The forum was in chaos. Arguments over whether Liam Watson's gameplay was truly impressive or flashy were tearing through the threads. But Shawn had anticipated this reaction from the moment Liam made his mark.Liam's performance had been nothing short of dazzling. The number of points he racked up during just one level was outrageous—over 500 energy credits. For context, the all-time top scorer in Eclipse Harbor, Mason Shepherd, had barely crossed a thousand.For a complete rookie like Liam, five hundred-plus was already legendary.But with visibility comes envy. Other low-level players had to claw through every match in Eclipse Harbor, fearing for their lives just to scrape together a meagre one or two hundred credits—after deducting item costs. On the other hand, Liam was making it look easy: using just a few dozen credits' worth of items to dominate, then walking away with several hundred credits in profit.His strategy was efficient, his play was spectacular, and what were his en

After stepping off the ship, Liam Watson was bound by the sailors’ local customs to stay at the Eclipse Wax Museum until nightfall, supposedly to cleanse the sin of witnessing the mermaid slaughter. Lucy and Gerald trailed him to the museum. In the dim morning light, the museum felt lifeless. The sailors dropped Liam off, sternly warning him not to leave before evening. They left him under the watch of the museum’s keeper and departed. Lucy huddled behind Liam, whispering nervously, “How’s this place still so creepy even in daylight?” Wax figures loomed over them, their mermaid faces eerily lifelike—sharper, somehow than the ones Liam had seen the day before. He noticed two statues with shortened tails, now only fishlike below the knees, their thighs morphing into human legs. Liam tilted his head, studying their faces. They bore an unsettling resemblance to Lucy and Gerald. The figures grinned strangely, staring straight at Liam, Lucy, and Gerald. As he’d suspected, Lucy and G

In the pouring rain, a distant beam of light cut through the gloom, merging with the one in the narrow alley of Eclipse Harbor. The two beams fused into a blinding blaze on the main boulevard that lit up the night. The light-fearing mermaid wax figures froze instantly, blocked by the intense glow, unable to advance. This searing light stretched across Eclipse Harbor, trapping the wax figures behind it and preventing them from crossing to chase Liam Watson. Even the mermaid sailors, shielded by their talismans and less afraid of light, hesitated, pacing warily near the beam, testing its edges.Liam leaned against a wall on the other side, catching his breath. At his feet sat a **3In the pouring rain, a beam of light sliced through the fog from the distance, merging with the one in the alley to

Despite the tantalizing aroma of bubble-trapped mermaid flesh luring most mermaids and fish swarms, a few rogue mermaids zeroed in on Liam Watson’s raw flesh. They eagerly sank their teeth into his arms and ankles, leaving jagged, ring-shaped bite marks that oozed menace.Shawn’s breath hitched, nearly stopping. “His sanity’s about to crash below 20!”[System Alert: Player Liam Watson’s Sanity at 17, below 20. (Berserk) mode activated. Panel stats surging—]The moment the system’s chime faded, Liam’s lips curled into a sly grin. His critically low stats, long flashing red, skyrocketed in a frenzy—[Player: Liam Watson (Berserk Mode Stats)][Stamina: 7 → 151][Agility: 3 → 149][Attack: 6 → 167][Resilience: 2 → 166][Total defense and attack stats exceed 500. Evaluated as a C-rank player. Liam Watson promoted from F (?) to C-rank, now capable of resisting mermaid sailors, mermaid statues, and mermaid larvae attacks.]Shawn froze for a split second before it clicked. “Right! When Sanit