Chapter 86: Night Castle 1
The usual instance missions involved finding the exit to clear them, but this time, the mission was just to be a guest? Did that mean they just had to stay here for three days to clear it? Or would a mission to find an escape exit be issued later?
Zhou Zhou had many questions in his mind, but with the heavy rain and wind outside, he couldn't discuss it with his companions for now. He could only go in first and figure it out later.
At the front of the castle was a bluish-gray arched stone gate. As Zhou Zhou, who was at the very front, was about to knock, the stone gate opened a crack inward.
Through the two-finger-wide gap, a cloudy eye peeked out, with drooping eyelids and prominent eye bags. The emotionless eye looked up and down at the three people outside the door. An orange glow came from below, illuminating half of the person's face.
It was an extremely old man, with deep wrinkles on his face. Even under the warm light, his skin exuded a gray, decaying aura of old age.
Just as Zhou Zhou was about to say they were here for a mission, the old man said in a raspy voice, "You must be passing travelers. With the heavy rain outside, come in and take shelter."
One side of the stone gate opened halfway, and the expressionless old man stood behind it, gesturing for them to enter.
"Oh, thank you," Zhou Zhou thanked him, then placed the leaf he had been using to shield from the rain outside the door before walking in.
Lan Ya also stood her leaf outside, following closely behind Zhou Zhou and also giving a polite "thank you."
Alvia was the last to enter. He glanced at the old man behind the door, who was hunched over, one hand behind his back and the other holding a lamp. Most of his body was hidden in the shadows behind the stone gate, and his dark clothes made him almost blend into the darkness.
If not for the lamp illuminating half of the old man's face, it would have been difficult to notice him in the dark.
The castle's arched gate was made of stone, and just looking at the two fan-shaped scratches on the stone-paved ground, one could tell the stone gate was extremely heavy. This old man had opened it using just one hand while holding the lamp in the other? His strength seemed a bit too great.
Or was there some mechanism for opening the gate?
Without voicing his doubts, Alvia simply nodded and said "thank you" to the old man as well.
By then, all three of them were standing near the entrance, not advancing further, as this was someone else's domain, and they didn't want to trespass.
The old man didn't respond to their thanks, and somehow, the stone gate closed automatically.
The dull sound of the closing gate brought Zhou Zhou, who had been surveying the castle's great hall, back to his senses. He saw the old man take a black cane from the wall, using one hand to support himself with the cane and the other to hold the lamp, silently walking forward.
Although the old man didn't speak, Zhou Zhou followed behind him.
"Thump, thump, thump."
The old man walked slowly and unsteadily, taking several minutes to cover a short distance.
Zhou Zhou didn't rush him, just following at the old man's pace. After entering, they were in the castle's great hall, with a stone brick fireplace on the right side containing a few burning logs. The flames were not very strong, seeming about to die out, and there were a few red wooden chairs near the fireplace.
The old man led the three of them straight to the fireplace, his drooping eyelids lifting slightly, and Zhou Zhou seemed to understand what he meant.
"Are you asking us to warm ourselves by the fire?"
The old man nodded, then turned and hobbled away with his cane.
There were five red wooden chairs, and Zhou Zhou and the other two sat together, surveying the ancient castle while whispering to each other.
It was too quiet inside the castle. After the old man went upstairs, the sound of his cane could no longer be heard, and the sound of the wind and rain outside had also become very faint, either due to the castle's soundproofing or because the heavy rain had actually lessened.
The only sound was the occasional faint crackling from the nearby fireplace.
"I feel this place is a bit oppressive," Lan Ya said softly as she looked around.
Zhou Zhou nodded in agreement. Indeed, without any windows in the great hall, and being constructed from thick, dark stones, it did feel oppressive.
Moreover, it was too dark here. Apart from the firelight, the only illumination in the entire great hall came from a few wall lamps hanging on the stone walls, giving off a hazy glow.
"This instance is a bit strange. The mission is for us to stay here for three days, with no mention of finding an escape exit. So what do we need to do to clear it? Could we really just stay here for three days and clear it?"
Lan Ya was also unsure, as her previous instances with Yue Ling had always involved finding an exit to clear them. This was her first time encountering such a situation.
"Let's just wait and see for now," said Alvia, not noticing anything unusual around them. It was best to observe first before making any moves.
"Thump, thump, thump."
The stairs here were also made of stone, hugging the wall on one side with no railing on the other. The old man came down the stairs, supporting himself with his cane. He hung the lamp on his wrist and was holding a black plate in his other hand.
