Cathulhu Online, MUNYA!

Chapter 181 – Cat Dad and Sanity Rule

Although Xiaomao never took part in a dungeon raid in his previous life, he learned about the dungeon things from the community forums and social media. Among the dungeons that players controlled, the top dungeon masters used a strange set of rules to trick invading players and NPC raiders.

The key was sanity.

Sanity existed in the game world, but it was not shown in the status menu. Sometimes, the game system warned them about their low sanity when they consumed dangerous drugs or narcotic substances, such as Mazinger Poison Potion.

Players took it for granted that they were sane, and that nothing could affect their cognitive abilities, logical thinking, and consciousness. After all, none of them consumed any substance that could influence their brain.

But in reality, the sanity level was significant in the game. Players with low sanity levels could easily succumb to abnormal status effects, such as hallucination, fear, or mind-related debuff. Moreover, players with zero sanity could be randomly summoned to a sub-dimensional world or the world of Solomon, which was the home of ghosts, fiends, and high-ranked demonic beings.

There was one incident that made the sanity rule famous.

It began when the top dungeon master invented this strange rule – Whoever stepped foot into his dungeon would gradually lose their sanity.

In that dungeon, the dungeon master player turned his base into a huge maze, which could transform and change paths as he wished. The monsters in the dungeon were kept at a minimum, but countless traps awaited the intruders.

When the dungeon master finished his setup, he announced to the game forum that he challenged all adventurers to attack his dungeon. Then, he posted an image of a dungeon core’s status and the treasure room.

Thieves, rogues, and explorers with good trap-dismantling skills thought that the dungeon was easy and underestimated the sanity-dropping rule. They accepted the challenge, entering the dungeon to rob the dungeon master. One of the YouTubers also joined their expedition.

At first, they disabled and stole countless trap tools from the dungeon. They kept on going deeper until they reached the deepest floor of the dungeon after half a day.

That was when their hidden sanity status dropped to the bottom. They hallucinated, and all adventurers suffered from random status effects even though they were not in combat. In the end, they saw their friends as enemies, and a massacre ensued.

The event was broadcasted live, and players could see the incident from the bird-eye perspective. At first, they thought that the players ran into an invisible trap. After the party was wiped out by the local dungeon mob, the dungeon master challenged players again, offering a huge bounty on himself.

More raid teams were formed. A thousand trap-disarmers and miners joined the second expedition. This time, they destroyed the maze’s walls and paved a path to the lowest floor to avoid invisible traps.

But again, they were in the dungeon for too long. All expedition teams lost their sanity when they reached the bottom floor. By the time they came back to their senses, their characters were already dead inside the dungeon, and they were automatically logged out of the game.

A scandal occurred as the players called the dungeon master a cheater. The dead players urged the dungeon master to reveal how he cheated. The dungeon owner refused, telling everyone that he had already revealed his secrets from the very beginning, and there was nothing to explain.

Later on, an insider of the Pangu Universe Incorporate revealed that they died because their game characters lost their sanity, thus, losing control of their game character. Most of them self-harmed or committed suicide while the rest were killed by the dungeon’s ghosts or guardians when they were defenseless.

After the incident, social media discovered the dungeon master’s sanity trick, and other dungeon masters copied his strategy. Sanity-reduction rule became a Meta, followed by the gender-ban, class-ban, level-ban, or partial invincibility rule.

Xiaomao rechecked the mana consumption and the upkeep rate of the dungeon.

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<strong>Activation Cost</strong> = (Xiaomao’s Level) x (The Total Floors of the Dungeon) x (Dungeon Level)

<strong>Upkeep per Second</strong> = the Total Sum of Intruders’ Levels

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It got a lot cheaper than the last time. His dungeon’s mana pool wouldn’t be drained, and it could self-sustain.

Next, Xiaomao looked at the dungeon domain skill to confirm the detail. He wondered how fast the dungeon could reduce an intruder’s sanity level.

<strong>Sanity Reduction Rate: 1% of sanity every 10 minutes.  </strong>

‘1,000 minutes to deplete a player’s sanity?’

Xiaomao looked at the ceiling and did the quick math in his mind.

’16-17 hours. It’s about the same as that guy’s dungeon. This should do it.’

Xiaomao finalized his setting. He pressed the confirm button to finish creating the first set of rules.

DING

<Congratulations, you have officially become the first dungeon master!>

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<strong>Dungeon Domain (Max Mastery)</strong>

Once upon a time, a dungeon master from the primordial era before the great reset by the name of Brocell used this domain ability to dominate half of Aves Continent. He survived Mao Miaomiao’s onslaught over and over again with this ability and ended up as the only mortal who squared against Mao Miaomiao’s army and made it out alive.

