[Next year, I’ll recommend you for the combat department]

Meanwhile, on the other side.

The players had split into three groups, each led by prominent players: Black Cat, Druid, and Ye Ye.

Calling them leaders wasn’t entirely accurate. To be precise, they were the three players with the highest livestream viewership. Druid, for instance, needed no introduction—after cautiously starting his livestream during the last major storyline, he became an instant hit. His gaming skills were impressive, and his viewer retention rate was high. Ye Ye’s group, the Troublemaker Squad, operated as a trio, with their livestream being the most entertaining. Black Cat, a well-known forum influencer, attracted a flood of casual viewers after starting his stream.

Druid followed Ranen to the auditorium, while Black Cat chose to accompany the duty teacher to find the vice-principal. He didn’t have Ranen’s sources of information, but he had picked up on something off from the duty teacher’s earlier words.

On the way to the administrative building, Black Cat probed indirectly, “Teacher, that spell you mentioned earlier—how many people in our school know about it?”

The duty teacher glanced at him, a hint of wariness in his eyes. “Why are you asking this?”

“Hey, we’re not with those guys, you know! Otherwise, why would we have helped you catch them earlier?” Black Cat thumped his chest confidently. “We just want to help. Those cultist nutjobs have gone too far, trying to mess with the university. Who knows what shady plans they’re cooking up? This is a sacred place of learning—how can we let them run wild?”

“Exactly! Miskatonic University is our dream!” a player behind Black Cat chimed in, playing up their character card. “I’ve got a distant relative’s kid studying here. No way I’m letting these guys mess things up!”

“I want to study here too! I’m not letting them mess things up!” [Minority Rules Majority] said earnestly.

With that, the players behind him joined in:

“Yeah, I want to study here. Teacher, does Miskatonic accept students over thirty?”

“Teacher, what are our admission standards?”

“Teacher, what do you think of me? I can eat, I can run—I really want to study at Miskatonic!”

[Shut up, you guys! Lmao, what’s with the personal agendas?]

[Look at the teacher’s face—it’s all wrong now.]

[Duty Teacher: First time I’ve heard Miskatonic’s so popular.]

The players’ conversation veered further off-topic. The duty teacher’s expression shifted from suspicion to speechlessness, then to a touch of pride. He was genuinely wondering when Miskatonic’s reputation had grown so strong that even a volunteer team had so many people aspiring to join.

“Ahem, enough chatter. If you want to apply to Miskatonic, please go through official channels,” the duty teacher coughed, attempting to maintain the aloof demeanor of a prestigious institution, though his upturned lips betrayed him. “As for the spell we mentioned earlier, not many know it, but it’s not exactly a secret either. Professors, lecturers, teaching assistants, and some senior students should all be aware.”

Black Cat pressed, “So, do you think… these cultists might have an inside man?”

“Why would you think that!?” the duty teacher exclaimed, shocked.

The players all knew that Albert was suspected of being a double agent during this period.

“Well… because I heard Ian mention seeing a blonde senior from our school with those people,” Black Cat said, trying to find a plausible excuse for his reasoning.

“Is that so?” The duty teacher neither confirmed nor denied it. “Let’s go find the vice-principal first. If something’s really gone wrong at the school, he has the means to prevent an invasion.”

The group hurried toward the administrative building without pause. Along the way, Black Cat couldn’t shake the feeling—whether it was his imagination or not—that a mist was starting to rise around the campus.

This ominous mist reminded him of Arkham City from before.

The principal’s office was on the top floor of the administrative building. Since there were too many players, half took the stairs while the other half rode the elevator. When the elevator doors opened, Black Cat followed the duty teacher onto the top floor, immediately sensing something was off.

It was… too quiet.

The duty teacher noticed it too, shifting from a walk to a sprint, rushing toward the principal’s office. “What happened here…!”

What greeted them was a man lying in a pool of blood, with a middle-aged professor muttering incantations beside him.

“Professor Julius, what’s going on here?” The duty teacher hurried to the middle-aged man’s side. The professor, who looked to be in his mid-forties, had a vertical scar beneath his left eye and sharp, stern features that gave him an air of uprightness and severity.

