After Yan San finished speaking with a hint of nervousness, he secretly sized them up.
Fortunately, his words didn't arouse any suspicion among this group of people.
They all nodded silently. The experience of being hunted by the specter near the bulletin board earlier still left them with lingering fears, and they truly did not want to see another specter right now.
“We've searched this entire place and haven't found any specter items. This guy is supposed to be the principal, but his office doesn't match his status at all.”
“Right? I thought there would at least be one specter item here.”
“Since we can't kill this old man and there are no specter items here, what are we still doing here? Just looking at him is annoying. Let's go downstairs and wait until twelve o'clock so we can safely leave the dream.”
“Starting tomorrow, everyone should be careful not to violate the school rules. That way, we won't have to enter the Scarlet Dream again.”
As soon as he finished speaking, someone immediately objected.
“But to repel specters, we can only do it in the Scarlet Dream, right? There are no specters in the school during the day.”
“Aren't the specters just the school's natives? They're normal people during the day. Wouldn't killing one of them during the day count as repelling a specter?”
Hearing this, the other players turned their heads one after another, their eyes filled with shock, looking at him as if they were looking at an absolute idiot.
“Why... why are you all looking at me like that?”
“Do you not have a brain?”
Yan San snapped out of his thoughts and let out a cold laugh. “There are no living natives in the Scarlet Dream; they are all specters that can be killed at will, except for this principal.
“But during the day, that's not a dream! It's real. Do you understand what real means?
“It means that if anyone kills a native during the day, that native will turn into an unsolvable specter and come back for revenge.”
Having said this, Yan San suddenly changed his tone, and his attitude even softened quite a bit.
“However...
“This is just my personal opinion. If you don't believe me, you can go ahead and try killing a native during the day to see if you can complete the main quest.”
The player had originally been somewhat defiant, but hearing Yan San say this, he instantly deflated.
“Hmph, despicable scoundrel! I won't waste my breath on you.”
With that, he didn't stay any longer. Shoving past the others, he was the first to leave the office, heading down toward the first floor.
The others exchanged looks before ultimately following him out.
Only Yan San remained at the doorway.
Seeing that he wasn't following, someone asked casually, “Aren't you coming?”
“You guys go ahead. This principal is so bizarre, I'll stay here to keep an eye on him.”
Everyone looked at him with a bit of surprise.
“You really want to do that? That's too dangerous!”
Yan San waved his hand.
“Though this old geezer looks strange, he probably won't make a move. I also have my own ways of protecting myself. If anything unusual happens, I'll call for help immediately.”
“Alright then.”
Although they were puzzled, they had no desire to stay behind with Yan San.
Yan San watched them go down to the first floor with a smile. Only then did he return to the office with peace of mind.
He walked briskly up behind the principal and placed both hands on his head, intending to snap his neck. But at that moment, he suddenly realized he couldn't just act blindly; he had to make some preparations first.
“Thankfully, I have a specter item...”
Then, a brick with a chipped corner appeared out of thin air in his hand.
As long as he knocked himself out with this brick—whether he actually fainted or just faked it—as long as he lay there motionless, he would appear as a corpse in the eyes of any specter.
This was a consumable specter item that could be used three times in total, and now only one use remained.
Looking at the specter item brick in his hand, Yan San felt a massive headache coming on as he recalled how he had escaped death thanks to it. This final use was about to be spent.
But even though it pained him, compared to the 【Talent Advancement Stone】, this brick was completely negligible!
“I might not even need to use it. It's just a precaution.”
He took a deep breath, casually weighed the brick in his hand, and then gripped it tightly. His other hand clawed straight for the principal's throat.
Under the principal's bizarre, eerie gaze, he steeled himself and snapped the principal's neck.
With a sharp crack, the principal died.
It was that simple.
The principal appeared completely like an ordinary human.
Once Yan San confirmed the man was dead, he instantly grew vigilant.
But right at that moment, a blood-red crystal suddenly dropped from the principal's body.
The vigilance he had just raised instantly dissolved into sheer ecstasy. Tossing the corpse aside, he quickly scooped up the red crystal from the floor.
A dungeon notification popped up right on cue, confirming that this was indeed the 【Talent Advancement Stone】!
He couldn't suppress the grin on his face. He was about to store it away by turning it into a phantom state, but to his surprise, the 【Talent Advancement Stone】 was not a specter item, meaning it could not be integrated into his body.
The joy on Yan San's face quickly vanished as he slowly walked out of the office.
He thought about using the 【Talent Advancement Stone】 right then and there. But at that very instant, he suddenly felt a chilling aura slowly emerge behind him.
Yan San's scalp went numb. Without time to think, he stuffed the advancement stone into his clothes and whipped around to look back at the principal's office.
Gripping the brick tightly with one hand, he stared intently at the principal's corpse inside.
However, the principal's corpse remained completely motionless, and the chilling aura from a moment ago seemed like a mere illusion.
But just when he thought his tense nerves had caused his perception to play tricks on him, another anomaly occurred inside the office. Thick, black specter aura began billowing out of the principal's corpse.
The specter aura was so dense it was practically tangible, violently pouring out of the office. Yan San felt as if a wild gale were blowing directly into his face, making it hard to even stand his ground.
“Oh no! Something's wrong!”
Yan San didn't dare stay there for a second longer. Forcing his body forward, he used his fastest speed to burst into another office on the second floor, hiding inside and shutting the door behind him.
Finally, shrinking under a desk, he grit his teeth and slammed the brick hard against his own forehead.
The brick vanished, and Yan San collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
He was truly knocked out cold this time.
Watching from the shadows, Xu Youyou clicked his tongue in amazement.
“The effect of this specter item is really impressive. Right now, he looks like a corpse to me. I can't even sense the Death Lock on him, nor can I attack him.”
Zuo Lin'an said, “I didn't expect him to actually grasp this slim path of survival.”
Xu Youyou waved his hand. “That doesn't matter. He doesn't have any cards anyway.
“Look at the principal. He's finally turning into a specter. Once the principal goes over to Academic Building No. 5 to cause chaos, we can follow along and reap the benefits.”
Hearing this, Zuo Lin'an also nodded slowly, though he still harbored some anxiety in his heart.
He casually pulled out his phone to check the materials their homeroom teacher had sent earlier, but he couldn't find what he was looking for.
Xu Youyou asked, “What are you looking at?”
Rate on N.U.
