Vampires.Werewolves.Technology.Potions.Ghosts.Bio-engineered humans.Divination.Puppets.
If you can imagine something horrifying,this world has it.
You must light a lamp before going outside.You must not walk too far.Once you leave the door and step more than ten meters away,the darkness outside will swallow you whole.
No matter who comes seeking treatment—human, ghost, or stitched abomination—you must remain calm.
The moment you lose your composure,it will develop hostility toward you.
Before a battered old desk,Lynn held a feather pen beneath the dim lamplight,writing these rules into his journal—
the principles he had summarizedduring the two years since he transmigrated into this world.
"Lynn! Time's up! Hang the lamp and get ready to open for business!"
A hoarse voice rang out,as if someone were chewing on bones.
Lynn shook his head.
That voice belonged to the owner of the potion shop—the man who had saved him two years ago,his teacher.
And Lynn was merely a shop assistantin this potion shop of the otherworld.
"Coming!" Lynn shouted back.
At that moment,a cold, synthetic voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
[Ding! Your teacher, Bloodsaw Maniac, has issued you a task:Open for business and hang the Soul Lamp at the entrance.Task Reward: Skull Coins x10, Basic EXP x5,Pure Human Blood x100 ml.]
Lynn froze.
That voice was…a system?
Had his cheat finally awakenedafter two full years in this world?
He didn't stop to study it.
Because he knew one thing very clearly—if he failed to follow his teacher's orders immediately,he would die.
Lynn quickly left the dim attic.
As soon as he stepped out,he saw his teacher dragging the corpse of an unknown creature,cut cleanly in half,toward the operating room.
Crimson blood streaked across the moldy floor,leaving a long, sticky trail behind.
Splurt—Splurt—
Soon, the shrill sound of a chainsawrang out from inside the operating room.
That bone-chewing voice sounded again.
"After opening, gather all the expired potions from yesterdayand feed them to the little darling in the backyard.Hurry it up."
[Ding! Your teacher, Bloodsaw Maniac, has issued you a task:Sort expired potions and feed them to the [Little Darling].Task Reward: Skull Coins x10,Little Darling Favorability -10,Housework Proficiency +1.]
Lynn stared blankly.
Just as he suspected.
This really was his system—a system capable of turning everything he encounteredinto concrete tasks.
Listening to the chewing sounds behind him,Lynn forced himself to calm down.
Creak—Creak—
The old wooden floor groaned beneath his feetas he walked toward the front hall.
From a corner, he picked up an oil lampand twisted the mechanism.
Drop by drop,dark red blood seeped from withinand dripped onto the wick.
Whoosh—
A crimson flame ignited.
If one listened closely,they could hear faint, miserable screamscoming from inside the lamp.
Lynn remained calmand carefully opened the door.
Outside was pure darkness.A thin mist lingered,and from within the blackness came occasional eerie giggles.
Maintaining his composure,Lynn hung the lamp on the doorpost,illuminating the crumbling sign beside it.
[Bloodsaw Potion Shop]
[Ding! You have received:Skull Coins x10, Basic EXP x5,Pure Human Blood x100 ml.]
Lynn immediately turned around,planning to return inside.
But at that moment,a low, sinister laugh emerged from the darkness.
"Young man… good morning.Do you happen to have any useless trashyou could give an old lady like me?I'll pay you properly, hehehe…"
From the darkness,dim lantern lights appeared.
A hunched old woman emerged,wearing tattered burlap clothesand pulling a rusted cart.
Her face bore a kind, gentle smile.
But Lynn saw clearly—
what she held was a lantern made of human skin,and the rusted cart she pulledwas growing directly from her hands.
[Ding! Optional Task Available:The Human-Skin Scavenger requests [Useless Trash].Optional Reward:Scavenger Favorability +10,Skull Coins +20,Scavenger's Payment x1.]
Lynn remained calm.
"Sure. Please wait a moment."
He turned swiftly back into the shopand grabbed two black bags from the entrance.
A heavy stench of blood leaked from them.Something inside seemed to be struggling,letting out low, muffled groans.
Calmly,Lynn placed the [Useless Trash]onto the scavenger's cart.
"Thank you, young man.You're a good-hearted person."
The old woman's smile never changed.
Slowly, she raised her shriveled handand dug into her own eye sockets,plucking out two blood-soaked eyeballs.
"Young man,this is your reward."
[Ding! Task Completed.Scavenger Favorability +10,Skull Coins +20.]
[Ding! You may choose to accept or refuse the scavenger's payment.Refusal will result in Scavenger Favorability -50.]
Looking at the steaming eyeballs,Lynn calmly reached out and accepted them.
"I'll take them. Thank you."
The old woman smiled even wider,though her empty eye socketswere deeply unsettling.
"Good. Good!"
Under Lynn's gaze,she pulled her cartand slowly disappeared into the darkness.
[Ding! You have obtained:Tailor Shop Owner's Eyeball x1,Butcher Shop Owner's Eyeball x1,Scavenger Favorability +20.]
Lynn maintained his calm,though he secretly let out a breath of reliefand returned inside immediately.
From his teacher, he knew—
the tailor shop tailored human skin.The butcher shop sold human flesh.
And they were locatedright across the street from the potion shop.
Yet the scavenger possessedboth of their owners' eyeballs.
This led to another rule Lynn had learned about this world:
Never offend those who walk within the darkness.
Suppressing his emotions,Lynn began sorting the expired black-and-red potions on the counterand placed them into his potion case.
Then he headed toward the backyard.
As he passed the operating room,the splurt-splurt cutting soundswere still echoing inside.
Lynn knew better than to disturb his teacher now.
If you did,the one lying on the operating table nextmight not be who you expect.
He reached the backyardand opened the cellar door.
A wave of putrid stench rushed out—the smell of rotted flesh and filththat had fermented for ages.
"Hiss—hiss—"
Strange sounds echoed from within.
Lynn knewthat whatever lived down therewas the "little darling" his teacher spoke of.
As for what it actually was,no one knewexcept his teacher.
Lynn dumped all the potions from his case into the cellar.
[Ding! You have received:Skull Coins x10,Little Darling Favorability -10,Housework Proficiency +1.]
ROAR—!ROAR—!
Furious, agonized howls erupted from below,along with waves of bloody stench.
Lynn immediately slammed the cellar door shut.
He exhaled slowly.
This was his daily routineever since becoming an assistant at the potion shop.
The reason he was still alivewas simple—
he obeyed his teacher absolutely,did not ask questions,and did exactly what he was told.
Those who disobeyedhad long since been dismemberedand fed to the little darling.
After steadying his breath,Lynn cautiously spoke:
"…System?"
In the next instant,a translucent panel appeared before his eyes.