[This is a strange and mysterious other world.] [Vampires, werewolves, technology, potions, ghosts, cyborgs, divination, puppets-every terrifying element you can imagine exists in this world.] [You must carry a lamp when you go outside.] [Do not go far.] [Once you stray ten meters from the entrance, the darkness outside will devour you.] [Whether the patient is a human, a ghost, or a Stitching Monster, you must remain calm.] [If you lose your composure, they will become hostile toward you.]
At a battered desk, Lynn held a quill by lamplight.
He was writing in his diary the rules he had learned over the two years since he had crossed into this world.
"Lynn! It's time. Hang up the lamp and get ready to open!"
A hoarse voice rang out, sounding as though its owner was chewing on bones.
Lynn shook his head. The voice belonged to the owner of their Potion Shop, who was also his teacher—the man who had rescued him two years ago. Lynn himself worked as an assistant at this Potion Shop in another world.
"Coming!" Lynn shouted.
But just then, a cold, synthesized voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
[Ding! Your teacher, Bloodsaw Maniac, has issued you a quest: Open for business and hang the Soul Lamp by the entrance. Completion rewards: Skeleton Coins x10, basic experience x5, pure human blood x100 ml.]
Lynn froze.
Was that voice... a system?
Had he finally awakened a cheat ability, two years after crossing into this world?
But he did not investigate immediately, because he knew he would die if he failed to act on his teacher's orders at once.
Lynn quickly left the dim attic.
Right ahead of him, he saw his teacher dragging the corpse of an unidentified creature that had been sliced in half toward the operating room next door.
Scarlet blood left a long trail across the moldy floor.
Squelch-squelch-
Soon, the shrill whine of a chainsaw came from the operating room.
That hoarse, chewing voice rang out again.
"Once we're open, gather up all the potions that expired yesterday and feed them to Little Darling in the backyard. Make it quick."
[Ding! Your teacher, Bloodsaw Maniac, has issued you a quest: Gather the expired potions and feed them to [Little Darling] in the backyard. Completion rewards: Skeleton Coins x10, Little Darling's affinity -10, housekeeping proficiency +1.]
Lynn was stunned.
Sure enough.
He had guessed right.
This had to be his system. Could it turn everything he encountered into system quests?
Listening to the chewing sounds behind him, Lynn composed his expression.
Creak-creak-
The neglected floorboards beneath his feet made a grating noise.
Lynn entered the front room, picked up the oil lamp from the corner, and wound its mechanism. Drop after drop of scarlet blood dripped onto the wick from inside.
Whoosh-
A scarlet flame flickered to life.
If he listened closely, he could even hear faint, agonized screams coming from inside the lamp.
Keeping his expression calm, Lynn carefully opened the door.
Outside lay utter darkness, with what seemed to be wisps of mist drifting through it. Occasionally, eerie giggles sounded from the gloom.
He remained calm and hung the oil lamp on the doorpost, illuminating the dilapidated sign beside it.
[Bloodsaw Apothecary]
[Ding! You have received Skeleton Coins x10, basic experience x5, pure human blood x100 ml.]
Lynn immediately made to turn around and return to the Potion Shop.
But just then, a low, sinister laugh came from the darkness.
"Young man... good morning. Do you have any useless rubbish for an old woman like me? I'll pay you accordingly. Hehehe."
Out in the darkness.
Faint lamplight glimmered, and a stooped old woman in tattered sackcloth emerged, pulling a cart.
She wore a kindly smile.
But Lynn could clearly see.
The lantern she carried was made of human skin, and the rust-covered cart she pulled had grown out of her hand.
[Ding! Human-Skin Scavenger has issued you an optional quest: Give [Useless Rubbish] to the scavenger. Optional quest completion rewards: Scavenger's affinity +10, Skeleton Coins +20, scavenger's payment x1.]
Lynn kept his composure.
"Of course. Please wait a moment."
Lynn quickly turned, went back into the Potion Shop, and picked up two black bags by the entrance.
A heavy, bloody stench seeped from the bags. Something inside seemed to be struggling, letting out low, hoarse moans.
Lynn calmly placed the [Useless Rubbish] on the old woman's cart.
"Thank you, young man. You're a kind soul."
The smile on the old woman's face never changed.
She slowly extended her withered hand and gouged two bloody eyeballs out of her own sockets.
"Young man, here's your payment from this old woman."
[Ding! You have received quest rewards: Scavenger's affinity +10, Skeleton Coins +20!] [Ding! You may choose to accept the scavenger's payment or refuse it. Refusing will decrease the scavenger's affinity by 50.]
Looking at the two steaming eyeballs, Lynn calmly reached out to accept them and said:
"I'll take them. Thank you."
The old woman's smile grew especially radiant, but her two empty eye sockets were particularly unnerving.
"Good, good!"
Then, under Lynn's gaze, the old woman pulled her cart away and slowly disappeared into the darkness.
[Ding! You have received the scavenger's payment: Tailor shop owner's eyeball x1, butcher shop owner's eyeball x1, scavenger's affinity +20.]
Lynn maintained his composure, but inwardly sighed with relief and immediately returned to the Potion Shop.
He had learned from his teacher that the tailor shop tailored human skin and the pork shop sold human flesh. Both stood directly across the road from their Potion Shop.
Yet that scavenger had the eyeballs of both shop owners in her possession.
This was another rule of this world that he had worked out.
[Never try to offend those who walk in the darkness.]
Lynn turned, forcing his expression to remain calm.
He gathered the bottles of expired, dark-red potions from the counter, packed them into his portable potion case, and headed for the backyard.
As he passed the operating room, the squelching sounds of cutting still continued inside.
Lynn knew.
At a time like this, he had better not disturb his teacher.
If he did, there was no telling who would end up lying on the operating table next.
Lynn reached the backyard.
He opened the cellar door, and a powerful stench hit him in the face, like the pungent odor of flesh and excrement that had been rotting for a long time.
"Hiss-hiss-"
Strange sounds came from the cellar, one after another.
Lynn knew that the creature kept in this cellar was the Little Darling his teacher spoke of. As for what Little Darling actually was, nobody but his teacher knew.
Lynn poured all the potions in his case into the cellar.
[Ding! You have received Skeleton Coins x10, Little Darling's affinity -10, furniture proficiency +1.]
Roar-
Roar-
Piercing, furious roars soon erupted from the cellar, accompanied by waves of bloody air that rushed into his face.
Lynn immediately shut the cellar door.
He let out a breath of relief.
These were the daily chores he had performed every morning since becoming an assistant at this Potion Shop.
The most important, most crucial reason he had survived was that he obeyed his teacher well enough and did as he was told without asking questions. The disobedient assistants had long since been dismembered by his teacher and fed to Little Darling.
Lynn steadied himself and ventured:
"System?"
And in the very next instant, a panel abruptly appeared before Lynn's eyes.
Before you continue