Love NPC in Nightmare Game - Chapter 132

Chapter 132: New Love Academy 10

The portrait was crudely constructed with messy lines, in the middle was a twisted human face, mouth gaping as if screaming, eyes and face composed of diamonds, colors painted like a child’s scribbles, crooked and skewed.

The painting gave off an unsettling feeling, and most people would avert their gaze at first sight.

Yet Zhou Zhou and Alvia kept staring at it.

Most of the two diamond-shaped eyes were left blank, with only a small black scribble near the top, making it look like the person in the painting was silently screaming in agony towards the sky.

Zeus idly hovered around the classroom, then spun in mid-air, showing off: “Look at me.”

As Zhou Zhou and Alvia turned their heads at the sound, the black pupil scribbles on the portrait immediately shifted downward, staring directly at Alvia standing in front of it.

“What are you looking at?” Zhou Zhou asked first.

Zeus spun a few more times in the air: “See how awesome I am.”

“Awesome.” Zhou Zhou gave him full support, and if he didn’t need to be on all fours right now, he would probably have given a round of applause.

Alvia: “……”

While the two were chatting idly with Zeus, the person in the painting started moving.

The tangled lines seemed like a cage binding it, and as it struggled, the lines silently shattered one by one, splattering blotches of color onto the painting.

Finally, it broke free from its restraints, its irregularly shaped head gradually protruding from the flat canvas, mouth open wide.

The black mouth opened wider and wider, revealing a crimson interior.

As if a person who had been starving for a long time saw food, the figure on the canvas strained to open its mouth towards Alvia.

Alvia seemed completely oblivious to the approaching entity behind him, never turning around.

From Zeus’s perspective, he could see everything clearly, and attracting Alvia’s attention was just to wait for this moment.

The figure on the painting had half its body out, and it was very close to Alvia now.

In an instant, its mouth opened to the maximum, even its face tearing apart, and it lunged towards Alvia.

Zeus’s joyful expression had just appeared when it disappeared in the next second.

Because the monster that came out of the painting was instantly crushed by Alvia who had turned around.

The seemingly terrifying monster couldn’t last even a second in front of him, the multicolored paint splattering on the walls and floor, even staining Alvia’s hands.

He slowly shook off his hands, looking at Zeus with particular significance.

Zeus guiltily floated higher, his gaze shifting left and right.

Zhou Zhou’s reaction was also very quick, jumping to the other side the moment the paint splattered out, he was also embarrassed, for as the designer of the instance, he definitely knew there was a problem with the paintings here, so he didn’t dare look at the other party.

The damage to the portrait seemed like an omen, and the paintings in the classroom began to twist and deform, struggling free from the canvas and attacking Alvia.

Not only this classroom, but the tiger descending from the mountain painting hanging in the hallway, the lifelike silvery-white giant tiger also broke free from the canvas, its cold gray eyes fixed on Alvia, ready to pounce.

And their target was all Alvia.

What was originally a quiet building was now filled with all sorts of bizarre creatures, except they made no sound as they moved, silently attacking Alvia like a phantom.

Zhou Zhou and Zeus were like air to them, completely invisible.

With each painted creature killed, their body paint would splatter everywhere, layering the walls, floor, and railings with colored splatters.

From the way Alvia tried not to let the paint fall on himself, it was clear he was handling it with ease.

If it were another player, it probably wouldn’t be so simple.

Zhou Zhou and Zeus stood by watching silently, even receiving glances from Alvia from time to time, though his gaze was always on Zhou Zhou, not sparing Zeus a single look.

Soon, the battle was over.

Apart from the initial lack of vigilance leaving some residual paint on his hands, Alvia’s body remained completely unstained.

After it ended, Alvia walked up to Zhou Zhou and casually picked him up.

“The floor is covered in paint, be careful not to get stained.”

Originally intending to walk himself, Zhou Zhou lay back down upon hearing that.

They were on the second floor, and from the hallway, they could see the entrance hall on the first floor, where two shady players were now standing.

