NOVPUBIn a state of disorderly darkness, they seemed to be submerged in the deposits of a long stretch of time, when in reality it was only about ten minutes.
Finally, like the first rays of dawn penetrating layers of darkness, their vision gradually restored brightness, indicating that they had successfully stepped into the Shadow World.
Lanci looked around, with Hyperion and Frey standing on his left and right, their faces as familiar as ever, without any change.
His gaze drifted across his companions’ faces towards the floor-to-ceiling glass window not far away.
The clear reflection proved that his own appearance was still retaining its original contour.
The scenery outside the window was difficult to discern due to the heavy fog, making everything seem blurred.
Were it not for the few faint fireflies flickering in the garden outside the glass, they might not be able to tell whether it was dawn or late night.
Underneath the dense fog, the dawn outside seemed to be placed in a mysterious and aesthetically pleasing world.
Inside, both Lanci and Frey were already dressed in formal attire.
Though of different styles, they complemented their demeanors wonderfully.
Lanci wore a beige classical suit with a brown vest, his hair neatly combed, looking more refined and elegant than usual after a formal dressing up.
Frey donned a slightly lazy casual black suit wearing a navy blue double-breasted coat on top, his hands covered with a pair of black leather gloves. His sunglasses, still half-covered, concealed half of his gaze.
As for Hyperion, she was wearing a red dress resembling that of the Great Love Poet, her exquisite makeup transformed her temperament completely, making her appear elegant, luxurious, and adorable. She wore a thin coat over her shoulders as if she was shielding herself from the cold.
Such attire reassured them that this wasn’t the Demon World, and it also didn’t seem to be the examination venue of the Demon Academy. There wasn’t any compulsory mechanism forcing them into a room at the start, it seemed that everyone was free to move about.
The air carried a subtle coolness.
This wasn’t the bone-chilling cold of winter, rather it resembled the refreshing chill when breathing at the peak of a high mountain.
The three didn’t immediately converse but first immersed themselves in their surroundings, quietly observing.
Before them stood a massive banquet hall with a dome towering more than ten meters high. It was as though it was an ancient sanctuary.
Looking up, a grand pipe organ nearly five stories high occupied the entire back wall. Some pipes stood erect while others were bent; some shone in golden hues, while others were a simple wooden color. They were arranged in different shapes and orientations, exuding an unutterable sense of holiness and solemnity.
On the glass dome, intricate golden decorations were fitted on the crystal chandeliers, appearing like a galaxy hanging down from the ceiling under the soft glow, illuminating the richly decorated dark stone walls and the smooth marble floor.
In the center of the hall sat a majestic and spacious Baroque style dining table. The silver candlestick shined brightly under the firelight. Twelve elaborately carved oak dining chairs were placed orderly on both sides of the table, exuding the extravagance of a lavish feast.
In this majestic banquet hall, there were some scattered figures.
They stood in groups of two or three, quietly in place, like stone statues.
No matter the luxurious sanctuary, the arrival of dawn, or the biting cold wind, none were able to shake their aloofness.
Because this hall wasn’t so harmonious.
Amid this scene, a bloodthirsty odor mingles with the smell of death and iron, permeating throughout the hall. The strong scent was so pungent that it completely masked the fragrance in the hall.
At the end of the hall, in the master seat of the long table, a body in noble attire had its head tilted onto the high-backed chair, its face expressing desperation and unwillingness. The agony was frozen in its hollow eyes.
From his chest down to the abdomen was brutally torn apart, rom a gruesome human anatomy sketch. A river of crimson blood poured from his body, creating a tragic work of art on the floor.
The seeping blood intermingled with the marble floor pattern, flowing across the banquet hall, leaving red marks along the table leg lines.
This scene of bloodshed was like an invisible knife, bifurcating the banquet hall usually radiating gold and silver, transforming it into an eerie and terrifying trap.
Soon, the prompt also appeared before his eyes.
[Shadow Realm: Sanctuary Evil Banquet]
[Rank: Fifth-order]
[On this late autumn, you, the twelve guests have been invited by Mr. Carigula to gather in this castle perched on a cliff.]
[Although you all seem to have different societal identities, in actuality, you are all members of the secret church, aimed at overthrowing the bloody rule of the Blood Clan over humans.]
[However, the great priest, Mr. Carigula, died miserably on the same night.]
[Among the twelve of you, a traitor has sided with the Blood Clan.]
[Number of Challengers: 12]
[Special Status Challengers: 3]
[Special Status - Detective (non-traitor): Automatically chosen among all the challengers who have the highest chance of cracking the puzzle and are not traitors, characterized by wearing the Cross Holy Light brooch presented by Mr. Carigula.]
[Special Status – Blood Clan Member (traitor): May borrow one of their abilities daily when the Blood Lords, Count Paluocas and Count Seberna, are awake.]
[Note: If the Blood Clan member dies, a Count-level Blood Lord will reach the castle within a day.]
[Task Objective 1: Find the traitor 0/2.]
[Task Objective 2: Explore the secrets and dangers hidden in the castle.]
[Task Objective 3: At least 1 person survives until the 120-hour time limit ends.]
[The traitor’s party has completely different mission objectives, visible only to traitors; non-traitors will receive a professional identity, visible only to non-traitors.]
[If the challenger’s mission fails, a terrestrial catastrophe will occur.]
[Time remaining 119 hours 59 minutes.]
