Chapter 521: Chapter 34: Journey of the Absolute Night [Thanks to Night Hawk 307 for being the alliance leader, additional update]
Board games, simply put, table games; Bologue did know about these things, but didn’t expect to encounter them at this time.
Bologue suddenly had a very bad feeling, possibly because he had played chess with the astronaut. Now whenever Bologue saw such board games, he felt very uncomfortable, always recalling those awful scenarios.
Moving away from the plethora of board games, Bologue stared at Serey. As an ancient Night Race Lord, Serey was a witness to history, a living fossil of time. Perhaps he could obtain some intelligence from him, not only about the astronauts but also about Overlord Xilin and even the Fall of the Holy City.
That was the end of the Rage of the Scorched Earth; Bologue believed that Serey wouldn’t miss that grand finale. He certainly knew something, and after the Fall of the Holy City and the initial establishment of Oubos, the Undying Club seemed to have been here, too. Serey must have witnessed the course of the secret war, and might even have seen Xilin Kagader alive...
"Bologue!"
Palmer’s shout snapped Bologue out of his thoughts. Palmer waved his hand, attracting Bologue’s attention, "What are you daydreaming about?"
Bologue said, "Just... just thinking about something."
"Stop thinking about work. People need to relax, and moreover, you need to dispel the melancholy in your heart, don’t you?"
Palmer elbowed Bologue, his eyebrows dancing with delight.
Looking at Palmer’s mischievous appearance, Bologue couldn’t help but want to punch him, but then thought that this was a poor unlucky fellow. Maybe he was the one with psychological problems, so Bologue tried to comfort himself.
"This was your own choice, Bologue, you have to bear it yourself. Anyway, he will live at most a few decades, bear it and it’ll pass..."
Bologue hypnotized himself in a low voice, and after calming his mindset, he cast aside his worries.
On this point, what Palmer said was right. It’s after work hours, and these people are celebrating in their own way. You can’t just leave them cold on the side.
Bologue asked, "What board game is this?"
Palmer’s eyes sparkled, as if he had been waiting for Bologue to ask for a long time, eagerly explaining and recommending.
"We’ve been waiting for this for a long time!"
Palmer forcefully patted the table, and this time Church and Serey actually nodded along. They were equally interested in this board game.
"The Journey of the Absolute Night!"
Serey excitedly raised his glass, afraid the wine might splash on the board game; he even intentionally pulled the glass away.
This behavior was rarely seen from Serey, who was usually messy in this aspect. Whenever he got drunk, he looked like he had just bathed in alcohol, all soaked.
This guy didn’t care where the wine spilled usually, but this time was different. This showed Serey’s attention to this board game.
Four people took their seats; Bologue briefly looked at the rulebook and got a rough idea of how this so-called "Journey of the Absolute Night" was played.
The map paper depicted a desolate land covered in snow, scattered with a few villages and cities, all connected by a winding railway, forming a loop.
At the starting and ending platform of the railway, there sat a delicate train model, alongside several uniquely shaped tokens.
Bologue found these things somewhat familiar, picked up the rulebook, and continued to look through it, reading the background story of the board game.
"From thousands of years ago, when humans lit the first flame and illuminated the darkness, detestable things existed.
They traversed the shadows, coveting human blood and flesh, spreading madness and despair with sharp teeth and claws. Humans could only hide under crumbling fortresses, trembling in the dark, anxiously waiting for dawn to arrive.
The cycle of despair continued for many years until the first person raised a long sword and resisted these wicked monsters, chopping off their hateful heads."
Bologue silently read the words on the page, sketching the ancient legends in his mind.
"Since then, the night was no longer terrifying. More and more people forged slender blades in fire and iron, joining the battle against the night.
These monsters could be harmed and killed; under the sacrifice of blood and fire, strange corpses piled up like mountains.
Those who fought called themselves ’Hunters,’ who pursued monsters and dispelled the darkness, pushing the boundaries of humanity towards the dark world.
