[The already fallen Miskatonic University.]

Warning: This chapter contains scenes of violence that may be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

Recalling the veiled warning Ranen had given him about the Inspection Bureau’s untrustworthiness, Edmund faintly pieced together what Albert had gone through, making it even harder for him to utter deceitful words.

“Poor Albert, pitiful Mr. Undercover~,” Amos hummed a tune he’d just made up, “He abandoned justice, willingly embraced the darkness, yet he doesn’t realize~ he was born from the darkness~”

“Justice, oh justice~ How laughable it is~”

“Pitiful, lamentable,” the tune in the man’s voice took a turn, “Justice? Hmph, hahaha~”

“Shut up!”

To Edmund’s horror, Albert suddenly burst into flames, golden fire vaguely forming the shape of a gun in his hands.

But the gun never fully formed. The blond man let out a painful wail as he was forced to deactivate his origin ability.

After disengaging his power, prominent burn marks began to appear all over his body.

“Is this backlash?” Edmund exclaimed in surprise. But how could it be so severe?

During his training, Geffer had explained that most newly awakened origin abilities wouldn’t be too strong, and even if they were, there were usually limits. It was rare for newly awakened abilities to backfire so severely on the user.

“As expected, your ability is related to ‘judgment,’ isn’t it?”

Amos took a step forward, crossing a dozen meters effortlessly and kicked Albert, who was trying to get up, back to the ground.

“What triggers the burning? Sin? Guilt? Or negative emotions?”

Amos crouched down, his pitch-black eyes filled with unfathomable malice. “From your reaction, I’d guess it’s all of the above.”

“Did that previous incident make you feel so guilty that your ability is now backfiring? How pathetic, the so-called righteous man who couldn’t save anyone.”

“How about I make you a proposal?”

Amos leaned in close to Albert’s ear. “Ranen is the core of our dear leader’s plan. If you kill him, maybe the leader’s plan will fail. What do you say? The lives of the entire city against an unknown evil god, you wouldn’t hesitate, would you?”

Suddenly, Amos stepped back half a meter, just as a small knife embedded itself in the spot he had been standing. Edmund tilted his head and stared at him. “What did you just say?”

“Ah, I almost forgot there’s a loyal dog here,” Amos grinned, fanning the flames further. “The Inspection Bureau really is full of talent, with cultist seeds everywhere.”

*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!—*

A series of gunshots rang out, but Amos remained still, an invisible barrier stopping the bullets. After the fifth shot, Amos deduced that the gun was out of bullets. As the barrier disappeared, a knife flew toward him. Amos tilted his head to dodge, but a thin cut appeared on his cheek, drawing a sliver of blood.

“So it was you…” Edmund drew several throwing knives from his coat. A clown’s makeup had somehow appeared on his face, with a bright red smile stretching high. “You were the man in black that night. Perfect, I’ll kill you here and now~”

“A little pup who just entered the first level, talking big, huh?”

Amos yawned, stepping aside to avoid Edmund’s knife. “If I hadn’t been maintaining the spell that night, do you think you would’ve even gotten close to touching my clothes?”

Edmund didn’t respond, his attacks growing fiercer. But just as Amos said, no matter how hard he tried, Edmund was always just a bit short.

That slight gap was a chasm between them.

Amos didn’t retaliate, merely playing with Edmund like a small dog. He even had the leisure to taunt Albert nearby. “Still haven’t made up your mind? Or are you just afraid of dying?”

“What a pity,” Amos smirked. “So many more people in this city will soon perish. Yes, just like back then, when you watched so many juniors who trusted you die, once again, you’ll only be able to watch… as Arkham turns to ruins.”

Albert’s head twitched.

Amos didn’t miss the movement and smirked, ready to say more. Suddenly, a silver knife slashed toward his eye.

Amos tilted his head to dodge and sighed as he turned his face. “You’re really annoying.”

Hmm?

Amos’s pupils contracted slightly as he narrowly avoided another knife aimed at his heart. If he hadn’t been wary of this clown, he might’ve fallen into the trap.

It wasn’t that he was careless, but… Edmund’s speed and reflexes were getting faster.

“Strange…” Amos glanced at the sky and muttered, “Why can you enter the Dream Rift during the day?”

—-

Edmund couldn’t hear him anymore.

The only thought in his mind now was to eliminate the enemy in front of him, the one who posed a threat to Ranen.

He entered a trance-like state, recklessly plunging into the mist on the next level of the staircase. The surrounding whispers grew wild, enveloping him, shouting and murmuring in his ears. Edmund heard many voices calling his name—women, men, children, his captain, even his own voice…

They were all calling him, urging him to turn back, warning that ahead lay not hope, but an abyss.

The lantern in his hand flickered, hinting at his waning sanity, but Edmund couldn’t care less. He needed one thing right now—power!

