World Occult Usage Guide

Chapter 8 "Lord of Dreams"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

The computer made a sound effect, and the fat man took his hands off the keyboard.

"Test complete, the code runs without problems. Lin Sang, listen, this means that three people from this city have just registered World Tree accounts."

"Huh? I'm not sleepy. I... I'm helping you with the call."

Lin An was jolted awake from his nap and instinctively started tapping randomly on the five phones in front of him.

"Alright, I wasn't expecting you to help me grind guild wars and world bosses." Sasaki rolled his eyes. "The new features are all done, when are you going to give me the 1000-dollar reward?"

"Transfer immediately."

"Wait, Lin-san." Sasaki jumped off the computer chair and ran to the five phones lined up in a row. "Let's spend money on Princess Love Battle."

Lin An was speechless. He switched positions with the impatient Sasaki, who then switched to manual combat.

I don't understand the appeal of games that involve repetitive actions.

Thanks to Sasaki, Lin An was able to rest in a safe environment and calm his thoughts.

Rewind to six hours earlier, the instant Haida fired her gun, Lin An activated a secret technique he had prepared beforehand.

"Consuming 'Lord of the Earth' x1, 'God of Truth' x1, and 'Seeker of Knowledge' x1 to perform the [Hittite Guardian Ritual]?"

"use."

It was energy that burst forth from nowhere, instantly distorting the material space.

Gray clouds drifted by, darkening the area before suddenly brightening it again. The phantoms of birch and poplar trees flickered like ghosts, eventually forming a transparent, invisible shield.

For the Hittites, who worshipped the underground world, the concept of guardianship was also imbued with the metaphor of "soul."

"Ping!"

The bullet seemed to hit a real wall, pausing slightly before failing to advance any further.

Even though the Magic Bullet Shooter is known for its "unfailing accuracy," and the Hittite Ritual is a B-level source technique, far superior to the D-level mystery technique, when the two mystical arts collide, the one with higher priority instantly overwhelms the other.

Ten seconds later, the shield slowly dissipated, and the bullets fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

At the same time, the system's mechanical sound rang out.

"The entry 'The 72 Demons of King Solomon III: Demon Shooter' has been included, and you have obtained the medium 'Lord of Dreams' x6."

"By using mystical arts, the radiation value of the [Mystic Encyclopedia] has increased by 0.2%."

The floating data is becoming increasingly detailed.

[Name]: Magic Bullet Shooter, Free Shooter, Devil's Gun

[Rating]: Ghost Story, Level D

Radiation level: 1.8%
[Pollution Level]: 58.2%
[Medium]: Lord of Dreams
[Mysterious Origin]: This is a story passed down orally in Gromania. For love, a young hunter made a deal with the devil at any cost and became an archer who could hit the bullseye every time.

The prototype of the devil comes from the 36th of the 72 pillars of King Solomon, the demon Stolas. In the Key of Solomon, he appears as an owl or raven, with long, slender legs, wearing a crown, and with an elegant demeanor, making him almost imperceptible as an evil being.

According to "The Discovery of Magic," Storah has two forms: the first is a black raven, a demon, and the second is a beautiful white-winged angel with blue-green eyes.

Regardless of the form in which they manifest, once humans seek the help of the devil, their only fate is death.

Consumes "Lord of Dreams" x1 to use the Magic Bullet Shooter's ability [Stars Belong to Me].

[Individual Introduction]: When he was five years old, his father was shot and killed, but the killer was never found. All that was known was that the killer was a local from the United States.

Perhaps it was witnessing his father's murder firsthand, or perhaps it was other negative psychological factors that led him to develop a strong hatred for society during his upbringing, allowing the world to isolate him.

Consumes "Lord of Dreams" x1 to use the Magic Bullet Shooter's ability [100% Accuracy].

As his excitement subsided, Lin An quickly left the scene.

Lying in bed, he controlled the beautiful girl to fight monsters while analyzing the Magic Bullet Shooter's stats.

Currently, Lin An only knows that "100% accuracy" is a function similar to a sniper rifle.

However, its range, activation conditions, and effects are all unknown.

And what is the use of "Stars to Me"?

From the dwarf demon to the magic bullet shooter, each mystic has two abilities: the first is related to the legendary archetype, and the second is more in line with the mystic itself, being a variant of its origin.

Could this be a mysterious pattern, akin to a "ghost story"?
While waiting for the payment confirmation, Lin An glanced at the administrator account.

"The positioning has changed?"

Despite having the same nickname and the same registration time, the three accounts' IP addresses were moved to three different cities.

Did they use anti-tracking technology?
Unless there are ulterior motives, normal users would never go to such lengths.

If Sasaki hadn't been testing the system, Lin An wouldn't have noticed these three accounts that changed cities in seconds. After all, their code wasn't advanced enough to track a person's "travel" route.

Really lucky.

Lin An quickly wrote down the three account names, which were different from nicknames because users couldn't change them.

After logging out of the administrator account, Lin An logged into Sasaki's usual account.

“Hey, I’m curious,” Sasaki asked while playing the game, “Why did you specifically add this IP location feature? And why are you paying special attention to Dietrich—it can’t be for some strange purpose, can it?”

