2025-04-04 00:03:29Liam Watson understood why the driver had described the first mermaid hauled up as beautiful and superior. Compared to this specimen, the intricately crafted wax figures scattered around the museum looked like cheap roadside souvenirs. Liam had a soft spot for anything valuable and stepped closer to read the plaque beside the glass case.
[Eclipse, Eclipse Harbor, captured during a group fishing event on the night of [date redacted]. Verified by relevant authorities as a rare, naturally occurring organism with no artificial synthesis. …Retrieved as a corpse, later preserved in a solidifying solution and displayed in the central gallery of the Eclipse Wax Museum for visitors.]
This thing's gotta be one hell of a monster, Liam thought.
As he skimmed the description, the mermaid's skeletal right hand twitched—barely noticeable. The coin hanging at Liam's chest went berserk, vibrating wildly as crimson panels erupted before him, stacking up like a glitching system.
["Eclipse Harbor Monster Book" Updated—Siren King (2/4)]
[Monster Name: Siren King] [Weaknesses: None (Players are not required to explore this monster's weaknesses)] [Attack Method: ??? (Unknown, to be explored)] [You have triggered the wandering god-tier NPC: Siren King!!] ["Eclipse Harbor" game survival rate plummeting, recalculating… Original apparent rate: 51%. Current rate: ??%!!] [WARNING! WARNING! This NPC is extremely dangerous and has no known weaknesses. Once it decides to kill, players cannot exploit weaknesses to escape—only death awaits. Players must accelerate progress and flee Eclipse Harbor before this NPC awakens!] [Estimated time until NPC awakening: 1 day. Speed up your investigation!]Liam raised an eyebrow. Looks like I've stumbled onto something big.
He studied the red warning text, mulling over strategies, unaware it had already stunned a veteran cloud player passing by the central game hall's massive screen. Shawn, a seasoned observer who rarely played himself, had camped out in front of the central screens for years, gathering intel for his guild. Now, he crouched before Liam's small TV, gaping.
Cloud players like Shawn spent more time watching than playing, collecting data on others' runs. he'dHe’d never seen a god-tier wandering NPC pop up on the central screen in all his years.
Rubbing his eyes, Shawn muttered, "No way… That's the god-tier wandering NPC, right? Who's unlucky enough to get stuck in a run with that?"
The system housed countless horror games, each a standalone instance with its own fixed NPCs and monsters—like separate titles in a game store, never overlapping. Players' experiences in each were isolated; no crossover wasover was allowed.
But at some point, a bizarre anomaly emerged: a wandering NPC. This entity roamed freely across game instances, barging in without warning. It could possess a random monster, transforming it from a standard threat into a god-tier juggernaut. Players dreaded entering every game on edge, praying they wouldn't trigger it.
The odds were slim, though. Shawn had watched countless runs and never seen it—until now. Its lethality was legendary: one appearance often wiped entire teams before spectators could blink. Rumors swirled, but hard info was scarce. For a cloud player like Shawn, this was gold. If he documented it thoroughly, he could sell the intel for a fortune in points.
He locked in, vowing to stick to Liam's screen all day. Oddly, this explosive footage—featuring a god-tier NPC—was relegated to the central screen's edge. He might've missed it if Shawn hadn't habitually scanned every corner and caught the flood of red warnings.
"Did the algorithm screw up?" Shawn murmured, glued to the screen. "This shouldn't be on the edge. The player's killing it—almost finished the first Monster Book page, facing a god-tier NPC without flinching and still not slacking. That's some steel nerves…"
He tapped his game manager to pull up the player's profile, then froze, eyes widening. "...A total newbie on their first run? Are you kidding me?"
---
[Game Forum Thread: Anyone catch that newbie who just climbed from the rookie zone to the central screen?]
[1L: First game, and he's up there? Impressive! Could he snag a spot on this year's rookie points leaderboard?] [2L: No chance—he's toast. I'm watching his feed now. Guy's luck sucks; he triggered the god-tier wandering NPC. This is probably his last game ever.] [3L: He was crushing it in the rookie zone. He has such bad luck… but he's good. Maybe he's not doomed?] [4L: I still don't understand that the wandering NPC is a bug with an NPC label. No weaknesses. Every time it shows up, it's a team wipe—no escape. It's a broken game balance. The system slapped a fancy name on an unsolvable glitch to dodge complaints.] [5L: Man, I was rooting for him. Thought he might break Eclipse Harbor's points record—his strategies are unreal.] [6L: That record's Mason Shepherd's, right? 1,300+ points without boosts. He's fourth on the Nightmare Rising Stars list. This newbie's not surviving this, let alone touching that.] [7L: Shame. He's got the looks, too. If he lived, he might've cracked the top ten hottest players list…] [8L: Nah, that pretty-boy face wouldn't cut it. The top ten is about skill first and looks second. He's done for…] […][+1 like for Liam's small TV, +416 collections, no charges.]
