Three Towers Game

Chapter 418 Monastery Horror

A new challenge has arrived.

As the campfire died down, Wen Xishu and Reid stood up.

They gradually came into view the figures approaching from the monastery in the distance.

She was a nun, but the nun had no chin.

It has only a pair of eyes and half a nose, and the eyes emit a white light, making it look like a deadly evil spirit.

Wen Xishu had not read this story about a monastery.

But that doesn't matter, since the audio prompt will appear soon.

The nuns in the convent have noticed that you are possessed by evil spirits and have invited you to the convent for an exorcism.

As soon as the voice prompt ended, the nun appeared in front of Wen Xishu and Reid as if by teleportation.

Both of them were startled; this chinless appearance truly resembled a demon that should be banished.

The nun couldn't speak, but quickly, she wrote a line of words in blood on the ground with her hand:
“Your bodies harbor demons. You need to be purified. Please come with me to the monastery.”

There really was a demon hidden inside Wen Xishu.

After consuming the Black Coffin Blood, the Ghost Bridegroom became one of his personalities. His ultimate combat form is to activate the Personality Party, release the Ghost Bridegroom personality, and simultaneously activate the Realm of Sole Self.

However, so far, Wen Xishu has not encountered an enemy who could push him to this point.

"It should just be a fixed line from an NPC, after all, Reed also received an invitation, it's not aimed at me."

Wen Xishu thought to himself silently.

The two followed the nun for a while, and this time the scene did not suddenly change, because the monastery was not far away.

Soon, the two arrived at the place where the nuns were praying.

This is the core building of the monastery.

Inside, there were rows of faded wooden benches, and in the center of the hall was a huge balance scale, with half a head on one end.

Only the lower part of the head is visible; you can see the chin, mouth, and half of the nose.

There was nothing on the other end.

As Wen Xishu and Reid took their seats, the nun wrote another line:

"Don't open the door. No matter what you hear, don't open the door. The ritual has begun. If you want to survive, listen to me. Don't open the door. The evil spirits outside will do everything they can to kill you. As long as you don't open the door, you will pass the test and go to the next bonfire. And you will receive a blessing."

After writing the words in blood, the nun quickly retreated to the entrance of the main hall and slowly closed the two heavy wooden doors.

The nun disappeared.

With the nun gone, the interior of the hall became dark and gloomy.

Reid said:

"What...what is this level about?"

Wen Xishu slowly shook his head:
"We don't know yet, let's wait and see."

The sky outside should have gradually brightened, but inside the monastery, it seemed to be the other way around; Wen Xishu felt that the monastery was getting darker and darker.

Just then, a voice came from outside the door:
"Oh no! That wretched nun is harming people again! Friends inside, open the door quickly! You can't get caught up in this ritual!"

Upon hearing this voice, Wen Xishu seemed to understand. Could the core of this challenge be distinguishing between the real and the fake?

"The nun wants to get her chin back! You will become the new sacrifices on both sides of the scales!"

"Open the door quickly!"

Upon hearing this, Reed really felt the urge to open the door.

But Wen Xishu stopped Reid and said softly:

"What if... once we get inside, there are all sorts of temptations to get us to open the door?"

Reid didn't hear about Yuuki this time:
"Brother Wen, I have a bad feeling... Don't you think that nun, and the scales in this hall, look like something evil?"

Wen Xishu actually thought so too.

Yes, the moment the nun appeared, she gave off an evil spirit vibe, with pale eyes and no chin...

This person doesn't seem like a good person at all.

And without saying a word, the doors of the main hall closed... and then told me that the ceremony had begun.

What kind of ritual is this? Isn't this a harmful ritual?
Wen Xishu had a feeling...

This level might not be difficult; in terms of survival probability, it's fifty percent. But in this level, he can't find any clues.

He has to guess.

If you bet that the nun is a good person, you'll be swallowed up by the evil ritual.

If you bet that the nun is a bad person and choose to open the door, and you bet wrong... you will be killed by the evil spirits outside.

A simple and straightforward choice between two options.

Just then, Wen Xishu sensed a change on the scales.

On the right side of the scale, the half-head with only the lower part, a chin, and a mouth, began to chant some ancient incantation.

Wen Xishu couldn't understand, but he knew that the ceremony had truly begun.

It's hard not to feel fear in this environment, especially since the spells sound like something harmful.

With each note that faded, Wen Xishu felt the room grow even colder.

