My players are too fierce!

Chapter 17 The Headless Scholar

The lobby of the tavern.

The five-person team was neatly arranged.

However, everyone's condition is not very good at the moment, and there are still penalties for failing the dungeon.

The average rationality value is only slightly over 30.

David Day fared even worse; he was pulled back to his room as soon as he collapsed.

His sanity was a pitiful 1, and he could vaguely hear some kind of call in his ear.

"...Table of Contents...Chapter One..."

It's like someone is reading the table of contents of a book to him, using the North-South Green Bean voice pack.

The background music was playing on a loop the whole time, it was driving him crazy!

At the same time, perhaps because his sanity level was too low, the production team considered a rebound after hitting rock bottom, and a cursor could be seen in his line of sight.

Just like common RPG (role-playing game) games on Earth, the quest guide is highlighted.

Of course, this was actually marked manually by Roland.

[Mission Objective: Retrieve the "Collection of True Names of Demons" from the second floor of the Sunrise Church]

[Difficulty: Very Easy]

[Reward: Memory Arena (Marcus Bloodblade)]

[A memory about Marcus Bloodblade; use it to experience a legendary tale firsthand.]

Great, this proves that his previous inferences were in line with the production team's expectations.

After confirming the mission information, Hachimed took the Obsession Crystal he had just received and tentatively tossed one into the fireplace.

[Merit +100]

Then, the flames flickered, releasing a ripple.

[Sanity +30]

[Sanity recovery speed +100%]

Another one went in, bringing the team's performance back to an acceptable level.

Seeing that it could be used to replenish his energy, Hakimed kept one in his hand.

There will be a surplus if we use resources now. During the initial development period, we should save resources as much as possible and plan every resource rationally.

[Obsession & Wrath: Material. Direct use lowers the maximum sanity and grants the "Rage" status, which increases all damage effects within a certain range and for a period of time.]

Price: 200 Merit Points

After a moment's thought, Hakimed chose to exchange for Obsession and Wrath.

The main reason is that this thing can be used not only in the open world but also in dungeons, making it the only item that can directly boost the entire team's combat power.

The badge on Kashima Island is currently just for decoration; they haven't figured out its specific purpose yet.

Perhaps the development team will add a faction called the Empire later on.

But that's for later; we should still keep our eyes on the ground.

Hachimed tossed the red crystal in his hand, the newly acquired Obsession and Wrath, to the swordsman.

"Let's go to the second floor first, and then explore the cellar. That way, if we need to fight a boss battle to retrieve the 'Demon's True Name Collection,' we'll be in better shape..."

"Wait! Wait!"

Emma rushed down from the second floor of the tavern, casually tossing the rag in her hand, which hit Roland squarely in the face.

She had already changed her clothes, into casual clothes that were easy to move in.

She didn't see the black line on her boss's forehead and asked excitedly, "I heard you guys talking about 'The Devil's True Name Collection'! Are you interested too?!"

"I guess...I guess so?"

"Can you take me with you?"

Hakimed hesitated.

Hakimed hadn't expected that an NPC would join his party for this quest, but before he could even speak, the quest was updated.

[Mission Objective 2: NPC Emma must survive]

Now there's no need to hesitate.

"Alright then."

He sighed and then called on his brothers to do a final check on their condition, telling those without weapons to grab a stick for self-defense.

Emma only needed to join, but Hakimed, as the leader of the pioneering team, had many more considerations.

Emma also retrieved her small bag from Roland, which contained useful tools.

With the contract in place, Roland wasn't afraid that she might have any malicious intentions.

She's probably not an impulsive person, given that she's been picking up trash in the spirit world for so long.

Roland watched the group leave the tavern.

The six people arrived at the entrance of the Sunrise Church.

The main gate had already been opened during a previous exploration, so they didn't need to crawl through the small hole to get in this time.

Standing once again in the central hall, there were no traces of the previous battle.

But the swordsman still instinctively gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist, the effects of the previous bloody battle still lingering.

"Be careful!"

Emma, who was being protected in the center by the team, suddenly spoke up.

The swordsman drew his sword, alert, and the other four immediately began to look around.

Emma's vertical pupils flashed, and she patted the swordsman on the shoulder, pointing ahead to the area near the stairs.

Three orbs of blue light, radiating a dangerous aura, appeared in her spiritual vision.

"What? What's strange about it?"

The swordsman looked in the direction she pointed, but found nothing.

"I saw it."

David Day said in a low voice.

He saw them: three shriveled zombies, their heads gone, replaced by a closed book.

Each zombie carries a different book, but they all have one thing in common: they are brightly colored.

It was as if the book had drained the walker of all his blood and soul.

[Sanity -5]

Perhaps because Marcus, who used to guard this place, is gone, these things have expanded their range of activity to the first floor.

"You probably need a really low sanity level to see this monster!"

Based on the form, Hakimes whispered his judgment.

In David Day's view, the three monsters seemed to have sensed that prey was approaching, and they walked towards the six people with their hands raised.

"What if I can't see it..."

Kashima looked troubled.

According to David Day, these three little monsters did not appear to be the type that were good at fighting.

The main difficulty is that they cannot see each other.

"I know you're in a hurry, but please don't rush..."

Emma had seen many of these strange things, and she was well prepared for this situation.

She took a small glass bottle out of her bag, which contained some kind of white powder.

This is a projectile designed to target spirit beings.

"Why do you have so many bombs?"

Kashima turned around and saw Emma about to throw the thing away. Recalling the Hellfire Bomb from back then, he asked curiously.

"Materials are cheap in Chaodu, so I'll just hand-rub them."

As she spoke, Emma threw it at the three monsters.

Snapped!

The bottle shattered, and dust billowed up.

The monster closest to the center howled and fell to the ground, then melted into a small puddle of white, viscous liquid like a candle, emitting a strange smell.

The other two monsters, covered in dust, appeared before the crowd.

[Sanity -3]

"Now it's easy."

As he spoke, the swordsman charged at one of the monsters, which was still trying to brush the dust off its body.

With a swift stroke, the sword severed the monster's neck.

The monster's corpse turned to ashes.

However, just as he turned around to prepare to ambush another one, an accident occurred.

Even though its body was still facing its teammates, its neck rotated at a strange angle, pointing the book at the swordsman!

Bang!

Just as the book was about to be opened, the colorful toad rushed up and broke off its slender leg with a stick.

The book was opened, and a beam of bright light shone onto the ceiling.

Missed.