Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Thus, for every ritual the Outsiders set up, the players would sabotage one.

The players didn't have any ulterior motives; their current character cards meant they were supposed to be oblivious to the mystical side of things. In other words, they shouldn't be aware of the Outsiders' conspiracy. But as janitors, taking care of graffiti didn’t seem out of line, right?

This was perfectly reasonable! It was also the only way for the players to disrupt the Outsiders' plans without being kicked out of the replica.

However, the Outsiders' members soon sensed something amiss, mainly because the players were not exactly discreet. One astute member turned back to check and, sure enough, found the rituals destroyed in various ways.

The short-haired man's eyes flashed with malice as he stared at the players destroying the rituals: "What are you doing?"

Who would have thought, the players were even more brazen in their attitude.

"Ah? Isn’t it obvious? We’re cleaning the campus. What are you guys up to? Three people and only one broom?" Yeyey glared at him, "Is this what you call working? You’re probably here to make fun of us!"

Clearly, the NPC didn't get his joke. The short-haired man, wanting to argue, was stopped by the woman: "Don't cause trouble!"

"They're doing it on purpose!" the short-haired man gritted his teeth, "I noticed people watching us earlier. They must have realized something, that's why they're deliberately ruining our setup!"

The woman looked hesitantly at Yeyey, who was squatting on the ground, destroying the drawn ritual with cleaning tools while muttering, "How old are they, elementary school kids? Drawing magic circles, that's just hilarious."

[Hahahahaha]

[LOL, I just knew the 'Troublemaker Squad' would never let me down.]

[On how to make life difficult for the villain NPCs without meta-gaming]

[I also love drawing magic circles with the tip of my broom while sweeping, especially in the schoolyard... Looks like this college student got a shoutout (dog emoji)]

[Me too, me too]

Short-haired man: "… Don’t stop me, I have to hit him!"

"Shut up! Idiot!" the woman coldly retorted. She glanced at Yeyey, squatting seemingly unguarded, and the subtly watchful eyes around. She discreetly reached into her pocket and pressed a button on the walkie-talkie, signaling Soren of the plan's failure. "We don’t know their motive, let’s leave."

"Teacher, it's over here. I noticed them drawing some strange circles on the ground." The redhead boy, pulling a middle-aged man towards them, could be heard from afar. "A volunteer showed me the pictures. The drawings don’t look like ordinary graffiti, they seem very suspicious."

Is it a Midtown student? And he brought a teacher here?

The trio's expressions changed instantly; the short-haired man pulled out a gun. The players were waiting for this chance to legitimately take them down. Yeyey shouted, "Attack!"

Surrounding players swarmed in. With the advantage of a buff and their fearlessness, the trio was instantly blocked. The short-haired man fired his gun in panic, causing chaos. The duty teacher, initially just suspicious, started running towards them.

Realizing that more and more people were watching, young Albert knew the plan had failed.

This was all because of the group in red vests that suddenly appeared. Where did they come from? He hadn't heard of any Midtown tradition of hiring people to decorate for Christmas.

But no matter their purpose, the most important thing now was to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Seizing the opportunity of the commotion, young Albert quietly retreated, walking in another direction. Just a few steps out, he heard the Outsiders being pinned down and shouting behind him. The blonde youth didn't stop, maintaining his composure as he continued walking.

But he couldn't leave directly as someone blocked his path.

"Albert, senior?" The redhead approached enthusiastically, hands clasped behind his back, "Are you in a hurry? If there's anything I can help with, just say."

He is...?

Albert had no recollection of the redhead and frowned, "No, I was just rushing to the restroom."

"Oh, I see. Maybe I misunderstood, but those people seemed to be the ones you brought in," Lann pointed oddly towards Albert's back, "They seem to have some issues, aren’t you staying?"

……

"Albert's plan has failed," Soren stated flatly.

Beside him, a man with shoulder-length black hair chuckled lightly, "Has he decided to show his true colors?"

"No, not yet," Soren asserted, "Until the very last crucial moment, the young wolf won't easily reveal his fangs. There must have been some unexpected development."

He reached out, plucking an eyeball from his socket, tossed it high into the air where it burst, creating an invisible eye above Midtown, capturing everything below.

