Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

"Wan Chongshan, it’s going to be all about your performance this time. If you can pull off a one-shot kill on Gu Master Chaxi again, that would be a remarkable feat," Liu Xing said with a grin.

Wan Chongshan looked at Liu Xing somewhat helplessly and replied, "Liu Xing, I think you might be expecting too much this time. The reason I was able to one-shot the Troll last time was purely because we took advantage of its vulnerability. It had no defenses after getting hit, and it had no choice but to exit through that entrance, where we trapped it. That’s why I could calmly blow its head off. But dealing with Gu Master Chaxi will be a different story, and you all know how unreliable that bird gun is when shooting at moving targets. So, handling Gu Master Chaxi will depend on your performance, Ling Ishikawa."

Ling Ishikawa hadn’t expected Wan Chongshan to shift the burden onto him and responded somewhat bewildered, "Uh, I’ll do my best, but don’t expect too much from me. My electric net technique is quite tricky because it doesn’t specify the exact damage it inflicts. It only mentions the current output in milliamperes, with a considerable range of variation. It requires rolling a 10d10 dice to determine the current, ranging from 10 to 100 milliamperes. The duration also needs another 1d5 dice roll, measured in minutes."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised by the peculiar nature of Ling Ishikawa’s electric net technique, especially its lack of specified damage values.

However, Ryuusei had a different perspective. He realized that the electric net technique was actually reliable, recalling his experience in middle school physics class where he had to memorize information about the effects of different milliampere levels of current on the human body.

When exposed to 0.6 to 1.5 milliamperes of current, a person would start to feel numbness and loss of sensation. At 5 to 7 milliamperes, muscles would begin to spasm, accompanied by burning and stinging sensations. At 20 to 25 milliamperes, the person would experience severe pain, rapid numbness, and difficulty breathing. When the current reached 50 to 80 milliamperes, the person would face respiratory paralysis, atrial fibrillation, and intense overall burning pain. If the current reached 90 to 100 milliamperes and lasted for at least three minutes, it would lead to cardiac arrest and death.

Therefore, even though Ling Ishikawa’s electric net technique lacked specified damage values, it would at least cause muscle spasms and difficulty breathing in those affected by the Magic Spells. Essentially, it served as a form of soft control, with a minimum duration of one minute.

Moreover, in the worst-case scenario, if Ling Ishikawa rolled favorably, the electric net technique could turn into a Paralysis Art, immobilizing Magic Spells-affected individuals or mythical creatures for a certain duration while causing some damage.

Most importantly, if Ling Ishikawa had good luck and rolled above 90 milliamperes for current with a duration exceeding three minutes, it could potentially control humans and weaker mythical creatures to the point of death. Overall, the electric net technique seemed promising, regardless of the caster’s luck.

Liu Xing smiled and remarked, "Ling Ishikawa, your electric net technique is quite impressive. As long as you can successfully cast it, dealing with Gu Master Chaxi this time should be a walk in the park."

Ling Ishikawa chuckled awkwardly and added, "It’s not that simple, though. The casting time for this electric net technique is a bit long, and if there’s any insulating material in its path, it won’t progress further. The coverage area is also limited, about the size of a regular frying pan."

Hearing Ling Ishikawa’s list of limitations, Liu Xing realized that he had overestimated the magic in the Cthulhu RPG Game.

The conversation shifted away from Gu Master Chaxi, as it had been thoroughly discussed. Zhang Jingxu and others turned their attention to Ling Ishikawa.

"Ling Ishikawa, your shape-shifting ability is honestly quite impressive. To completely transform into the opposite gender is remarkable," Zhang Jingxu said with a smile.

Ling Ishikawa, looking somewhat despondent, gazed at Zhang Jingxu and sighed, "What can I say? I was desperate. When I was studying Magic Spells in Serak’s library, I realized that I needed to read through all those magic books to discover their contents. To save time and because I had nothing better to do, I used Prophecy Art once. My target for the prophecy was the most useful Magic Spells for me at the time, and it guided me to find the book that contained the shape-shifting spell."

"Then, I learned this shape-shifting spell. But the information about it was pretty vague at the time, only mentioning that it could allow me to transform to a great extent, possibly with some deviations. So, I didn’t think much of it and decided to experiment with its effects. As you can see, the results of this shape-shifting spell are beyond words. However, I don’t particularly like how I look after transforming. The differences between men and women are quite significant, which led to a considerable change in my lifestyle."

Upon hearing this, the group burst into meaningful laughter.

After the laughter subsided, Liu Xing pretended to speak seriously, saying, "I think, Ling Ishikawa, your Prophecy Art this time was quite successful. The effect of this shape-shifting spell is indeed impressive. Now, your character card has two identities. It’s a shame you can’t freely switch between them; otherwise, it would be like having an extra character card."

Ling Ishikawa nodded in agreement and thoughtfully replied, "Actually, there’s a chance for this shape-shifting spell to evolve in the future. You’ll be able to control the duration and have more transformation options. However, the requirements for advancement are a bit complicated, and it might necessitate a trip to Hybrier. So, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to complete the advancement, especially considering I’m not certain if I can return to Hybrier."