The man didn’t respond, his eyes closed as he focused on casting. A green glow flashed from his hands, and the bleeding from the chest wound of the man on the floor stopped, though the wound didn’t seem fully healed.

Only then did he open his eyes and say, “When I arrived, the vice-principal was already lying here. He must have been attacked.”

“How could this happen…” The duty teacher gritted his teeth. “Is their target Miskatonic University?”

“I’m not sure. Why did you bring so many people here? Who are they?” Julius Galvin eyed Black Cat and the others warily.

“Oh, they’re volunteers. Actually, earlier…” The duty teacher explained what had happened—that they’d discovered suspicious individuals drawing unknown magical arrays on campus—and shared it with Professor Julius.

“Unknown arrays? Cult members, perhaps?” Julius mused.

“It’s possible. We can’t let our guard down. I originally came to ask the vice-principal how to handle this, but I never expected something like this. What do we do now?” The duty teacher’s face was etched with anxiety.

While the two spoke, Black Cat and the other players were searching the room. The moment they saw someone lying in a pool of blood, their investigator instincts kicked in. Under Black Cat’s direction, each player searched a different area. Minority Rules Majority subtly positioned themselves near the two teachers, using their body to block their line of sight while discreetly applying a psychology check on the old professor.

[You couldn’t discern anything from his expression.]

Tch, another failed hidden roll. Minority Rules Majority sighed inwardly. At that moment, Julius glanced at Minority Rules Majority and said flatly, “At a time like this, it’s best not to involve too many unrelated people. I suggest canceling that so-called campus decoration event for now and sending these volunteers home. Then, arrange for security to patrol the campus and have boarding students return to their dorms or gather in the auditorium—it’ll be easier to protect them that way.”

His suggestion made perfect sense in the moment, and the duty teacher couldn’t help but nod repeatedly. “You’re right. Let’s do that for now. First, we’ll get the vice-principal to the infirmary, and then I’ll notify the professors from the Potion Department to come take a look.”

Hearing their conversation, it was clear they intended to exclude the players. Minority Rules Majority immediately panicked, “Wait, we can help!”

“Sorry, we don’t need extra hands right now. Besides, there’s a chance some of you might be connected to the cult. For the students’ safety, please understand this arrangement,” Julius said. His suggestion, though somewhat cold, was reasonable, leaving Minority Rules Majority momentarily unable to find a counterargument.

At this moment, Black Cat spoke up, “Please hold on. Are you a professor at this school?”

He was addressing Julius, who frowned. “Yes, I teach history. What’s the issue?”

Black Cat continued, “Teachers, don’t you find this scene a bit strange?”

The duty teacher was taken aback. “Strange how?”

Seeking Even Numbers chimed in, “The item that was on the top shelf of the display cabinet is missing. I don’t think that spot was meant to be left empty, was it?”

He was referring to the display cabinet directly facing the principal’s desk, filled with all sorts of bizarre objects. Typically, one might see certificates, awards, or student trophies in a principal’s office, but this was the first time they’d seen a cabinet showcasing such oddly shaped items.

The players had all conducted an investigation earlier, and the results had left them stunned.

[B-tier item: Seed of the Fertility Tree]

[Eternal Burning Sword (Damaged Version)]

[Strange Animal Corpse]

[Night Pearl]

[Meteorite from Beyond (Unknown Tier)]

…

In short, it was a collection of awe-inspiring yet mysterious items. If this scenario didn’t prohibit taking items out, some players would’ve already tried to snatch them.

Of course, the truly critical piece of information was discovered by Seeking Even Numbers. The topmost display case was empty, but judging by the marks, cleanliness, and dust accumulation, it didn’t seem like it was meant to be unused.

“That means it’s highly likely the perpetrator took it. Do you have any recollection of this item, Teacher?” Black Cat asked.

The duty teacher hesitated, “Uh, I don’t come to the principal’s office often, but I do have some impression of it. The principal once mentioned it was Miskatonic’s greatest acquisition in the past decade—a seed from the Dream Realm.”

The Dream Realm? The Dream World!