"A third party has emerged," Soren deduced, "They're masquerading as janitors, causing chaos all over Midtown. Albert and his team were probably discovered."

"Then things have gotten a bit complicated," his companion Amos commented, "If the vice-chancellor realizes someone is targeting Midtown, he might activate Midtown's ultimate defense."

Midtown's ultimate defense was essentially a large-scale ritual, like a cover, enveloping the entire campus to protect its faculty and students.

As Amos spoke, he noticed Soren’s expression hadn’t changed, realizing, "You had a plan all along?"

"I never put all my eggs in one basket," Soren said indifferently.

"What about these people? The first phase of the ritual wasn’t set up successfully. Do we need to find another way to infiltrate Midtown?"

Soren: "Let them be. The more fuel, the better. As for the ritual..."

"It’s the perfect time to give a Christmas gift to the faculty and students of Midtown."

……

The expression of the blond youth stiffened as he scrutinized Lann's face carefully but found nothing unnatural, as if Lann had merely chanced upon Albert and the others.

"…Then let's go check it out."

Knowing that walking away now would be more suspicious, especially with the players around showing eagerness, Albert had no choice but to follow Lann.

The players had already subdued the Outsiders' members. One player, shot several times in the abdomen, refused to let go, excitedly pinning down one of them. After tying them up, the duty teacher, alarmed at seeing the player’s clothes soaked in blood, hastily pulled out several vials of magic potion.

"What are you doing! Let me go!"

"Stop pretending, we all saw you drawing suspicious symbols on the ground!" Aron shouted, pressing down one of them.

The cultists were visibly panicking. The burly one tried to look at Albert standing next to Lann, "We’re innocent! You have no right to do this, help us out, student!"

Idiots. Albert thought coldly under the watchful eyes of the players, "I don't know them. I was with them earlier only because they were asking me for directions and kept pestering me."

"You!" The burly man started to retort but was abruptly elbowed in the chest by the crazed woman beside him.

With the cultists' exposure, their fate was sealed, but Albert's identity was still useful to the Outsiders.

For Albert too, maintaining his cover was crucial. He had yet to find out the most important information about the Outsiders' plan, including Soren's location and the coordinates for opening the gate. His undercover role still had its uses.

"If the situation gets chaotic, Soren might even reuse me, which would be beneficial for infiltrating the core."

"As for these people, I don’t know if they intentionally or unintentionally disrupted Soren’s arrangement. With too little information, I can't fully trust them yet."

The duty teacher crouched down to inspect the drawn ritual, but since Yeyey had almost completely destroyed it, it was hard to discern anything. The teacher had to continue examining the photos.

"Teacher, what is this ritual for?" Lann asked with feigned curiosity, "It looks complex. Is it a type of nested ritual?"

"It seems so. I can’t be certain of its purpose right now. We need to notify the professors to study it," the duty teacher said, glancing at the cultists pinned to the ground. "And them, obviously up to no good, tie them up too. If we can't figure it out, we might have to extract the information from them."

"What if they were plotting against Midtown?" Lann asked worriedly, "It’s Christmas, and the school is scarcely populated. If it weren’t for the volunteers noticing these people’s odd behavior, they might have succeeded in their setup."

By saying this, he was clearly reminding the duty teacher, whose expression changed, "I remember, there should be alert spells around Midtown. Why aren’t there any marks on them?"

Like other foreign universities, Midtown has no enclosing walls and is generally open to the public, explaining why these people could enter so easily. However, Midtown is not entirely open due to special reasons, like alert spells around the campus that mark anyone entering with malicious intent.

Lann, knowing who was responsible, subtly continued guiding the duty teacher, "If they can break through our school’s spells, their backgrounds must be significant. They specifically chose this date when Midtown has the fewest people..."

He needed to alert Midtown to the presence of the Outsiders; otherwise, as the redhead Lann, he couldn’t intervene in the events.

Albert, watching from the sidelines, understood Lann's intent, "Are you trying to drag Midtown’s faculty and students into the Outsiders' conspiracy?"

'It’s not dragging them in; they have the right to know.' Lann silently mouthed to Albert, 'What I don’t understand is why you don’t use the powerful resources around you.'