"Damn it, the spell has started! Open the door! You guys have a death wish!"

"If the nun completes the ritual, the monster in the monastery will come back to life!"

Reed didn't care anymore and decided to force the door open.

But soon Wenxi Tree's shadow blocked Reid's path. In the pitch-black place, the shadow was so dark that it was almost invisible.

"Reed, don't worry."

Wen Xishu calmly said:
"Sometimes the place you feel is the most dangerous, the most unreasonable, is the safest."

Reid said:

"Brother, it's true that I owe you everything along the way. If I ever have the chance in the future, I, Reed, will definitely repay you."

"But think about it carefully, you are a suspicious person. You were in the gourmet's house and guessed from the sound that the monster was upside down."

"But look, the designer of this monster actually mocked your guess, using a two-headed monster to predict your future."

"How can you be sure that this isn't a prediction? He might have already figured out your habits."

It really is.

Wen Xishu found it impossible to refute Reid's words.

Having experienced the night on Kashima Island and the night in the ghost town, Wen Xishu was very resistant to opening the door.

No matter how righteous or reassuring the voices outside may be, you must not open the door.

But we didn't open the door before because we knew it was safe inside.

But now?

That half-head, with only a chin and mouth, continued to chant unknown and ancient incantations. Originally, the scales were heavier on the right side because there was nothing on the left.

But now, the scales are beginning to shift.

The left side began to slowly sink, which meant that something unseen seemed to have appeared on the left pan of the balance.

Are those my soul and Red's soul?
Is that something precious about me?

Was this a sacrificial ceremony?

Are proper monasteries really like this?

Wen Xishu also wavered. At this moment, Reid tried to open the door.

Reed touched the door, and the presence outside seemed to sense it as well:
"Quick, open the door! Open the door! Don't delay! Do you see the scales inside? Make sure both ends don't weigh the same! Otherwise, you're all doomed!"

His voice sounded a little hurried.

Wen Xishu could sense that when the two sides of the balance were at the same height, that is, when the two trays were of equal weight... the ceremony would probably be over.

He has a little time left, but not much.

"Who are you? Why are you in Bizhen?"

"Wen Xishu asked. Reid wasn't stupid either; he also sensed the urgency in the other's tone. At this moment, he decided to wait for an answer."

“We are exiles from this small town. Listen to me, this town is very dangerous at night, but relatively safe during the day.”

"At night we can only find various places to hide... we can only come out and move around during the day."

"Please, open the door! The nun is the devil incarnate! You are sacrificing your souls! Once she has collected them, she will kill us all tonight!"

"Open the door quickly!"

Wen Xishu said:
"Okay, I'll open the door."

Even so, Wen Xishu used his shadow to stop Reid.

"Yes, yes, open the door quickly!" came the urgent and excited voice from outside.

Wen Xishu's shadow couldn't stop Reid, but Reid didn't resort to violence.

Wen Xishu whispered to Reid:

“Reed, I don’t know what’s inside the door, but I know there are definitely no good people outside.”

Reed still trusted Wen Xishu after all:
"Why? Give me a reason."

Wen Xishu said softly:

"No one in Bizhen can escape the 'Master of the Pen'; we are actually adventurers who have stumbled into the story of the 'Master of the Pen'."

“‘The pen master’ can provide us with various voice prompts in our minds.”

“As the author once said, only a campfire can bring temporary safety; at any other time, it is unsafe.”

"Moreover, we were recently warned that Bizhen is just as dangerous during the day as it is at night."

"If these people are truly exiles, how strong must they be to have survived in Bizhen for so long?"

"Why did they appear just as the nun was pulling us into the temple? Why didn't they appear when the campfire was burning?"

"Would someone who can survive in Bizhen for a long time not be able to open a wooden door?"

These statements are reasonable.

Reed fully agrees.

But this bizarre ritual also seemed terrifying, and Reed was reluctant to believe it was a good ritual.

He could already feel the chill creeping into the temple as the ceremony continued.

Something bad is bound to be born.

"Open the door! Do you really want to die?! You still doubt us?!"

The sounds outside the door grew increasingly urgent.

Wen Xishu was pondering a question.

"During the second level, Reed was right; the author predicted my prediction... The two-headed monster disgusted me..."

"But the author probably didn't expect that, due to the head hitting the ground repeatedly, the eyeball would burst."

