Eldritch Horror Theatre

So there really was a hidden reason behind Brother Jifeng’s mental pollution after all?

A figure of his level wouldn’t just randomly go berserk!

Recalling that overwhelming malice from moments ago, Fu Qian seemed to understand something.

Judging by that reaction, however, he had thoroughly offended someone this time. No—he had offended a God.

And from the looks of it, a highly proactive God.

[Task Evaluation: Cold-Blooded Raving Doctor]

Just as he was lamenting the gravity of the situation, the task summary chimed in right on cue.

[As the Deep Avatar, Unseen Hill is a mysterious and unique existence.

It lies hidden beyond the material world, in the deepest reaches of every mind.

The indigestible depths of humanity slowly settle into it, sparing people from corruption.Naturally, only a rare few have mastered the means to enter it at will.

After exhausting every method and watching his companion’s loss of control only worsen, Chaumont recalled his past explorations.

Within Unseen Hill, a certain power fueled by The Deep seemed capable of reinforcing order.

In his eyes, this was Logan’s final hope.

Everything went smoothly. With your help in particular, they effortlessly discovered numerous flames.

The only problem was that the flame’s blessing was not as wonderful as imagined.

Fully aware of this, you employed inconceivable methods to save the Deep Avatar, Ji Feng, from losing himself.

The flames finally extinguished, and a new balance was struck.

The prisoners reaped false hope, which was enough to sustain them through the long years ahead.

Even the Night Watchers, who had been ready to give up, were pleasantly surprised to find that Logan’s condition had improved for reasons they could not comprehend.

And under the will of The Deep, the Knight clad in Mirror Armor will also return at a certain time.

Of course, that will be neither you nor Ballard.]

[Kill: Grimm Ballard]

[Reward: SAN Value +25, Ash Bestowal]

[Special Reward: Weaver’s Limb Tip]

[Current SAN Value 59, current inspiration 99]

[Play event recap?]

Even after completing the mission, his SAN Value had not reached 60. A quick tally revealed he had lost a full seven points of SAN Value just now.

Looking on the bright side, however, he had relied on his Expert Rank composure to avoid using the Pseudo-God Incarnation, saving him another three points.

Listening intently, Fu Qian did not sell himself short.

Moreover, this mission summary was undoubtedly long and packed with a massive amount of information.

Judging by its contents, one thing could be confirmed right away: his earlier theory had been correct.

Ji Feng was indeed the ”patient’s” name, the avatar of Unseen Hill.

That wasn’t even the main point. The summary mentioned that Unseen Hill was not only connected to every person’s will, but could even ”collect the indigestible depths of humanity.”

So Akasha and the others belonged to these indigestible depths of humanity?

If that was truly the case, a problem arose.

The undigested parts were here, but where did the digested ones go?

Thinking about the multitude of familiar elements in this world, Fu Qian had a vague answer.

For a world that had possessed Transcendent Tier power since ancient times to develop such remarkably similar technology was bound to raise questions.

The protection of the Night Watchers was certainly a major factor, but what if Brother Jifeng really hailed from the exact same place he did?

Could those overly similar elements have been squeezed straight out of his brain?

He couldn’t rule out the possibility.

...

Overall, the information he gained this time was quite substantial in itself. It hadn’t been a wasted effort.

Furthermore, as he reviewed the details, Fu Qian remembered a doubt he had harbored earlier—wasn’t the mission introduction a bit too sparse?

For some missions, if the introduction had just provided a tiny bit more information, his job would have been vastly easier.

The Warehouse’s behavior, however, made it seem like it was deliberately ramping up the difficulty for him.

Contrasting the initial mission introduction with the final summary, however, led Fu Qian to a possible explanation—the Warehouse wasn’t intentionally making things harder. Rather, constrained by some underlying law, that was the maximum amount of information it could provide.

And if he did enough exploration during the mission, the final task summary would yield more information in return.

For instance, in this case, Fu Qian highly suspected that if he hadn’t asked and obtained the name Ji Feng, the revelation that he was the Deep Avatar likely wouldn’t have been provided at all.

In any case, he finally seemed to have a lead on the information about his predecessors that he had been searching for. He could look into it properly when he had the time.

But for now... Fu Qian quickly located his two rewards.

[Name: Ash Bestowal]

[Type: Ring]

[Effect: A ring condensed from primordial ashes, serving as the ultimate embodiment of The Deep’s concept.

Ashes are fragments worn down to their absolute limit, stripped of their capacity to carry any information. As such, the ring they form is rustic and crude.

Upon activation, the power of The Deep will course through your entire body, allowing you to enter a special state of existence. In this state, none of your attacks will deal damage; instead, they will bestow the Blessing of the Deep upon your target.

Once the blessing accumulates to its limit, the target’s destiny will merge with The Deep. They will be granted an audience with Unseen Hill and can never leave again.]

[Remarks: Sometimes, blessings must be administered by force.]

This thing was a bit sinister.

This very first reward left Fu Qian feeling deeply unsettled.

Appearing in the palm of his hand was a grayish-white ring.

Its appearance was exactly as described—crude and jagged, resembling a cluster of crystals mashed together, barely holding the shape of a ring.

Ring rewards weren’t uncommon. The fact that it was tied to the power of The Deep also aligned with his past experiences. But this effect... No matter how he looked at it, this so-called Deep Gloom Blessing felt fundamentally wrong.

Once it accumulated to its limit, the outcome essentially amounted to banishing someone straight to Brother Jifeng’s turf, merging them into those endless gears of destiny.

Naturally, this reminded Fu Qian of his experience of being embraced by the specters.

If the effects were truly similar, then this was nothing short of an ultimate sealing technique.

There was no need to even kill the target; it simply forced them into becoming one of the Natives.

Anyone who knew what this blessing actually did would undoubtedly steer clear of it at all costs.

It was incredibly potent. As he wandered the jianghu, it was always important to prioritize peace and harmony, after all.

Satisfied, Fu Qian slipped the Ash Bestowal onto his finger. For a moment, its design even seemed much more pleasing to the eye.

He then checked the other special reward.

[Name: Weaver’s Limb Tip]

[Type: Weapon]

[Description: A sharp limb snapped from a death weaver, existing in the form of an exquisite Rapier. It is an item that should not appear in this world.

It is said that once stained with blood, an intoxicating fragrance will emanate from its narrow blade.]

[Special Effect: Curse of Oblivion. As an item that should not exist, the toxin within the limb has long since neutralized. The flesh of any target pierced by it will no longer rot; instead, their will shall wither away, and the ravages of time will be magnified a thousandfold.]

[Remarks: Only the most vulgar of ruffians would commit such an offense against a lady.]

Why did this remark feel like a personal insult?