Under the watchful eyes of Zhou Zhou and the others, the old man approached and set the plate down in front of them, containing three small croissants.
The three of them exchanged glances, then each took one from the plate.
"Thank you."
The croissants looked golden in color, but when held in their hands, they realized the soft bread had gone cold and hard, unsure of when they had been made.
Alvia held the bread, pondering if there might be an issue with it, while Zhou Zhou had already started eating his, not being a picky eater. Despite having no moisture at all, Zhou Zhou finished off half the small bread in a few bites.
Lan Ya had been somewhat cautious at first, as anything could happen in a game instance. But seeing Zhou Zhou quickly finishing his bread, she also started taking small bites.
Alvia: "..."
The old man stood beside them without a word, expressionlessly watching them eat. Suddenly, he walked towards the entrance, carelessly setting the plate on a corner cabinet.
Zhou Zhou had originally wanted to follow and take a look, but the old man glanced back at him, and Zhou Zhou interpreted his meaning as telling him not to come over, so he obediently sat back down.
All three of them looked towards the entrance, which was too dark for Lan Ya to see clearly. Though the other two were staring intently, she still squinted her eyes, trying to make out anything from the old man's hunched silhouette.
They saw the old man stand at the entrance, lean his cane against the wall, and somehow open the stone gate a crack, peering outside.
Although Zhou Zhou and Alvia didn't see how the old man opened the gate, they clearly saw someone standing in the gap outside, and from the voices they heard, there was more than one person out there.
But how did the old man know there were people outside? Alvia suddenly realized that despite his excellent hearing, he had not heard any voices from outside before the old man walked towards the entrance. It seemed this old man was hiding many mysteries.
"We came here according to the map…" a male voice suddenly spoke, only to be cut off by the old man.
"You must be passing travelers. With the heavy rain outside, come in and take shelter."
It was the exact same words he had said to them earlier when they were outside the gate. From the time they first saw the old man until now, he had only spoken two sentences, and those two sentences were completely identical.
The stone gate was opened, and a group of people entered. They were likely players as well. After coming in, they surveyed their surroundings, noticed the three sitting by the fireplace, hesitated for a moment, then nodded at them.
Zhou Zhou and Lan Ya also nodded back at them.
Then these people walked straight over to Zhou Zhou and the others, and the male player in the front asked, "Are you here for the instance mission too?"
Zhou Zhou nodded, "Yeah."
"The Night Castle instance?"
"Are you all here for that too?" Zhou Zhou looked at the players behind, unsure if they were from the same party. Including these people, there were now ten in total.
The male player laughed heartily, "Looks like we'll be doing the mission together."
While Zhou Zhou chatted with the player, Alvia noticed an anomaly. When they had entered, the old man had led them to the fireplace and even brought bread for the three of them. But when these people came in, the old man just followed slowly behind, now standing not far away and watching, with no intention of offering them any food.
His drooping eyelids were half-closed, making him look as if he had fallen asleep standing up. So why were his actions different the two times? Was it because they were the first to arrive, or was there another reason?
Alvia glanced at the large group of players that had poured in, all of them surveying the interior of the ancient castle with curiosity. Some were marveling at the uniquely shaped wall lamps, while others were commenting on the various decorations in the great hall. The once quiet castle had become quite lively with their arrival.
Or perhaps it had just become noisy. Alvia took a deep look at the old man, then turned away without another word.
Zhou Zhou, on the other hand, had noticed after chatting briefly with the male player that the remaining two red wooden chairs had been occupied by the first two players to run over. Meanwhile, the castle's owner, the old man, stood silently in the corner holding the lamp.
Zhou Zhou promptly stood up to offer the old man a seat.
The old man still did not speak, only shaking his head at Zhou Zhou.
Zhou Zhou couldn't help but feel this wasn't right. Although the old man had previously asked them to warm themselves by the fire, now they had occupied all the chairs in the great hall, leaving the elderly man standing. Even if he didn't want to sit, Zhou Zhou did not return to his seat, instead going to add a few logs to the fireplace.
His spot was immediately taken by another quick-handed player.
Lan Ya glanced at the spot now occupied by others, then watched as Zhou Zhou added firewood and walked towards the old man. She hurriedly stood up to follow.
She didn't know much about instances and didn't know how to clear them. With her timid nature, the best approach was to stick with her teammates.
Alvia also glanced at the two before following along.
And their vacant spots were immediately occupied by others.
