Chapter 188

Chapter 188

Soon, the God on Earth, panting, broke free from the ritual. Though he hadn't exchanged anything with the Evil God, the mere contact with something extraordinary had significantly depleted his sanity.

"Sanity check failed, SAN -10."

The God on Earth's card currently had 45 SAN points remaining. According to the game rules, once a character's SAN reached zero, they would fall into permanent madness, rendering the player unable to control the character card.

Originally, forum users speculated that the limited-time hidden class in this replica dungeon could last at least twelve days or up to two or three months. However, after experiencing it firsthand, the God on Earth realized their expectations were overly optimistic.

Undoubtedly, the core gameplay of the Fanatic class revolved around this forbidden ritual of communicating with the gods. Each use of the ritual, even if nothing was achieved, would deduct a considerable amount of SAN points. In other words, surviving for a few days after acquiring the Fanatic class was already commendable unless one refrained from using the ritual altogether.

Was it an extreme self-destructive class? It seemed to align well with players' inclinations, but the consequences of reaching zero SAN were uncertain. Would the character card be deleted outright, or would the character become one of the game's NPCs?

Indeed, transforming a character card into an NPC was an unusual maneuver in most games but not uncommon in tabletop RPGs, especially in traditional playstyles. As long as the player consented, the Game Master (GM) could repurpose their discarded cards. After all, these characters were merely insane, not dead; their stories could continue to unfold in dramatic fashion.

This aspect of gameplay was still relatively unfamiliar to players at the moment. However, Lane assumed that in his previous life, the game had already entered open beta, far ahead of its current state. Thus, he knew that this feature existed. If lucky, players might even encounter their own deranged old cards, engaging in a climactic showdown of "me versus me."

Consequently, upon witnessing the Fanatic ritual performed by the God on Earth, Lane immediately grasped what the Evil Gods intended to do.

They sought to seize the players' faith, or more precisely, to weaken Lane's authority over the dream realm.

Let me explain briefly. The dream world that Lane and his companions now inhabit is a collective subconscious formed by the players present and the surviving cultists. The key difference from Albert's previous replica, which centered solely on him, lies in the number of participants.

In the earlier replica, Albert was the absolute core. When he placed his full faith in Lane, Lane gained total control over the dream. But now, with more than just one or two individuals forming the foundation of this dream, Lane would need all of them to become his followers to exert complete control.

Lane hadn't done so before because it wasn't necessary; he had originally planned to act only at the end of the dream. However, the malevolent gods' objective is clearly to undermine Lane's authority in this dream, or perhaps they're trying to prevent him from gaining absolute control by converting the players into believers.

This is intriguing. Unlike the Old Gods, the malevolent gods have no inherent power over dreams. Even if they turn all the dream's foundations into believers, the dream would merely be corrupted, not under their control. Lane could also utilize the Ark to leave the dream directly. So, what do they gain from this, or are they simply trying to hinder him?

Lane doesn't believe the malevolent gods have pierced through his plan, unless... it benefits them in some way.

"Lane-sama?" the white puppy resting on Lane's shoulder spoke hesitantly, unsure if Lane had forgotten to put it down. Amos remained on Lane's shoulder, almost touching his cheek and neck, a proximity that filled the puppy with immense joy. If possible, it didn't want to leave.

"Dice Roll: Success"

The crisp sound of dice rang in Lane's mind, clarifying the inklings of an idea he had entertained.

"Judas..." Lane murmured.

"What are you talking about?" the white puppy asked curiously. "Judas? Are you referring to the one from the Bible or... the one from that world line?"

However, Lane ignored Amos's question and fell into deep thought.

Yes, while the evil god couldn't control dreams, it didn't need to. All it needed was to weaken him.

Judas could handle controlling the dream, but then again, if Judas had far superior power over dreams than Lane, why hadn't he shown up yet? Was he planning something even more sinister?

Now that Judas was in league with the evil god, his purpose should be clear: to aid the evil god's descent into reality. That was why he targeted Lane, as one of the old gods' authorities was to open the gates to the Dream World.

If he were Judas, how would he set up this game?

Lane gazed at the sky outside the room, and an idea began to take shape in his mind.

Both the old gods possessed the ability to manipulate dreams. If dreams were the stage, the contest would be about who had better control over them, much like the brief clash between Judas and Lane within the subconscious of the citizens of Orland. Although Lane's overall mastery over dreams was inferior to Judas's, the Ark's amplification allowed him to gain the upper hand through deception and tactics.

