Demon Chapter

Chapter 8: Task Reward

The moment Gavin Lin stepped into the portal, all sound around him abruptly ceased. A blinding flash of light filled his vision. When it faded, he found himself standing in an utterly empty room.

Clearly, this was no longer Tristram.

Gavin Lin remained on high alert. He gripped his dagger tightly, ready for any sudden threat.

But nothing happened.

He looked around. The entire space was barren. In the center of the roughly 100-square-meter room floated a single book.

After confirming that he was alone, Gavin Lin let out a breath of relief. The next second, the book in the center suddenly flipped open.

Vaguely, Gavin Lin sensed a powerful force compelling him to approach and examine it.

The pull was so intense that he was startled—and realized he had already reached the book without consciously moving.

Do I have to read this?

He glanced down cautiously. The open page displayed a passage that shocked him:

Scene: Demon Chapter, Act 1, Chapter 6

Main Mission: Escape from Tristram — Completed

Reward: 30 hours (Pending collection)

Kill Level-6 zombie ×1 — Reward: 30 minutes (Awarded)

Obtain equipment: Wirt’s Leg (dagger, equipped), leather armor

Obtain gold coins: 316 (converted into equivalent time)

Obtain The Notes of Kain (Pending collection)

Task settlement complete. Claim rewards?

Gavin Lin stared for a moment, swallowed hard, and said, “Collect the reward!”

Instantly, his Clock appeared. The display updated: +30 hours, bringing his total remaining time to 35 hours and 19 minutes.

At the same time, a notebook materialized in his hand.

Kain’s Notebook — A knowledge item.

As he held it, a message appeared:

You have completed the optional portion of the mission—rescuing Kain with your own hands—and earned his favor. As a token of gratitude, he has granted you this notebook, containing his wisdom and dedication.

Gavin Lin flipped through it briefly, then closed it. First, he wasn’t in the mood to read; second, the contents were obscure and difficult to grasp at a glance. He tucked the notebook away and turned his attention back to the floating book.

When he touched it, its name registered in his mind:

Demon Chapter!

The first page was filled with dense, intricate text explaining how the book functioned.

This explanation answered everything Gavin Lin had long wondered about: the nature of these strange tasks, this bizarre world, and—most crucially—what had happened to him.

According to the text, only the chosen entered this world. Upon first arrival, each person was randomly inserted into a specific chapter of Act 1 of the Demon Chapter.

These “chapters” were also known as “task worlds.”

Only those who survived their first task world, completed the mission, and lived to tell the tale qualified to enter this chamber.

Additionally, every chosen individual received a unique Clock, which displayed their remaining lifespan. As long as the Clock showed time, the person would not die.

Theoretically, death occurred only when the Clock reached zero.

The sole way to gain more time was to enter a Demon Chapter task world, complete missions, or acquire items that could be exchanged for time.

Of course, if the Clock ran out, the person died instantly.

Contractors could freely return to the real world—but the Clock’s rules applied there too. Thus, if a Contractor’s time ran low, the only way to avoid death was to re-enter the Demon Chapter and earn more time through tasks.

Within minutes, Gavin Lin understood everything he’d experienced. Suddenly, he recalled the furious shout from that so-called veteran as he left the portal.

What had been confusing before now made perfect sense.

In the Demon Chapter world, all chosen individuals were called Contractors. To enter a task world, a Contractor first had to accept a task.

At any moment, Contractors could check the task list published by the Demon Chapter and choose missions selectively.

However, tasks varied widely in difficulty. Naturally, everyone preferred simple ones—but easy tasks were scarce and snapped up instantly by veterans waiting for them to refresh.

All tasks in the Demon Chapter were unique.

That meant once a task was accepted by one Contractor, no one else could take it—unless the original Contractor failed, in which case the task would reappear on the list.

Back in Tristram, the anger of that male-female veteran duo likely stemmed from having accepted the “Rescue Kain” mission. They never expected someone else—Gavin Lin—would reach Kain first, causing their task to fail.

In the Demon Chapter world, task failure carried penalties. The harshest was Clock Zero—instant death. But since they’d threatened, “Next time I’ll kill you,” it meant their penalty wouldn’t be fatal—though the losses were probably severe enough to justify their rage.

“I didn’t expect to make enemies by accident… They seem to have used some kind of device to learn my number. That’s going to be serious trouble later,” Gavin Lin muttered to himself, continuing to browse the Demon Chapter.

Inside, he noticed a section labeled “Auction House,” displaying various goods: weapons, armor, consumables, and more. Inspired, he commanded, “Display detection items!”

Immediately, a long list appeared on the page, showing item names, current prices, reserve prices, and seller-set bid prices. Gavin Lin’s eyes scanned rapidly—he saw that the most common detection items were called “Identify Scrolls.”

These scrolls could identify equipment attributes—and also reveal a target Contractor’s number.

Gavin Lin immediately realized: the veteran pair must have used such a scroll. That meant they now knew his ID.

Less than five minutes had passed since he entered this room, yet a bold idea already formed in his mind.

In the Demon Chapter world, time flowed identically to the real world—and synchronized across all spaces. That meant the two veterans were likely still fighting zombies in Tristram right now.

One second later, Gavin Lin made his decision.

“Display all tasks related to Chapter 6 of Act 1 in the Tristram task world!”