Zhou Zhou: “So it was them, I thought it was too strange for Zeus to scare them like that, they must have been pretending.”

The two shady players were none other than the frightened Ah Yu and Ah Feng.

“Are they trying to reap the rewards without effort?” Zhou Zhou didn’t mind players using various means to complete the instance, but plotting against Al made him a little unhappy.

The two crept along the wall, then quietly ascended the stairs from the far left side, seeming quite familiar with the route, as if it wasn’t their first time here.

“Do they think we’ve been eliminated?” Zhou Zhou couldn’t help but ask.

Alvia didn’t say much more, since he didn’t have much information at the moment either, but this was certainly a good opportunity.

“Let’s follow them.”

Alvia’s stealth was indeed formidable, as the two players didn’t discover them all the way up to the top floor.

The two players entered a classroom on the top floor that seemed to be used for storage, with several large objects covered in white cloth in the middle. The players carefully avoided them and went to the bookshelf at the very back, opening it and searching through the books.

Alvia stood at the doorway, staring at their backs with some confusion.

Logically, any players who didn’t act according to their roles should have disappeared, so since these two were still here, it meant they had indeed acted according to their roles. And he had encountered them about ten minutes after class, so what had these two discovered during that time? Why were they so familiar with this building?

There was no point in guessing here, so Alvia silently entered the classroom.

But in the next moment, the objects covered in white cloth in the classroom began to move.

The previously curled-up objects stretched their bodies, the white cloth falling away to reveal a group of plaster statues used for painting, taller than ordinary people. From their initial stiff and sluggish rising, they gradually became more agile, while the two players also noticed the movement in the classroom and spotted Alvia at the entrance.

But they didn’t run away, instead turning around and flipping through the books even faster.

It was Alvia’s time to take action again, and Zhou Zhou tactfully prepared to get down, but Alvia patted his head: “No need.”

No need to get down? Then how would they fight?

Zhou Zhou tilted his head, and in the next moment, he found himself being held in Alvia’s single arm. In less than a minute, these imposing, muscular plaster statues crumbled like tofu under Alvia’s fists, all reduced to rubble.

It seemed the two players hadn’t found what they were looking for, their expressions grim as they looked at Alvia: “Well, what a coincidence.”

Alvia: “Speak up.”

“Speak up about what?”

“Why did you lure me here? Why don’t these things attack you?”

“What are you talking about, this is our first time here too.”

“First time here, but your goal is so clear?” Alvia looked pointedly at the bookshelf behind them.

The two fell silent, exchanging glances, then launched an attack on Alvia in the next second.

They had quite a few items on them, various sleep talismans, fire talismans and more, all attacking Alvia together.

These items were indeed very effective, being official game items after all, but if none of the items could hit the target, then no matter how powerful they were, they were useless.

In the end, Alvia swiftly eliminated the two of them.

Looking at their “corpses” lying on the ground, Zhou Zhou asked, “Aren’t you going to ask them what secret they know?”

After exhausting all their means, the two were prepared to tell Alvia what they knew, just to avoid being eliminated, but Alvia still swiftly eliminated them.

“No need.”

He slowly walked over to the bookshelf, which was filled with books on art and some extracurricular reading materials.

Alvia flipped through each book for a while, but his expression gave no indication of whether he had made any discoveries.

“Let’s go.”

“Where to?” Zeus had been by their side all along, still in invisible mode, unseen by any players except Alvia and Zhou Zhou.

“To complete it.”

???

“You already know how to complete it?” Zhou Zhou asked in disbelief. It was impossible, the game had only just begun, and even if all the clues from the places Al had been were combined, there was no way to find the solution.

“Not enough clues?” Alvia looked down at Zhou Zhou, asking tentatively.

Zhou Zhou immediately fell silent, he would absolutely not reveal any information.

Alvia chuckled and ruffled Zhou Zhou all over, then left the classroom.

The places where they had fought earlier had returned to their original state, the walls as pristine as new, as if everything that had happened before was just their imagination.

