–Surrounded by players–

Just as the people from the Black Poker were preparing to cause trouble for Ranen, trouble had already arrived for him.

With a sinking feeling, Ranen watched the forum post about finding the NPC quickly climb to the top, a sense of foreboding washing over him.

The clamor outside only confirmed that this premonition had turned into reality.

His Psychotherapy Room was surrounded by players.

Although Ogre’s appearance could intimidate passersby, it certainly couldn’t scare players. On the contrary, a few players had gathered around him, trying to find some quests. Unfortunately, Ogre ignored them completely. After the players arrived, he put away his brush and canvas and sat motionless at the door, resembling a silent statue.

Ranen had to be grateful that Ogre had come along today; otherwise, the players might have swarmed inside.

However, seeing Ogre all alone surrounded by players was quite pitiful. Ranen had no choice but to go outside. As he stepped out, the players, who had been recording and waiting, burst into excited cheers.

“He’s here! He’s here!”

“Wait, wait, don’t crowd.”

“Wuwuwuwuwu, I finally met my destined wife.”

“You all said you weren’t coming, but I’m getting squeezed to death here, surrounded inside and out by a bunch of scheming bitches!”

Ranen found himself surrounded so tightly that there was no way to move. He began to regret it, especially when he noticed the strange looks from passersby on the street.

Moreover, inexplicably, even the anomalies on the street began to approach.

Is it because the crowd has gathered and attracted them?

“I think it’s better if you all leave.”

But his voice was too faint, lost amid the players’ loud exclamations.

As Ranen watched the anomalies on the street draw closer, his smile became increasingly strained.

One of the players, who was filming his “wife” with excitement, suddenly shivered and muttered in confusion, “Why do I suddenly feel a bit cold?”

“What? You feel cold in the game too?”

“I increased the realism settings.” The player shrugged, about to continue filming the NPC when he inexplicably felt a chill.

At the same time, the system prompt started flashing wildly in his mind.

[Intuition Check: Success]

[Intelligence Check: Failure]

[You sense a change in the air around you, but you’re not quite sure what has happened. You have only one thought: perhaps it’s a good idea to leave here as soon as possible.]

The noisy crowd of players gradually quieted down.

Clearly, it wasn’t just one player who received this prompt. Since this game is primarily focused on tabletop RPG elements, everyone had set their inspiration levels high, so more than one player received the same notification.

As a result, all the players fell silent. Regardless of whether their inspiration and intelligence checks passed, they all felt a strange shiver, as if something had brushed past them.

They finally noticed that Ranen had, at some point, restrained his expression. He cast a cold glance at them before turning and pulling Ogre into the Psychotherapy Room, shutting the door behind him.

Throughout the entire process, no player dared to move. The cold glance, combined with the system’s constant reminders about the [Intuition Check], made the players wisely keep their mouths shut.

It then dawned on them.

Although the forum often joked about NPC favorability settings, playfully referring to it as romantic interaction, Ranen was not just an ordinary character from a generic game.

He was surrounded by mystery.

He made the monsters fight each other.

Evil God? Old One ^[1]Powerful, ancient beings that predate humanity and are often associated with the cosmic horror genre.?

No one knew the true nature of the entity, but it certainly didn’t seem like an ordinary NPC.

However, how should one put it…

“Did you see that look just now?”

“Ranen seemed angry earlier.”

“Yeah, maybe he was annoyed because there were too many of us.”

“No, I just wanted to say,” one of the players had a look of excitement on their face, “I’m even more thrilled now!”

“Damn, there’s a pervert here!”

—-

The madness was terrifying; he almost couldn’t hold on.

Noticing that the anomalies had passed through the players and were moving closer, Ranen felt distressed and quickly pulled Ogre back to shut the door.

He watched the door for a while, ensuring that the anomalies wouldn’t break through it, before gradually relaxing.

As for the players outside… they could stay as long as they wanted.

“Ogre, are you okay? Did you get hurt just now? I’m sorry, I didn’t expect them to be so crazy despite the ads I placed in some areas.”

“No,” Ogre shook his head and said softly, “I’ll stay here. It’s safer for both of us. Are you still open for business today?”

