Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 21: The Girl

Liu Xing approached the room at the far right of the second floor, which, according to the information provided by KP004, belonged to the Daughter of the Castle Lord.

Here, KP004 didn't require Liu Xing to perform a luck check; the door to the room was ajar, although the light inside was somewhat dim.

Seeing this, Liu Xing surmised that the Castle Lord's daughter must still be inside the room.

Therefore, he decided to first conduct a reconnaissance, cautiously peering into the room to observe the situation.

"There's no need to be so cautious. Although the room is dimly lit, you can still clearly see everything inside, so consider your reconnaissance automatically successful," KP004 said to Liu Xing with a disdainful tone.

"Then, you notice a girl who appears to be in her teens sitting on the big bed. With her back turned to you, you can only see her waist-length golden hair, but you have a premonition that this girl must be extremely beautiful."

Liu Xing silently nodded, contemplating whether or not to strike up a conversation with the girl.

He was certain that given the girl's current demeanor, she was undoubtedly a key NPC—after all, she was the Castle Lord's daughter and likely privy to important information.

But how could he extract such information from her?

While Liu Xing was pondering how to approach her, a faint sigh emanated from the room.

Liu Xing was startled, thinking he had been discovered by the girl.

However, he soon realized the girl in the room had not turned to look at him, leading him to believe that her sigh was not directed at him.

With this thought, Liu Xing decided to go in and start a conversation, feeling a hunch that a sensitive young girl like her wouldn't pose any danger (a statement the author seriously bluffed).

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After all, Liu Xing had once been a poetic (and somewhat adolescent) youth himself.

Thus, Liu Xing knocked on the door and asked, "Hello, may I come in?"

As soon as Liu Xing finished speaking, the girl in the room turned around to face him.

Upon seeing the girl's visage, Liu Xing had only one thought—APP (Appearance) 18!

In the settings of the Cthulhu mythos, the highest a human's appearance could score was 18 points.

So, the only line that came to Liu Xing's mind was, "Such a lady is meant for the heavens; rarely seen by mortals below."

But Liu Xing quickly snapped back to reality, realizing now was not the time to be admiring beauty, especially since the girl's pupils were an unusual shade of red.

Of course, to call them red was an understatement; Liu Xing felt it would be more accurate to describe them as the color of blood.

It was clear that if the girl was not wearing colored contact lenses, just the sight of those blood-colored pupils was enough to make Liu Xing feel his SAN (Sanity) points were in jeopardy.

Despite the uncertainties, Liu Xing steadfastly clung to his belief that the girl posed no threat to him, especially considering her striking beauty.

Of course, if Liu Xing had even a smattering of anthropological skills, he would have certainly conducted an anthropological assessment on the girl to confirm her humanity. The reason was simple: she was exceedingly beautiful.

In the setting of the Cthulhu Mythos, the creatures' Attractiveness (APP) generally exceeds that of humans. Even those considered abhorrent, like the Deep Ones and Ghouls, possess a youthful APP of around sixteen or seventeen, ensuring they can find mates or sacrifices within the human world for propagation.

However, Liu Xing was in the dark about the girl's specific APP value. He could only infer that her APP was at a minimum of 18, unable to determine whether it exceeded that threshold.

Therefore, Liu Xing decided to consult KP004, "KP, is there any way for me to determine this girl's exact APP, or at least know if it exceeds 18?"

KP004, fully aware of Liu Xing's thoughts, responded with a sly chuckle, "Certainly, there's a way. You could choose to roll an Anthropology check."

At a loss for words with KP004, Liu Xing knew he lacked the necessary anthropological skills; yet KP004 suggested it anyway, despite the base chance of success being a mere one percent—did KP004 really think he had the luck of the gods?

Resigning himself to the futility, Liu Xing decided not to struggle. A failed Anthropology check in front of the girl, knowing KP004's personality, would undoubtedly lead to complications.

Thus, ignoring KP004's suggestion, Liu Xing resolved, "KP004, I will attempt a Persuasion check to convince her of my benign intentions."

KP004 pondered for a moment before replying, "That is possible."

Persuasion, 8/40, success.

With the successful persuasion, Liu Xing breathed a sigh of relief, smiling at the girl, "Hello, I'm a visitor to the Castle, invited by the Lord. My name is Liu Xing, and I happened to be touring the place. I didn't realize this was your bedroom, and if I've intruded, I sincerely apologize."

Despite the holes in Liu Xing's explanation, the girl accepted it, "Hello, I'm Isabella. Pleased to meet you. It's been a long time since I've seen a visitor like you, or even my father for that matter."

Liu Xing detected a tone of loneliness in Isabella's voice and noted an important piece of information—that the Castle's lord hadn't seen Isabella in quite some time.

The lord's room was merely seven or eight meters away, yet Isabella said she hadn't seen him for a long while. This was indeed quite peculiar.

But that was a personal matter, and Liu Xing didn't feel it was his place to comment further.

So, he nodded with a gentlemanly smile, "Oh, Miss Isabella, you seem quite bored here on your own. Would you care to chat with me?"

Upon hearing this, Isabella immediately nodded, a trace of a smile crossing her face.

Thus, Liu Xing entered the room and sat beside Isabella.

Next to Isabella, Liu Xing caught a strange scent. He sniffed carefully and recognized it as the fragrance of some herb.

Realizing this, he wished to pass a Pharmacology check, but then Liu Xing suddenly realized he had no skill in Pharmacology.

Raising an eyebrow, he queried KP004 inwardly, "KP, can I use Medicine in place of Pharmacology to determine the nature of this herbal scent?"