This was the biggest question Lann had harbored since reviewing Albert's memories.

"Brother, where do you think we are? This is Midtown, a cradle of extraordinary investigators and monks! Why doesn’t Albert seek their help and reveal the Outsiders' conspiracy to the professors?"

"…You think I don't want to?" Albert said expressionlessly, "Do you know how I got into Midtown? There are only two ways to enter: either by examination or a recommendation from within Midtown."

"Which path do you think I took?"

A Midtown recommendation? Lann was momentarily stunned, his mind struck by a bolt of lightning!

There's an Outsider's informant inside Midtown!

Duty Teacher: "This might be a big issue. I'll immediately notify the vice-chancellor..."

Before he could finish, the campus broadcast suddenly came on:

"Merry Christmas, students and teachers of Midtown. The school has prepared a Christmas gift for you all, placed in the auditorium. Please collect it as soon as possible."

"Please broadcast the notice again..."

Lann turned to the duty teacher, "Has Midtown traditionally distributed Christmas gifts?"

The duty teacher, looking puzzled, replied, "No, this is the first I've heard of it."

Without needing further prompting from Lann, the players' eyes sharpened instantly. Druid decisively said, "We split into three groups! One third will accompany the duty teacher to find the vice-chancellor, one third to the auditorium, and the remaining third will stay here to guard these people and patrol the campus to prevent suspicious individuals from entering!"

“ok！”

"No problem."

Even before the duty teacher could speak, the players had already self-organized into teams. Black Cat, pushing the bewildered duty teacher, urged, "Let’s hurry, teacher."

Duty Teacher: ...? What?

Why do these people seem more anxious than the actual Midtown faculty and students?

"Senior Albert, let's head to the auditorium," Lann said, grabbing Albert's hand and running towards the auditorium before Albert could refuse, causing Albert to narrow his eyes.

Had his previous actions aroused the younger student's suspicion?

He didn't resist, letting Lann pull him towards the auditorium.

The auditorium was already crowded with faculty and students, with several carts piled with various Christmas gift boxes. Some staff even pretended to be reindeer, making it look like a genuine Midtown Christmas surprise.

At this moment, Aron noticed someone taking a gift and trying to leave, anxiously saying, "We can't let them leave! If these gift boxes contain the Entrance to Dream Ritual, taking them out of the auditorium could spread them across the entire campus!"

Lann's pupils constricted slightly, and without hesitation, he tackled the nearby Albert, frisking him swiftly and soon finding something hidden in his lining.

A small revolver.

"You?!" Albert was taken aback, his face filled with shock, "How did you know..."

He had never mentioned carrying a gun to anyone, and he had concealed it well. For three years, none of his teachers had discovered the gun he always carried.

Seeing that many students had already collected their gifts and were leaving the auditorium, Lann bit his lip and, without hesitation, fired three shots into the ceiling.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In an instant, the whole place fell into a deathly silence. Some people instinctively lay on the floor, others looked around for the shooter, and some drew their concealed weapons.

In this quiet moment, Lann stepped onto a dining table and declared loudly, "Everyone who received a gift, don’t leave. The gifts are a trap!"

"Isn’t this the surprise given to us by the school?" the disheveled head of the Monster Department questioned.

"No! The school didn’t organize a Christmas gift event! Someone has invaded Midtown, inscribing rituals everywhere on campus. The gifts might contain rituals, please come back and check them!"

[? Who is this guy?]

[Never seen this NPC before, he suddenly drew a gun and scared me to death.]

[On a closer look, this guy is quite handsome, not as much as my wife Lann, but still a sweet treat type.]

[Wow, I thought this guy was just a background NPC in the replica, how did he suddenly become so fierce?]

[This guy, could he be the main character of the replica?]

Many students hesitantly returned to the auditorium, opening the gift boxes on the spot. Inside each box was a uniform disc.

Engraved on it was a nested ritual composed of two formations.

"Oh," the head of the Monster Department smacked his lips, pulling out an already opened gift from his pocket, "I thought this ritual was a surprise prepared by Midtown for us, where infusing magic would grant inspiration or something."

