Although Liu Xing didn't know why Shanhe said that, he still politely chuckled, "Thank you for the compliment."
However, what Liu Xing didn't expect was that Shanhe suddenly waved his hand, and Liu Xing found that everything around him vanished into nothingness. It seemed as if only he and Shanhe were sitting face to face in the universe.
"Congratulations on completing the novice mission, old Chinese doctor. I'm Shanhe, the head of the Ghoul area." Shanhe took off his hat and transformed into a middle-aged man with a very elegant appearance. However, Liu Xing was certain that Shanhe was a mythical creature, because Shanhe's Appearance (the attribute in the Cthulhu role-playing game) Appearance is generally 50 for humans, with a maximum of 99. Anything above 99 is considered mythical) was too high, in Liu Xing's opinion, clearly beyond the scope of human life... Liu Xing was a person who only cared about appearances, and he simply ignored Shanhe's cool transformation.
"Oh, what about my rating?" Since he was already here, Liu Xing didn't think Shanhe would do anything to him after the Novice Room character was finished, so he looked at Shanhe and asked with a smile.
"Congratulations! Because you completed the side quest, the game ends early. You also received an A-level rating, and the reward is 50 points and an Old Seal Amulet. Please check your personal inventory after exiting the game," Shanhe said in a very formal manner.
After saying these clichés, Shanhe continued with a smile, "Because the highest rating for Novice Room quests is A-level, you have become the 22nd newcomer in the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall to receive an A-level rating. So, you also get a special reward: an extra character card."
Liu Xing was delighted. This special reward was truly wonderful. After all, according to the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game setting, each character card was equivalent to a life. Now with two character cards, he finally felt his life was secure.
"But I must explain first: this character card can only be used within the role-playing game. This means that if you die in-game, you can use this character card to revive at any time before the end of this Cthulhu role-playing game. However, if you don't use this character card to revive before the end of the game, and you don't have any other character cards, you will still be considered dead and erased." Shanhe's subsequent words chilled Liu Xing's heart. This character card was subject to severe restrictions, significantly reducing its usefulness.
Because no matter what game it is, the end is always the most difficult. And according to the usual Cthulhu role-playing game ethos, players will inevitably face mythical creatures at the end. So even if Liu Xing was resurrected at the end of the game, he would still have died.
"By the way, how are those twenty-one A-rated newcomers doing now? Have any of them uninstalled the game?" Liu Xing asked curiously. After all, past mistakes are a lesson for future generations, and Liu Xing needed to ask how his predecessors were doing.
Upon hearing Liu Xing's question, Shanhe chuckled and said casually, "They all failed their missions and lost their character cards, so their accounts were forcibly deleted and erased."
Liu Xing's heart tightened at this answer. He hadn't realized he'd unknowingly set a goal.
"They all think they're the protagonists of some novel. They take advantage of their extra lives, so they just want to goof around and die." Shanhe looked at Liu Xing and sneered, "In which game do you think you'll die?"
Liu Xing felt a little uneasy when Shanhe looked at him like that, so he just said, "I think I can survive until the end."
Shanhe obviously hadn't expected Liu Xing to still be able to joke around, and he took a slight interest in Liu Xin. "Young man, you have a bright future." I'm optimistic about you."
Shanhe walked over, patted Liu Xing on the shoulder, and said, "You can go back and rest now. By the way, the Cthulhu role-playing game hall charges a maintenance fee every day. This means you must play the next game within fifty days. Otherwise, if your points are negative at the start of each calendar day, you'll be eliminated. Also, during every traditional festival, the mall has special gift packs with lots of goodies. You'd better get 100 points before Qingming Festival. This is my personal insider information for you."
If Liu Xing remembered correctly, today was March 20th, about two weeks away from Qingming Festival. He currently had 50 points, so he needed to complete at least one mission before Qingming Festival to have a chance to earn 100 points and redeem the gift package Shanhe had mentioned.
Liu Xing nodded thoughtfully and thanked him, "Thank you for the reminder. Can you please let me out now?"
Shanhe smiled and waved. Liu Xing felt his vision go dark, and when he came to, he found himself back in his room!
Liu Xing breathed a sigh of relief, leaned back in his chair, and stared silently at his computer.
The computer was still in the newbie room of the Cthulhu mission hall, but now a notification popped up in the middle.
"Congratulations, Old Chinese Doctor, on completing the newbie mission. Welcome to the Horror Hall family."
Liu Xing dismissed the notification and exited the newbie's room.
The screen automatically jumped to the character card screen.
Name: Liu Xing
Occupation: Doctor
Education: Postgraduate
Birthplace: Rongcheng, Shu, China
Gender: Male
Age:
Background: To be determined (will be determined by the player's first multiplayer campaign)
Strength:
Constitution:
Willpower:
Luck:
Agility:
Appearance:
Build:
Intelligence:
Inspiration:
Education:
Cthulhu Mythos Knowledge:
Sanity:
HP:
MP:
Damage Bonus: None
Liu Xing clearly knew this was a 7th Edition character card because all stats were multiples of five. Attribute checks on character cards are generally based on 3d6 (the number of six-sided dice rolled), and the roll is multiplied by five to determine the attribute value. Furthermore, additional checks may be made based on age. For example, Liu Xing is 23, so a single roll for Education requires only one roll of the hundred-sided die. If the result is greater than your current educational value, add 110 points to the educational percentage. Clearly, Liu Xing passed the Education Enhancement check, thus increasing his education value by two or seven points.
In Liu Xing's opinion, this character card's stats are quite good, aside from its relatively weak physique and low damage. Of course, there's one thing that leaves Liu Xing a bit dissatisfied: his inspiration is a bit too high. While inspiration affects in-game intelligence gathering, in most cases, higher inspiration increases the likelihood of premature encounters with mythical creatures or unusual phenomena, forcing Sanity points to be deducted.
Thus, inspiration is a double-edged sword.
Sanity, on the other hand, is determined by Willpower, so its initial value is equivalent to Willpower.
However, at this point, Liu Xin couldn't change the stats on this character card himself, so he dragged the card to the Skills screen, which showed that his remaining professional skill points were 348, since the Doctor's professional skill points are equal to his educational value multiplied by four.
The doctor's professional skills are First Aid, Other Languages, Medicine, Psychology, Biology, Pharmacology, and any two skills related to the doctor's profession, such as psychoanalysis for psychiatrists. Liu Xing can allocate his professional skill points to any of these skills.
Of course, in addition to professional skills, Liu Xing also possesses some hobbies. After all, everyone has hobbies. Hobbies are calculated by multiplying intelligence by two. Therefore, Liu Xing has 170 hobbies, which he can allocate to any skill he desires.
In addition, the character card has a special attribute—Credit.
Credit is a very important attribute in the Cthulhu role-playing game, as it affects your available money, carryable items, and initial living environment. It also influences NPCs' perception of you. After all, people are more likely to listen to the advice of a well-dressed doctor than a ragged beggar.
Therefore, the higher the credit, the better. However, only professional skill points can be added to credit, and each profession has an upper and lower limit on credit points. For example, a doctor's credit is 30 to 80, and credit is a must-have item, so Liu Xing must spend 30 professional skill points on credit.