“Edmund…”

That was Ranen’s voice.

As Edmund stepped onto the second level, he instinctively turned his head. At the same time, the lantern in his hand flickered for a moment.

The last flicker of light went out.

—-

In reality, the sanity in the clown’s eyes was completely lost. He fixed his gaze on Amos, letting out a hysterical laugh.

Amos narrowed his eyes as he watched the ‘hydrangea’ symbolizing Edmund’s soul gradually enveloped by the mist. He couldn’t help but softly sigh, “What a madman.”

But now, he had become a powerful madman.

The clown rushed forward, brandishing the small knife in his hand. In close combat, such a short weapon was generally at a disadvantage because its attack intention was too obvious, and the distance needed to harm someone was too short, giving the opponent plenty of time to dodge. This time was no different—Amos sidestepped to the right, evading the knife’s attack.

However, the eerie part was that the clown’s wrist twisted ninety degrees to the right, as if broken, and with the same force, it pierced Amos’s shoulder.

Amos couldn’t defend in time and had to pull back to create distance. But the clown pressed on relentlessly. Though his speed couldn’t match Amos’s, his movements were bizarre, as if his body was controlled not by a human but by a complete beast. To achieve his goal, the clown moved on all fours, stood on his hands, and even attacked with his teeth.

Even the best acrobat couldn’t be as agile as he was.

No, the agility of his body had surpassed human limits.

Amos watched the clown’s bent wrist recover and straightened, pondering deeply.

Generally, the deeper one delved into the Dream Rift, the stronger the abilities gained. This enhancement was not only in the expansion of origin abilities but also in the augmentation of the body’s physical functions.

But the second level of the Dream Rift was an exception.

To be precise, it was the test of entering the second level. Before breaking free from madness, the brain would lift its usual restrictions on physical capabilities.

This allowed for exerting force that risked muscle strain, moving at speeds that ignored ankle damage, and pushing every limit of cellular regeneration in the body.

It was like a car filled with fuel, flooring the accelerator—either it ran to its demise or regained clarity.

Unless externally restrained, such as through the forced injection of drugs, those who fell into madness would continuously attack any living beings around them until they either regained consciousness or died.

Undeniably, in this state, combat power would temporarily surge to an extremely high level.

Lacking the physical advantage, Amos had no choice but to use spells. However, just as he showed signs of casting, the clown would sense something was off and rush in close to interrupt him, an incredibly irritating tactic.

Amos could resort to his reserves, but those powerful origin spells were single-use and were meant for his dear cult leader. How could he waste them here?

Thinking it over but finding no good solution, Amos clicked his tongue, then, without hesitation, turned around and ran.

Edmund gave chase.

With a persistent pursuer like a piece of stubborn adhesive, fighting was troublesome, and ignoring him could lead to deaths. What to do?

The obvious answer was to flee.

—-

The group headed back toward the administrative building. Luckily, there were no patrolling nurses downstairs, only a room with a night-shift light on, where a drowsy security guard sat. They successfully sneaked into the building. However, as soon as they entered, the hospital’s broadcast suddenly echoed through the corridors.

“Attention, there are intruders in the hospital, and they have taken the important patient, Ranen. If you see any signs of outsiders in the hospital, please subdue them on the spot… oh no, I mean, apprehend them.”

Black Cat and Druid nearly burst out laughing.

‘What was that? Subdue? You were clearly about to say kill, weren’t you???’

Perhaps the broadcast realized its mistake, and a burst of static followed. The entire hospital seemed to come alive, with the surrounding mist growing thicker. Druid and the others even heard the night-shift security guard rising from his seat, prompting them to quicken their pace toward the second floor.

The hospital’s archives were on the second floor of the administrative building. The quietness of the floor was eerie, but for them, this was the best scenario, allowing them to reach the archives without incident.

Of course, the archives were locked. Thanks to Arkham Hospital’s long history, the door had not yet been upgraded to a keypad lock, bringing them back to the familiar task of picking the right key.

The floor was so quiet that the sound of the key entering the lock was distinctly audible. Druid could already glimpse the faint beam of a flashlight from the stairs and urged, “Hurry up!”

However, Archie remained unhurried, calmly inserting the key and turning it. The door clicked open instantly, and they quickly slipped inside.

Familiar with the routine, they all breathed a sigh of relief, waiting for the patrol light to pass. Only then did Black Cat cautiously take out his phone, using its dim light to survey the room.

The archives contained just one desk, while the rest were neatly arranged cabinets holding categorized documents.

Druid still remembered their mission: the main task was to overthrow the director.

Clearly, the key to completing this mission was hidden within these medical records!

Black Cat stared at the numerous cabinets and files, feeling a creeping sense of dread.

