Chapter 225: Inception, right?
"This isn't your first time participating in a ceremony, so I won't go into the basics..."
Merlin's expression grew slightly more serious. "Many of you are participating in a ceremony constructed by Wei Zhe for the first time. Therefore, to be fair, I will briefly introduce the venue and victory rules of this ceremony.
“All of you will appear in seven overlapping dream realms—originally it should have been nine, what a pity.
"From the first to the seventh level, each person appears on a random level. The higher the number, the more likely the dream contradicts reality and common sense, and the easier it is to see through. Level zero has no errors.
"Dying in any way from a higher level dream will result in a drop down one level. When the ritual countdown ends and you land on level zero—that is, the reality level—you win. Landing on any level other than level zero is considered lost in the dream, and your advancement will be considered a failure.
"If more than six people remain on the zero floor at the end, those who have stayed the shortest will be eliminated in order until six people remain.
"If you die again on Layer Zero, the 'Reality Layer', you will also fall to the negative layer.
"There is only one true way to die in this ritual, and that is falling to the basement level. That counts as true death, and you must bear the price of death."
Merlin paused for a moment, then gave an ambiguous smile, "The above are the original rules of this ceremony.
"The additional rule I've added is that I will enter the body of anyone in any dream layer at any time, play that role, and mislead you. The goal is to prevent you from staying on the zero layer.
"But I won't snatch a character you've already controlled, nor will I appear in two dream levels simultaneously. And if you discover and kill me on one level, I won't reappear from that level a second time. I won't escape after being discovered, unless the ascended character from the previous level dies and lands inside me, squeezing me out."
"The rules are simple, right? Your goal is to find and stop at Floor Zero, and my goal is to prevent you from believing that it is Floor Zero...
"If there's no problem, we'll be ready to start."
After saying this, he slowly disappeared from his seat like ripples on the water.
The old man statue in the middle slowly spoke, emitting a vicissitudes of life voice, and announced the rules of the ceremony according to the process:
[The ceremony is limited to two hours, and the scale is one to one with the real thing.]
You will play a role in the venue and complete your own tasks. You will receive corresponding points for each corresponding goal you complete.
[Because this ceremony is an absence ceremony, all your previous rejection categories are invalid.]
[This ceremony allows killing each other without penalty]
[Because this ceremony is a full moon ceremony, cooperation is allowed but cooperation points will not be calculated]
[The difficulty of this ritual is "Challenge". Actual death during the ritual will result in 30 days of weakness in reality, a level regression, and a very small chance of soul damage.]
The dream for this ceremony was created by the Wise One, Wei Zhe. The tasks and roles, as well as the details of bonuses and deductions, are all handled by the Orderly One, Sha Shiji. I am solely responsible for maintaining the fairness of the ceremony to the best of my ability.
The old man paused for a moment, raised his staff, and made his final announcement:
In 1839, seven travelers seeking refuge from a storm appeared at an inn in a small town in Avalon.
As the staff emitted an intense light, Aiwass suddenly felt a strong dizziness.
The world in front of his eyes remained motionless, but the seven people sitting on the chairs disappeared like ripples on the water.
When he woke up again, he found himself standing at the door of the hotel lobby.
Behind me, the rain was howling, and the strong wind was blowing the windows, making a banging sound. It was like a gangster was banging on the windows outside, which made me terrified.
Aiwass was covered in rain. Although he held a large black umbrella, it was almost useless in the roaring storm behind him.
He was holding a girl of about seven or eight in his arms, with his leather coat worn inside out—the back of the coat was on his chest, with the buttoned side at the back. He used the coat to barely cover the girl.
Aiwass's hair was wet, and raindrops were dripping down his chin. His face and neck were already cold.
His back was also completely wet by the heavy rain...but the girl in front of him only had her hair slightly wet, and her body was still warm.
--wrong.
With his experience in caring for Yulia, Aiwass immediately determined that the girl's body temperature was not just "warm".
...She has a fever.
When he realized this, an old man's solemn voice rang out in Aiwass's mind:
"You are Agnes Silva, a teacher. You are thirty-four years old.
"During a rare holiday, your daughter Dai Ya clamored to go to the countryside of Muwan County. Thinking that you hadn't been with her for a long time, you agreed.