Zhou Zhou had originally wanted to chat with the old man, but the man stood motionless like a statue. Even when Zhou Zhou asked his name, his age, or if he had eaten today, the old man gave no response, at most lifting his eyelids to glance at him.
From that glance, Zhou Zhou sensed clear disdain, as if the old man found him too talkative.
Zhou Zhou blinked, realizing he should just stay silent.
The old man stood in the corner, watching as the other players rummaged through the living room looking for clues, while the three players beside him lined up alongside him, also observing the others.
Suddenly, the old man walked towards the entrance again, supporting himself with his cane and holding the lamp. This time, Alvia followed behind him to the entrance.
Zhou Zhou and Lan Ya didn't know what Alvia intended, but they were in the same party, so they trailed behind the old man as well.
Despite their following and Alvia's obvious curiosity, the old man said nothing, although he did attempt to shoo Alvia away with his gaze. But Alvia was not as obedient as Zhou Zhou and kept staring at the old man's hands.
Giving up on using his gaze to drive them away, the old man ignored them and simply repeated his earlier actions, speaking the same words to let in the players from outside.
This time, Alvia saw clearly that by lightly pressing a certain brick behind the stone gate, the door would open slightly. Pressing it all the way would fully open the gate, and releasing it would immediately seal it shut.
With the two new players who came in, there were now fifteen players in total.
The newcomers greeted Zhou Zhou and the others, as well as the other group of players. As more participants of Nightmare City arrived, some of the instance rules became familiar to everyone. When facing unknown creatures and scenarios, maintaining contact and working together to resist was the best approach, as going solo was extremely dangerous and had the highest elimination rate.
The people in the castle continued chatting, but their topics were all speculations about the instance and the changes to the mission for clearing it.
It seemed these players were also unsure why this clearing instance was different from usual.
The old man remained standing in his original spot, with Zhou Zhou and the others also standing there. They had originally assumed the old man was waiting for the next batch of players to arrive, but after a few minutes, he suddenly walked into the great hall.
"It is now time to rest. I will take you all to your rooms."
The old man's raspy voice, in such a noisy environment, was only heard by the few players closest to him. The rest were still searching for clues and discussing what might appear in the instance.
"It is now time to rest. I will take you all to your rooms," the expressionless old man repeated. In the enclosed great hall, the clamor of over a dozen players echoed everywhere, and many still did not hear him.
Zhou Zhou couldn't stand it anymore and quickly stood beside the old man, repeating his words loudly.
This time, everyone heard clearly.
But the looks they gave Zhou Zhou were rather peculiar.
"Are you an NPC?"
Zhou Zhou was indeed one, but he would not panic over such words now, calmly stating, "I'm not an NPC for this instance. I'm just relaying what this old sir said."
Zhou Zhou looked at the old man, expressing for him to continue.
The old man did not say anything further, using one hand to support his cane and the other to hold the lamp as he headed upstairs.
The players exchanged glances, all realizing they were about to progress the storyline, and hurried to follow behind the old man.
The old man walked slowly, so everyone could only trail sluggishly behind.
"The castle's owner resides in the topmost tower spire. He does not like living folk, so do not make noise at night, and do not disturb that great lord. Otherwise…"
The old man turned to scan the group, his cloudy eyes full of coldness. "You will bear the consequences yourselves."
"You may all leave in the morning. The great lord prefers tranquility."
Leave in the morning? But the mission required staying for three full days.
The group immediately realized this might be the first challenge: successfully staying for three nights.
Ko-fi PatreonStoryteller Serinweis's Words
Thank you for reading!
If you've enjoyed my work, please consider supporting me by purchasing advanced chapters or subscribing to my Ko-fi membership. Before buying chapters, please check my Ko-fi shop first, you might find what you're looking for at a cheaper price. Feel free to take a look!
Free Release Schedule: 2 chapters/week on Tuesday and Saturday.
Comments for "Chapter 86" LoginPlease login to comment0 CommentsHate that cliffhanger, don't you?Grab some Popcorn and keep watching your series! This is entirely optional and a great way to show support for your favorite Clowns. All locked shows will still be unlocked for free according to the schedule set by the respective Clowns.AnnouncementIf you don't receive your Popcorn immediately after making a purchase, please open a ticket on our Discord server. To help expedite the process, kindly attach proof of your PayPal transaction, along with your username on our site and the name registered to your PayPal account.About Us? Join Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use© Clown & co. 2025. All rights reserved