Those chosen to enter the Nightmare World called themselves Players, perhaps out of self-mockery, perhaps because of the Nightmare Game the Administrator spoke of, or perhaps to comfort themselves. The term's origins could no longer be traced. Yet many newcomers were misled by that title when they first entered the Nightmare World, genuinely believing that their "talents" would let them slowly grow and level up in the Nightmare Game like players in a video game, constantly acquiring new items and becoming stronger.
In reality, however, Players who had actually survived a few games already understood that, in the Nightmare World, never mind leveling up-even surviving was set to hell mode. Most abilities that mutated from Players' "talents" were merely different forms of physical enhancement. Most items Players could find were single-use, less durable than even the blades and firearms of the real world. Most Players... could see neither their future nor the day they would die.
Among the scholars Su Bai had encountered in his previous life, many were "philosophers" who spent all day pondering why Players came to the Nightmare World. Unfortunately, no matter how brilliant those scholars were, they could not fathom what value or meaning there was in Players appearing in this nightmarish world.
Soon, scholars began descending into madness, declaring that the Nightmare World was merely a stage, and that indescribable beings like the Red Moon were casting their gazes upon this horrific stage. They watched Players struggle to survive or die each day, treating everything the Players went through as a farce for their daily amusement. The scholars proclaimed that they were nothing but playthings in the hands of those indescribable beings, and that none of it had any meaning.
Just as unknown as the purpose of the Players' existence were the Strange Creatures of