"It's a bloody day."
The moment those words left Lucas's mouth, Victor felt the skin on his scalp crawl with dread.
Something wasn't right. Not at all.
The air around them reeked of death, and the more Victor stood there, the more his instincts screamed.
"We're leaving," he declared, stepping back. "You got lucky today, Lucas! Don't let me catch you again! The Five Tigers Guild isn't someone you can afford to offend!"
He forced a snarl onto his face to mask the fear rising in his chest and motioned for Rex to follow him.
Lucas stood there, watching them, still holding that black umbrella, an almost confused expression on his face.
"Five Tigers Guild… What even is that?" he muttered, as if the name didn't matter to him at all.
---
Victor's footsteps quickened down the corridor. He didn't care how it looked—he just wanted out.
Rex jogged behind him, still reluctant.
"Brother Victor," Rex called, "should we really go? That thing Lucas said... it might be the answer to the first exam question! What if he knows the next two too?"
Victor shot him a cold glare.
"If you're so curious, go back yourself!"
That shut Rex up. He was afraid of death, after all. And whatever was happening back there—it didn't look survivable.
But just as they rounded the corner—
Plink.
A single drop of liquid struck Victor's forehead.
He froze.
He reached up and wiped it, then stared at his hand.
Blood.
"What the hell...?"
He slowly looked up—
And more blood rained down, soaking his face.
"Why is it bleeding outside now?" he muttered in disbelief.
The rain picked up fast, becoming heavier by the second. In no time, both Victor and Rex were drenched in warm, sticky crimson.
Rex began scratching his neck.
"Brother Victor… do you feel itchy?"
Victor did. An unbearable mix of itching and burning was crawling up from beneath his skin.
He lifted his shirt—
Blood was pouring from his collar. His abdomen was turning red.
And then…
Little lumps began appearing all over his belly.
Each bump squirmed grotesquely beneath his skin, pushing outwards like something trying to break free.
Pop!
One of the lumps burst open.
A small, milky white insect wriggled out of the torn flesh.
It wasn't alone.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
More bulges. More insects. Blood ran like rivers.
Victor's horrified scream tore through the hallway.
---
Rex was no better. He dropped to the floor, violently scratching every inch of his skin.
"WORMS! THERE ARE WORMS EVERYWHERE!"
He clawed at his arms and legs, tearing open skin. The bugs just kept coming.
The more the blood poured, the more the parasites appeared.
> [Player Rex has lost control of his mental state. -5 Mental Points. -5. -5…]
[Player Victor is near emotional collapse. -3 Mental Points. -3. -3…]
Victor covered his right eye as a white worm slipped out from beneath his eyelid, oozing down his cheek.
They were breaking apart.
---
At the far end of the corridor, Lucas stood calmly in the doorway.
Umbrella in hand, he watched the chaos unfold.
Victor and Rex—screaming, scratching, sobbing in the rain of blood.
But from where he stood, nothing was happening.
He squinted at them, his expression unreadable.
"Are they hallucinating...?"
The system's interface blinked in his vision.
> [Danger Assessment: Blood Rain — Low-Level Threat]
Lucas nodded.
"Good thing I brought the umbrella. Otherwise, I'd be in the same condition."
He turned back inside.
His roommate was now soaked, the red dripping from his hair and clothes.
But he wasn't screaming. In fact, he looked terrified—not from hallucinations, but from Lucas himself.
> [Roommate: No Danger Detected]
Lucas frowned.
"Still no danger?"
He glanced at the trembling man as he gripped his bloody kitchen knife.
The roommate had crouched under a plastic washbasin, using it as makeshift protection from the blood rain. When he saw Lucas approach, he immediately backed away.
"W-what are you doing?!" he stammered.
The sound of blood hitting the umbrella was relentless, echoing in the silence.
Lucas tilted his head.
"I think your name… is Lily?"
The roommate froze.
"W-what? How did you— Wait! What does my name have to do with you pulling a knife on me?!"
He looked genuinely confused, genuinely scared. Shaking. Pale.
It was almost enough to convince Lucas he wasn't the anomaly in the room.
Almost.
---
Suddenly, a roar echoed down the corridor.
"You IDIOTS think a little hallucination is enough to take down Victor?!"
Heavy footsteps thundered closer.
Victor reappeared, blood-soaked, shirt ripped open, muscles bulging unnaturally.
His skin had a greenish tint.
> [Item Acquired: Hulk Dilution Potion]
[Type: Consumable]
[Quality: Excellent]
[Effect: Partial strength boost, minor physical transformation. Will not turn body fully green.]
Victor's eyes were bloodshot. He wasn't thinking—just charging.
He spotted Lily and roared.
"Tear you apart, and the hallucinations end!"
Lily tried to run, slipped, and crashed to the floor.
Victor leapt—his body like a falling slab of muscle.
But before he could land—
A crimson blur appeared in front of Lily.
The blood in the air froze mid-fall, suspended in motion.
And in the next instant—
Gravity reversed.
All the blood droplets—like red pearls—shot toward Victor.
They pierced him like needles.
His muscle-bound body was turned into a sieve, punctured a hundred times.
> [Danger Assessment: Amy — Low-Level Threat]
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
"Low-level danger…? That's low?"
Victor collapsed with a groan, still alive thanks to his enhanced state, but badly wounded.
The one responsible for the bloody counterattack stepped forward—
A figure in red.
Amy.
She hovered just above the ground, hair flowing as if underwater.
Victor's bravado crumbled.
He turned to Lucas, voice hoarse with desperation.
"Lucas! These ghosts are too strong! Help me!"
He tried to rise but couldn't.
"We have to team up! You and me—we can survive together! I'll call off the guild! All our grudges? Wiped clean!"
Lucas blinked at him.
And then… he smiled.
"I'm afraid not," he said gently.
Still clutching his umbrella tightly, he stepped back from the doorway.
"It's too risky to help you. You're already dead weight. Honestly, I think it's better if you die."
Victor's face twisted in betrayal and disbelief.
Amy inched closer.
And Lucas?
He turned, stepping deeper into the dorm.
Unbothered. Unscathed. Untouched.
---
End of Chapter 38
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