[+512 viewers watching Liam's small TV, but no likes? Strange! Is the player underperforming? Give him a thumbs-up, folks!] [There are too few new likes. Player Liam Watson's edge promotion slot on the central screen is nearing expiration.]---
Oblivious to the chatter, Liam stared silently at the mermaid in the glass case—the game's top-tier boss, as the system had made crystal clear. Against this foe, no weaknesses could save a player. Once it woke, death was inevitable.
Liam didn't love being cornered like this, but if the game said so, he couldn't argue. Still, before it stirred, this Siren King might offer him a slim chance.
Rubbing his chin, Liam boldly schemed to turn the Siren King to his advantage. If he voiced this aloud, the onlookers would've rolled their eyes—a fearless rookie doesn't know what he's up against. But Liam was clueless about their reactions. To him, the Siren King was just another NPC—more challenging, trickier, but manageable.
In games, no boss was genuinely unbeatable. Even the scariest panels were usually designer tricks to hype up the challenge. As long as there were no bugs, there was a way.
What Liam didn't know: he'd run smack into the system's infamous "bug"—the god-tier wandering NPC.
---
They lingered in the wax museum until nightfall. When the driver arrived to pick them up, the caretaker bid them farewell in a raspy, decaying voice tinged with eerie glee. "… It's been ages since we had such a big mermaid fishing event. After tonight, the Eclipse Wax Museum will finally welcome new wax figures."
His smile carried a strange delight. Turning his eyeless gaze on Liam, he added, "Wishing you a pleasant night."
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Godmode: The Dead Game Odyssey Chapter 13: Eclipse Harbor
The keeper stood silently at the door, watching as they slowly disappeared. Behind him, countless wax figures with vague, shadowy outlines began to emerge from the darkness, their marble faces expressionless, like fish rising from the depths of the sea.[Main Quest: Explore the Wax Museum of Eclipse Harbor — Completion Reward: 50 Points][Current Balance: 81 Points. Would you like to purchase any items?]81 points... Liam Watson stroked his chin thoughtfully and asked, "Do you have high-concentration alcohol?"[Opening Shop — Yes, there are 218 different types of specialty alcohol available, of which 18 can be purchased in this instance.][What's the cheapest option?][9 points for 25L. Friendly reminder: the alcohol in this game is not the same as real-world alcohol. The system has modified it, and its effects may vary. Please read the instructions carefully before purchasing.][System Recommendation: The system detects that your points are plentiful. It suggests purchasing a Flame T
Godmode: The Dead Game Odyssey Chapter 14: The Eclipse King's Curse
No wonder the "Ship of True Love" side quest was worth 100 points—its danger level was much higher than the other quests.Andrew couldn't control his hunger any longer. He reached over and snatched the sandwich from the driver's hands, "Let me have a bite!"Andrew devoured the sandwich with a growl, eating so roughly that he barely chewed before pounding his chest and swallowing.The driver, however, didn't try to take it back. Instead, he watched Andrew with a look of pity as if he were feeding an animal. "Eat up, my child, eat up. You must be starving; you haven't eaten much, huh? Enjoy your dinner."Liam Watson glanced over and commented, "This is his second dinner tonight." The first one was when Andrew snatched Gerald's meal.Gerald, who had his dinner taken from him, stirred slightly at the sound of this, his head lowered as he covered his face. Liam noticed the fish-like gills on Gerald's neck flaring for a moment, and his teeth now looked sharp and shark-like.But this chillin
Godmode: The Dead Game Odyssey Chapter 15: "Wax Figures and Whiskey: Liam's Wild Gambit"
"Holy crap!" Shawn blurted out, unable to hold back a curse. "I haven't even dug up any info on those god-tier NPCs yet, and you're already trying to get yourself killed!""Touching those wax figures will get you corrupted. Once you're corrupted, your sanity meter drops—and when that happens, it's a fast track to losing your mind! You won't be able to tell what's real or fake anymore, and you're toast!"Shawn's frantic outburst drew a small crowd of player-spectators over to their corner.In the "Death Comedy" section of the game's live-streaming hub, the players on these mini-screens were either adrenaline junkies who thrived on reckless stunts to grab attention or total newbies who didn't mean to play so badly but ended up fumbling their way into chaos anyway.The audience loitering around this zone loved watching these players crash and burn spectacularly. But when a few of them caught sight of Liam Watson on Shawn's screen—reaching out to touch a mermaid wax figure—they released a
Godmode: The Dead Game Odyssey Chapter 16: "Masquerade of Monsters: Liam’s Warehouse Showdown"