In the tabletop role-playing game  they were in, most actions required dice rolls, including searching for information. In fact, information gathering often formed a major part of routine investigations. Therefore, experienced players usually invested in the “Library Use” skill.

Not for any other reason than to avoid the frustrating scenario of being unable to find crucial clues despite having a mountain of documents right in front of them due to bad dice rolls.

Still, skill or not, the task of sifting through this mountain of archives to find what they needed was daunting.

At this moment, Ranen’s voice rang out: “The current director of Arkham Hospital took office a year ago. Look for documents from the past year, preferably with photos.”

Druid asked, “Huh, the director’s only been in charge for a year? How do you know that?”

Ranen replied casually, “I heard about it.”

When he was previously hospitalized, many doctors and nurses would often visit to chat and build relationships, so he naturally heard a lot of inside information about the hospital.

With a defined time range, searching for files became much simpler. Black Cat and Druid both received system bonus dice and eagerly started their search.

Ranen walked past several cabinets, noticing the labels on them.

“Medical Records”

These were recently archived medical records. He had a hunch and began to search through them.

It was unclear how much time had passed.

“Found it!” Druid’s excited voice came from not far away.

Thank heavens, and thank the dice goddess!

When Druid initially joined the game, he invested in the “Library Use” skill. However, because there were too many skills he wanted to invest in and too few initial skill points, his Library Use skill was a mere 15 points. Even with the bonus dice, it took him nearly half an hour to find what they needed.

“I found something too,” Black Cat happily held up a file, which included a color-printed photo.

In the photo, the person shaking hands with a major leader was the same “director” Druid had previously seen.

“With this, we can prove his identity, right?” Black Cat said excitedly.

“Fantastic! What did you roll to find that?” 

“Hehe, a lucky critical success.”

Druid and Black Cat were shoulder to shoulder, eager to share their findings with Ranen and the others, only to notice that Archie was looking at a file with a serious expression.

“What is this…?”

Archie handed the file to them, and they found it was a collaboration document between the hospital and a certain pharmaceutical company.

“This pharmaceutical company was previously reported to the police for incorrect drug components and had been shut down several times,” Archie said. “But in the end, nothing was found, though many people protested at the factory’s gates, claiming the drugs caused deaths.”

Druid frowned. “This hospital is collaborating with that pharmaceutical company. Were there any accidents?”

“Let’s keep searching.”

They spread out and found several suspicious medical records. In these cases, patients’ conditions deteriorated after taking drugs from the company, but these individuals quickly transferred to other hospitals, leaving their outcomes unknown.

“Wait, look at this record,” Black Cat said. “Two patients who took the drugs had worsening mental states and were admitted to the third-floor treatment area. One committed suicide, and the other died on the operating table due to a sudden illness.”

The third floor… isn’t that the area they has visited earlier?

“No wonder the director’s expression changed when we mentioned the third floor,” Druid muttered. “Something big happened there, yet no one exposed it?”

“During that time, there was no news about this incident. Either the patient’s family reached a private settlement with the hospital, or the doctors altered the medical records and prescriptions to erase any trace of the suspicious drug,” Archie said.

Druid recalled the newspaper he saw in the doctor’s lounge and quickly shared this clue with them.

“A doctor committed suicide at home,” Archie said solemnly. “I remember that. It did happen before, but the family refused an autopsy. Since it was a suicide, it made the news for a while but then faded away.”

The clues began to connect: the director of Arkham Hospital had collaborated with the corrupt pharmaceutical company, prescribing expensive drugs to patients. When problems arose, the partnership ended. How the pharmaceutical company evaded scrutiny was unclear, but on the hospital’s side, it seemed they silenced staff through threats and bribed some doctors or families to cover it up.

But the two patients who died on the third floor were undeniably deceased.

Realizing this, Druid felt a heavy weight in his heart. He then noticed someone was missing from their discussion.

“Where’s Ranen?” Druid asked, turning to find Ranen lost in thought, staring at the medical record in his hand.

“Ranen? We found the evidence. We finally have something to use against the director!”

“…Ranen?”

Black Cat and Druid called out several times, but Ranen didn’t respond. The two exchanged glances, and Archie, who was searching on the other side, also looked over. After hesitating for a moment, he took a few steps forward. “Ranen.”

“Hmm?” Ranen snapped out of his daze. “What’s wrong?”

“Did you find something?”

“…Sort of.” Ranen handed the file to Archie.

The players gathered around to look. The file contained Ranen’s medical record.

[Even the Old One has a medical record.]

[Quite the convincing disguise.]

[Wait, look at the school name!]

[!!!]

The chat was already abuzz, having spotted the anomaly. The players noticed it too.

“Miskatonic University!” Druid, a devoted fan of the Cthulhu mythos, exclaimed, “This world actually has that university!”

