Chapter 235: Yog-Sothoth’s Door Key

Chapter 235: Chapter 235: Yog-Sothoth’s Door Key

[Combat Ability: SSS (Evaluation: Bursts like a firecracker, a chaotic explosion of CRACKLE-POP-BANG—quite a show! But please note, firecrackers need time to be reloaded after they go off~)]

[Development Potential: SSS (Evaluation: Steady. Incredibly steady. Every step lands in the safe zone. Risk? What’s that? Can you eat it?)]

[Special Note: Rune Master legacy detected. Suspected to have Lady Luck’s private contact information.]

Staring at the evaluation and its sudden shift in tone, Seraphina Sinclair was momentarily speechless.

’Is this system’s evaluation... a little too cheerful?’

But complaints aside, the information was still somewhat useful.

Seraphina Sinclair didn’t claim her rewards right away. Instead, she double-clicked on other people’s names to check their pages.

Unlike her own page, other people’s pages didn’t show the Evaluation or special notes, only the letter grades for their ratings.

Frostleaf’s three stats were two S’s and one A, which was an impressive score among ordinary survivors.

If she hadn’t been in the same Zone as Seraphina Sinclair, she might have even taken first place on the rankings.

Having confirmed this, Seraphina Sinclair went back to claim her rewards.

The reward for first place on the Zone rankings was...

[Congratulations on taking first place! You have received: Zone Rankings First Place Supply Box (B-level) x1, Black Fog Lottery attempt x1!]

[Proceed to the lottery now?]

Seraphina Sinclair read the prompt and raised an eyebrow slightly.

’A B-level Supply Box, just like that?’

It was within her expectations. After all, this was a bi-weekly reward, so it couldn’t be too shabby.

But this lottery attempt...

’A lottery... So the ranking rewards aren’t fixed,’ she thought. ’The quality of the reward depends on luck.’

Seraphina Sinclair chose to claim the Supply Box first.

A metal box appeared before her. It looked plain and simple, but its fine details revealed exquisite craftsmanship.

Upon opening it, she found two items neatly arranged inside: a small pile of Black Fog Coins and a small hammer.

’A hammer?’

Seraphina Sinclair immediately recalled the message Rex Shaw had posted in the Zone channel. ’Could it be that these boxes all contain the same things?’

Seraphina Sinclair used Insight on the hammer first.

[Unsealing Hammer (B-level)]

[Description: A one-time use item capable of forcibly breaking seals, barriers, or special restrictions of B-level or lower. Especially effective against certain special structures, treasure chests, and spatial barriers. Disintegrates automatically after use.]

’Breaking a seal?’

Seraphina Sinclair immediately thought of the mirror she had received from RookSolosGruel, but that thing was only E-level. Using this B-level hammer on it...

’Seems like a bit of a waste.’

Feeling hesitant, Seraphina Sinclair simply put the items away for now.

’How many Black Fog Coins did I get?’

As Seraphina Sinclair’s fingers touched the pile of Black Fog Coins, a panel immediately popped up before her.

[Acquired Black Fog Coin x10,000!]

Whoa! Ten thousand Black Fog Coins?!

Staring at the number that popped up on the panel, Seraphina Sinclair’s breath caught for a moment.

This was nearly equivalent to what she would harvest after several days of hard work.

The reward for first place on the rankings was, indeed, astonishingly generous.

She carefully stowed the pile of Black Fog Coins, feeling the slight annoyance from the system’s teasing evaluation melt away.

"Looks like the system might be a smart-ass, but it’s pretty generous," she muttered, her gaze falling back on the unused Black Fog Lottery attempt.

[Proceed to the lottery now?]

"Yes."

The scene before her transformed in an instant. The view of her mobile cabin rippled away like disturbed water, replaced by a boundless expanse of thick, slowly churning black fog.

Seraphina Sinclair found herself floating in the center of this black fog, with a void beneath her feet and silence all around.

The only thing there was a massive, ancient wheel standing silently before her, its surface covered in unknown runes.

The wheel was evenly divided into countless tiny slots. Most were a dim gray, their contents impossible to see. Only a few emitted a faint glow, with a hint of gold glimmering here and there.

A cold, emotionless voice echoed directly in Seraphina Sinclair’s mind:

[Black Fog Lottery. Begin.]

[Rule: Where the pointer stops, so lies your prize.]

[Lottery attempts for this session: Two!]

’Two?’

Seraphina Sinclair was puzzled for only a moment. One attempt was the reward for taking first place, and the other was from the Pioneer.

[Good luck, survivor.]

As the voice faded, the pointer on the wheel began to turn, slowly at first, then faster and faster until it blurred into an afterimage.

Seraphina Sinclair held her breath, her eyes locked on the rapidly spinning pointer.

’I have a feeling this lottery has nothing to do with ordinary luck,’ she thought. ’It feels more like... a form of communion with the source of this black fog?’

The pointer gradually slowed, passing over several gray slots, a slot glowing with blue light, and another with purple light. It slowed further and further, looking as if it would stop on a slot radiating a purple halo...

The instant the pointer was about to settle on the purple slot, Seraphina Sinclair felt the [Silver Moon Earrings] on her earlobes grow slightly warm. Simultaneously, she seemed to hear an incredibly faint, slightly disgruntled "hmph" coming from them.

Before Seraphina Sinclair could process what that was, she saw the pointer on the wheel do something bizarre, defying the laws of physics by gently skipping forward one space.

It skipped right over the purple slot.

And it landed on a dim, unremarkable gray slot.

Seraphina Sinclair: "???"

’What the hell?’

’Don’t tell me the Lucky Wood Carving just kicked in?!’

Seraphina Sinclair’s conviction wavered. ’Didn’t the waiter say this thing wouldn’t work while it’s inside the Silver Moon Earrings?!’

’I should have left it in the mobile cabin!’

Seraphina Sinclair was filled with regret, but the result of the lottery was already set.

[DING!]

The wheel stopped abruptly, and the black fog churned.

The gray slot selected by the pointer suddenly erupted with an unimaginable, brilliant golden light, bathing the entire foggy space in its magnificent glow!

’Wait, no!’

Seraphina Sinclair immediately realized this item couldn’t be junk.

Even that cold, mechanical voice seemed to waver almost imperceptibly:

[Congratulations, you have obtained: ??? (Quality: ???)]

The golden light receded, and an ancient-looking token—made of a substance that was neither gold nor wood and covered in strange markings—fell into Seraphina Sinclair’s hand.

The token was warm and smooth to the touch. It felt impossibly heavy, yet she could lift it with ease.

The pointer came to a halt, and a pop-up appeared before Seraphina Sinclair: "Proceed with the second draw?"

Seraphina Sinclair ignored it, instead using Insight on the token.

[Door Key of Yog-Sothoth (Fragmented) (SSS-level)]

[Description: ??? (Unknown item. Requires collecting all fragments or meeting specific conditions to unlock.)

Note: A trivial shadow cast by the All Things Unifier across infinite space and time; it is both a key and a lock. Gather its pieces, and you might glimpse the secrets behind the door. More likely, however, the being behind the door has already been watching you. Current Status: 1/3.

Owner: Seraphina Sinclair.]