But as Alvia passed by, all the paintings were reactivated, turning into moving monsters again.

This time, however, Alvia didn’t act, taking something out of his pocket and tossing it out, perfectly through the half-open window at the end of the second floor.

The monsters all turned direction, swarming out the window.

But in the next moment, they were melted by the sunlight outside, turning into wisps of green smoke.

The smoke twisted and turned, flowing back in through the window and seeping into the walls and blank sheets of paper, once again transforming into paintings.

Indeed, those two student IDs would attract attacks from the monsters, which was probably why those two didn’t carry them.

But if so, why did they lure him here?

Were they still unsure? So they used him as bait to test the monsters’ abilities, or was there another reason?

There was no way to investigate this further, so Alvia didn’t dwell on it anymore.

After leaving the art building, he headed straight for the adjacent building, gradually encountering other players on the way, their panicked tones revealing that many had already been attacked by the monsters appearing in the various buildings, with quite a few eliminated.

Alvia entered the other buildings, checking each floor and quickly flipping through any books he found before leaving, not teaming up with other players, nor indicating his purpose for doing so.

There were too many buildings in the Love Academy, and even though Alvia only entered the school buildings, he couldn’t cover them all before nightfall.

As for the other players, quite a few lingered outside since the buildings contained powerful attacking monsters.

The gentle moonlight was as soft as water, the campus lights shining brightly everywhere, and the occasional sight of hurried players made it seem unlike other instances where ghosts and ghouls would emerge at night, terrifying.

“You think if we defeat those monsters, they might drop some clues or items?”

“Yeah right, with our level of skill, going up there would just be feeding them. That player we saw during the day who has some fame in Nightmare City, he got eaten by the monsters with just one encounter. Let’s just hunker down, maybe we can complete it if we last till the end.”

Two players chatted idly under a streetlight, their gaze drifting towards the players wielding items, envy on their faces.

“I even saw a player carrying a dreammare, that sight, tsk tsk, who knows how many points they spent to afford that.”

“Indeed, you must not have seen, that player looked really powerful, I didn’t dare stare at them.”

“What’s there to be afraid of, you’re too timid, it’s not a monster, hahaha.”

As they chatted, one of them casually glanced around and suddenly noticed a player standing under the large tree in the middle of the lawn, waving at them.

“Looks like someone over there is calling us.”

Curious, they looked over, the player surreptitiously glancing around before waving at them again.

“Come quickly, I’ve discovered a quest clue.” The other whispered, deliberately lowering their voice as if afraid of being overheard.

“What clue?” One of them asked curiously, starting to walk towards the other.

His companion grabbed his arm, whispering: “Wait, what if they…”

He gave a meaningful look, and his companion immediately understood, what if the other was a monster in disguise, or luring them to their deaths?

“It’s me, don’t you recognize me? We woke up in the same dorm.” The player tilted his head, the moonlight illuminating his face, indeed the same player who had woken up in their dorm.

“If it wasn’t for this clue requiring more than one person’s effort, I wouldn’t have called you two. I’ve been looking everywhere, the other players don’t know me, but we have some acquaintance at least. If you’re not coming, then forget it, I’ll find others.” The player seemed dissatisfied with their suspicious attitude, turning to look at the intersection, as if about to find other players.

“No no no, we came in together after all, you could say it’s fate.”

The two players let down their guard, jogging across the lawn: “What clue did you find?”

The player stood alone under the tree, more than half his body in the shadow of the trunk, only occasionally tilting his head to let the gentle moonlight shine on his face.

He smiled at the approaching players: “Come closer, the clue I found is how to complete it directly, we can’t let others hear.”

The two went right up to the player, the three of them huddling together, indeed looking like they were about to share a secret.

The tallest player had to bend down to hear what he was saying.

“Listen to me, I’ve discovered…”

The tall player listened intently, his gaze casually drifting to the ground, noticing that their two shadows were touching.

Hmm?

Something didn’t seem right.

Under the pale moonlight, apart from his and his companion’s shadows, the only other shadow on the ground was that of the tree.