"At this juncture, I'm sure you can guess that I'll realize it's a multiple-choice question, a matter of choosing sides..."

"It looks strange inside, but it seems safe outside, which actually increases the likelihood that I will choose to stay inside."

"After all, I've been through such a scenario; the safety outside is a temptation."

"But what if... the author is also well-versed in this art?"

Wen Xishu had been speculating that the owner of this money might be a creator of some horror story.

If that's true, then the author must be very familiar with this kind of two-choice script.

Open the door, or not?
Also, why didn't the author explain any rules through voice transmission this time? Instead, why was it entirely explained by the nun?

Wen Xishu seemed to have a vague answer.

"Because the author himself plays the role of a narrator who speaks the truth. He once said, 'Don't ignore the voice. The voice is correct. People with their own ideas often die a quick death.'"

"But this time, the author did not speak out."

“I understand now, he did it on purpose, because if the words left by the nun were spoken by the pen master, this hurdle would be no problem at all.”

"After all, you can just blindly trust the author."

"That's why it needs to have the nun say those words, so that players might no longer trust those words."

"Of course, it is indeed possible that this statement is false."

Wen Xishu recalled what the nun had just said:
Don't open the door. No matter what you hear, don't open the door. The ritual has begun. If you want to survive, listen to me. Don't open the door. The evil spirits outside will do everything they can to kill you. As long as you don't open the door, you will pass the test and proceed to the next bonfire. And you will receive a blessing.

He looked at the passage carefully and suddenly realized that there was a lot left out.

Wen Xishu suddenly smiled.

Reed was shocked:

"Brother, if you don't open the door soon, the ceremony will be over! Why are you smiling?"

Wen Xishu said:
"Yes, but we'll die if we open the door. There's a head above and a head below, just like the second level. Isn't that right?"

Reid said:

"Do you have any idea?"

Wen Xishu said:
"Yes, I noticed that the nun's words didn't mention the ritual itself at all. She only said that the ritual had already begun. She only said that as long as we don't open the door, we will pass the test, but she didn't say that we can't interrupt the ritual, right?"

Reed was taken aback:
"Ah? What do you mean?"

Wen Xishu walked towards the balance scale. At this moment, the side of the scale that had nothing on it began to balance the side with half a head.

The knocking on the door grew more urgent.

"The ceremony is almost over, open the door! Don't make us all die!"

"Do you intend to sacrifice yourselves to the monastery?!"

Wen Xishu ignored him.

All sounds, including incantations, interfere with judgment and make people impatient.

Only by remaining calm can we find a solution.

At this moment, Wen Xishu made a bold decision: he picked up the other half of the head from the right side of the scale.

The scales suddenly tipped, and half a head fell silent.

“The rules mentioned outside say that the ceremony is complete when the left and right ends are equally heavy, so let’s just make them different weights.”

Nothing unexpected happened.

When Wen Xishu removed the half of the head that was constantly chanting incantations from the right side of the scale, the left side of the scale immediately sank to the bottom.

"Open the door, or we will die."

“If we don’t open the door, the ceremony will be over, and the nuns will kill us. This place really is like a cult, not a proper monastery.”

"Therefore, we cannot open the door, and we cannot let the ceremony complete. Only then can we get through this hurdle."

Wen Xishu threw half of his head on the ground and stomped on it hard. The stomp was so powerful that it even shattered his teeth.

Reed suddenly smiled too:
"Holy crap, you can do that?! I was so annoyed by both sides, I was just thinking about which side to choose, but it turns out you can choose neither side!"

Suddenly, light shone in the dark monastery.

The voices outside the door grew impatient.

The light came from the campfire.

Wen Xishu and Reid sat around the new campfire, feeling very at ease.

A voice came from outside the door:

"Actually, I really am an exile, but this word can be understood as a dead person who has been exiled to this place. After all, I can't survive to the end as an adventurer, so I can only play a role here."

"Congratulations. You seem to be very calm and rational people. However, there is no information about the author here. You will receive a blessing here, but the author's information will be available in the next... classroom."

"I hope you survive, and I hope you find the secret of Pen Town."

The being outside the door, after speaking, fell silent and seemed to have vanished.

However, a voice appeared in Wen Xishu and Reid's minds:
[Great job! Congratulations on surviving again. You've earned another ten points. If you pass the next test, you'll become the first person in Pen Town's history to collect sixty points.]

(End of this chapter)