The Secret Cult Chronicles of the Decaying Lake Manor

The first card design resembles a stream of thick, dripping blood, with shadows swirling around its edges.

Bloodshed

[Sexual characteristics: Abyss, Wine, Ritual]

[Inspired by the despair of a confined Herald, she has no choice but to create calamity to avoid it.]

The second card is more like a solidified blood clot, exuding a dark and aged texture.

[Blood Disaster, Blood Flood]

[Sexual aspects: Abyss, wine, objects, medium]

The crimson lake water, as viscous as fresh blood, exuded an aura repulsive to all living beings—this was the beginning of a warning.

The section on sexual characteristics contains some novel ideas.

[Ritual: "What the superiors do, the inferiors follow; what resides within manifests without." [Through ritual, the extraordinary can unify their nature and leverage the infinite power beneath the world's surface.]]

[Medium: This is the credential that allows things to pass [to connect the world through a medium and gain the assistance of others]]

The two cards revealed a worrying fact, but after examining them repeatedly, they offered no further explanation, so George quickly dismissed them from his mind.

George shook his head at the lieutenant's questioning gaze.

"I was just trying to figure out where the blood came from, and the result wasn't optimistic. My father also thinks this sudden incident is probably just the beginning."

"By the way, my father has admitted that the family has extraordinary powers. He seems to be doing well so far. My previous speculation was only partially correct."

He looked gloomy: "I had this in mind when I asked you to come along, but unfortunately, this has really happened."

"It's alright, doctor, and now is not the time to apologize."

Bates stopped George from continuing: "The situation is likely to be difficult, but we can always be stronger together, and we will win."

"Thank you, John, that was a very encouraging speech."

After accepting George's thanks, the lieutenant then asked, "How is your father?"

"He claimed to be in poor health and said he would teach me to carry on the family's knowledge and deal with the crisis facing this land."

George briefly recounted what he could mention in his conversation with the Viscount, and Bates, after some thought, raised another question.

"This island is like a perfect ivory tower. But what if things go wrong? How will we get out?"

After a moment's thought, George gave a less optimistic answer.

"Besides the ferry boats docked at the pier, there are only two other boats that come to deliver food and other supplies each week."

His gaze shifted to the lake, his eyes twitching: "Even in autumn, swimming across this body of water wouldn't have been a problem before, but now the lake has become like this..."

Bates shook his head and said instead, "Then let's focus on 'being fully armed so that we can win the struggle'."

So George changed the subject, asking, "Besides Father and me, what do you think of the rest of my family?"

Bates hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your cousin and sister should be friendly. But your uncle... maybe I'm wrong, but I have a feeling he's hiding something."

"What about Carson?" George continued. "He's the one in charge, and his position is important."

"The butler? He's even harder to understand than your uncle." Bates shook his head, his gaze becoming profound.

"If he wasn't an actor, he would certainly be an exemplary butler—perfect and silent, like an integral part of the mansion."

George had made up his mind. He nodded and said, "I will try my best to test his position, or through Elliott. He can hear a lot of things in the servants' quarters."

“Elliot is a promising talent, and very loyal,” Bates continued. “Have you considered making him a superhuman as well? It’s always good to have more power.”

George gave Bates a deep look, his tone becoming somewhat ambiguous.

"Elliott's situation... is rather unique. He has some symptoms similar to yours, but more complicated and not yet fully resolved. It would be very risky to let him get involved in this line of work."

Upon hearing this, Bates's eyes narrowed, and he nodded: "I understand, this needs to be handled carefully."

The two said no more. A cold wind blew in, carrying a strong, metallic smell of rust.

"Let's go back." George straightened his collar. "Lunchtime is almost here."

Bates grinned. "Speaking of which, your family's cook must be a good person—putting aside the bloodshed, the manor has many advantages."

"Thank you for your compliment, John. Mrs. Patmer will be very pleased to hear that."

Before long, the two returned to the mansion and spent the rest of the day in a subdued calm.

Lunch and dinner were barely passable, and the kitchen managed to serve some decent food.

Carson, the butler, maintained impeccable service as if it were a rock, yet the faint smell of rust in the air reminded everyone that something was amiss.

The only noteworthy thing is that George took some time in the afternoon to use the card table.

First, there are three types of cards that appear after promotion, which are roughly basic ability cards.

One of the cards is a heart with white lines on a grass-green background:

【vitality】

[Sexual traits: alcohol, hunting, ability]

"The salvation of the world lies within life" [corresponding to the primordial spirit that carries biological instincts, desires, bloodlines, and subconsciousness]

There are also two identical light blue line drawing brain cards, which represent attributes enhanced after promotion.

【reason】

[Nature/Appearance: Candle, Mirror, Ability]

"The nature of reason lies in considering things as necessary rather than accidental" [corresponding to the astral entity that generates reason and interacts with the world]

Finally, there's a card with an abstract eye against a burgundy background:

Passion

[Sexual Characteristics: Star, String, Ability]

"The passion for beauty is the highest manifestation of power; this is the eternal law." [This corresponds to the Arcane Body, representing rules and the ultimate pursuit.]

From these three types of cards, George learned two more principles.

[Mirror: A mirror reflects the changes in the world, but the changes reflected in the mirror are an illusion. [A mirror is a boundary, a reflection, and a standard for distinguishing reality from illusion.]]

[Stars: Celestial bodies are the stars of the universe, and we are our own stars. [Stars represent existence, elements, and guiding principles.]]

Overall, this seems to be some kind of resource with a cooldown period; based on George's experience in his previous life's games, this thing is similar to "stamina".

His previous speculation about the cooldown time of book analysis was now validated by the [Rationality (Exhaustion)] card, which had not shone and was different from other cards.

Analyzing cards requires consuming the cooldown of [Rationality] cards, with a cooldown period of three days.

This is what he learned after analyzing the "Himalayan Hunting Guide" he borrowed from the lieutenant.

At first, George was a little confused because he couldn't find the "use" button near the cards, but soon two "Rationality" cards lit up, giving him a clue.

He stacked the "Rationality" card and the "Books" card; the former dimmed, while the latter familiarly vanished as points of light.

The story of the author's pursuit of the wounded man-eating tiger is still told in the Bharata Empire. As a nobleman of the kingdom, he became a recognized "expert in hunting large prey," and his record of hunting large animals was unmatched.

"Hunting is war in peacetime; killing is an innate, savage pleasure, but few are truly skilled in the art of hunting. Those who have hunted long enough on land and find joy in it will discover the highest pleasure..."

The book states that one of the author's pastimes was "chasing tigers and rhinoceroses from a box on an elephant's back." Perhaps due to his excessive pursuit of high-risk hunting, Moran's career came to an abrupt end after his thirty-eighth birthday. He was eventually forced to return to London due to an undisclosed scandal, and this book only contains a small portion of his "milder" recounting of these events.