All domain skills are exclusive to cultivators with a level of 700 and higher. Dungeon Domain, however, is an exception to this rule.

Dungeon Domain is reliant on a dungeon core and the dungeon master’s location. When the dungeon master is near his dungeon core, he can use the domain ability, making him stronger in his dungeon.

The domain ability varies, depending on the personality and traits of the dungeon.

<strong>Skill Type:</strong> Active, Continuous, Domain

<strong>Rarity:</strong> Ultra Rare

<strong>Requirement:</strong> Dungeon Master. Must be near the dungeon core.

<strong>Cost:</strong> (Xiaomao’s Level) x (The Total Floors of the Dungeon) x (Dungeon Level)

<strong>Upkeep:</strong> the Total Sum of Intruders’ Levels

<strong>Cooldown:</strong> None

<strong>Dungeon Domain Rules</strong>

<strong>Rule #0:</strong> Only when Xiaomao is in the dungeon core’s room, the rules can be enforced.

<strong>Rule #1:</strong> Intruders will gradually lose their sanity upon entering this dungeon. Consuming the sacred water can recover their sanity, but they will fall unconscious for 24 hours.

<strong>Sanity Reduction Rate:</strong> 1% of sanity every 10 minutes.

<strong>*[Cathulhu Instinct]:</strong> Good start. Since nobody will attack your dungeon at the moment, take your time and build your dungeon from the inside. You will need to hold the intruders for 16-17 hours to win, so go figure.

<strong>*[Foresight]:</strong> This skill cannot be upgraded or evolved. However, once you reach level 1,000, you can add another dungeon rule. Then, for every 1,000 levels, you can add a new rule. The total dungeon rules you can have is 10, aka max at level 9,000.

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The skill was completed. Now, Xiaomao waited for the game to summarize his gain. He wondered what kind of perks he would get after being the first dungeon master.

DING

<You have earned the title, First Overlord.>

<Your max mana has increased by 100,000.>

<Because of the characteristic of your Slave Dungeon, you use the dungeon for your retainer’s resting quarters.>

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<strong>Title: First Overlord</strong>

Sometimes, a pioneer doesn’t need to build a town. Instead, they can simply take over a dungeon or create a new one entirely. By having a dungeon, you have established your foothold in this world!

Since you are the first to control a dungeon, you can create a new dungeon floor by using the dungeon management menu for free.

<strong>Effect:</strong> You can create a new dungeon floor for free. (One-time usage)

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The title and the max mana boon were not bad. It seemed useless for Xiaomao at the moment as he didn’t have many spells or skills that consumed a lot of mana, but it was better than nothing.

In addition, a dungeon master had one common perk, and the system taught him right away.

DING

<Dungeon Tips: If you touch the dungeon core, you can restore your mana by absorbing the dungeon’s mana pool.>

This was the reason Xiaomao optimized his character as a mage class even though he prepared to become a ranger. It synergized well with the dungeon’s traits.

Xiaomao swiped his sweat as he finished his task here. He turned to Nyanko.

“Nyanko, where is Mir, munya?”

Nya (Mir?)

“Yes, Mir. Where is she, munya?”

Nya… (I don’t know. She’s gone after she dumped us here.)

“…”

Xiaomao wanted to talk to Mir, who was even stronger than Cernun, Mimir, and Taotie. He also wanted to ask Mu-Nyang and compare how strong he was.

Since he couldn’t find them, he put the matter to the back of his head. He recollected his thought and planned his next move.

Then, he recalled that he forgot to hand over Torrent’s soul to Cernun. He smacked his forehead.

“Alright. Nyanko, stay here for now, munya. I’ll be back after I finish my work, okay?”

Nya! (Papa, are you going again?! Can you take me with you?)

“I’m sorry. It’s a dangerous trip, munya.”

Nyanko sulked. She shed a tear of loneliness.

Nya (Hurry and come back, Papa.)

Seeing the crying kitty, Xiaomao hugged her. He almost cried, too.

“Be patient, Nyanko. I’ll create a better house for you and everyone. When I’m done with this, we can play together again all day like we used to.”

Nyanko stopped crying. She licked his face, but she spat as Xiaomao’s fur was too salty.

NYA! (PAPA, YOU STINK!)

“…”

NYA! (PAPA, GO TAKE A SUN BATH! Bad, dirty Papa!)