(Translator note: I will highlight Blueon the texts that go too deep into the lore rather than the main event in the hope to improve the reading experience.)
Annan sent the players back to Freezing Water Port after they had a sumptuous dinner. He didn’t leave them in Roseburg.
This was to prevent the players from stirring up troubles. Annan specifically asked them to stop appearing in the city for these two days, and it was best not to let others know that they were here.
The players also realized that there might be a grand plot next. So they obediently agreed.
But, Annan thought for a while and still wasn’t quite at ease with the players’ tendency. So he brought the players back to Freezing Water Port. Then, he would bring them back here tomorrow.
He took John’s broken sword from the city lord’s residence and entered the nightmare once again.
But this time, the prompt when entering the nightmare was different.
It no longer had the requirements in level and profession:
[Detected a bound nightmare fragment.]
[Falling into a nightmare after 10, 9, 8…]
Bound? Annan was startled.
Speaking of it, it seemed that the “Betrayer” nightmare was indeed the only nightmare that needed to be bound. After that, whether it was “gallery,” “white tower,” or “witch hunt,” there was no mention of “need to be bound.”
Is it because the vessel of this nightmare is special? Annan reminisced.
The key to the gallery nightmare was the word “the Venerated Skeleton” and the Freezing Water Port city.
The key to the White Tower required Gerald’s bones.
The key to the Witch Hunt was Carney’s “scarred skin fragments.”
Only the “Betrayer” nightmare required multiple purifications, but there was only one key.
It turned out that the upper limit for the number of people who could enter the nightmare depended on how many parts of the “key” could be divided.
—In other words, the “key” used by others couldn’t be used again.
As expected, the dungeon instance had a prompt to load the saves:
[Falling in a nightmare. A dungeon instance is being generated.]
[Dungeon instance difficulty is easy. You can enter at most three times.]
[The current purification progress is 1/3.]
[The total erosion rate of the team is 8%. The dungeon instance difficulty rises by 8%. The nightmare mutation probability rises by 8%.]
[This dungeon instance has 1 save point, and the erosion rate is increased by 1% for each death. You will be forced to exit the dungeon instance after three deaths.]
[This dungeon instance provides an introduction to the plot and has decryption rewards.]
[Dungeon instance clearance reward: Profession (Swordsman) increases by 1 level.]
[Dungeon instance decryption rewards: Profession (Wizard) increases by 1 level.]
[Acquired save point: The Tongue in the Mirror]
[Please choose the nightmare entrance—]
[Don Juan Geraint’s room]
[Obsolete miscellaneous room]
I shall choose [Obsolete miscellaneous room]. Annan chose the second option.
It seemed that because of his choice, the dizziness that invaded Annan wasn’t too intense. In other words, his “loading” time was also reduced when he entered the nightmare.
When Annan opened his eyes again, he smelled a pungent fishy smell.
His line of sight raised a bit. Apparently, he returned to the silly guard “John’s” body.
At this moment, Annan was in the empty room.
The room was empty, and the mirror with a broken screen in the center was lying peacefully on the ground.
Annan walked over and picked up the mirror.
The glimmering panel that gave him some Déjà vu appeared in front of him again:
[The Mirror without Tongue]
[Type: Material/miscellaneous (Blue)]
[Description: A ruined curse vessel that lost its original function.]
[Effect: The holder will suffer the curse “Speak No Evil.”]
[Speak no evil: If the holder is attacked before finishing his sentence, the attack ignores the defense.]
“So, the save point is here?” Annan lamented.
In that case, if Guard Captain Klaus killed him afterward, he would be resurrected here.
Annan checked his equipment immediately.
Lucky.
Don Juan’s silver pocket watch is with me.
Annan raised his head and looked at the door.
The memory of half a month ago quickly emerged in his mind.
After a while, Klaus, who felt that the ritual was interrupted, would rush here.
Most importantly, Annan couldn’t have Klaus noticed that he had ruined the ritual in this room. So he had to make Klaus believe that he had redirected the ritual to himself.
This wasn’t difficult. He just had to change the symbol on the tongue a little and then engrave the corresponding symbol on his tongue. Also, he could replace the cow tongue with his prepared version.
Arranging the ritual was a technical task.
Destroying or rewriting rituals was much simpler.
It was just like although players didn’t understand the data in the character file of our single-player games, the players could still identify and modify the numbers in regards to “money,” “attribute,” or “number of items.”
Annan threw the mirror away. There was no need to hide it because Klaus couldn’t be allowed into the room in the first place. Otherwise, as long as he saw that the ritual was ruined instead of being rewritten, he would attack Annan as well.
If Klaus were to enter, I have to activate“Clanging Object.”
To make up for the loophole, Annan used a knife to cut his tongue, this time. Then, he sucked the blood out a bit, making his tongue as blurred as possible.
Even if Klaus were skeptical, after seeing the blood on Annan’s tongue, he would dispel the idea that it was a fluke. It also prevented Klaus from seeing Annan’s tongue clearly.
—Anyway, this was John’s body, not Don Juan’s.
If it weren’t for worrying about the inconvenience of talking for a while, Annan would chop off his tongue directly and slice it. He wouldn’t feel any psychological pressure to stir-fry his tongue with spices.
So Annan walked out of the room, turned around, and closed the door.
This time, Klaus arrived much later. Or probably because Annan didn’t need to hide the mirror, Annan came out of the room earlier.
When Klaus hurried past the last corner, he saw John, the strong and tall guard. John leaned on the door of the ritual room, looking at him maliciously.
Klaus’s heart trembled.
He put on a solemn expression and drew his weapon with murderous intent on his face.
But, John just put his right hand in front of his mouth and made a silent gesture with a smile. The simple and honest face belonging to John gradually showed a bright and proud smile.
Neither of them moved nor spoke.
Suddenly, there was a terrible silence in the narrow corridor.
“Do not come over.” John smiled and said, “The Tongue in the Mirror, right?”
Hearing this keyword, Klaus’s expression finally moved.
His face showed strong unwillingness. In the end, he sighed deeply and put down his right hand on the long sword around his waist.
“You won, John.” Klaus sighed and stopped pretending to remain silent.
Annan nodded and opened his mouth slightly with a smile.
That allowed Klaus to glance at his blood-stained tongue. Before Klaus could see it clearly, Annan closed it again quickly.
Seeing this familiar scar, Klaus let go of the last line of defense in his heart.
“What do you want?” Klaus asked in a deep voice.
Annan just showed a simple expression, “I know you’re under the Third Prince. Who do you think I serve?”
“Do you serve Princess Royal?” Klaus asked rhetorically.
Annan smiled slightly.
“No, you have guessed wrong.” He whispered.
Annan looked directly at Klaus, who was a little nervous, with a gentle and harmless smile, “I serve…
“The Venerated Skeleton.”