All the players, especially Black Cat, instantly understood the reason for the vice-principal’s attack. If this was truly an item from the Dream World, it was the perpetrator’s target—possibly the coordinates to the Dream World that Soren was searching for!

Julius said, “Then it sounds like a break-in theft. We need to check the surveillance quickly; the culprit might not have gone far.”

Black Cat countered, “Not ‘not far’—they haven’t left this room.”

The duty teacher’s expression changed instantly. “You mean…”

[Quick, play some BGM for our detective Black Cat!]

[On it! How about the Conan theme?]

[Black Cat’s deduction is so fast! Has he already figured out the culprit?]

[The culprit’s pretty obvious, right?]

[Yeah, with so many players here, even if our stats aren’t high, with everyone rolling, someone’s bound to pass…]

[Lmao, the guy above cracked me up. I knew something was up when the players blocked the teachers’ view. Sure enough, behind them, the players were pretending to investigate while rolling dice one by one.]

[Crowdsourced detective work!]

At the same time, Black Cat began his deduction show. As the chat guessed, the players had already uploaded clues gained from successful skill checks to the player channel, and Black Cat was responsible for assembling the final clues and presenting the deduction:

“Look at the wound’s direction—it’s clear the culprit stabbed the vice-principal from behind. There are no obvious signs of a struggle, suggesting the victim likely knew the attacker. Based on the angle and force of the stab, we can deduce the culprit is taller than the vice-principal, physically strong, and likely an adult male. Furthermore, the victim’s blood is still warm, meaning the attack happened recently.”

At some point, Black Cat had swiped a pair of black-framed glasses from a nearby player. With the livestream’s BGM playing, he dramatically pushed up the glasses, pointed a finger at Julius, and declared, “So, the truth is clear! The most likely suspect is Professor Julius, with blood splattered on his hands and body.”

The chat erupted in sync:

[Though the body hasn’t changed, the mind remains sharp!]

[The detective who relies on crowdsourced clues and collective dice rolls!]

[That’s our Black Cat!]

Julius gave an exasperated laugh, “Who are you to accuse me? The blood on my hands and body is from trying to save the vice-principal. If we’re talking suspicious, you lot rummaging around the room are far more suspect.”

“Then please tell us when you arrived here. You mentioned checking the surveillance—I’ve already sent my companions to do that. If you could provide an exact time,” Black Cat pressed aggressively, shooting a glance at the players behind him.

Player Channel:

Black Cat: [Brothers, the culprit is most likely him. Anyone with the ‘Sleight of Hand’ skill, try to pickpocket the artifact or murder weapon off him.]

Jazz Phantom: [Leave it to me.]

The player with the ID Jazz Phantom casually moved behind Julius.

[Sleight of Hand: Success]

Jazz Phantom smirked, his hand slipping the seed out of Julius’s pocket—only to be caught by an aged but powerful hand.

In a strength contest, the player was utterly outmatched. Julius effortlessly snatched the seed back, his previously upright and stern demeanor now replaced by an expressionless mask. “Why are there so many meddlers?”

His stance said it all. Before the duty teacher could react, Black Cat let out a fierce shout, “Grab him!”

Professor Julius sneered, pulling a blue potion vial from his pocket and hurling it to the ground without hesitation.

As the players lunged forward, the vial shattered, and the liquid inside evaporated instantly upon contact with the air. A violent surge of white gas erupted from the ground, numbing everyone’s bodies as countless shadowy figures seemed to dance before their eyes.

When they came to, Professor Julius had vanished. Black Cat furiously posted on the forum:

Black Cat: [Everyone, be careful! One of Miskatonic’s professors is working for Soren. He took the Dream World seed, likely to be used as coordinates for the ritual!]

Black Cat: [Find a way to intercept him. @Druid @YeYe, we’re at the administrative building. Can you come help block him?]

Black Cat’s message went unanswered for a long time, with only casual players continuously bumping the thread. Finally, a viewer who had been watching both livestreams spoke up.

Is Fossil: [The Troublemaker Squad’s in trouble—they’ve all been caught.]

Remote Confession Of Love: [I’m coming from Druid’s livestream… It’s a chaotic fight over there. I’m tearing up, sob sob sob, players are forever the best!]

