living Dead, leaving all the fighting to Hasawi Squad.

"No, I can't take it anymore! Where are the hallucinogenic mushrooms? Give me a bite!"

Some people still couldn't stand the sight of losing SAN in the cemetery, so they eventually chose to eat hallucinogenic mushrooms. Their world immediately became colorful, and they were no longer afraid of anything.

"Hehe, I saw Furious Rajang flying in the sky~"

But this also affected his eyesight; he didn't even notice a Gem Crystal Bug slipping away right under his nose, and continued to ramble on and on.

About an hour later, they arrived at the end of the cemetery.

People stopped in their tracks. There were no Elite Monster guarding the gate, nor any other monsters with even stranger appearances. They stopped simply because they found the scene before them quite ridiculous.

A long, wide plank lay on the ground, with one end resting on the roof of the Cathedral of the Deep. It looked out of place and out of place, as if some construction worker had put it there to save time.

Tus had a lot of complaints stuck in Tus throat, but he knew he had to give Fingel the chance to complain first.

Sure enough, the latter said with a strange look, "We've been going around in circles here, hiding from disgusting monsters, just to climb onto the roof by stepping on broken planks?"

"Then why didn't you use Flight Spell from the beginning?"

Who knows? Maybe it's because Sion's map is so well-made that everyone can't help but want to savor it slowly?

As everyone climbed onto the roof, the wooden planks under their feet creaked and groaned, as if they might collapse at any moment. Fortunately, they made it up safely in the end.

How should I put it? It truly lives up to its name as Cathedral of the Deep; even the roof is built to be so spacious.

"It looks like you can roll around freely, even in a large-scale encounter with monsters—"

As soon as Fingel uttered those words, Matilda covered his mouth, and Tus beside him also looked terrified.

He just said something taboo that can't be said!

A whooshing sound came from the air, and when people looked up, they saw a huge, dark figure approaching on the horizon not far away.

"Is it Gargoyle?"

"Wait, that thing is humanoid, and it's holding a bird! Get out of the way!"

A heavy thud echoed, dust billowed, and everyone looked up to see a massive armored figure standing opposite them, the Greatsword and Greatshield in his hand indicating his formidable strength.

The Cursed

A boss from Dark Souls II, known as the "Newbie Killer" and nicknamed "Curse Teacher," he was once a major obstacle for many players' progress.

"Finally, Elite Monsters has appeared. Everyone, get ready to attack."

Just as Tus was igniting the fighting spirit of his men, a strange sound suddenly reached his ears. It was very faint, yet seemed to be right in front of him, and he had heard this sound not long ago.

That sounds like the sound of a heavy crossbow being pulled back?

And there's more than one!