Chapter 19: Harvest and Enhancement
By the time Su Cheng awoke from his deep slumber, the evening had already settled in. He blinked open his eyes and glanced at the alarm clock beside his pillow; he had slept for a full ten hours, and now it was time for dinner.
“I can’t believe I slept for so long.” Stripping off his pajamas, Su Cheng stepped naked into the cramped bathroom for a cold shower.
In the mirror, he saw that his body seemed noticeably stronger than before; faint, solid abs appeared on his stomach—a perfect physique, slim in clothes, muscular out of them.
It seemed that the damned horror game wasn’t entirely without benefits; at the very least, it trained both his body and his tolerance for fright.
His fingertips slowly traced across his chest, where he’d once suffered a mortal wound. The moment he left the game instance, his injuries had healed completely in less than a second, not even the smallest scar remained.
Even the most advanced modern medical techniques couldn’t restore his body so instantaneously. It felt as if some mysterious force had reset him.
Was this horror game truly a technology surpassing modern civilization?
Then, what kind of existence created the game—aliens, or perhaps… gods?
Countless speculations and questions surfaced in his mind, and the more he learned, the more incredible it all seemed.
Eventually, Su Cheng shook his head, as if to expel the tangled thoughts.
He was not one to overthink things; sometimes, the deeper one delves, the more unsolvable the problems become, only breeding further anxiety. Continuing the game would surely offer clues and lead him to the answers he sought.
Provided, of course, that he survived each terrifying ordeal.
As he dried off and emerged from the bathroom, Su Cheng happened to run into Araki Ryosuke, who had just returned to the apartment, carrying a bag of food and drinks from the convenience store downstairs.
“Su Cheng, are you feeling unwell? Why did you sleep so late?” Araki Ryosuke set the bag down and sat cross-legged at the table.
“I was up late gaming yesterday,” Su Cheng replied.
Araki Ryosuke nodded in understanding, casting him a look that said, “Looks like you’re single too.”
“I bought you a bento from the convenience store. Just heat it up in the microwave and it’s ready to eat.” With that, Araki Ryosuke took out a Japanese bento from the plastic bag and placed it on the table.
“Thanks for the trouble.”
The convenience store’s bentos were balanced, with fried pork, vegetables, eggs, and some seafood. However, their flavor was bland compared to the rich Chinese cuisine Su Cheng was used to; eating these too often made his mouth feel tasteless.
Still, the bento’s convenience and affordability made it ideal for a poor foreign student like Su Cheng, whose wallet was lighter than his face.
He took out a few yen coins to pay Araki Ryosuke, and while the bento was heating, he opened the horror game’s icon.
He tapped the game log, and a summary screen popped up.
Instance: Dead by Dawn
Difficulty: 2 stars (Normal)
Participants: 12
Main Mission: Escape Alive (Completed)
Hidden Mission: Purify the Haunted Academy (Completed)
Monsters Defeated: Terrifying Nightmare Kobayashi Masanobu, Hunter Tezuka Koji, Nurse Ghost Takizawa Mayumi, Lich Kanako
Title Earned: Slayer Maniac (Sword Mastery Proficiency +10%)
Game Points: 2500
Overall Rating: S Rank!
“Instance settlement complete. You have received the base reward for clearing the instance: [Small Soul Crystal] x10. Hidden mission reward: [Eye of Sin] (Mystic item).”
“Due to receiving an S Rank, you may draw an additional reward.”
Su Cheng confirmed, and as before, three cards bearing skulls flashed on the screen for him to choose.
He casually clicked the middle card, which revealed a bottle of ominous black potion.
“You have obtained a Beginner Demon Blood Potion. The reward has been sent to your inventory.”
[Beginner Demon Blood Potion]
Type: Alchemical Potion
Quality: Ordinary
Effect: Gradually restores injuries for a period after consumption, and can activate demonic power, increasing Strength by 1.
Su Cheng’s eyes brightened at the potion’s effects. The Demon Blood Potion’s healing might be inferior to regular potions, but its bonus to Strength could be crucial at the right moment.
Still, swallowing a potion brewed from demon blood would require overcoming both psychological and physical barriers.
[Eye of Sin]
Type: Mystic Item
Quality: Rare
Description: A demonic eye from the Abyss, revealing all sin in the world.
The introduction for the Eye of Sin left Su Cheng baffled; he couldn’t make sense of its use.