—-

The perspective shifts back to the auditorium, where two elderly professors were preparing to sacrifice their lives to buy time for the students to escape. However, amidst the scattering, terrified crowd, one group remained remarkably calm—calm, yet tinged with excitement and eagerness.

Druid and Strongest Man, who had been sticking close to Ranen, stepped forward in sync to block the two professors.

“Professors, focus on chanting your spells. At your age, rushing into battle might end with a bad dodge and a thrown-out back.”

“Yeah, leave the front lines to us. Sunset years should stay in the rear.”

Alexis froze, bristling, “Who are you calling sunset years?”

“It’s a compliment—you’ve still got that old-school vigor,” Druid said, wiping sweat from his brow. “But our culture values respecting the elderly and caring for the young. We can’t stand by and watch grandparents sacrifice themselves. So don’t worry, whether it’s ten minutes or twenty, we’ve got this!”

He called out loudly, “Right, brothers?!”

“Roar! I’ve been itching for this!”

“Grind! Grind! I joined this dungeon to grind mobs!”

“Charge! The first kill is mine, don’t steal it!”

Unlike the terrified students fleeing in fear, the players in red vests showed no trace of dread or despair. Against the flow of escaping students, they led the charge. Most didn’t even have proper weapons, wielding cleaning tools from earlier—brooms, dustpans—or makeshift weapons like knives and forks grabbed on the spot. With reckless abandon, they threw themselves in front of the anomalies.

[Dodge: Failure]

A player wielding a dinner knife failed to evade and was struck by an anomaly’s scythe, instantly bisected, meeting the same fate as A-Long. Yet the players behind him showed no sign of retreat. As one fell, another immediately stepped up, even taking a moment to pull a panicked student who had fallen to the ground to safety.

“What are you doing?” The two professors, blocked by Druid and Strongest Man, couldn’t get through. They could only watch the bloodbath unfolding ahead, so anxious they nearly wanted to trample over the players’ faces. The hot-tempered Alexis pointed at Druid’s nose and shouted, “Aren’t you afraid of dying? What does protecting students have to do with you? Get out of the way!”

“Huh? Then what does us throwing ourselves into danger have to do with you?” Druid’s voice was even louder. “We’re not Miskatonic students. You don’t need to protect us. We’ll do what we want!”

“You—!” The little old man was so furious he couldn’t find words to retort.

Aldous remained relatively calm, but his tightly furrowed brow betrayed his confusion at the players’ behavior. “Why are you doing this? Don’t you have families, friends? There’s no need to go this far.”

“Hmph, the reason? It’s simple,” Druid said with brazen confidence, spouting something utterly absurd. “It’s because Miskatonic is my alma mater I’ve never set foot in!”

The livestream chat exploded in agreement:

[Exactly, Miskatonic’s my unvisited alma mater too!]

[Sob, I’ve got to protect this place!]

[Professors, qwq, we heard what you said earlier. How can players bear to let you die?]

[These professors are amazing. I declare them the best mentors in my heart!]

[I can’t handle this qwq. Teachers protecting students like this makes me cry my eyes out.]

[Arghhh, players, you have to win!]

Aldous couldn’t comprehend it, nor could the surrounding Miskatonic students. The only one in the scene who might understand the players’ mindset was likely Ranen.

The red-haired youth lowered his head slightly, lips pursed.

Ahh, players—what a love-hate bunch.

He raised his head and calmly pulled the two professors aside. “Professors, if that’s the case, let’s not waste any more time. Every second we argue, another person dies.”

The two professors weren’t the type to hesitate. Aldous sighed and said, “Once I start chanting, I can’t move. We’re counting on you.”

Druid nodded solemnly. “We’ll run both plans simultaneously. Professor, focus on your chant. The students will figure out how to break the glass. We absolutely won’t let the anomalies get near you.”

Aldous was moved to a corner of the auditorium to begin casting. Other teachers stepped up, some organizing the panicked students to focus their efforts on breaking a glass panel. Alexis stayed with Druid’s group. “My field is anomalies, not chanting, but I can guide you on how to handle them.”

Hearing this, Druid didn’t hesitate. He immediately crouched down, letting the little old man step onto his back for a better view. “Please, go ahead.”