“Where’s that university?” Archie and Druid asked simultaneously.

They glanced at each other, and Druid first asked Ranen, “Did you graduate from Miskatonic University!?”

The question seemed absurd. Why would a university known for training investigators in the Cthulhu mythos produce an Old One?

“Aren’t you a graduate of Arkham University, like Albert?” Archie looked confused. “There’s only one university in Arkham City, right?”

Ranen gently touched the words on the medical record. It clearly stated that the fire occurred at Miskatonic University, not Arkham University.

And judging by Archie’s reaction, he had never heard of this university either.

That was peculiar.

Could it be that this university didn’t exist?

Yet Ranen felt otherwise. When he first saw the medical record, vague images of a school engulfed in flames flashed through his mind.

Although it was just a fleeting glimpse, the school in that image was entirely different from the one Albert had once taken him to. Unlike the modern, simple, and grand university buildings, the one in his memory was a gloomy Gothic-style structure.

Moreover… why was the perspective in that image so strange? It was as if he was looking down from the sky…

“So, is this university real or fake?” Druid voiced the question from the chat.

Ranen came back to his senses and looked down at the medical record. “It should be real.”

Archie said, “But in reality, there’s no such university.”

“Reality,” Ranen smiled, “can also be altered.”

In his previous life, after the game reached its later stages, Arkham City disappeared. Except for a few people and players, it was as if the entire world had forgotten that this city ever existed.

The people who lived in Arkham City, and all traces of its existence, vanished entirely, as if it had never been there. As a result, among those who remembered, Arkham City earned the nickname “The Lost City.”

He just hadn’t expected that, aside from this lost city, there was also a school that had disappeared first.

In the past life, players occasionally complained to the developers, asking why, since Arkham was already in the game, there wasn’t a Miskatonic University in it.

Many veteran tabletop RPG players had a deep attachment to Miskatonic University. If the game truly featured this university, surely some players would be eager to return to campus.

Before his transmigration, Ranen had heard that the Miskatonic map was in development, but he hadn’t been able to experience it, which made him subconsciously think the game didn’t include Miskatonic.

But now, it seemed far more complex.

“What do you mean by reality can be altered?” Druid was stunned.

“Haven’t you already encountered something similar in reality?” Ranen raised his eyes, speaking coolly. “Like the ‘director’ who isn’t really the director.”

“But that was about altering people’s memories, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. So do you know where the Dream World comes from?” Ranen rubbed the paper’s surface. “Dreams are a manifestation of the human subconscious. The human mind is like an iceberg floating on the sea; the ‘consciousness’ we easily grasp in our daily lives is just the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface, the subconscious is the massive, unfathomable main body.”

“The power of the subconscious is restricted by the mind and body when we’re awake, so only a part of it can manifest. But when we dream, the subconscious power is fully unleashed.”

“Dreams are interconnected. It’s not just humans; the subconscious minds of all intelligent beings construct the realm where gods exist, known as the Dream World.”

“In other words,” Ranen glanced at the players, curling his lips into a smile, “in this world, daydreams might not just be daydreams.”

“Reality influences dreams, and dreams alter reality.”

“Idealism?” Druid pondered.

“Perhaps.” Ranen brushed off the topic lightly and returned to the present, “The goal of the Outsider is to reach the Dream World, and it’s clear they intend to take this city with them. Unfortunately, this dangerous attempt is probably not their first.”

“They succeeded once, resulting in the permanent disappearance of Miskatonic University from this world,” Ranen continued. “If they succeed again, it’s likely Arkham itself will vanish.”

The live chat erupted with discussions over the overwhelming information.

[Ranen casually dropped some mind-blowing info again!]

[So that’s how it is—the Dream World is made of the subconscious… and my Miskatonic! My alma mater, which I haven’t even attended yet, is gone! qwq]

[Ugh, doesn’t the official team know how to market? A Miskatonic map would have been a great selling point, and they scrapped it before the game’s open beta? What kind of business sense is that! (angry)]

[Is no one concerned about Arkham? If we fail the main quest, won’t Arkham disappear too? qwq]

[Hiss, is this Outsider a Chinese national? How could anyone pack so much stuff when going back home?]

[Exactly, exactly, hhhh]

Druid’s face was tense, fully immersed in the role. “Then we must stop their evil plan! Next, we just need to expose the fake director’s identity and help the real director take charge. That should take away their control over the hospital, right?”

Ranen nodded, “That should be the case.”

In the previous life, Arkham’s downfall began with this hospital dungeon. Now, whether it’s the hospital’s anomalies or Soren’s painstakingly acquired ‘director’ position, everything indicated that this was the epicenter of the conspiracy.

That should be correct.

Ranen couldn’t understand why, if this place was so important, Soren  would leave so easily instead of staying to oversee it.