Chapter 108-3: An Eerie New Chapter (3)

[You assassinate one student monster after another, making your way deeper into the corridor. You spot one remaining student.]

[This student stands out. She has a graceful figure and a pale, captivating face. Her four eyes are shut tightly as she stands silently by a faculty office door.]

[Your approach seems to alert her. She suddenly opens her eyes, four pitch-black pupils stare directly at you.]

[She sees through your stealth. With a shrill scream, she lunges at you…]

Damn! His trusty stealth skill had been seen through!

So four eyes really were that powerful…

[You stab her in the chest with your Hidden Blade…]

[You have defeated the Knowledge-Seeking Four-Eyed Student. Experience slightly increased.]

[You obtained: Nameless Trace of Spirit x1]

[You obtained: Unknown Creature’s Eyeball x12 (Junk)]

[You obtained: Key to the Nameless Mentor’s Office (Key)]

[You examine the elegant corpse before you…]

[Shell of the Knowledge-Seeking Four-Eyed Student: A beautiful young woman who became addicted to knowledge after receiving an extra pair of transplanted eyes. For unknown reasons, she stood guard before the office, not letting anyone approach. She died from a stab to the chest that ruptured her heart. Compatibility: 113% (+45%)]

[Would you like to possess this Shell?]

Lin Xun guessed this was likely that Lir girl mentioned earlier, the student who had received an extra pair of eyes.

He discarded the Corrupted Elder Beastman from his Shell Slots and clicked ‘Possess.’

[You have possessed the Shell of the Knowledge-Seeking Four-Eyed Student.]

[The Shell retains fragmented memories of her life…]

[…I was young and foolish. After the Mentor’s deep ‘education’ and receiving a bounty of knowledge, I finally saw the light.]

[I used to be so ignorant. Thankfully, I met such a good Mentor who helped me return to the right path.]

[And he even gave me an extra pair of eyes. I know it cost him what little savings he had left.]

[The first eye transplant felt strange. I could see things I’d never seen before, gaining the knowledge I had always dreamed of!]

[Of course, even stranger was my first carriage ride with the Mentor. Oh, that thick concentration of knowledge…]

[The carriage to Bennett’s Transplant Clinic is always parked outside the academy, ready to serve any student eager to receive eye transplants…]

[…]

[Unfortunately, the Mentor lost himself in the sea of knowledge. I could only gouge out his extra eyes and spend every night cuddled beside them.]

[I remain here, guarding the office, a place filled with our cherished memories…]

[The fragmented memory ends here.]

Lin Xun twitched his mouth and pressed a hand to his forehead, veins nearly popping.

It took him a long moment before he could pick his phone back up and continue the game.

[You have gained knowledge. Your Knowledge stat increased by 10! Current Knowledge: 40/100]

He opened the Shell Panel.

[Shell – Knowledge-Seeking Four-Eyed Student]

[True Name: Unknown]

[Compatibility: 113% (+45%) – Compatibility threshold exceeded. Shell Quality improved!]

[Shell Quality: Common]

[Shell Level: 29 (+9)]

[Shell Equipment: Academy Student Robe (Ruined) – A black standard-issue robe stained with grime and blood, with three large eyes sewn into the chest in a triangular pattern.]

[Shell Skill: Knowledge Extraction (Common) – Every person harbors an insatiable desire for knowledge. To seek knowledge is life’s only meaning. When activated, this skill slightly increases the amount of knowledge gained.]

Still junk-tier gear, but the Shell quality was one tier higher than the mentor’s. Maybe it was because of the four eyes?

More importantly, the Shell came with a skill, one that could increase knowledge acquisition.

Lin Xun activated the skill to accelerate knowledge gain and uncover the stat’s effects as soon as possible.

[You have activated Knowledge Extraction. Until deactivated, your knowledge gain will be slightly increased.]

He wasn’t sure whether the buff would persist after switching Shells.

In his inventory, the Nameless Chunk of Spirit was valued at 500, and the 12 eyeballs, per their descriptions had long lost their vitality.

Presumably, they were plucked from the mentor’s face.

[You now stand before the locked office door.]

[Would you like to use the Key to the Nameless Mentor’s Office to open it?]

[You use the key to unlock the office door.]

[Inside are several bookshelves and a wooden desk.]

[You step inside…]

[You discover a moldy old lesson plan and a black lace blindfold on the desk.]

[You have obtained: Nameless Mentor’s Lesson Plan (Document)]

[You have obtained: Blindfold of Knowledge Rejection (Special Equipment)]

Lin Xun checked his inventory.

[Nameless Mentor’s Lesson Plan (Document)]

[Today’s lesson: I will teach students the origin of our Multivision School…]

[Humans are pitiful, insignificant beings. In the vastness of the stars, we are like a speck of dust, tiny and ignorant.]

[To change this, and to pursue truth and knowledge, we awakened our dormant thirst for knowledge, amplifying it infinitely…]

[To gain knowledge, one must have sharp eyes!]

[With eyes that can perceive everything, we can gaze upon the stars, face the abyss… and explore truths our ancestors could never reach!]

[Our Multivision School is different from the wealthier Direct Vision School—we admit only commoner students who can’t afford expensive, high-grade eyes.]

[But our school has developed an alternative method. Since we can’t win with quality, we win with quantity!]

[More eyes mean better observation of the world and greater acquisition of knowledge.]

[That is the origin of the Multivision School.]

[Lastly, remember this always: Knowledge is power!]

Lin Xun frowned, he finally had a clearer picture of this world.

To satisfy ever-expanding thirst for knowledge, they bought eye transplants to see everything and acquire knowledge… What a warped, grotesque worldview.

[You have gained knowledge. Your Knowledge stat increased by 50! Current Knowledge: 90/100]

Reading the document and combining it with earlier clues, Lin Xun, as a veteran player, had a theory.

Knowledge might be a double-edged sword.

From the mentor’s belief that “knowledge is power,” it seemed raising Knowledge would grant strength.

But in Lir’s memories, the mentor had also lost himself in the sea of knowledge.

He had a suspicion. To test it, he’d need to push further.

He still had a full 3/3 Soul Strength, and except for the mentor (who just died), all his Shells were in good condition.

He had room for plenty of experimentation.

Next, he checked the blindfold.

[Blindfold of Knowledge Rejection (Special Equipment) – A thin, scented lace blindfold for women. Wearing it slightly reduces the amount of knowledge gained.]

Special Equipment was rare in-game, typically offering unique functionality.

This one’s effect was precisely to reduce knowledge gain.

Which confirmed his suspicion, there was something dangerous about the Knowledge stat.

But he didn’t equip it just yet.

At the very least, he needed to find out whether raising the stat brought benefit or harm.

[The bookshelves in the office appear to hold some unusual items.]

[Would you like to search them?]

Lin Xun raised an eyebrow.

Now this was getting interesting.