Now that the Ark had been unlocked to its second phase, if Lane were to return to that confrontation with Judas, even if he still couldn't match Judas's control over dreams, he could secretly create an escape route using the Ark.

This might be why Judas has yet to show himself. Even the Evil God is cautious, wary of being detected by Lane. In fact, if not for his constant monitoring of the players, he wouldn't have noticed the Evil God's attempt to undermine him.

Does this also mean that Judas lacks the assurance to keep him here? Hence, he remains hidden in the shadows, like a venomous snake waiting for the right moment.

And that moment would likely be... when he gains total control over the dream world, restrains Lane, and solidifies the dream as reality.

"Lord Lane."

Lane's contemplation was interrupted by a rustling sound at his neck. He tilted his head slightly to see the white puppy rubbing against him affectionately. "Is there anything I can assist you with?"

Lane looked at Amos, remaining silent for a moment before sharing his speculation with the dog. Amos's intelligence and cunning had been proven useful before, and now was no exception.

"How likely do you think this is?"

"Very likely," Amos replied without hesitation. "If I were in their shoes, I'd use this method to trap you here too. Once the dream becomes reality, it'll become your eternal prison, and that truth will be unalterable."

The puppy's serious expression lasted only a second before his short tail started wagging like a small fan, spewing compliments without restraint. "As expected of Lord Lane! You deduced the enemy's plan from just a hint! Your wisdom shines as brightly as the stars in the sky..."

"Alright, alright." Lane interrupted Amos's flattery with a look of exasperation. "It's only a theory, and we're both Old Gods with similar abilities. Once the Evil God's intrusion is discovered, Judas's plan isn't hard to guess. It's almost a half-open scheme. Even if we guess correctly, stopping them won't be easy."

Now, the foundation of this entire dreamworld consisted not only of players but also cultists. Some were still part of the Salvation Society, while others were merely ordinary citizens within the city. Regardless, all surviving cultists at that time had entered the dream. The younger ones, who hadn't experienced that era, might have gotten lost in the dream, becoming ordinary believers or residents with no knowledge of who was who.

Thus, the essence of Judas's plan was essentially a war of faith. The more people believed in him, the better he could control this dreamworld.

"Then all we need to do is gain the loyalty of these residents," the white puppy said, looking at the divine presence in the room. "You can achieve far more than these interfering evil gods. We can rally more followers to our side."

"No," Lane fell silent for a moment before continuing slowly, "I have a plan..."

It was riskier than simply competing against the evil gods, but if it succeeded, the rewards he would reap from this replica would be significantly greater. Most importantly, it would greatly weaken Judas and his cohort of evil gods.

Of course, failure would mean losing everything.

However, this depended on his certainty that Judas's plan was as he had guessed and that he needed the players' cooperation.

With this in mind, Lane turned to Amos. "Would you mind making public what you once did? The original outcome of the Three Days of Chaos?"

Amos was taken aback for a moment before promptly answering, "Of course not."

On the contrary, helping Lane meant that Lane was finally accepting him to some extent, which was precisely what Amos had been striving for. He was thrilled at the prospect.

In the room, God Among Men, who was previously engrossed in discussing the new profession with players on the forum, suddenly froze.

He noticed a familiar figure gradually materializing in the mirror next to the wardrobe.

"Lord Lahn?!"

Indeed, it was Lahn who appeared in the reflection. This time, he donned a different attire - a broad black robe that draped over him, layered with a matching dark shirt and vest. A deep red bow tie created a striking contrast against his white hair, curved ram horns, and molten-golden eyes that symbolized the fires of hell. He seemed like a devil straight out of the abyss.

"Wife! Ahhhhh!"

"Spouse just appeared! New outfit for the wife!"

"New illustration, is this a demon theme? Too damn cool, a different vibe from Pan."

"Goth enthusiasts rejoicing! Ahhh, I love this style so much! Official, make a figurine!"

"Liking it... Huh, why is my screen dirty?"

To be precise, Lahn's current identity within this dream was indeed the demon summoned by Amos.

And what he was about to do was, in a way, quite befitting of a devil.

"Lord... How did you end up here?" the God on Earth asked in astonishment.

"Simon," Lenard smiled slightly, "I have a favor to ask of you."