Hunters never tire, ceaselessly fighting, until all monsters are exterminated, eradicating the ’Demons.’"
Bologue closed the rulebook, looked at Palmer with confusion, "Isn’t this the setting in ’Night Hunter’?"
’Night Hunter’ was placed in Bologue’s bedroom; he would read a few pages from time to time and had now read more than half of it. Although it was one book among many series, it allowed Bologue to have a general understanding of the worldview depicted.
"This is a board game adapted from ’Night Hunter.’"
Palmer’s eyes sparkled as he snatched the rulebook and showed Bologue a segment written in the corner, which states "This board game is adapted from Crowned Blue Jay’s work ’Night Hunter.’"
No wonder Palmer was so excited; it was a board game adapted from his favorite novel. His gaze fell on Serey and Church; they weren’t as fanatical as Palmer but shared the same excitement in their eyes.
Bologue slightly furrowed his brows. "So... you guys are also loyal readers of Crowned Blue Jay?"
Church calmly nodded, while Serey excitedly exclaimed.
"Hey! If it weren’t for the constraints of the oath, I would really like to make Crowned Blue Jay a member of the Night Race, granting him eternal life!"
Alongside, Serey’s evil nature revealed itself.
"That way, he could pound the typewriter endlessly."
Bologue’s expression subtly twitched; he shouldn’t have expected anything from Serey. "Should I say that Crowned Blue Jay is lucky? Avoided eternal torment."
Serey said, "How can this be called eternal torment? That’s eternal life."
"Then you surely haven’t read the book carefully. Crowned Blue Jay often reveals such thoughts in his books; he doesn’t like eternal life as it only makes life numb and gray. He prefers releasing brighter fireworks within a finite life."
A meteor is beautiful precisely because it’s fleeting.
Bologue said, "If you find Crowned Blue Jay, he would definitely refuse you."
"That’s just a novel, Bologue; you can’t judge an author by his works. Maybe secretly, he’s terrified of death and wrote those words to comfort himself in the story."
Serey narrowed his eyes, carrying a aura of mystery and antiquity.
"Two Undead discussing eternal life and death? That’s too ridiculous. Hurry up and pick your pieces!"
Palmer interrupted their discussion; he didn’t care about philosophical disagreements. Palmer just wanted to play joyfully.
’The Journey of the Absolute Night’ was released today. Palmer spent a hefty sum to snatch this copy, and he couldn’t wait.
The rules of ’The Journey of the Absolute Night’ were fairly simple and matched the novel’s plot. In ’Night Hunter,’ Hunters would patrol between cities on an armed train named ’Dawn.’ Upon encountering demons at some location, they would halt the train to begin a hunt.
The settings in the board game were similar. The Dawn was at the starting and ending platform, players took turns rolling the dice, and the combined values translated into the number of grid spaces the Dawn advanced. Different spaces triggered different random events.
When encountering random events, depending on the player’s decisions and dice rolls, the game would take different paths. The ultimate goal of the game was to traverse mountains and cities, complete this tour hunt, and return to the starting point.
There was only one type of professional piece, which was the Hunter that players needed to role-play. But based on different hunters, they possessed different weapons, providing differentiation.
Bologue chose a hunter with various cold weapons, Palmer chose a hunter carrying firearms, and after careful thinking, Church chose a hunter with a crossbow. Everyone’s choices somewhat aligned with their personalities and combat styles.
Serey didn’t select a professional piece but instead mysteriously picked up a mask. The mask’s base color was pure white, decorated with black lines depicting lush branches, giving him a more mysterious air.
’The Journey of the Absolute Night’ required a host to guide the players. Serey played the role of host; he was considered the Navigator, determining which direction the Dawn advanced, diverging its path, or halting for combat according to the novel’s settings.
The pre-game preparations were complete, and everyone took turns rolling the 12-sided dice. The numbers accumulated, and the Dawn slowly moved, accompanied by the sound of a whistle, roaring forward on the snow-covered tracks.