But the tree wasn’t thick enough to completely obscure a person’s shadow.

So this player who called them over didn’t have a shadow.

As the tall player realized this, a chill ran down his spine. He reflexively grabbed his companion’s arm to run, but it was too late.

A minute later, the two players had vanished, leaving only the smiling player still crouching under the tree, waiting for his next target.

“So boring, Alvia, hurry up and complete it, I want to go out and play.” Zeus hovered upside down in the air, bored.

“Can’t you just go out whenever you’re bored? If you’re bored, go to work, you won’t be bored while working.” Alvia didn’t even look up.

They had covered most of the buildings on campus, with only a few remaining.

Zeus shrugged, he didn’t want to.

At this moment, a player approached, catching sight of Alvia from afar and immediately ducking to the side, looking absolutely terrified.

The bored Zeus’s eyes lit up, as if he had an idea, slowly floating behind Alvia and attaching himself to him.

Since he didn’t feel any weight, Alvia didn’t react even when he noticed, just continuing on his way.

As they passed the player hiding in the bushes, Zeus dispelled his invisibility.

In the player’s eyes, a child ghost suddenly appeared behind Al, clinging to the player, and even noticed him, grinning at him.

The smile looked ominous and eerie, with the appearance of a child but completely grayed out, the semi-transparent state even allowing him to see the trees on the other side.

Seeming to have found a new target, the ghost slowly drifted off the player it was attached to, stretching its hands towards him.

“Uncle, I’m so cold~”

“Ahhhhh, help!” The player jumped out of the bushes and fled.

Alvia and Zhou Zhou stood watching the panicked player’s retreating back, Zeus also coming back giggling.

The two of them simultaneously looked at Zeus, not knowing when he had developed this new hobby.

Zhou Zhou was quite approving of Zeus: “Zeus, I think next time you could use this form as an NPC in the instance, the effect looks pretty good.”

“Sure, but scaring people is really fun too.”

Zhou Zhou perked up: “Right, I think so too.”

Alvia didn’t interrupt their conversation, hugging Zhou Zhou as he started walking again, still intending to complete it as soon as possible.

“Woo woo woo~”

Alvia paused, and the three of them looked towards the direction of the building.

From a corner outside the building, it sounded like someone was crying.

“Want to check it out?” Zhou Zhou looked up at Alvia.

Alvia didn’t respond, but directly changed direction, heading towards the source of the sound.

Even in the dark shadows, Alvia could see clearly that it was a female player, crouched in the corner against the wall, crying.

Noticing someone approaching, the female player immediately stopped crying, tilting her head up to look at them, hiccuping pitifully.

“I’m sorry, I, I didn’t mean to, I was just, too scared.” The female player looked quite young, her reddened eyes from crying appearing delicate and moving.

“There are so many monsters here, this instance is too scary, I don’t dare continue alone.” She looked up at Alvia, as if seeking his help.

“If you’re scared, you can quit the game,” Alvia suggested.

Female player: “……”

She froze for a moment, then said softly: “Could you, could you let me join you?”

“No.”

“Why not, I won’t drag you down, if there’s danger, you can push me out, I won’t complain.”

“Troublesome.”

Zhou Zhou opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to console the female player, but then remembered he was currently an item creature who couldn’t talk, so he could only listen as Alvia coldly and mercilessly shut her down one line after another.

Ah~ Though Alvia was very powerful, how could he have such an attitude towards a female player in need of help?

As Zhou Zhou thought this, nestled in Alvia’s arms, he obediently nuzzled Alvia’s chest.

Seems I’m taking delight in others’ misfortune.

Feeling Zhou Zhou’s nuzzling, Alvia’s icy gaze towards the female player gradually melted, and he started rubbing the fluffy white bundle in his arms.

Seeing a player who would rather tenderly dote on an item creature than say another word to her, the female player’s pitiful expression gradually faded.

She stood up, stepping out of the shadows.

The slanted moonlight shone through her body, casting a soft patch on the ground.

She left no shadow beneath her feet.