Liu Xing pondered for a moment and said, "I believe you still have a chance, Ling Ishikawa. As long as your world Mission hasn’t ended yet, you’ll have an opportunity to revisit Hybrier. After all, logically speaking, in Hybrier, there’s Ibon worth visiting. And who knows, this time, the Cthulhu RPG Game might have a crossover event with Barbarian Conan?"

"Barbarian Conan?" Li Dian expressed surprise.

Liu Xing chuckled and continued, "Exactly, it’s Barbarian Conan. In the related lore, Barbarian Conan and Ibon exist in the same period in Hybrier. So theoretically, in this parallel world’s Hybrier, you could encounter Barbarian Conan. Moreover, Barbarian Conan’s strength should not be underestimated. If you can learn something from Barbarian Conan, it will be highly beneficial."

Ling Ishikawa nodded and smiled, "That’s correct. I’m quite certain that there’s Barbarian Conan in Hybrier in this parallel world. Ibon shared some stories about Barbarian Conan with me. However, in this world, Barbarian Conan’s experiences differ somewhat from the original, or rather, it has some Cthulhu-themed characteristics. In simple terms, Barbarian Conan didn’t become a king as in the original but continued to wander in Hybrier, hunting various mythical creatures."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised, and remarked, "That’s quite a change in style, going from Barbarian Conan to the Witcher Geralt."

Ling Ishikawa nodded and continued, "You’re right, Liu Xing. Barbarian Conan indeed transitioned into a Witcher in this world, establishing a mercenary group in Hybrier that specializes in hunting commissions against mythical creatures. So, it’s possible that in this parallel world, there might be a crossover with wizards. Barbarian Conan became the founder of Witchers."

Ling Ishikawa’s analysis seemed to make sense.

After all, Witchers in their attack methods combined swords and magic, similar to the mainstream attack methods in Hybrier, which primarily consisted of swords and magic. The background of wizards was also inspired by European settings, not far removed from Hybrier.

So, Liu Xing suddenly started to look forward to it...

"By the way, how is Ibon doing now? He’s a future great Wizard, Ling Ishikawa. Have you seized the opportunity to build a good relationship with him?" Wan Chongshan asked curiously.

Ling Ishikawa nodded and smiled, saying, "Of course, I’ll hold onto that thigh tightly. After all, it’s a mobile ’Book of Ibon.’ Even if I don’t need the ’Book of Ibon,’ I can sell these copies for a few thousand points each. These ’Book of Ibon’ should fetch at least that much."

Zhang Jingxu thought for a moment, agreeing, "That’s right. I remember someone in my club once sold a damaged handwritten ’Necronomicon’ for 1,500 points. So, I think even a lower-tier version of the ’Book of Ibon’ should easily go for 3,000 points. Ling Ishikawa, you have a chance to make a fortune. But from what I’ve heard from my mentor, the most sought-after items in the Hound of Tindalos region are collectibles related to Cthulhu Mythos novels."

"These collectibles may have almost no practical value, but many people in this region are wealthy players. Their character cards usually have sufficient essential items, so they enjoy buying collectibles to demonstrate their knowledge. These collectibles are not easily obtainable, as most modules have relatively short durations. Players need to focus on completing the Main quests to advance, which limits their opportunities to increase their favorability with characters. Therefore, rare items are highly prized. Even obscure characters from Cthulhu Mythos novels can sell their related collectibles for 1,000 points each. Items like notebooks from Miskatonic University Antarctic Expedition Team members, the ship captain’s log from a captain who defeated a Great Old One, or a collar from a god-slaying hound, all fetch astronomical prices."

"But the most famous collectible now is an autograph from H.P. Lovecraft himself. Yes, it’s H.P. Lovecraft’s actual signature. In the Cthulhu region’s modules, players have the chance to encounter H.P. Lovecraft at different points in time. And H.P. Lovecraft is under the protection of the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall. NPCs and players, mythical creatures or Great Old Ones, can’t harm H.P. Lovecraft. The most important thing is that H.P. Lovecraft is quite aloof. It’s nearly impossible to obtain collectibles from him."

As Zhang Jingxu finished speaking, Wan Chongshan became excited and said, "That’s right, I’ve heard about H.P. Lovecraft’s autograph on the forums. Someone reportedly offered 50,000 points to purchase H.P. Lovecraft’s autograph, and others even proposed trading it for priceless antiques from the real world. But the owner of H.P. Lovecraft’s autograph has never responded."

Zhang Jingxu nodded and continued, "So, Ling Ishikawa, if you ever have the opportunity to return to Hybrier and meet Ibon, it would be best to establish a good relationship with him and request some collectibles. Items like the magic wand Ibon used, a water bag, and most importantly, a ’Book of Ibon’ with Ibon’s signature, could be sold for at least 10,000 points."

Liu Xing was left somewhat stunned after hearing all this. He hadn’t expected there to be such a lucrative opportunity. Today, Liu Xing had truly expanded his horizons.

Ling Ishikawa also realized that this was a golden opportunity and nodded enthusiastically, saying, "Thank you all for the advice. If I have the chance to return to Hybrier, I’ll definitely bring back Ibon’s autograph for each of you. You should know that my relationship with Ibon is very good."

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