At this critical moment, the little old man didn’t waver. Once he had a clear line of sight, the anomaly’s figure was sharply reflected in his eyes. Alexis didn’t hesitate, saying, “The one to the east—D-level Stone Face Ghost. It can heal rapidly by sucking blood. Aim for its eyes.”

Player Channel:

Strongest Man: [East side anomaly—go for the eyes!]

Office Drone: [Got it!]

The player with the ID Office Drone grimaced, his face pale and his health bar dangerously low. Since their preset character stats were those of ordinary people, it was clear from the Troublemaker Squad’s past wipe against a single D-level Ghoul that even the lowest-level anomalies were overwhelmingly powerful for players.

A single hit from the Stone Face Ghost could deal nearly half their health bar’s worth of damage. If luck wasn’t on their side, a critical hit could knock them unconscious, instantly turning them into the Stone Face Ghost’s meal.

After another player was critically injured by the Stone Face Ghost, the creature—resembling a large bat with gray, statue-like skin—turned its gaze toward the Miskatonic students shielded behind the players, its eyes gleaming with deep greed. Just as it lunged, Office Drone didn’t hesitate. He turned his dinner knife on himself, slicing deeply, blood gushing out.

The sharp scent of blood instantly drew the Stone Face Ghost’s attention. It abandoned the Miskatonic student and charged at Office Drone. At this moment, a bullet wreathed in golden flames pierced the creature’s eye.

The Stone Face Ghost let out a screeching wail. The young Albert calmly reloaded his gun and fired again. The surrounding players snapped into action, rushing in to attack while the creature was blinded.

[Brawl: Success]

[Damage: 1]

Even if it was just chip damage, the combined efforts of so many players weren’t to be underestimated. Coupled with Albert’s golden flames burning the creature, the Stone Face Ghost soon collapsed.

The group was about to cheer when the anomaly’s corpse dissolved into dust, and silver threads were absorbed by the ritual array behind the cultists.

Immediately after, everyone present seemed to hear frenzied, eerie whispers in their ears, followed by the appearance of more—and stronger—anomalies.

[Damn, what’s going on? They’re endless?!]

[Looks like the chat’s earlier guess was right. This ritual is brutal—probably drawing energy from the deaths of anomalies or humans, temporarily boosting people’s inspiration to see more, higher-dimensional anomalies.]

[This is just a death trap!]

[The key to breaking this trap is likely the spell the professor is chanting or finding a way to break the windows. In short, the trick is to minimize casualties and, if possible, restrain the anomalies rather than kill them.]

[That’s way too hard! Killing anomalies is already tough, and now we have to restrain them??]

With the emergence of two new D-level anomalies, plus the one that had killed A-Long earlier, there were now three anomalies on the scene. Druid noticed that Alexis, perched on his back, seemed to be trembling.

“Professor, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Alexis wiped cold sweat from his brow, his expression heavy as he stared at the anomaly with scythe-like arms.

He never expected to encounter it here.

C-level special anomaly, Death Scythe.

The Death Scythe resembled a withered corpse draped in a black cloak. Its two arms were transformed into scythes, each a meter long, capable of unleashing a bloody storm with every swing. The face beneath its hood was like a skinless skull devoid of features. Anyone who caught a glimpse of its true visage under the hood would be relentlessly hunted by it until death.

The battlefield around the Death Scythe was the most gruesome. Players were bisected or had limbs severed, with blood and entrails littering the ground—likely appearing as a mosaic to players with perspective filters enabled.

Druid shared the chat’s reminders and calmly relayed Alexis’s analysis of the anomaly.

Druid: [The Death Scythe prioritizes attacking players who see its face and seems to possess some intelligence. We might be able to try a kiting strategy.]

Druid: [Someone needs to draw the Death Scythe’s attention. Be mindful of its arm span—when it swings its scythes, it can hit anything within a two-meter diameter. Keep your distance!]

Under Druid’s calm leadership, the players, who had been thrown into disarray by the sudden change, quickly regained their composure. A player with high agility volunteered as bait, successfully diverting the Death Scythe’s attention, finally giving the encounter a proper dungeon boss fight feel.