"What bad intentions could I, Lin An, possibly have?"

Lin An leaned half his body out.

"Sasaki, haven't you noticed that there are more and more strange incidents happening in Dietrich City?"

"Sorry, I never read the news."

"Let me play you a clip." Lin An clicked on the scrolling "Today's Focus" page on MyTube.

Gas station shootings...

[The Mysterious Disappearance in the City Center]... [The Terrifying School Bus Case]...

……

[The Unidentified Body Case at the University of Ann Arbor]...

"Huh? Isn't this our school? What happened?" The fat guy couldn't help but pause the game and look up. Lin An took the opportunity to put the computer in front of him.

A reporter was seen holding a microphone, with red and blue car lights flashing behind him.

"Hello everyone, I am currently at the East Campus of the University of Ann Arbor in Dietrich."

"At around 7:35 p.m. on December 7, following a report from the first person to discover the body, an unidentified corpse was found at the location. The deceased's body was twisted and mangled, suggesting that he had suffered inhuman torture before his death."

"Currently, the police have completely cordoned off the scene. The case is under further investigation."

A disheveled woman burst into the frame and rushed towards the area marked by the yellow line, ignoring everything else. The reporter quickly held the microphone up to her face.

"Madam, what are your thoughts on this case?"

"My son, the person lying inside is my precious baby!" the woman cried out in anguish. "Make way, let me see him one last time! Let me see that face that the Virgin Mary summoned!"

"Oh my God!" The reporter seized the opportunity to snatch back the microphone. "What an unexpected twist! This lady is actually the deceased's mother!" She shoved the microphone back to the woman's mouth. "May I ask, did the deceased exhibit any unusual behavior before the incident?"

"I don't know, I don't know!"

"In your memory, who did he ever have a feud with?"

"Waaah... I only know that he's my precious baby, my only family in the world..."

"Viewers, this may be a dramatic crime of passion. Please stay tuned, our reporter will continue to follow this story—"

Sasaki pressed pause, his eyes filled with reluctance, his expression gloomy.

"Things aren't going well," Lin An said. "I practically had a brush with death today."

"..."

"What are you thinking, Sasaki?"

"This has further strengthened my resolve to be a shut-in." Sasaki pulled the blanket over his head. "At worst, I'll never leave the house. With the advancements in modern civilization, I won't starve to death staying in my room. As long as I'm a shut-in enough, death won't catch up with me."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of urgent knocks sounded on the door.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Waaaaah! Murder in a home invasion!"

Sasaki immediately burrowed into the blankets like an oyster, curling up into a ball and trembling inside.

Lin An couldn't help but feel nervous, his heart pounding, afraid that he had missed something during the day. He breathed a sigh of relief when he could see the person's face clearly through the peephole.

"Mike, what's up?"

"Damn it, it's you, kid!"

A young man in a red shirt stood against the wall. He had brown curly hair, a shiny nose ring, was chewing gum, and had an arrogant expression on his face.

He was surrounded by three equally tall and strong henchmen.

Mike Smith, captain of the University of Ann Arbor football team, is a typical sunny and cheerful Eagle, and Lin An's former roommate.

"Get out of here, you dragon country's Lin." Mike looked down at him with his arms crossed. "I'm looking for that fat bastard."

He's already asleep.

"Tsk!"

Mike spat out the chewing gum, wrapped it in paper, and stuffed it into his pocket.

Doris is throwing an awesome party next weekend, guess who wasn't invited?

"you!"

The followers pointed at Lin An's nose in unison, like a group of highly skilled monkeys.

Holy crap, this is hawk-style bullying.

"So keep hanging out with that loser, we don't welcome nerds anyway." Mike gave a thumbs-down. "Tell Sasaki, if he's got the guts, he should never leave his dorm! Otherwise, he's finished!"

That's exactly what they were thinking. Lin An thought.

"As far as I know, Sasaki spends all his time holed up in his room playing video games, and he doesn't even play them on speakerphone." He tried to reconcile them, "Mike, we're both college students now, can't we be more mature?"

Mike's temples bulged with veins, and he slammed his fist against the wall.

“You think I’m targeting him for no reason?” he spat angrily. “Lin, you know that April and I have been together for two years now.”

I don't know, but you can continue.

"Go ask Sasaki what he showed April that day! Ever since she read that book, April has blocked me! She won't answer my calls, won't open the door, she's completely cut off all contact with me! Damn it!"

April has disappeared?

"No, she's fine. She goes to class, goes to parties, and Doris's always with her," Mike said, trying to calm himself. "She's just completely broken up with me. Damn it, I don't understand what women are thinking. I didn't do anything, except—"

After a pause, Mike snorted coldly.

"Lin, tell Sasaki he's finished. April broke up with me because she read the book he gave her! Now I'm a laughingstock. Damn it, whatever his motives, he's finished!"

After saying that, he turned and left, and his followers followed him, waving their arms and legs excitedly.

Someone slammed open the public door in the corridor, nearly knocking Mike to the ground.

"Oh?"

A clear, bright female voice rang out, and Lin An's pupils contracted.

Is it...her?

One of the four!
People from the St. Anilov Foundation have arrived!
(End of this chapter)