Rules for Raising a Tentacle Monster - Chapter 2

The farce ended when Xie Yan left.

It seemed to be busy.

After feeding me the cake and wiping my mouth, it dissolved back into a cloud of black mist and vanished into the depths of the castle stairway.

Before leaving, it did not forget to shoot a warning look at the players in the corner.

That look seethed with murderous intent.

It might as well have said: *Anyone who lays a hand on my dining companion dies.*

The hall was deathly quiet.

Only after Xie Yan had completely disappeared did Lili collapse to the floor, gulping for air.

“J-Jiang Ning?”

A shrewd-looking player in glasses approached me.

His name was Zhang Ce. He was a veteran player who had supposedly cleared several A-rank dungeons.

He had been the fastest to hide a moment ago.

Now he was the fastest to come over.

Zhang Ce adjusted his glasses and looked me over with a complicated expression.

“Do you know the BOSS?”

I shook my head, my face utterly lifeless.

“Would you believe me if I said I didn’t?”

“No.”

Dawei came over too, picking up his ax with a suspicious look.

“If you don’t know it, why did it feed you? It just crushed Old Zhao’s head! But when it gets to you, it starts feeding you instead? Don’t tell me you’re the mole.”

A mole?

I wished I were the mole.

At least the mole would not have to worry about being eaten by the BOSS.

I sighed and pointed at my still-trembling hands.

“Man, have you ever seen a mole this scared? I almost pissed my pants just now, okay?”

The truth was, I had lied.

I had a vague idea of the reason.

It all went back to my goddamn personal talent.

I was a slacker of a player.

I had ended up in this game entirely by accident. Before being dragged inside, I had been at home, staying up late to read a novel.

After I entered the game, the System awakened my talent.

It was called Anomalous Creature Lure (S-Rank).

Its description was simple:

“Your body carries a fragrance no inhuman creature can resist. In their eyes, you are both the most delectable food and the treasure they most wish to keep for themselves. Note: This talent cannot be deactivated.”

The first time I saw it, I wanted to curse someone out.

What kind of S-rank talent was this?

Wasn’t that basically turning me into Tang Monk’s flesh?

Other players got talents like “Herculean Strength,” “Invisibility,” or “Eagle Eye.” Mine might as well have been called “Come Eat Me.”

The same thing had happened in the previous few low-level dungeons.

Zombies, ghosts—all of them charged at me like rabid dogs the moment they saw me.

Luckily, I had always managed to scrape by.

Sometimes my teammates were strong enough. Other times, the monsters fought among themselves over who got to eat me first, and I escaped in the chaos.

But this time was different.

Xie Yan was different.

It did not look at me as though it wanted to eat my flesh.

It looked more like…

It was looking at its wife.

Night fell quickly over the castle.

The System notification sounded beside every player’s ear:

[The first night has begun.]

[Current survivors: 5.]

[Rule: Leaving your guest room after ten p.m. is strictly forbidden. No matter what you hear, do not open the door.]

The five of us were assigned rooms on the second floor.

Coincidence or not, my room was at the very end of the corridor.

Farthest from the stairs, closest to the darkness.

Zhang Ce glanced at my room number, and something flickered in his eyes.

“Jiang Ning, this is your room?”

“Yeah.”

“Good luck.”

He patted my shoulder, then turned and slipped into the room closest to the stairs.

The others hurried into their rooms and locked their doors as well.

I was left alone in the corridor.

The lights in the castle were dim, and the wall sconces buzzed with electrical static.

The carpet was dark red, like dried blood.

I drew a deep breath and pushed open my door.

The room was large.

It had a luxurious bed, floor-to-ceiling windows, and even a fireplace.

But I had no desire to admire any of it.

I checked the windows. They were locked tight.

Then I dragged a chair over and jammed it beneath the door handle.

Only after doing all that did I relax a little and collapse onto the bed.

Exhausted.

Mentally exhausted.

All I wanted was to survive this dungeon, clear it, and go home to resume my life as a shut-in.

Why did I have to get tangled up with a monster like that?

*Knock. Knock. Knock.*

Someone was at the door.

The sound was soft and very polite.

I shot upright, every muscle in my body rigid.

It was ten-thirty at night.

The rule had been perfectly clear: no matter what you hear, do not open the door.

I held my breath and stared fixedly at it.

*Knock. Knock.*

Two more knocks.

This time, they were followed by a deep voice.

“Baby, open the door.”

Fuck.

It was Xie Yan.

Why the hell wasn’t this monster following the script?

Weren’t the rules supposed to restrict the monsters?

How could it come and knock on my door directly?