“If these people could understand what manners are, then perhaps,” Ranen sighed. Financial troubles had made him desperate; he needed money to move out quickly, and he was relying on these players.

He hoped they would soon realize that he was just an ordinary functional NPC. They could take photos if they wanted, but they should come in as regular patients!

At this moment, the encirclement outside had gradually dispersed. The players were merely curious, and while some were infatuated, most were not. After a strong round of observing the NPC, the players slowly dispersed, leaving only a few persistent ones still lingering around the Psychotherapy Room.

They were unwilling to leave but were wary of the death penalty, so they dared not enter directly. The situation became a standoff.

When Druid arrived, panting heavily, he saw that there were still some players gathered outside Ranen’s Psychotherapy Room.

One sharp-eyed player noticed Druid’s ID and greeted him, “Hey, Druid, why are you so late?”

“I went to the hospital earlier but found nothing,” Druid said, looking a bit embarrassed, “Then I saw the forum and realized Ranen was here.”

“Well, you came too late,” said the player [Black Cat], “Ranen went in just now, and it seems he doesn’t like noisy environments.”

He then excitedly recounted what had just happened. When the players started making insight checks following Ranen’s disappearance of a smile, Druid was visibly worried: “You guys are really bold. Aren’t you guessing that Ranen’s identity is unusual? Why are so many of you still crowding around?”

“Because of the game’s affinity system,” Black Cat shrugged. “You know, since your video went viral, there are always people trying to create fan groups in this game. I keep saying, this is a role-playing game, not a galgame ^[2]“Galgame” is a term used to describe a genre of Japanese video games that focus on romantic interactions with female characters. The name is derived from “gal” (short for … Continue reading!”

“Pfft,” Druid patted his friend’s shoulder with a knowing smile, “It’s okay. Once they experience the pain of losing loved ones and the heart-wrenching moments, they’ll realize that a pink-tinted campaign isn’t ideal for role-playing.”

Heartbreak is the essence of role-playing. Who hasn’t lost a lover, a best friend, or a teammate in a campaign? It’s a rite of passage for any serious investigator.

“That’s true,” Black Cat nodded, looking at the group of stubborn newbies still loitering around with a touch of pity.

Experienced players know not to get emotionally attached to NPCs, or they’ll get betrayed. But every year, new players fall into this trap without realizing it.

“By the way, I can understand why some are still hanging around, but why are you still here?” Druid asked curiously. “Are you waiting for me?”

“Waiting for you? No.” Black Cat rolled his eyes. “I’m trying to see if I can get a quest from Ranen. You know how hard it is to find quests in this game. Wandering around the city aimlessly is too inefficient. So far, only the troublemaker on the forum has managed to get a quest, and it was from Ranen. I wanted to give it a shot.”

He then fell into thought, “Besides, don’t you think the game’s flaws are too obvious right now? It requires players to find event triggers themselves. While the freedom and realism are great, it also makes players act like headless chickens, wandering around aimlessly.”

“So, my guess is that the purpose of the next phase of the beta test is to fix this bug. Maybe players will be able to join an organization that consistently exposes them to strange events, or there will be specific guide NPCs to help players access campaign modules.”

“You think Ranen is one of these NPCs?” Druid understood what he was implying.

“Yeah.” Black Cat nodded. “He’s the most likely candidate. Although the current speculation on the forum leans towards him being an Old One or an Evil God, who says that an Evil God has to be against us?”

“Then why don’t you go in and try?”

“Uh… I’ve been parked here for an hour. It feels a bit risky now, so I’m just waiting for someone with the guts.”

Seeing his friend’s gaze land on him, Druid rolled his eyes silently, then stepped forward and knocked on the door.

The players gathered outside immediately looked at him with the eyes of someone watching a brave warrior.

“Aren’t you worried about getting stuck?”

Druid smirked, “Just wait and see.”

Soon, the door of the Psychotherapy Room opened from the inside. Ranen stood in the doorway, revealing only a sliver of space. The players outside couldn’t see his expression clearly, but they could tell it was likely quite cold.

But in reality, Ranen was just sneaking a glance to see if the strange creatures outside had left.

