Chapter 612 Stoneseer

On his way back to where he had last seen the mental mage, Thalion realized there was another problem he had completely overlooked.

What happened to the players who died? The kill notifications had been disabled. Especially in a game like this, that was a terrible decision.

If players started dying in large numbers, it could mean one of two things. Either the Masters of Stone were spreading rapidly, or the normal players had discovered a reliable method of identifying them.

Without kill notifications, he had no way of telling which was happening. Would the bodies simply remain inside the mansion?

If so, constantly moving through the building in search of corpses might actually become valuable. As the minutes passed, Thalion grew increasingly uneasy.

The mental mage was gone. She must have either played someone and been teleported away or simply left before he arrived.

"Oh, come on..." Thalion muttered in annoyance as he continued searching the enormous mansion.

He encountered countless trial takers wandering aimlessly through the corridors, none of them seeming to have any real idea what they were supposed to do.

Thalion desperately watched for signs of groups beginning to form, but during the next four hours he failed to spot a single organized alliance.

He managed to complete only four card games. Every single victory teleported him to a completely different part of the mansion.

The constant teleportation was unbelievably frustrating. Finding his way back each time took far longer than he liked.

Maps were scattered throughout the mansion, but considering the sheer size of the place, they were little more than a drop in the ocean.

At least he was still a normal player. Unfortunately, he still had no real strategy beyond occasionally searching for bodies. After every match, he deliberately returned to the central staircase.

It was the easiest place to find another opponent should his hourly timer begin running low.

His goal was simple. Play as few games as possible. The fewer matches he played, the lower his chances of being converted into a Master of Stone.

So far, the strategy had worked surprisingly well. Then everything changed.

"Attention, all normal players!"

The booming voice echoed throughout the mansion.

"We're gathering on the platforms above the mansion to make sure we win this game. Please hear me out!"

The speaker was some kind of enormous dark-brown land octopus that slithered gracefully across the floor on countless tentacles.

She stood well over three meters tall, and each tentacle had to be nearly seven meters long.

Although her aura carried no killing intent, its overwhelming power clearly identified her as a D-grade genius.

"The idea is very simple," she continued. "If you're converted into a Master of Stone, immediately tell us who turned you. We'll hunt down that Master of Stone, obtain a Stonebane Potion, and turn you back into a normal player."

"While we're hunting them, you'll remain safely inside our group so nobody can kill you with a Hammer. The strategy is straightforward, and so far it's worked very well."

Thalion wasn't entirely convinced. The biggest flaw was obvious.

Every completed card game teleported both participants to random locations throughout the mansion.

The Masters of Stone could simply wait along the routes leading back to the gathering point.

The only reliable defense normal players possessed was their Hammer.

And even that could be countered.

A Master of Stone could deliberately reveal themselves to a normal player, forcing them to waste their Hammer out of fear of being converted later.

Once the Hammer was gone, that player was no longer a threat.

They had nothing left to lose, because nobody could kill a normal player without using a Hammer.

Even torture wasn't a reliable option.

The moment someone tried, the victim could simply touch them and say, "Game on."

Instantly, both players would disappear into a card game.

Still...

At the moment, it seemed to be the only reasonable strategy the normal players had.

At least Thalion couldn't think of anything better.

"That sounds great," a four-armed man with gray hair called out. "But why don't we all just become Masters of Stone?"

"That way, everyone survives."

Judging by the murmurs spreading through the crowd, quite a few people seemed to agree with him.

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"Aha..." The octopus woman sneered. "You did notice that we only receive points when trial takers die, right? Do you honestly believe nobody will use a Hammer on you the moment they get the chance? If everyone becomes a Master of Stone, every successful kill resets the Hammer. At that point, no one would even question someone playing it."

That answer was enough to silence the discussion.

The idea of everyone willingly becoming a Master of Stone quickly lost its appeal.

Nobody trusted the other trial takers enough to believe they would refrain from using their Hammer cards.

"With that said," the octopus woman continued, "everyone who's interested, please follow me."

With surprising agility, she launched herself into the open space at the center of the mansion, swinging upward like some bizarre version of Spider-Man. Instead of webs, however, she used her enormous tentacles, making the upside-down movement look incredibly unsettling.

Many participants, relieved that someone had finally proposed a concrete strategy, eagerly followed her.

Others did so with obvious skepticism written across their faces.

Thalion remained where he was.

The plan sounded reasonable on paper, but he preferred to continue observing from the sidelines.

There was one major problem. What would happen if he became a Master of Stone? Would the others really use a Stonebane Potion on him?

He had a strong feeling that Minerva and Bartivel, who had stayed together ever since the tug-of-war, would also be part of that alliance.

Minerva hadn't shown any real desire to kill him.

Bartivel, on the other hand...

The man clearly wanted his head.

And who would object if Bartivel happened to use a Hammer on Thalion?

Would anyone even know what had happened to him?

Joining that alliance simply felt too risky. There was another issue as well.

