Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 22: Fhtagn's Whisper

Under normal circumstances, one's Medical skill can substitute for Pharmacy skill in checks, but depending on the specific situation, the Medical skill might suffer a penalty or one may have to undertake a difficult or even an extremely difficult check.

At present, KP004 thus spoke, "Alright, since the player's Medical skill has reached 78 points, it is barely acceptable to use medical knowledge to perform a pharmacology check. However, it must pass a difficult check."

Medicine, 47/39, failed.

"Although you desperately want to identify the essence of this herb's fragrance, you can't make a determination because you have never encountered this scent before," KP004 said with a sinister chuckle, and continued, "At the same time, you feel a wave of dizziness, and your thoughts slow to a crawl, muddled in confusion. As a result, your inspiration will drop to 10 for the next hour!"

As soon as KP004's voice fell, Liu Xing's vision blurred. He involuntarily collapsed onto Isabella's bed, his head throbbing painfully. His mind felt like mush, cluttered with haphazard thoughts, rendering him incapable of coherent thinking.

It was clear to Liu Xing that the herbal scent he had just inhaled was very likely a hallucinogenic substance affecting human cognition, which explained his current predicament.

Isabella noticed Liu Xing's distress. She grew anxious, for Liu Xing was one of the rare individuals willing to communicate with her. She had come to regard Liu Xing as a friend, and now to see her friend in such agony on her own bed was distressing for Isabella.

Suddenly, Isabella remembered Grandpa Wayne—that is, the old butler Wayne—who had once given her some painkillers to take when she had a headache. Observing Liu Xing's pained expression and his hands clutching his head, she deduced he must be experiencing a headache and thought it appropriate to offer him those painkillers.

Therefore, Isabella retrieved a small, unlabeled bottle from beneath her pillow, poured out a capsule, and hurriedly handed it to Liu Xing.

Liu Xing, having lost the capacity for thought, did not ponder the nature of the medicine Isabella handed him and swallowed it directly.

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As he swallowed the capsule, the last vestiges of Liu Xing's rationality prompted a grim thought—if this capsule was poison, his life would be over.

Fortunately, the capsule was not toxic and effectively alleviated Liu Xing's painful symptoms. While a faint headache lingered, he was at least able to think clearly again.

"Because the player has taken the painkiller given by Isabella, the symptoms of headache and dizziness were immediately relieved. However, there's still some mental confusion, so the player's inspiration is now at 60 and will continue for an hour," KP004 stated with a hint of regret.

Having regained his cognitive abilities, Liu Xing managed to summon a weak smile and thanked Isabella, "Thank you, Miss Isabella, for your assistance. Otherwise, I would've been in pain for much longer."

Seeing Liu Xing return to normal brought relief to Isabella. She smiled and responded, "It's good to see you're alright. I'm grateful that Grandpa Wayne had prepared this bottle of painkillers for me."

Proudly, Isabella picked up the small bottle, flaunting it playfully in front of Liu Xing.

It was only then that Liu Xing noticed that the bottle bore no label, which led him to suspect that this so-called "painkiller" might hold some hidden secret.

After all, Liu Xing was well aware that his headache was due to the peculiar scent of some herb, and he was certain that it was a herb with a potent hallucinogenic effect.

Isabella, who had been living here for a long time, had shown no adverse reactions like his own, which suggested she might have developed a resistance to this hallucinogenic herb. However, the painkiller Old Wayne provided to Isabella hinted that she might also suffer from frequent ailments.

With this in mind, Liu Xing decided to inquire about this hallucinogenic herb from Isabella herself.

"Miss Isabella, what kind of incense are you burning in your room? It smells quite soothing," Liu Xing asked with a smile.

Isabella laughed softly and pointed to a strange-looking plant in the corner of the room.

The plant was about half a meter tall, somewhat resembling a gladiolus, but it bore only a single red flower at its tip.

"This flower was a gift from my father; I believe it's called Fhtagn's Whisper, and it's supposed to have a calming effect," Isabella explained to Liu Xing.

Liu Xing nodded silently, recalling that the full name of this 'Kurt' was Cthulhu·Fhtagn! So, might as well call this plant Cthulhu's Call!

As for the calming effect, Liu Xing could only scoff. Just moments ago, he might have inhaled the pollen of this plant, resulting in a rapid decline in his creative inspiration, not to mention a splitting headache and a complete loss of the ability to think. Could such effects truly be described as calming?

But since Liu Xing currently had no knowledge of the Cthulhu mythos, he had no way to counter this and could only respond with a chuckle, "I see, the fragrance is indeed comforting, it eases my mind quite a bit."

Isabella, with a proud smile, nodded and said, "Of course, it's a birthday gift from my father; how could it not be wonderful?"

Liu Xing echoed Isabella's words with flattery, yet his mind was filled with questions. Still, due to the ongoing influence on his inspiration, he couldn't settle down to ponder them thoroughly.

Therefore, Liu Xing decided to discuss this information and his questions with Chen Ling and the others when they met up later.

Liu Xing wanted to chat more with Isabella, but he suddenly heard a series of urgent and loud coughs coming from downstairs.

This was the signal agreed upon with Chen Ling and the others; if they spotted Old Wayne or the Lord of the Castle returning to the main building, they would cough like this, and Liu Xing would have to leave the second floor immediately.

Thus, Liu Xing said to Isabella, "Miss Isabella, it seems my friend visiting the Castle with me is ill again; I must go down quickly to help him take his medicine. So, I must take my leave from you for now, Miss Isabella. Let's meet again later."

Isabella nodded understandingly, smiling as she said, "Then Mr. Liu Xing, please go ahead with your matters, but if you could, would you come back and chat with me a little more later?"

Liu Xing nodded without hesitation. How could he refuse an opportunity to chat with such a beautiful girl?