When Liam browsed the item shop earlier, he'd spotted a hot-ticket gadget called the "Water Bubble." It lets players float and breathe in a protective bubble for two hours while keeping fish at bay.Sure, it was decent—seventy-plus points for two uses, a one-and-done consumable. But to Liam's picky eye, aside from underwater breathing, it offered zero extra perks. Seventy points for that? Total rip-off. Anyone buying it was basically paying the game's IQ tax.Of course, this had nothing to do with him being a terrible swimmer or refusing to dive into the sea. Nope. As a certified cheapskate, he wasn't about to waste points on something so overpriced—or follow what he saw as a clunky, uninspired game design.Liam glanced up at the warehouse door. Sure enough, it creaked open like someone was coming back to lock it up.Most players would've freaked out by now, itching to bolt from this creepy pile of pale, brittle wax figures. But Liam? He coolly flicked off his flashlight, slipped into
Godmode: The Dead Game Odyssey Chapter 17: The Siren’s Bounty
The sailors cast their nets over the sides of the ship, their voices low and rhythmic, chanting something strange under their breath. Liam Watson caught only fragments of their words—something about the Siren King’s gift. Gerald, standing at the ship’s edge, peered into the dark water below, his face twisting into a wild, almost unhinged expression. “They’re praying to the Siren King,” he said, his voice feverish. “Begging him to bless them with a bountiful haul of mermaids.”Before Gerald could finish, the sailors began leaping into the sea, one by one, clutching the edges of the nets as they plunged. Lucy let out a shrill scream. “What are they doing?! Aren’t they supposed to be fishing for mermaids? Why are they jumping in?!”Liam’s expression remained calm, almost detached. “They are fishing for mermaids,” he said softly.After what felt like an eternity, a massive net broke the surface and dragged up from the depths. Inside were mangled limbs and shimmering fishtails, a grotesqu
Godmode: The Dead Game Odyssey Chapter 18: Nightmare Over the Abyss
Andrew’s gaze locked onto Liam Watson, his eyes gleaming with a raw, predatory hunger that made no effort to hide itself.He let out a guttural chuckle. “I’m still starving. If a mermaid tries to flip my boat in the middle of the night, I’ll drag it up, rip it apart, and feast till I’m full.” His words spoke of devouring a mermaid, but his stare lingered on Liam’s neck as if it were his throat he longed to tear into.Liam’s thoughts grew sluggish, a haze settling over his mind—a clear sign of his plummeting mental stability. It dawned on him too late: Andrew’s scent had overwhelmed him earlier, sparking a fleeting urge to bite the man. If Liam felt that pull, then to Andrew—whose transformation was far more advanced—Liam must smell like an even more irresistible delicacy.Andrew wanted to eat him.But Liam was in no shape to fight back. His strength, intellect, and reflexes were crumbling; his stats flashed red across the board. His mental value teetered on the edge of sixty. Facing A
Godmode: The Dead Game Odyssey Chapter 19: The Mystery Behind the Fishy Death
Liam Watson stood on the small boat, swaying as he observed the chaos around him. He quietly watched the scene for a moment before speaking to himself in a low voice as if suddenly realizing something. "Oh, I see. In order to avoid being corrupted once I board the ship and to prevent my mental state from plummeting into that idiot-like condition, I must have made some arrangements before boarding."After Liam spoke, he seemed a bit cold. He wrapped himself in a blanket and sleepily watched the unfolding drama on the small TV.The audience in front of the small TV: "......"What did you do before boarding?! Why did Andrew suddenly die?!Shawn watched as Andrew was devoured, his curiosity eating him alive. He had never seen a fisherman actively eat Andrew like this before. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of mysterious operation Liam had pulled off that they didn't know about."What did he do before boarding the ship?!"Another player, equally curious, closed his eyes and began to
Godmode: The Dead Game Odyssey Chapter 20: The Battle With the Mermaids
As the mermaids closed in on Liam's boat, the viewers grew frantic, shouting at the small TV in an attempt to rouse him:"Wake up! Get up and fight the monsters!""Can’t you wait until after you wake up to sleep? Do you really need that extra hour of sleep? Didn’t your mom teach you not to AFK during games?!""I’ve watched so many game videos, but I’ve never seen someone so ready to lose. You could win, but you're just throwing it away!"Amid the chaos of their shouts, Liam, on the small TV, seemed to stir, his eyes fluttering open as if awakened by the noise.He looked toward the boat, now cutting through the water with half a fish head poking out, the mermaids coming closer to his ship.Liam could see their legs below the water, now transformed into eel-like tails. They slithered through the water like serpents, moving swiftly toward his boat.On the boat near Andrew, bloodied and broken remnants of his body floated around, now a mere skeleton, still stained with blood and scattered
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Chapter 28: Edge of Madness
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
Chapter 27: Terror at the Front Row — and the Perils Lurking Below
