Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 37: Gary and Isabella's Character Cards

"OK, your Lockpicking Skill will increase by 10 points," KP004 declared with a grand gesture, making the dice vanish into thin air. "Now, as the MVP of this Cthulhu RPG Game, you may ask me three questions. However, these questions must pertain to the content of this Cthulhu RPG Game. Plus, you get a bonus—you'll be privy to the questions other players have asked, as well as their answers."

After finishing his statement, KP004 snapped his fingers, and sofas appeared before him and Liu Xing, along with a small table set between them, bearing two cups of tea and an assortment of fine pastries.

Without any hesitation, Liu Xing took a seat on the sofa, sipped the tea, and then addressed KP004, "KP, may I take a moment to think about what questions I want to ask?"

KP004 nodded with a smile, shrugged in a nonchalant manner, and replied, "Of course. You can take all day to ponder if you wish—I'm here to accompany you through the process. Just a friendly reminder though, you are currently in the Ghoul area, and each Cthulhu RPG Game session consumes a fixed hour of real time. The settlement time we are in now will resynchronize with real time. You understand what I mean, right?"

Liu Xing nodded and commenced pondering, or rather, organizing his thoughts about the doubts that had arisen from this session of the Cthulhu RPG Game.

Firstly, he pondered why Gary and Old Wayne were killed by the Ghoul. Liu Xing had some theories—initially, Gary had left the second floor and proceeded to the locked room, then entered the basement, possibly to check if it had been discovered by his party. However, he was accidentally locked in the basement by Bai Hecheng. Upon hearing the electric door mechanism, Old Wayne realized that their group was planning to leave EinsCastle and went looking for Gary, only to find him trapped. Old Wayne then managed to rescue Gary, but shortly thereafter, they were both killed by the Ghoul.

What Liu Xing couldn't understand was why the Ghoul, which Gary, a Wizard, had supposedly tamed and controlled for decades according to Isabella, would suddenly go berserk and kill Gary and Old Wayne.

His second quandary was about the game's ending scene—why did Isabella suddenly turn around and speak those words in his direction? Considering Isabella and Chris's favorability towards him, Isabella, with only 20 points of favorability, seemed to harbor little affection for him, perhaps even... Liu Xing had an inkling that he had been used by Isabella!

Moreover, Liu Xing's current feelings towards Isabella were nowhere near as intense as they had been during the game. In the game, Liu Xing felt like a lover in the throes of passion, eager to stay by Isabella's side forever, even at the risk of being labeled a "lolicon" (through the fog), whereas now, Liu Xing merely thought of Isabella as a nice little girl, someone approachable and likeable.

Why was there such a discrepancy in his feelings towards Isabella?

Suddenly, an idea struck Liu Xing, and he turned to KP004, "KP, I would like to see Gary and Isabella's character cards. Is that possible?"

KP004 stroked his chin and responded, "That's possible, but it'll count as two questions!"

Liu Xing nodded in agreement, knowing that by viewing Gary and Isabella's character cards, he would be able to uncover the truth.

"OK, here are the character cards for Gary and Isabella." KP004 produced a tablet computer, and on its screen were displayed the character cards for Gary and Isabella.

Name: Gary

Occupation: Wizard

Place of Birth: Eins Village, England

Gender: Male

Age: 125 years old

Strength: 60

Constitution: 60

Willpower: 80

Luck: 60

Dexterity: 60

Appearance: 80

Size: 50

Intelligence: 80

Inspiration: 99

Education: 99

Knowledge of Cthulhu Mythos: 35

Sanity Points: 10 (Locked)

HP: 11

MP: 35/99

Skills: Psychology 85, Spot Hidden 70, Listen 60, Persuade 65, Handgun 50, Occult 99.

Special Skills: Eternal Bloodline 90, Summoning/Banishing Cthulhu's Projection 70, Sealing Magic 80.

Personal Items: Handgun (7 bullets), Pocket Watch, Sunglasses.

Relative: Isabella (Sister)

Name: Isabella

Occupation: Wizard (Seal Breaker)

Place of Birth: Eins Village, England

Gender: Female

Age: 113 years old

Strength: 30

Constitution: 40

Willpower: 80

Luck: 90

Dexterity: 50

Appearance: 100

Size: 30

Intelligence: 99

Inspiration: 99

Education: 99

Knowledge of Cthulhu Mythos: 55

Sanity Points: 50

HP: 7

MP: 10/99

Skills: Listen 99, Spot Hidden 60, Charm 99, Persuade 80, Occult 99.

Special Skills: Eternal Bloodline 99, Control Ghoul 90.

Personal Items: Necklace for Breaking Seals, Bewitching Incense.

Relatives: Chris (Foster Father), Mary (Foster Mother)

Upon reviewing the character cards of Gary and Isabella, Liu Xing finally understood everything.

Firstly, Gary and Isabella's family has a lineage of Wizards, and three hundred years ago, their ancestors acquired a scroll of parchment detailing the spells for summoning and banishing the projection of Cthulhu.

A century ago, Gary learned the spells from this parchment, and together with Isabella, they used missing English soldiers as sacrifices to summon the projection of Cthulhu. In return, they received the boon of the Eternal Bloodline spell from Cthulhu's projection. This is why Gary and Isabella have lived until now without significant changes in their appearance. Additionally, they both acquired a new spell each — Sealing Magic for Gary and Ghoul Control for Isabella. Moreover, Isabella was granted a beauty beyond human limits (as the maximum human attribute is 99).

At some point, for reasons unknown, a conflict may have arisen between Gary and Isabella, resulting in Gary sealing Isabella in her own room. The item that could break the seal was the necklace inside the picture frame.

However, it seems Gary's Sealing Magic could only confine Isabella within the room without stripping away her powers. Thus, Isabella, from somewhere, managed to control a Ghoul, making Gary believe that this Ghoul was loyal to him. Consequently, he nurtured the Ghoul, relying on its help for more efficient murder. After all, the Eternal Bloodline spell clearly required human blood to cast, and presumably not in small amounts.