[The starting point for all challengers is the base level hall.]
Inside the hall, on the tall wall, a large clock hung silently.
At this time, the pointer had just crossed the half-past-five mark, right at dawn.
As the information from the Shadow Realm flashed by, the atmosphere in the banquet hall suddenly became tense.
In this old castle, everyone was in imminent danger!
People’s gazes began to become sharper, like a group of caged beasts, vigilantly watching each other, because everyone knew that they were about to face a life-threatening five-day challenge filled with trust issues.
It was not an ordinary Shadow World.
The enemies weren’t historical figures projected within the Shadow World, either.
Instead, it was a deadly game of deception, murder, and the prevention of murder among challengers playing the roles of historical figures!
The challengers in the sanctuary.
No matter what their intentions.
Eventually, all of their gazes gravitated towards the man chosen by the Shadow World, the one wearing the Cross Holy Light Brooch—
His gray hair was slightly messy, his tall, sturdy body radiated an explosive strength reminiscent of a wild wolf, and he wore a small pair of sunglasses over sharp, defined facial features. His invasive gaze was deep and cold.
He exuded an overwhelming sense of arrogance and restlessness. He was clearly a killer.
"..."
Hold on.
Is this...
The detective...?
...
In Ichrite Academy at midnight, a gentle white light glowed over Jera Memorial Square.
The clock tower marked five-thirty in the morning.
However, the square was already bustling by this time.
Many students who had guessed the timing of Lanci and Hyperion’s second Shadow World had their camping blankets and food boxes ready, taking up good viewing spots on the stairs of the square.
As the image of the Shadow World belonging to the trio appeared on the giant outdoor screen,
The Ichrite Academy, on the Jera Memorial Square, finally started to make a commotion once again.
"Frey is the detective?"
"Isn’t he a power type player?!"
Many students from the Knight College knew that Frey had monstrous strength and physical growth, and even though he was only at Fourth-Order, the Fifth-order seniors from the Knight College would hesitate to claim they could best him in a direct physical fight.
During the third round practical test of the Knight College’s entrance exam, he didn’t play any fancy tricks but directly unleashed a punch that shocked the examiners.
Apart from his somewhat peculiar thought process, he was undeniably the strongest chief freshman in the history of Knight College.
But in no way did he resemble a detective!
This Fifth-Order Shadow World was intrinsically threatening for the challengers, with the constant threat of unknown and overwhelming Blood Clan Authority. Even for the Sixth-order challengers, the smallest oversight could lead to a sudden, brutal death.
For ordinary Third-order and Fourth-order challengers, the difficulty level was way out of line.
The competence of the detective was the key to the challengers’ hopes of winning.
A detective you could absolutely trust would be critical in identifying the traitor!
If the detective lagged behind and failed to detect the traitor promptly, as the traitor’s secret operations progress and speed up behind the scenes, everyone will fall into a desperate situation.
Moreover, the challengers couldn’t push the two traitors who were Blood Clan Members too hard. They had to maintain a vast informational advantage to control the traitors and devise ways to expose them.
If pushed against the wall, the traitors might choose a do-or-die approach and summon the Seventh-order Count of the Blood Clan, initiating a rampage that could annihilate all challengers.
Even a Seventh-order powerhouse can’t withstand the undying nature of the Blood Clan Earl, and there’s almost no chance of winning in a one-on-one fight.
If the challengers in this Fifth-Order Shadow World combined their forces, they still wouldn’t be able to defeat the Earl during the night. Even if they survive during the day, once the sun goes down, they would be brutally slaughtered by the Blood Clan Earl!
"This is bad... if Lanci had been the detective, that would have been fine... why did it have to be Frey..."
"The detective can only be chosen from non-traitors, so does that mean Lanci could be a Blood Clan Member?"
Although the students immediately cast doubt on the identities of Lanci and Hyperion, considering them to be extra-terrestrial beings, due to the [Shadow Realm Recording Program] they have enabled, they could clearly see the information from their perspectives.
The roles of Lanci and Hyperion were respectively [Lawyer] and [Actress].
[Lawyer] knows the current country’s laws and regulations and can check these laws on his own Shadow World panel.
[Actress] is more likely to attract attacks.
The mission objectives were also standard.
It was apparent that neither Frey, Lanci, nor Hyperion were traitors.
The traitors must be hidden among the remaining nine challengers, whose abilities were unknown.
On the Jera Memorial Square, the dim light from the outdoor screen cast a faint glow on the students’ faces, shifting between light and dark, causing them to swallow nervously.
The mere thought of being in this potentially lethal Shadow World right now made many students feel a chill down their spine and their hair stand on end.
Each time dusk fell,
What awaited them,
Could be a miserable end, like that of Mr. Carigula, whose chest and abdomen had been flayed open, sitting at the head of the table. 𝔫𝔬𝖛𝖕𝔲𝖇.𝖈𝖔𝖒
"These kinds of mental games, where challengers and evildoers play around with deceit and slaughter in the Shadow World, demand a high level of mental durability. Sometimes, even before the final moment, they might experience psychological breakdowns, or even attempt suicide for relief."
One of the upperclassmen commented with a solemn expression.
However,
As he looked at the screen, seeing the detective, the lawyer, the actress, remembering the recent "Promote Civilization, Establish New Customs" campaign on campus, his voice got choked mid-sentence.
"But these three bullies stepping into the scenario makes it feel like the style has somewhat changed!"