Druid swallowed nervously and stepped forward, his pace quickening involuntarily. “Hello, I’m the twin brother of Druid. I went to the hospital earlier but couldn’t find my brother.”

He was taking a gamble—this story was full of holes, mostly relying on his face, which bore a strong resemblance to his last character.

Ranen snapped back to reality and cast a calm glance at Druid. “Come in.”

Druid, brimming with excitement, was just about to step inside when he felt someone grab his arm. His in-game friend looked at him with pleading eyes.

Druid cleared his throat. “Can I bring someone along?”

“Sure.”

Druid immediately pulled his friend along and followed Ranen inside.

The players still gathered outside erupted into a frenzy.

…

“What’s your name?”

“Andrew Druid,” Druid replied, already prepared. Before Ranen could say anything, he quickly explained his background. “I’m here to find my twin brother. Have you seen him? He looks exactly like me.”

This character card that Druid was using looked almost identical to his previous one, with the same backstory as a relative. This is a common tactic when running campaign games—after one character dies, one can create a relative or friend to inherit their assets and continue the investigation.

If the module spans a long period, it’s possible for one scenario to involve three generations of a family.

Additionally, there’s a chance to inherit NPC favorability according to the official game settings, which is why Druid felt confident enough to cozy up to Ranen.

Of course, the “white moonlight” stuff from forum posts was just a joke—he knew he wasn’t there yet. He just hoped that his previous character had indeed made some impression on this mysterious NPC so he could continue building favor.

Unfortunately, what he didn’t know was that Ranen could also access the player forums and had seen his posts.

Ranen glanced at Druid with a faint smile and decided to play along. “I did see him, but unfortunately, he’s already dead.”

“Dead? No, I don’t believe it!” Druid clutched his head, pretending to be in anguish, and let out a few sorrowful cries, forcing out a few non-existent tears. “Please, tell me what happened! I must uncover the truth!”

Standing beside him, Black Cat shuddered, immediately realizing the correct approach. He quickly started recording. 

Nicely done, Druid! This is the proper way to handle a campaign game—this is the moment when they start entering the background story mode of the scenario!

“This isn’t something you should investigate,” Ranen shook his head, “at least not right now.”

Ranen did remember that hospital scenario—it was a high-level campaign that had wiped out many teams of investigators because it required investigators with initial exposure to the mysterious side to clear it. It was considered a fairly challenging early scenario.

“When will I be able to investigate it then?”

Ranen glanced at the excited players nearby and suddenly had an idea. “When I deem you ready. Until then, I will have you complete certain tasks. Of course, you can choose not to accept them…”

Before Ranen could finish, Druid had already exclaimed, “I accept!”

But then, catching Ranen’s faintly smiling gaze, his voice dropped, and he put on a sorrowful expression. “I accept.”

“Alright, then. I’ll notify you. And if you encounter anything unsettling during a strange event or have any psychological issues, you can always come to me,” Ranen shrugged. “After all, this is a psychological treatment center.”

Druid’s eyes lit up as he exchanged a glance with Black Cat and asked, “Can others come too?”

Ranen, pleased with Druid’s perceptiveness, curved his lips into a smile. “Of course. I’m not running a membership club here, so everyone is welcome to make an appointment… as long as they know how to wait their turn.”

Glancing at the time, Ranen gave them a polite but clear indication to leave. “You can go now.”

Druid reluctantly made his way to the door, turning back every few steps. Finally, he stopped at the entrance.

“Can I ask one last question?”

Seeing Ranen nod, Druid swallowed and asked, “Druid—my twin brother—what was your relationship with him?”

His gaming buddy widened his eyes in shock. ‘You’re really bold, aren’t you?’

‘Could it be that the forum post brainwashed him? Wake up, man, you’re dealing with—‘

“I only met him once,” Ranen replied.

“Well, that makes sense…”

“But,” Ranen’s lips curled into a faint smile, “if it weren’t for him, I might not have been able to leave the hospital.”

Of course, Ranen knew all about the speculations and theories circulating on the player forum regarding his identity. The idea of confirming the so-called evil god identity might actually work in his favor.

But for Ranen, that strange and mistaken night had marked the beginning of him gathering the courage to face the world again.

It was a night of great significance to him.

So, he didn’t want to lie about it.