What if they failed to find the Master of Stone responsible for a conversion?

The mansion was enormous. At best, people could provide rough descriptions of who had turned them.

Even then, nobody could possibly know where that person had been teleported afterward.

Every card game scattered players randomly throughout the building.

Hunting down a single Master of Stone inside this labyrinth would be incredibly difficult.

No...

For the time being, Thalion was better off alone. Even if he wasn't entirely sure what "better" actually meant in this situation.

Ideally, he would convince a Master of Stone that leaving him as a normal player was more beneficial.

That way, other normal players would continue wasting their Hammer cards on different targets. If the Masters of Stone looked like they were winning near the end of the game, they could simply convert him.

If they were losing...

He could always use his Hammer instead. Simply knowing the identity of a Master of Stone was valuable enough to justify the risk.

It was dangerous, but some risks were unavoidable. The game was still in its early stages.

Finding a Master of Stone this soon seemed unlikely anyway. Over the next few hours, Thalion settled into a large classroom near the bottom floors of the mansion.

With nothing better to do while waiting for his next match, he absentmindedly burned an indecent caricature of R-87 onto one of the pristine white walls.

The administrator, however, had apparently decided the game wasn't chaotic enough.

A new system notification suddenly appeared.

Introduction of the Stoneseer Card

After converting five normal players into Masters of Stone, you will receive the Stoneseer card

This card allows you to recognize all other Masters of Stone

Every Master of Stone will likewise recognize you as the Stoneseer

You permanently lose your Hammer card

Thalion immediately stopped halfway through giving R-87's cube-shaped face an oversized mustache.

That changed everything.

For both factions.

The normal players could now deliberately allow one of their own to be converted.

Once that person became the Stoneseer, they would effectively serve as a bloodhound, capable of identifying every Master of Stone they encountered.

With someone like that on their side, systematically cleansing entire sections of the mansion suddenly became a realistic possibility.

Of course...

The opposite was equally true.

The moment the Masters of Stone identified the Stoneseer, killing them would become their highest priority.

Without a Hammer card, the Stoneseer had no reliable means of defending themselves.

Even so...

Thalion had little doubt that the leaders of the normal players would eventually pressure someone into taking that role.

Only a Stoneseer could guarantee that no hidden Masters of Stone remained within the group. At the same time, they could be used to actively hunt down enemy Masters of Stone.

Thalion couldn't help but wonder whether this wasn't actually a massive nerf to the Masters of Stone.

After converting five normal players, they would lose their Hammer card in exchange for the ability to recognize other Masters of Stone—a benefit that seemed rather underwhelming from their perspective. They probably already knew who the other Masters of Stone were, considering they had worked together to spread their faction in the first place.

Then Thalion noticed something else.

Stoneseers couldn't recognize other Stoneseers.

They could only identify Masters of Stone.

If the normal players went hunting with a Stoneseer, they would completely overlook enemy Stoneseers.

On the other hand, that weakness could be solved rather easily.

Simply bring along a Master of Stone who had already been turned back with a Stonebane Potion.

After all, the normal players would have needed to convert five people into Masters of Stone before obtaining a Stoneseer in the first place.

No Master of Stone would ever expect one of their own to suddenly begin hunting them with a Hammer.

Still...

There was another major problem.

What happened after the Stoneseer finished a card game?

Players were randomly teleported throughout the mansion every time they played.

Since everyone was required to play at least once every hour, the Stoneseer would constantly be separated from their allies.

And because every Master of Stone could instantly recognize them...

Returning to the safety of their group might become nearly impossible.

Of course, that assumed the Masters of Stone were organized.

Personally, Thalion thought that was a safe assumption.

If anything, the pressure on the Masters of Stone was probably even greater than it was on the normal players.

They were forced to keep converting people if they wanted to strengthen their faction, yet every conversion increased the risk of someone eventually hunting them down with a Hammer.

That constant fear of death would bind them together far more tightly than the normal players.

With nothing else to do, Thalion decided to continue his tour of the mansion.

He needed to play another card game within the next fifteen minutes, and while searching for an opponent he could continue looking for bodies.

Making contact with a Master of Stone would simply be an added bonus.

His footsteps echoed softly through the endless white corridors.

As he walked, another thought crossed his mind.

Would the Masters of Stone become more aggressive now...

Or would they deliberately slow down to avoid becoming a Stoneseer?

There was another downside to the Stoneseer card as well.

The moment you lost your Hammer, you also lost the ability to save yourself.

From that point onward, you would be completely dependent on others.

Thalion sincerely hoped R-87 wouldn't introduce even more special cards.

The game was already chaotic enough.

His train of thought was abruptly interrupted.

A faint scent reached his nose.

Blood.

The metallic smell instantly stirred the Primordial Bloodseed, which eagerly urged him to move faster.

After roughly seventy meters and two turns...

Thalion came to an abrupt halt.

Lying in the middle of the corridor was the mental mage.

Her body had been smashed beyond recognition.