The blinding light made Rover squint.
When his eyes finally adjusted, he slowly opened them, only to find himself gripping the doorknob, while Nanoe and Selina were using all their strength to drag him backward.
Thud!
"Ack!" Rover cried out in pain as his butt met the ground in an intimate way.
"You..." Rover was about to say something, but Selina and Nanoe hurriedly hugged him tight, tears pouring down like rain.
"Thank goodness... Rover, you're finally awake."
"Master! Master!"
Rover didn't understand what was going on, but hearing their sobs, he felt a warmth so deep it made him think this was his true home.
Remembering the images he'd seen in the illusion, he suddenly grew emotional and hugged them tightly.
BAM!
Suddenly, the sound of pounding cut through everyone's emotions.
Rover frowned, took a deep breath, and wanted to head for the door, but his hand was immediately grabbed by Nanoe and Selina.
They looked at him, he looked back at them, signaling for them not to worry, then walked to the door.
Peering outside through the peephole, Rover stiffened when he saw a bizarre creature standing in front of his door.
It was about two meters tall, its body covered in blood and tree roots like gigantic blood vessels, its face completely blank.
Yes. The creature standing before him had no eyes, no nose, no mouth, no ears, nothing at all. Just a smooth layer of skin, with a few blood-colored roots clinging to it, twitching faintly as if they were real veins.
Rover drew in a sharp breath, his spine turning cold. Even without eyes, he felt as if the thing was staring at him.
BAM!
Another impact made Rover flinch.
[Door Durability: -5]
"What?!" Rover stared at the notification in shock. Two light knocks, and the door's durability had dropped by five points. What the hell was going on?
Crack! Crack!
The door suddenly opened a sliver, exactly like what he had experienced before.
But this time, Rover suddenly remembered something and gestured for Nanoe and Selina to retreat.
They nodded and backed away, careful not to interfere.
Rover swung his hand, and a mirror suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking the entire doorway.
"Open the door!" Rover commanded.
Crack!
At his order, the door opened at once. Nanoe and Selina were so frightened they barely dared to breathe, and they didn't dare move either, sitting still behind the mirror Rover had just created.
The Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit looked into the room. The moment it tried to step inside, it abruptly froze.𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
Now, Rover could see its entire body clearly.
It was truly bizarre. Root-like blood vessels writhed out from a hole in its abdomen. Every time those massive roots twitched, they seeped blood, soaking the monster's body.
Even with a mirror between them, Rover still felt the terrifying pressure coming off the Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit.
It was nothing like the Resentful Spirits he'd faced before.
The Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit was like a creature that didn't belong to this world, as if it came from some twisted realm made of nothing but blood and horrors like itself.
It stood there in silence, staring into the room. Rover was nervous too, but he didn't dare breathe too loudly.
This time, the [Intuition] skill was active, and it was warning Rover that this monster was terrifying, different from the Resentful Spirits he had encountered earlier.
Rover wasn't arrogant enough to think that just because he had an SS-rank skill now, he could become a god.
On the contrary, this world was filled with danger and unknowns. Even Level 2 Survivors brought to this apartment complex could barely survive the first round.
Time continued to pass. The Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit stared at the mirror, but Rover had the feeling it could see through the mirror and see him along with Nanoe and Selina.
Sweat soaked Rover's face and shirt, his heartbeat pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out of his chest.
After a while, the Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit turned and left. Its footsteps were heavy, blood smeared all over its feet; every step made a sound like someone stomping into a puddle, echoing down the hallway.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Rover kept the mirror in place, not moving, not even breathing too loudly. Only when the footsteps faded into the distance and vanished completely did he order the door shut.
The moment the door closed, Rover dropped onto the floor, panting.
Selina and Nanoe also let out a long breath of relief. They leaned against each other, looking at Rover. He looked back at them, giving them a look to reassure them.
'Terrifying!' Rover thought. 'How are the other Survivors getting through this trial? Is there really another way to kill or trick the Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit?'
Rover was certain the Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit was stronger than Nick, or any monster he had ever faced.
Strong... very strong... terrifying... so terrifying that [Intuition] told him that if he dared to face it head-on, he might not die, but his fate would be unimaginably horrific.
Suddenly, he frowned and looked at Selina and Nanoe, asking softly, "Why was I standing at the door?"
Nanoe looked at him and said, "Rover, I don't know either. Selina and I were cultivating, and you suddenly stood up with your eyes still shut, then walked toward the door like you were going to open it."
"Selina was afraid you were being controlled by the Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit, so she grabbed you. I thought the same, so I immediately helped her pull you back inside."
Rover nodded lightly, then asked, "From the moment I entered the illusion until now, how long has it been?"
"A little over two hours," Selina said.
After hearing that, Rover stood up and walked toward the door.
"Heh?! Master, what are you trying to do?" Selina asked, confused.
Nanoe also looked at him in confusion. "Rover, it doesn't seem like the Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit has left. Don't open the door."
Rover stood by the door, turned to Nanoe and Selina, and gave them a friendly smile. Then he raised his middle finger and said with a grin, "You think you can fool me?"
Nanoe and Selina jolted in shock, but then their faces suddenly twisted like crumpled plastic bags. Their bodies moved in an unnatural way as they lunged at Rover.
He took a step back. The door opened and shut in an instant.
BAM! BAM!
Nanoe and Selina slammed into the door, the impact ringing out in a shrill sound.
Rover glanced at the blood-smeared footprints on the floor and hurriedly chased after them.
"Fuck! I was this close... this close to getting killed!" Rover forced himself to run, cold sweat pouring off him like a bath.
From the moment he used [Mirror] to block the Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit's line of sight, he'd felt something was off.
Because the mirror he created didn't reflect the Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit at all. Instead, it was reflecting Nanoe and Selina.
Even though Nanoe and Selina behind him couldn't see that reflection, Rover, the one using [Mirror], could clearly see that the Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit standing outside his door was Selina and Nanoe.
He'd been terrified because he'd sensed that the real Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit was the two people behind him.
Still, he wanted to test it again, to see whether his [Intuition] and his deduction were correct.
Just as he suspected, Nanoe and Selina both said they wanted to stop him from opening the door because the Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit was outside.
But they were also the ones who, before he was dragged into the illusion, had said the Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit might imitate them with a single glance.
So... if they never looked outside, how did they know the thing outside was the Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit?
Moreover, Selina's answer immediately convinced him she and Nanoe were fake because... he had never said he'd been dragged into an illusion.
Why was Selina so calm the moment she heard he was in an illusory world?
Most importantly, why would the Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit be able to imitate others, even copy their memories, yet still use its true form to stand outside his door, even deliberately letting him see what it looked like?
There was only one possible explanation... it had done it on purpose, so Rover would believe that the creature outside the door was the Thousand-Faced Resentful Spirit.