"But you had only been playing for half a day when Daya said she wasn't feeling well. You realized she might have a fever, so you thought about taking her to a doctor or even a priest for treatment.
"But this place is too remote, with no doctors or priests. Moreover, a sudden storm has trapped you here. There is no doubt that Daiya's body is no longer strong enough to support you in the rain.
"Luckily, you stumbled upon an inn. Perhaps you could find medicine there, you thought. Or at least take shelter from the rain..."
The next moment, a few lines of words popped up in front of Aiwas's eyes.
[Necessary Task——]
【Back to reality (points: 100)】
【Additional Task——】
[The Heart is a Sanctuary: Don't hide in your room. In every dream, actively approach others and introduce yourself (Points: Up to 700)]
[Rural Teacher: Continue to play the role of teacher Agnes Silva and try not to be exposed (Points: Maximum 600)]
[Eagle Eyes: See through everyone's true identity (Points: 500)]
[My Unforgettable Nature: Help six people pass the ceremony (Points: 1000)]
[Catch the Nightmare: Kill "Merlin" at least once (Points: 500 each time)]
[Dream Slayer: Kill "Merlin" in the real world (Points: 1000)]
[Judgment Control: Try to kill everyone except Merlin (Points: Maximum 500)]
[Fatherly Love: Find a reasonable way to cure Dai Ya (Points: 500)]
[Father's Protection: Prevent Dai Ya from being killed by others (Points: 500)]
[The Real Me: Recalling My True Identity (Points: 1000)]
[Source of Nightmare: Find the starting point of the dream (Points: Maximum 2000)]
These words seemed to be burned into Aiwas's eyes. When he finished reading, they slowly faded away.
He didn't have time to analyze - he was now completely soaked and felt extremely uncomfortable.
Find a room and change clothes first.
“——Is anyone there?”
Aiwass hugged the girl, who was not in good spirits, tightly in his arms and shouted loudly, "Is anyone there?"
The lobby of this somewhat shabby hotel was empty, with only a young receptionist.
He looked very thin, wearing thin clothes, with his hands folded in front of him, dozing on the table.
He was awakened by Aiwas's voice, and when he looked up, he saw a tall man standing at the door.
Just then, a flash of lightning struck outside the door, instantly illuminating the tall man at the door.
The receptionist was startled. He then saw that the man was holding a girl in his arms.
Before he could ask, the man came over and asked urgently, "Is there a room? Hot water would be best—and, do you have any medicine? My daughter has a fever!"
"...Sorry, we don't have any medicine or hot water. But we do have clean towels...and a hot dinner if you want."
The guy at the front desk gave a wry smile, picked up the registration list, and casually said, "You're staying here tonight, right? A clean room with dinner for two, four red coins and three copper coins. What's your name?"
"So expensive? Is anyone living here?"
The man complained, but still opened his wallet. Because the wallet was tucked into his chest, it was not wet by the rain.
"Is this expensive? Even the better hotels in Muwan cost five red coins a night... How about I lend you some clean clothes?"
But as the guy at the front desk was talking, he suddenly froze at the same time as the man.
Inside the wallet, a bundle of twenty brand-new White Crown coins filled to the brim. They were still bound with a thin, wire-thick seal, clearly freshly taken out and unused. Besides that, there were a few slightly crumpled red coins, a few copper coins, and a few brass coins.
The receptionist frowned suddenly, looked up at the man, and said nothing.
"Agni. Just remember that name."
The man said nonchalantly, pointing out five red coins: "The rest is your tip."
After saying that, the man put his wallet back to his chest.
"Room 202." The receptionist said this and handed over the key.
"I'll leave the umbrella here for you."
The man picked up the key and picked up his listless daughter and hurried upstairs.
The receptionist kept staring at his back, as if thinking about something.
With his back to him, Aiwass narrowed his eyes slightly.
Room 202... Am I the second one to arrive?
Update completed meow...
Yesterday I was feeling low and fell asleep at 9am, woke up at 1:30am, then fell asleep again at 4am, and woke up at 9am again. The amazing sleep of cats...
I bought a nasal rinser and an air purifier. They were delivered pretty quickly on JD.com. I'm trying loratadine tablets to see if that helps.
(End of this chapter)
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