Seeing their plot exposed, the cart-pushing staff immediately tried to flee but were caught by players already waiting near the entrance of the auditorium. Then, everyone gathered all the gifts together.

"How are we going to destroy so many?" Druid asked, looking troubled.

At this moment, Professor Stoss from the Ancient Magic Pharmacy Department scrutinized the discs with a puzzled expression.

"Professor, what's wrong?" a student nearby asked.

"Nothing, just something seems odd," Stoss stroked his chin, "Remember what I said before about the locations for inscribing rituals?"

"Yes, the first requirement is a place abundant in magical power."

"Right, places rich in magic are typically unique terrains, and secondly, the earth itself, as it naturally contains magic. Lastly, if a ritual must be inscribed on another medium, it needs to be a material capable of holding magical power," Stoss flicked the disc's material, "But this, it's plastic, isn’t it? This simply won't work."

"So, this is just a prank?" the head of the Monster Department asked, puzzled, "If there really were a cult plotting something, why wouldn’t they choose a different material for the ritual?"

"Hmm, probably because materials that can hold the necessary magic for rituals are expensive. But looking at the pattern of this ritual, it’s genuine, doesn’t seem like a prank," said Stoss.

The faculty and students of Midtown were abuzz with discussion. Students who had intended to leave the auditorium, seeing the ongoing excitement, lingered, surrounding the suspicious staff and discussing animatedly.

"The rituals seem real, but the material is inadequate."

"Is someone really trying to take over Midtown? Why? Did someone draw hostility from the outside?"

"I think our school probably has no shortage of people worthy of being targeted."

Lann also furrowed his brow, pondering what Soren was really up to, while his hand still firmly grasped young Albert's wrist, wary of him escaping.

Young Albert: "...Junior, is there really a need for this?"

Albert said, "Are you holding onto me because you want to find a professor to undo Soren's previous suggestion?"

Lann ignored him, but Albert continued, "Indeed, currently there are three ways to stop Soren. One is to prevent him from inscribing rituals at Midtown, another is to find that coordinate, and the last is to capture Soren himself. And if the third option isn't achieved, Soren can always come back, no matter how many times."

"So your best solution now is to find Soren, but his whereabouts are hard to track. He only appears at the most crucial part of the ritual, and the location of his appearance is known only to Albert, who has been involved in Soren's research."

"Which means if the professors can undo Soren's suggestion, I, during this period, will realize the Inspection Bureau is unreliable, and instead become your ally. And I would be able to quickly deduce Soren’s location, and possibly know what coordinate Soren is searching for."

"But I can only say you're wasting your effort," Albert spoke calmly, "Do you know why I say fate can't be changed? Because these events are already reality. So in this dream, no matter what changes you make, the outcome is predetermined."

"Midtown is destined to disappear from reality, and Soren's plan will succeed."

"Stop talking, I'm busy." Lann treated Albert's words as background noise, still engrossed in his own thoughts.

The fact that Soren's trap was so easily deciphered gave him an unreal feeling.

He always felt that something was being overlooked.

"Isn't there any cheap and readily available magical material?" a student asked curiously.

Readily available...

Carrying...

Lann's pupils slowly constricted as he instinctively shouted, "Stay away from them!"

"Huh? Me?" A-Long pointed at himself subconsciously. He was one of the players responsible for tying up the group of cart-pushing workers.

The next moment, the previously dejected workers, expressionless, raised their heads and joined hands, subtly forming a circle.

In magic circles, a circle represents stability, which is why most magic circles are circular.

Boom—

The doors of the auditorium slammed shut. The workers, no, cultists, bled from every orifice, their bodies drained of life, yet their faces bore blissful smiles as if ascending to heaven. Their backs and arms glowed eerily, and their clothes slowly disintegrated, revealing freshly etched bloody markings on their skin.

Instantly, energy from the sacrifice activated the first ritual, enhancing the creativity of those near the ritual track in the auditorium. They began to see ghastly anomalies appearing between dreams and reality.

Upon sensing the gaze of humans, these anomalies transformed into killing machines.

A-Long remained frozen in place, not due to a lack of evasion, but because the scythe facing him was too fast and sharp. The last thing his mind registered was the blade's arc, before his world spun, his artery spouting blood that splattered onto Mida University students and their faces around him.

