Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Though Liu Xing was unsure why Shan He made such a comment, he responded politely with a chuckle, "Thank you for the compliment."

What Liu Xing hadn't anticipated was Shan He suddenly waving his hand, causing everything around Liu Xing to vanish. It felt as though only he and Shan He existed in the universe, sitting face to face.

"Congratulations on completing the novice task, Old Chinese Doctor. I am Shan He, the in-charge of the Ghoul region." Shan He then removed his hat and, to Liu Xing's surprise, transformed into a refined middle-aged man. However, Liu Xing was certain that Shan He must be a mythical creature. Shan He's appearance rating in the Cthulhu RPG Game was exceptionally high—far surpassing that of any human. Liu Xing, always one to judge by appearances, was so focused on this that he overlooked Shan He's impressive transformation.

"Oh, what's my evaluation then?" Feeling relatively at ease, Liu Xing looked at Shan He and inquired with a smile.

"Congratulations! As you've completed the Side Quest, the game ended early. You've received an A-grade evaluation, granting you 50 points and an Elder Sign Amulet. Please collect it from your personal storage after exiting the game," Shan He stated in a formulaic manner.

Having delivered the standard lines, Shan He continued with a smile, "Since the highest evaluation for the Beginner's Room mission is an A-grade, you are the 22nd newbie to receive it. Thus, you have a special reward—an additional character card."

Liu Xing's heart leaped with joy. This was an incredible bonus. In the Cthulhu RPG Game, every character card was akin to a life. Now, with two character cards, Liu Xing felt more secure about his in-game survival.

However, Shan He continued, "I should clarify that this card can only be used in team-play games. If you die in-game, you can use this card to revive anytime before the current Cthulhu RPG Game ends. But if you don't revive before the game concludes and don't have another card, you'll be considered dead and terminated."

Hearing this, Liu Xing's enthusiasm dampened. The limitations of this card seemed extremely stringent, reducing its value by more than half.

Every game's final stages were always the toughest, and given the usual challenging nature of the Cthulhu RPG Game, players would inevitably confront mythical creatures. Thus, even if Liu Xing managed to revive at the end, his fate might still be sealed.

Curiously, Liu Xing asked, "What about the previous twenty-one A-grade newcomers? How are they faring now? Did any of them quit the game?"

Hearing this, Shan He chuckled, "All of them failed their missions, lost all their cards, and consequently, had their accounts forcibly terminated."

Liu Xing tensed upon hearing this response, sensing that he may have unwittingly jinxed himself.

"They all thought they were the protagonists of some novel. With an extra life in hand, they became reckless and met their demise," Shan He remarked coldly, his gaze piercing into Liu Xing. "How long do you think you'll survive in the game?"

Feeling uneasy under Shan He's intense scrutiny, Liu Xing mustered courage and replied, "I believe I'll make it to the grand finale."

Clearly amused by Liu Xing's jest, Shan He said, "You're promising. I have high hopes for you."

Walking over, Shan He patted Liu Xing on the shoulder, "You can rest now. But remember, the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall deducts maintenance points daily. You must start a new game within fifty days. If your points are negative at the start of any day, your character will be eliminated. Also, our store has special packages for sale during traditional holidays. You might want to accumulate 100 points before Qingming Festival. Consider this a tip from me."

If Liu Xing's memory served him right, today was March 20th, leaving him just about half a month till Qingming Festival. With his current 50 points, he'd need to complete at least one more team-play game to accumulate the requisite 100 points to redeem the special package mentioned by Shan He.

Pondering over this, Liu Xing nodded in gratitude, "Thank you for the heads-up. May I leave now?"

Shan He waved his hand with a smile. Everything went dark for a moment. When Liu Xing regained his senses, he found himself back in his room, heaving a sigh of relief as he leaned back in his chair, gazing intently at his computer.

The screen displayed the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall's Beginner's Room interface, but now, a notification box popped up in the center.

"Congratulations, Old Chinese Doctor, on completing the novice task. Welcome to the grand family of the Horror Hall."

Liu Xing dismissed the prompt and exited the Beginner's Room.

His screen automatically redirected to the character card interface.

Name: Liu Xing

Occupation: Doctor

Education: Graduate student

Place of Birth: Rongcheng, Sichuan, China

Gender: Male

Age: 23

Background: Pending (To be determined by the player's first multiplayer role-playing game)

Strength: 55

Constitution: 40

Willpower: 80

Luck: 80

Agility: 50

Appearance: 70

Build: 45

Intelligence: 85

Inspiration: 90

Education score: 87

Knowledge of Cthulhu Mythos: 0

Sanity points: 80

HP: 8

MP: 16

Damage bonus: None

Clearly, Liu Xing recognized this as a seventh edition character card since all data were multiples of five. The character stats are typically determined by rolling 3d6 dice (i.e., how many six-sided dice are thrown), and then multiplying the result by five. Furthermore, there might be additional adjustments based on age. At 23 years old, Liu Xing's education was subject to a bonus check, which only required rolling a percentile die. If the result exceeded his current education score, then he would add 1d10 points to his education attribute. Clearly, Liu Xing passed the education bonus check, so his education score increased by two or seven points.

In Liu Xing's view, the character card's stats were impressive, except for his relatively weak physique and low damage potential. However, there was one thing he was slightly unsatisfied with: his inspiration was a tad too high. While inspiration affects information gathering in the game, a higher inspiration usually leads to earlier encounters with mythical creatures or anomalies, resulting in a forced deduction of sanity points.

Thus, inspiration is a double-edged sword.

Sanity points are determined by one's willpower, so the initial value of sanity points is equivalent to willpower.

But since things have reached this point, Liu Xing couldn't alter his character card's data. He navigated to the skills interface, which displayed his remaining professional Skill Points as 348, calculated by multiplying his education score by four.

A doctor's professional skills include first aid, other languages, medicine, psychology, biology, pharmacology, and any two other skills related to the medical profession, such as psychoanalysis for a psychiatrist. Liu Xing could distribute his Skill Points among these skills as he saw fit.

Moreover, apart from professional skills, Liu Xing also possessed some hobby skills. Everyone has some leisure interests, after all. His Interest Skill Points, calculated as twice his intelligence score, amounted to 170, which he could allocate to any skills he desired.

Another unique attribute on the character card was Credit Rating.

Credit Rating is a crucial attribute in the Cthulhu RPG Game. It affects the amount of money a player has in-game, the items they can carry, their initial living conditions, and even NPCs' perception of them. After all, compared to a ragged beggar, people would be more inclined to heed the advice of a well-dressed doctor.

Thus, a higher Credit Rating is always preferable. However, only professional Skill Points can be allocated to Credit Rating, and every profession has a maximum and minimum Credit Rating. For a doctor, it ranges from 30 to 80, and since Credit Rating is mandatory, Liu Xing had to allocate at least 30 of his professional Skill Points to it.