“Good, good, just like that! Find ways to keep the anomaly’s attention!”

“Hold steady, hold steady! If you get critically injured, swap out immediately—don’t get greedy! I suspect player deaths also feed the ritual’s energy, so try not to die!”

Players less suited for combat took on roles as battlefield medics, doing their best to drag critically injured comrades to the rear.

Matcha Green Milk frantically attempted first aid on a player with a gaping wound in their abdomen.

[First Aid: Failure]

Matcha Green Milk: …

‘Argh, damn it, don’t fail me at a time like this!’

“Move aside, I’ve got this.” A nearby Miskatonic student pulled out hemostatic cloth and bandages from their pocket, skillfully administering first aid to the player.

Matcha Green Milk: “What are you doing here? It’s not safe!”

The Miskatonic student rolled their eyes. “We’re students, not fragile glass. Our lives matter, but don’t yours? Stop treating us like hothouse flowers.”

Matcha Green Milk froze. She looked up at the rest of the battlefield, which had split into three fronts. The first was the players fighting the three anomalies. The second was the students working to break the windows. The third consisted of players, students, and professors weaving through the chaos to rescue the wounded.

“Someone’s dying over here!”

An elderly professor deftly approached the injured, pulling herbs from their pocket and muttering, “Ugh, I didn’t bring any potions since I was just out for dinner. No time to brew now—bear with it.”

With that, he stuffed the herbs from his pocket into his mouth, chewed them up, and then spat them onto the wound on No One Stays Sane’s abdomen.

No One Stays Sane, who had a bit of a cleanliness obsession in real life, groaned, “…How about I just die once? I don’t mind.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?” The old professor smeared the herbs over the wound, saying calmly, “I’m from the Potion Department. As long as I’m here, you’re not dying.”

No One Stays Sane was on the verge of tears. “No, no, I really don’t mind!”

“Less talk, more grit. Survive this ordeal, and I’ll write you a recommendation letter.”

No One Stays Sane shot upright, eyes blazing. Her critically injured body surged with immense strength, and she shoved the old professor to the ground.

The old professor blinked. “? Are my herbs that effective?”

A chill ran down his spine. He turned to see the D-level anomaly, Serpent Lady, which should have been kept at a distance by the players, somehow appearing right there. Her slit pupils locked onto No One Stays Sane and the old professor. Just moments ago, No One Stays Sane’s push had saved him from an attack, but now the Serpent Lady was within a meter, raising her massive tail.

The surrounding players shouted for her to dodge. No One Stays Sane glanced up, her eyes catching Ranen’s vivid red hair in the distance and the handgun he tossed her way. Strangely, though the red-haired boy’s eyes were brown, in that moment, No One Stays Sane inexplicably thought of Ranen’s green eyes from another time. Those eyes gazed at her, as if saying, “Do what you want to do.”

She gritted her teeth, grabbed the handgun from the ground, and aimed at the Serpent Lady’s chest.

The player who had accidentally let the anomaly slip through was two paces behind the Serpent Lady, clearly too far to intervene. With the old professor right behind her, No One Stays Sane thought, ‘Even if it’s just for that admission letter, I’m going all in!’

[All-or-Nothing Activated]

[Firearms: Critical Success] (Continuous Shooting)

[Damage: 2d6 = 6+6 = 12] × 3

The bullets struck true, miraculously hitting the heart concealed by scales. The damage maxed out with a triple hit, blasting three gaping holes in the Serpent Lady’s chest. She collapsed to the ground. No One Stays Sane panted heavily, while the players rushing over stared in shock at the fallen anomaly, then at the blood-soaked, critically injured No One Stays Sane:

“Holy crap? An instakill?”

“? We were chipping away for ages, and it was just scratches!”

[What does it mean to be a low-health war god?!]

[You guys don’t get it—low health is how we play! That’s the TTRPG way!]

[Sis is so cool, so cool, aaaaah!]

After her burst of strength, No One Stays Sane collapsed weakly again, turning to the old professor. “Professor, does my admission letter still count?”

“…Next year, I’ll get you a guaranteed spot in the Combat Department,” the old professor said.