As Mason Shepherd fixed his bizarre, unsettling eyes upon the proud audience members, an icy shock ran down their spines. Chests tightening with fear, they stepped back, swallowing hard and shaking their heads.With a wry, cheerful grin, Mason pulled out a cartoonish monkey hat from behind his back, gesturing to it grandly. “You see, I hate loud-mouthed audiences,” he said casually, “so in the game, all those annoying spectators? I killed them.”He tossed out the words like ordering coffee as if murder was nothing more than a daily inconvenience. “If Liam comes out,” Mason added, “I’d root for him to shut you all up too—take that as advice from someone who’s been there.”He flashed a polite but chilling smile. “You guys are seriously obnoxious. Interrupting my show? Idiots.”Suddenly, the plush monkey hat opened its mouth, making a creepy, chattering laugh. Crimson lights blinked in its eyes as if encouraging Mason’s murderous suggestion. The effect was both disturbing and surreal.Pa
Chapter 26: Trapped in the Spotlight
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
Chapter 25: The Final Weakness
Only Shawn's eyes lit up. "He's collecting the Monster Codex! He's identifying the final weakness of every mer-creature! And now—he's using that to drive them back!"The others stared at him, stunned and skeptical."Seriously? He's trying to complete the Monster Codex?""I heard only The Shepherd ever managed that in Eclipse Harbor. Regular players are lucky if they unlock even one page. You think a rookie can pull it off?""No way. I've watched many gameplay videos—no one's ever figured out the third weakness of the mermaid statue or sailor."...Liam Watson couldn't hear them. With his usual laid-back expression, he raised his pickaxe high and smashed it hard on the glass display housing the Eclipse King.The glass shattered with a loud crash, shards flying everywhere. The Eclipse King slid out with the viscous liquid, landing at Liam's feet.The mermaid statues recoiled in what looked like pure terror, scattering from the central hall. Even Lucy and Gerald, standing beside Liam, sc
Chapter 24: Trapped in the Waxworks of Doom
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
Chapter 23: Unraveled Secrets on the High Seas
After diving into Mike’s backstory, Shawn felt regretful about his knack for digging up players’ pasts with his Know-It-All skill. It wasn’t the gift he’d hoped for. This game thrived on raw ambition, drawing in the ruthless like moths to a flame. For them, it was the ultimate stage—a battlefield where high rollers often had blood on their hands. Shawn glanced at the small TV screen displaying Liam Watson, sighing. The game wasn’t over yet, but a butcher was already circling, ready to guard—or gut—his prey.Liam, you’re one unlucky bastard.[126 viewers liked Liam Watson’s stream, 675 bookmarked it, 0 tipped, and 378 gave it a thumbs-down.][Player Liam Watson drew 3,000 viewers in a minute, but with a like rate barely hitting ten percent, most are just here for the drama or to gawk.][High-level player Mike is watching Liam Watson’s stream. Congrats, Liam, you’ve snagged your first big-shot viewer!][Mike gave Liam Watson’s stream a thumbs-down. Ouch, looks like this VIP’s not a f
Chapter 22: The Newcomer's Spotlight—and the Butcher’s Glare
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
Chapter 21: The Price of Fire and Fame
Although Liam Watson knew his plan had a decent chance of success, the final result was far better than he had expected.In-game items seemed to carry amplified effects—those barrels of high-concentration alcohol burned way more fiercely than anything Liam had seen in the real world. That blinding tactical flashlight? So bright it could've seared retinas.As the sun finally rose over the ocean horizon, flooding the world with daylight, the light-sensitive, nocturnal merfolk slowly retreated beneath the waves and disappeared.Only once he was sure that no merfolk were nearby did Liam finally take a breath and open up his game panel.He hadn't had a chance to check it earlier, being a bit preoccupied with... well, grilling. Or rather, fighting off sea monsters. But now, staring at the data on his screen, Liam squinted thoughtfully.[Side Quest: Gerald's Bloody Conspiracy — Completion: 90%]Andrew was dead. The driver had been torched by Liam. And yet there was still 10% left in this "bl
Chapter 20: The Battle With the Mermaids
As the mermaids closed in on Liam's boat, the viewers grew frantic, shouting at the small TV in an attempt to rouse him:"Wake up! Get up and fight the monsters!""Can’t you wait until after you wake up to sleep? Do you really need that extra hour of sleep? Didn’t your mom teach you not to AFK during games?!""I’ve watched so many game videos, but I’ve never seen someone so ready to lose. You could win, but you're just throwing it away!"Amid the chaos of their shouts, Liam, on the small TV, seemed to stir, his eyes fluttering open as if awakened by the noise.He looked toward the boat, now cutting through the water with half a fish head poking out, the mermaids coming closer to his ship.Liam could see their legs below the water, now transformed into eel-like tails. They slithered through the water like serpents, moving swiftly toward his boat.On the boat near Andrew, bloodied and broken remnants of his body floated around, now a mere skeleton, still stained with blood and scattered
