Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 19: The Parchment

Liu Xing looked up at the second floor, estimating it to be around two meters high. As for the wooden railing on the second floor, it appeared quite sturdy—hopefully, it wouldn't sustain any damage from his pull... hopefully.

As Liu Xing somewhat doubtfully scrutinized the railing, pondering the posture he should adopt for his jump, Bai Hecheng, ever the enthusiast for stirring up excitement, chimed in, "Hey, Liu Xing, listen to me, don't be a wimp, just go for it. With your kind of luck, passing a one percent check is a breeze for you, so a twenty percent check should be a walk in the park, right?"

Liu Xing was at a loss for words; it seemed Bai Hecheng had conveniently forgotten about Liu Xing's recent failed scouting check.

But as the saying goes, better a short pain than a long one. Liu Xing couldn't be bothered to mull over it any longer and directly communicated with KP004, "kp, I'm going for a multiple check, jumping up to the second floor."

KP004 responded promptly, "No problem."

Jumping, 63/70, success.

Climbing, 23/20, failure.

Indeed, Liu Xing's climbing skill check failed, prompting KP004 not even to offer a luck roll to Liu Xing.

Consequently, Liu Xing leaped up, soaring two meters high, but his hands failed to grasp the railing, and, unsurprisingly, he began to free-fall.

However, Chen Ling and Wang Qi were already prepared below. They both reached out to catch Liu Xing and, given Liu Xing's low constitution and size stats, there was no need for a resistance check.

Under certain conditions, a resistance check is necessary, like the situation Liu Xing just encountered. If Liu Xing's constitution and size stats combined exceeded a certain threshold, he would need to pass a resistance check against the strength of Wang Qi and Chen Ling. Failure to do so would mean they couldn't catch him, and there might even be a risk of injury. Liu Xing's stats only added up to a bit over eighty, which was roughly equivalent to Chen Ling's strength alone. Plus, considering the fall was only about two meters, KP004 assumed Chen Ling and Wang Qi successfully caught Liu Xing.

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After a while, Liu Xing decided to attempt another multiple check.

In the Cthulhu RPG Game, some actions cannot be reattempted under normal circumstances without a special reason, like the failed Investigation Skill check by Liu Xing and his companions in the locked room earlier. That failure was treated as the players losing interest in exploring the room further. Unless they could present a convincing reason to KP004, they would not be allowed to investigate the room again.

But in cases like Liu Xing's, multiple checks are permitted. Motivated by a spirit of not giving up until achieving his goal to reach the second floor, Liu Xing contacted KP004 once more, "kp, I want to make another multiple check!"

"Alright. Since the player has failed once but has gained some understanding of the railing's position and height, the player will receive a bonus of 20 to the climbing skill in this next multiple check," KP004 added.

In the Cthulhu RPG Game, bonus and penalty values can apply, such as in Liu Xing's case. Although he failed his initial climbing check, he learned from his mistake. Thus, on his next attempt at climbing, he would receive a bonus. As for penalty values, had Liu Xing injured his leg in the fall, his jumping skill would have suffered a penalty, decreasing in value for a certain time.

Jumping, 31/70, success.

Climbing, 12/40, success.

Luck, 59/80, success.

Liu Xing leaped high once again. This time, he successfully grabbed onto the railing. It creaked ominously, but to his relief, no mishap occurred—Liu Xing had successfully made it to the second floor.

Liu Xing finally exhaled in relief and nodded towards Bai Hecheng and the others downstairs, who dispersed to their pre-arranged positions to keep watch. Naturally, Wang Qi was tasked with closely guarding Bai Hecheng, ready to execute a "humane destruction" should Bai Hecheng make any unexpected moves.

Standing in the corridor on the second floor, Liu Xing began to scrutinize the three rooms. According to the information provided by KP004, from left to right, the rooms were the Castle Lord's bedroom, the study room, and the Castle Lord's daughter's bedroom. The staircase connecting the first and second floors was located at the far left.

Following the principle of "men on the left, women on the right," Liu Xing decided to try his luck with the Castle Lord's bedroom first, convinced that the Castle Lord was the boss of this role-playing game. Now was the perfect time to collect valuable intelligence from the boss's room while he was out.

However, standing before the Castle Lord's bedroom, Liu Xing sighed in frustration upon finding that a fingerprint lock had been installed on the door.

Truly a boss who kept up with the times.

The fingerprint lock meant that even if Liu Xing used his Lockpicking Skill, KP004 would automatically deem it a failure. Abandoning the struggle, he turned towards the study room.

Just then, Liu Xing heard the sound of dice rolling, but no outcome ensued. He asked KP004, "Is that you rolling in secret?"

KP004, ever the honest one—or perhaps not even human—replied, "Yes, I was rolling for your luck check to decide if the study room door is locked."

Liu Xing nodded silently and approached the study room, only to find the door slightly ajar. Yet what unsettled him was the pure blackness he could see through the crack; a darkness that seemed to swallow all light, rendering his vision utterly void.

It was clear there was something amiss with this study room.

Hesitant, considering he was now alone and not a combat-type character, Liu Xing feared that any mishap in the study room could well be his undoing.

After a moment of silence, he steeled himself to enter, reasoning that he still had a character card to revive himself with. Besides, the more dangerous the place, the greater the potential for valuable information and rewards.

With this in mind, Liu Xing pushed the study room's door open, and several lights suddenly turned on, illuminating the room.

Clearly, the lights were connected to the study room door.

"This is a modestly sized study room, furnished with over a dozen bookshelves housing a variety of books, all appearing to be of historical value, and among them, you even spot a scroll of parchment," described KP004 as Liu Xing observed his surroundings.

"KP, I need to make a detection check, focus on that parchment scroll," Liu Xing instructed, eyeing the scroll mentioned by KP004.

Detection check: 58/60, success.

"You're in luck, just narrowly avoided failure. Here's what you've learned: there's nothing particularly unusual about the room, but the parchment scroll appears ancient and emits an aura that is decidedly uncomfortable to you," KP004 informed.

Liu Xing knew then that the parchment scroll was an important item in this role-playing game.