And onto the hearts of the viewers in the live stream.

[Aaaaah! I'm so scared!]

[Why was there no high-energy warning! Why!]

[Because it's a live stream!]

[It happened so suddenly, no time to react!]

[Ah—Long—]

Under the threat of death, these students, already sensitive, also began to see the anomalies.

The souls of those who died transformed into energy, absorbed again by the ritual track, further enhancing the creativity of the living, allowing them to perceive higher and stronger anomalies. This created a vicious cycle of anomalies killing students.

The only way out was to escape, to leave the auditorium!

But whoever set the trap must have anticipated this; the auditorium doors were locked tight from the outside, leaving only the windows as a means of escape.

A student, in a fit of rage, tried to smash a window, only to find it incredibly sturdy.

"What's going on?"

"A few years back, a madman came onto campus and started shooting," another student numbly replied. "The principal had the windows in the dorms, auditorium, and teaching buildings replaced with bulletproof glass."

“……”

"We still need to break it; it's our only way out! There's steel reinforcement inside the main door!"

[Damn, what kind of real-life campus is this? Are school shootings everyday events abroad!]

[I get it now, this is so underhanded!]

The barrage of comments in Druid's live stream chat scrolled quickly.

[Soren's plan was this: he emphasized the Christmas gifts in the announcement, along with the mountain of gift boxes, completely diverting attention from the low-key workers. At first glance, doesn't it seem like the dream-entrance ritual would be inscribed on the gift boxes? But no, the real material for carrying the ritual is living humans.]

[In the previous main storyline, we first saw anomalies, then got killed, and the souls of the killed were converted into energy for the second ritual, which made all of Arkham pass out. But the effect here seems a bit different; first, humans are used as material to enhance creativity, then we see anomalies, then get killed.]

[That's normal, maybe it's an improvement from before.]

[So, as long as there are cultists in Mida University, this ritual is bound to be activated, right? They don’t even need to inscribe it in advance?]

[No, there's something wrong with this ritual track. I took a screenshot of the pattern on their backs, it's slightly different from the one Black Cat and others uploaded, and also different from what the foreigners inscribed in Mida University. I suspect this version is specifically for trapping people, lacking the dream-entry function, purely for repeating the cycle of killing and seeing more anomalies.]

[...Yes, that must be their goal.]

[Remember, this is Mida University. According to Soren's reaction earlier, he seems to dread Mida's power. So, his goal is to kill all the students and professors here. The broadcast gathering everyone in the auditorium was for this purpose!]

Lann wiped his face, smearing the blood in front of him. He let go of young Albert and grabbed the two nearest professors.

Perfect, it was the former head of the monster department and Albert's mentor, Aldus, both elderly gentlemen. While everyone else was panicking and screaming, these few professors remained relatively calm, standing still.

They must have witnessed many big events in their youth, allowing them to remain calm in the face of crisis.

"Professors, do you have a way to destroy that ritual track?" Lann asked.

The Monster Department's professor said, "Hmm, if I can get close to the center, there's a 20% chance."

"I have a 50% chance," Aldus stroked his white beard, "But we don't have enough time. Casting the spell will take at least 20 minutes, during which I can't move or be injured."

Young Albert couldn't help but say, "20 minutes, we can try to hold out."

Aldus looked at the anomalies rampaging among the students, "But I can hold them off alone for 10 minutes, and my students can break the glass and escape in another 10 minutes."

Under the stunned gaze of Lann and young Albert, the elegant old man patted their shoulders, "You're still young. You can live longer than this old man, save more people, or explore unknown things. That's the meaning of what I've taught you."

"I can't let my students die before my eyes."

With that, he walked against the fleeing crowd towards the anomalies, joined by the Monster Department's professor, Alexis.

"You're not leaving?"

"You old coot, always bragging in front of students!" Alexis scolded, "Could you last 10 minutes without me? Don't forget you were sent to the infirmary just last week for a slipped disc."

Aldus huffed, "So what if I'm old? I was an ace investigator in my youth."

The little old man gestured universally and rolled his eyes, "Who wasn't?"