The Hall
Lynn fiddled with the revolver in his hand, pondering the words of the monster hunter from earlier. He glanced at the door.
He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but as the nightfall approached, the darkness outside seemed even denser than before. He checked the time.
In about half an hour, the Soul Lamp would extinguish, signaling the arrival of the dark world’s nightfall.
“There shouldn’t be any customers now.”
Lynn continued fiddling with the revolver, his gaze briefly landing on the ghostly baby on the counter.
[Evil Spirit Blood Baby]
[Level]: 7
[Attributes]: Chaotic Evil
[Description]: A ghostly spirit formed from resentment and ghost energy, this Evil Spirit Blood Baby absorbs vast amounts of sacrificial blood and spirit energy. Once fully formed, it will devour its host’s soul and flesh, gradually growing stronger, turning into a disaster.
Lynn hadn’t paid much attention to it recently, but now he saw that the ghost baby had reached Level 7.
Such a frightening growth speed meant that, if left unchecked, it would become very hard to deal with in no time.
“Could this gun really be like he said, incapable of hitting anything?” Lynn wondered.
He stood up, placed the ghost baby on the stool in front of the counter, and closed one eye as he aimed at the baby’s head.
Bang!
A bullet whizzed past the ghost baby’s ear.
[Evil Spirit Blood Baby Fear Level +10]
The baby shrieked in terror.
Lynn raised an eyebrow, blew the smoke from the gun’s muzzle, and muttered, “Really can’t hit anything?”
He was skeptical.
“Anyway, I have half an hour to kill. I might as well practice my shooting.”
Lynn maintained a calm expression.
Bang!
[Evil Spirit Blood Baby Fear Level +10]
Bang!
[Evil Spirit Blood Baby Fear Level +10]
Bang!
...
Soon, the half-hour passed in the blink of an eye.
With a soft whoosh, the Soul Lamp hanging on the doorpost suddenly extinguished without warning.
Without a second thought, Lynn immediately stood up, his expression serious, rushing to the door and retrieving the Soul Lamp.
The darkness outside became even denser, and the silence was deafening.
Lynn knew that the night had come.
Screech—
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
He quickly shut the door, locking it with a rusty iron chain. The windows on both sides of the door were boarded up tightly, with no cracks left.
The past two years had taught him that when the Soul Lamp goes out and the night arrives, it’s a massive trial. During this time, anyone could enter your sanctuary without permission.
That chunk of flesh his teacher had chopped off this morning was from a monster that had snuck in last night.
But tonight, without his teacher's presence, it would undoubtedly be a sleepless night for Lynn.
[Ding! You triggered the quest: Sleepless Night. Quest objective: Survive until dawn. Quest reward: 500 Skull Coins, +1 Level, Special Reward x1]
Lynn’s heart skipped a beat, but his expression quickly returned to calm.
This was not a good sign.
Triggering a quest meant a very high chance of encountering a major crisis tonight. The reward of 500 Skull Coins alone was an ominous sign.
Usually, the higher the reward, the greater the danger.
“Let’s go.”
Lynn grabbed the frightened ghost baby and quickly made his way back to his small attic room, taking his bone-chopping knife and slipping the revolver into his pocket.
He lay down in his bed, holding the knife, his expression calm as he closed his eyes.
“Hopefully, this night will pass without incident.”
...
Boom—
A loud bell rang through the dark night.
Lynn immediately opened his eyes. The bell’s chime signified that it was midnight.
At that moment, sudden urgent knocks came from the door downstairs.
“Lynn! Open the door! It’s me, your teacher! An evil spirit is chasing me! Open the door, quickly!”
The muffled, painful voice echoed.
“Teacher?!”
Lynn sprang up from his bed.
He grabbed his bone-chopping knife and quickly ran to the hall.
He immediately heard the door trembling, and could make out his teacher’s heavy, painful breaths and muffled groans from outside.
“That’s his voice.”
“Lynn! Quick! Open the door! If not, I won’t make it!”
Lynn nodded.
He grabbed his bone-chopping knife and rushed to the door.
With one swift motion, he thrust the knife through the gap in the door.
Thrust!
Bright red blood sprayed out of the gap.
Lynn shouted, “Teacher, if you’re already done for, then die outside.”
...
Silence.
Then a groggy voice came from outside the door.
“You’re not even sure if I’m your teacher, and you stabbed me like that?”
Thrust!
Lynn twisted the knife and thrust it again.
“Because if it were me outside, my teacher would have stabbed me too!”
Lynn said seriously.
Silence again.
And in the next instant, a series of shrill, piercing shrieks rang from outside the door. The banging on the door grew louder and more violent, as if something was desperately trying to break through.
Crack!
A bloodied, almost rotting hand suddenly tore through the door, reaching inside.
[Lynn’s Sanity -10]
The hand clawed and scratched at the door, making sharp, grating noises.
“I’ll eat you! I’ll tear you apart and chew you bit by bit!”
A snarling, ferocious voice came from outside.
Lynn remained unshaken.
He picked up his bone-chopping knife and stabbed the hand, pinning it to the door.
Immediately, the door was filled with sharp, distorted wailing from outside, and red blood began seeping in through the cracks.
The whole hall was filled with the nauseating stench of blood.
Lynn knew.
He had likely encountered a tough evil spirit this time.
But Lynn was not afraid. He knew very well that in dangerous situations, the calmer you are, the higher your chances of survival.
Without hesitation, he quickly removed a red hair from his wrist.
[Evil Spirit Hair]
This was one of the rewards he had received earlier in the day from the system. It was the perfect time to use it.
Sss—
The hair quickly wrapped around the bloodied, decaying hand, and within a few seconds, the sharp laughter from outside the door abruptly stopped.
Instead, there was a suffocating wheezing sound, like something was struggling for breath, held by its neck.
“Seems like it’s just a minor spirit, not very strong.”
Lynn gritted his teeth.
He grasped the wildly growing hair and quickly attached it to the ceiling beam, pulling it hard.
Sss—
From outside, the sound of flesh tearing echoed.
And with that tearing sound, the struggling hand’s movements became even more frantic.
Finally, the hand slowly drooped, seemingly lifeless.
But Lynn didn’t relax.
He quickly pulled out his bone-chopping knife and stabbed through the gap in the door again and again. After a hundred stabs, he finally let go.
One of the survival guidelines in this world was:
[No matter whether the enemy is dead or not, always stab a few more times!]