Power from beyond this world

Meanwhile, Himeko

led the three of them to the Haunted House.

Nothing foolish enough to dare block their way had appeared along the way. Of course, they had not encountered any other contestants either.

"It's been so uneventful that I feel like we're visiting a real amusement park."

Weir looked around. Ever since entering the Amusement Park, he had been cautious every step of the way, terrified that another contestant might ambush him.

He had never experienced anything like this, going wherever he pleased without having to worry at all about surprise attacks from other contestants or Amusement Park Monsters.

"The Haunted House. We're here."

Himeko stared intently at the Haunted House's entrance. The doorway had been fashioned into a mouth, its interior pitch-black, making it difficult to see what lay within.

Uneven, sharp teeth decorated the top and bottom of the entrance. Even before they approached, they could feel an eerie aura drifting from the Haunted House, sending chills down their spines.

"Brr... The decorations look perfectly ordinary, so why does it feel so creepy?"

Taco rubbed his arms, goosebumps now covering his muscles.

His smart glasses scanned it, obtaining information about the Haunted House.

[Haunted House: Level Three Danger zone, the most dangerous place on the surface of the Amusement Park. It contains many important supplies. You should know that risk has always been directly proportional to resources. Under normal circumstances, I would only advise you to run, but that is unnecessary now. You have someone with rock-hard fists beside you. She can handle most of the dangers in the park.]

[Please note: it seems to contain a trace of power that does not belong to this world? Assessed danger level: ?]

Taco frowned.

This was the first time his smart glasses had provided an additional warning.

He relayed every detail of the information he had obtained to Himeko.

Himeko paid little attention to the first part. What caught her attention was the latter part.

[Power that does not belong to this world]

What did that refer to?

"Taco, sorry for the trouble, but could you scan my information with your smart glasses?"

"No problem."

Taco did not know what Himeko intended, but whatever she said, he only needed to follow her instructions.

The smart glasses scanned Himeko.

[Huaxia contestant: Himeko. Level Five Danger. Gentle, reliable, and kind, she is your best choice for a powerful protector. I suggest you never leave her side, or you will be very likely to encounter angry ordinary people and get knifed.]

[Scan results: she also seems to possess a trace of power that does not belong to this world. The amount is negligible.]

Taco relayed the information to Himeko, who looked thoughtful.

"Sorry for the trouble, but please scan Himechi Cat too."

[Target: Himechi Cat, Level Three Danger. A creature projected from Himeko's heart by the Wax Museum, inheriting the kindness within her. Vastly different from the other projected wax figures, she was later modified by Himeko into the navigator of "The Fluffy Voyage of the Azure Sky." Your second choice for a powerful protector. Despite her many flaws, she is still far beyond anyone you can mess with.]

No power from beyond this world was detected in Himechi Cat.

"When you scanned me before, did you see any power from beyond this world?"

Himeko asked.

"No."

Himeko pondered for a moment and soon understood.

The last time Taco had scanned her was at the Restaurant entrance, just as Pig Trotter Rice King appeared.

Her Roleplay Progress had been 5% then, so the smart glasses had failed to detect [power that does not belong to this world] because her Roleplay Progress had been too low.

Only after she dealt with Pig Trotter Rice King, received her reward, and increased her Roleplay Progress had signs begun to appear.

Himechi Cat's situation was probably similar.

She had been projected when Himeko entered the Wax Museum while her Roleplay Progress was still relatively low, so naturally, she had no [power that does not belong to this world] either.

This power clearly did not refer solely to Imaginary Energy, or it should have been detected from the beginning. If that was not it, then what could it be?

Himeko had a guess.

[Trailblaze]

The higher her Roleplay Progress, the more power of Trailblaze she had within her.

Then she recalled how, at the very beginning of the National Destiny Instance, it had explicitly stated that hitchhikers might appear at any station.

The dilapidated Astral Express, the missing Nameless...

Perhaps she could find information about the other passengers here.

At that thought, Himeko's heart filled with hope.

"Thank you, Mr. Taco. The information you provided is very important, both to the Astral Express and to me."

"Just doing my part."

Taco did not feel that he had helped Himeko much. It had taken hardly any effort.

He had merely scanned Himeko and the Haunted House, yet her mood seemed to have improved quite a bit?

"Whew-let me prepare myself mentally. Having to face high-level monsters in the starter village really is terrifying."

Weir took a deep breath, then his gaze hardened. Like a depressed patient who had resolved to hang himself immediately and delete his account in life, he strode toward the Haunted House.

"We're just exploring a haunted house. It's not like we're asking you to die."

Taco followed close behind. Himeko smiled and extended a hand to Washana.

"Shall we?"

"Yes. Sorry for the trouble, Himeko."

The two men ahead took out their phones and turned on their flashlights, trying to illuminate the Haunted House.

The light fell into the darkness of the Haunted House. Not only did the darkness remain undispersed, it swallowed the light from their phones.

"Something's wrong with this place. Ordinary light doesn't seem to work."

"Then what do we do? Should we look for a Ray Pointer?"

After noticing the strange darkness, Himeko stepped forward and casually waved a hand.

A wisp of flame shot out and landed in the darkness, finally illuminating a little space for them.

"Stay close. As the most dangerous place in the park, there must be more to it."

The four passed through a short stretch of utter darkness at the Haunted House entrance and reached its interior, where there was finally a little light.

Looking back, they found that the darkness had completely swallowed the view of the way they had come. From inside, they could see nothing of what was happening outside the Haunted House.

Their current location seemed to be the Haunted House's reception area.

A sign stood nearby, apparently displaying the Haunted House's game rules.

[Immersive Horror Escape Room]

[Players must find three key items scattered throughout the Haunted House and bring them out. Staff members inside the Haunted House will guide you along the route, but please note that some terrifying things are hiding among the staff. It will give players incorrect directions and *)#@ the players.]

"What will it do to the players? Why is it censored?" Taco frowned. "If it wants to kill us, just write that. We're already somewhere like this, so why keep hiding it?"

"Speaking of which, can you all read the writing on there?"

Only then did Weir realize something crucial.

From the beginning, Taco, Washana, and he himself had all been speaking English. There was nothing unusual about that. It was a common language, and being able to speak it was nothing special.

But what language was the notice on the sign written in? He did not recognize a single character, so how could he understand them when they were put together?

And why did Himeko's lip movements not match her words when she spoke?

On that point, Himeko could only say that the Synesthesia Beacon was far too overpowered.

Language barriers were clearly less important than clearing the Haunted House.

"A puzzle game. Does anyone have a walkthrough?"

"There's no such thing as a walkthrough for a place like this, but with the smart glasses, it shouldn't be too difficult..."

As she spoke, Himeko followed the entrance sign forward.

But after barely two steps, she spotted something familiar around the corner.

A few brightly colored crystal fragments.