He tried equipping the Eye of Sin to his game character, and suddenly his left eye darkened—his retina seemed shrouded in mist, and the world became strangely unreal.
“What a bizarre feeling.”
After a moment, the sensation faded and his vision returned to normal. It was as if nothing had happened.
He stared at Araki Ryosuke, who had just returned to his room, for a few seconds, but saw nothing unusual. Instead, Araki Ryosuke was startled by Su Cheng’s sudden appearance, standing at the doorway and staring with a strange expression.
Returning to the living room, a level-up prompt suddenly appeared on the game screen.
“Player level up. Current rank: Bronze IV. Please select an attribute to enhance.”
Su Cheng looked down and saw four options on the character screen.
1. Enhance Body Soul (affects stamina and endurance)
2. Enhance Power Soul (affects strength and explosive power)
3. Enhance Agility Soul (affects speed and neural response)
4. Enhance Mind Soul (affects mental strength and skill damage)
The four basic attributes determined a character’s role in instances: tank players typically boosted Body and Power Souls, while skill casters or healers focused on Mind and Agility Souls.
Of course, players could take unconventional paths—building a Mind and Body Soul tank mage, or a melee spellcaster, both viable strategies.
It all came down to the player’s ingenuity.
Su Cheng hesitated. Superior stamina was vital in horror games, but thanks to his regular night runs, his fitness was decent for now, so he skipped it.
Mind Soul affected mental strength and skill damage. He wasn’t sure about the use of mental strength, and he hadn’t learned any active skills yet, so he passed on that as well.
Between Power and Agility Souls, Su Cheng chose Agility.
For him, speed and neural response were far more cost-effective than brute strength; as long as he was fast enough, he could easily outmatch even the strongest zombies.
“It seems the game’s rewards are related to the instance’s difficulty and duration. This round was really lucrative.” Absorbing the energy from the Small Soul Crystals, Su Cheng felt his physique noticeably enhanced—his waist no longer ached, his legs felt strong, and his monster-slaying power was renewed.
“Player has cleared a second instance. Points Shop unlocked.”
Following the game’s guidance, Su Cheng entered the Points Shop.
Annoyingly, the shop was tiered; he could only browse Bronze-level items.
Most items were entry-level skill books and healing potions. Occasionally, there were active skills, but the price for practical ones was so high it made him want to smash his phone.
No wonder, since active skills were rare and could be crucial in instances.
For example, Sato Reiko’s Death Resistance—if it appeared in the shop, even at a sky-high price, players would snatch it up instantly.
There were plenty of defensive items, and even talismans specifically for vengeful spirits and ghosts, but their cost was prohibitive for most beginners.
As for Mystic items like the Eye of Sin, there were none.
“Beginner Sword Mastery skill book, 180 points each. I’ll take it!”
Combat skill books tended to be pricier—more than 150 points for sword, unarmed, or firearm mastery books. Life skill books were cheaper, but most players spent their points on combat skills.
Su Cheng bought ten Beginner Sword Mastery books in one go. With his reward points from the Zombie Cafeteria instance, he had just over a thousand left.
After consuming all ten books, his Sword Mastery proficiency surged, advancing from E to D+.
“Congratulations, player Su Cheng, your Sword Mastery has reached D grade. Please choose a bonus attribute.”
1. Basic Sword Qi (unleash sword energy with slashes, harming foes invisibly)
2. Steel Sever (strike with force, cleaving steel)
3. Ghost Slash (imbue slashes with spectral power, able to harm ghosts, spirits, vampires, demons, and other undead)
The first option, Basic Sword Qi, was too limited in range early on, so he skipped it. Steel Sever had the strongest attack, but Su Cheng opted for Ghost Slash, which imbued attacks with spectral energy.
Instances often featured ghosts and undead, so Ghost Slash was undoubtedly the most useful of the three.
After settling his instance rewards, Su Cheng shut down the game interface, only for his phone to ping with a news alert.
“Early this morning, a death occurred in an apartment building in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district. The deceased, Hara Nobuo, male, 25, unemployed. Police report the cause as suicide; further investigation is ongoing.”
The news included a photo of Hara Nobuo, his eyes pixelated. Yet Su Cheng recognized him instantly—Hara Nobuo was one of the game’s participants.
A victim in the horror game had died for real in the world.