“That’s basically it.”
Jiu Er finally finished the description of the incident that happened in Roseburg.
This matter quickly became a hot issue on the forum. Players also realized the importance of this issue and dispatched Jiu Er to notify Annan as soon as possible.
After all, only Jiu Er was close to Annan for the players who stayed at Freezing Water Port.
Fortunately, both Annan and Salvatore didn’t care much about the players having some kind of remote communication method. They all trusted the news Jiu Er brought. Otherwise, it would take a lot of effort for the players to explain the forum’s existence and persuade these two NPCs.
“An ability that can manipulate humans.”
Annan frowned slightly.
He rested his cheek on his left hand and tapped the five slender white fingers of his right hand subconsciously on the table.
Annan found the newly appeared enemy to be a little bit tricky to be dealt with.
Suppose Doctor Gerald could manipulate people’s minds as he wished, especially when this ability could be used on multiple people. In that case, Annan could conclude that this level of the enemy was not someone he could deal with now.
So Annan turned to Salvatore and asked:
“Senior, what do you think?”
But unexpectedly, Salvatore didn’t seem to be nervous.
Rather-
A strong feeling overflowed from him, which completely suppressed the current tension.
Was it anger? Hatred? Passion?
None had any idea about it.
But only one thing could be certain.
In Salvatore’s eyes, an inexplicable flame had indeed ignited.
He pursed his lips in deep thoughts for a while, then asked Jiu Er in a lower volume, “Are you sure that your two companions are subject to these three curse bindings?
“Only one of them, and the other has not been subjected to curse binding.”
Jiu Er corrected.
“Yes. I mean, are there three curse bindings only?”
Jiu Er nodded affirmatively.
After all, she was looking at the screenshot directly on the forum. It was unlikely that she would be mistaken.
“Is it related to your acquaintance?”
Annan asked Salvatore.
Annan had realized something too.
Salvatore was familiar with this man…or rather, familiar with a hammer.
Sure enough, the haggard young wizard nodded and responded in a low volume,
“You can say that.”
Salvatore immediately asked Jiu Er, “Ms. Jiu Er, did your companion mention that heathen’s profession? Is he a dentist?”
“Yes, he is.”
Jiu Er looked at Salvatore in surprise.
At first, she thought that was a nuisance. She didn’t raise it in the first place to not cause distraction, disturbing the two NPC’s trains of thoughts.
But she reacted now.
There seemed to be something hidden in this piece of news. Fortunately, Salvatore had keenly guessed it himself.
She realized that these two NPCs were smarter than her. So, she dispelled the jumbled thoughts and gave out all information even if it appeared seemingly meaningless to her.
“Also, after the two of them were brainwashed, they were awakened by their companions after the group left the street. He pointed out some questions and woke up one of the victims. The other was woken up after many slaps.”
“Luckily, they woke up.”
Salvatore breathed a sigh of relief with his solemn tone slightly relaxed.
While Salvatore was talking, he stopped abruptly. He looked at Jiu Er, then Annan.
“You can share anything here, Senior Salvatore.”
Annan nodded, “Jiu Er is trustworthy.”
With that, Annan looked at Jiu Er seriously, “What we are talking about next is important. You should note it down.”
—Although I haven’t activated the forum’s live broadcast function yet, do remember to make a post and write it down.
Annan hinted.
Jiu Er also nodded seriously and solemnly.
She did not disappoint Annan as she opened up the forum and began to record the critical information.
“For your question whether it’s about my acquaintance, my answer to you is yes. But, even if I know him, he may not know me.”
Salvatore replied, “In terms of seniority, he should be considered our senior and even our teacher.
“He is the black wizard from the swamp’s Black Tower, David Gerald. He graduated from the Soul Snatch school and briefly taught students for three years before I enrolled. Later, he betrayed the Black Tower and stole an important curse item. It’s that hammer.”
Having said this, Salvatore’s expression became slightly serious, “It looks like a palm-sized hammer. Its full name is [XX Bone Blood Trigger]. I can’t tell its full name in the Freezing Water Port. So I call it [Bone Blood Trigger] for short. I hope that when I say this, you can probably realize what I didn’t say.
“Is it the one we talked about previously?”
“Yes, it is.”
Salvatore replied affirmatively.
Annan’s heart shuddered.
There was only one answer.
The Venerated Skeleton!
A curse vessel in the name of a deity.
“What is its ability?”
Annan couldn’t help asking.
Not only for the need to be cautious, but Annan was also a little curious about it.
Salvatore glanced at Jiu Er, hesitated for a moment, and replied frankly, “Haih, it’s no longer a secret anymore. The hammer is imbued with six curse bindings.
“They are [Cardioplegia], [Speak No Evil], [Forgotten Secret], [I’m Not Here], [Claustrophobia], [Page Lock]. You have learned about the first three curse effects. Let me tell you about the details of the last three curses.
“The effect of [I’m Not Here] is equivalent to the Idol school’s spell that shares the same name. When the others don’t know the true face of the victim or his secret, the victim is invisible to them like the “deity” in mythology. He shall be invisible, inaudible, and invisible until the others show a divine miracle.
“The effect of [Claustrophobia] is equivalent to the Energy Falteration School’s spell that shares the same name. It triggers when the person bound by this curse is in a confined space within ‘a certain area’ defined by him. The bound person will have extreme fear and anxiety. After more than three minutes and three seconds, there will be hallucinations and auditory hallucinations dedicated in advance. Three minutes after the hallucinations appear, the bound person will have a strong urge to kill. His body is strengthened at the mutation level. After more than 33 minutes, the curse-bound person shall die on the spot.
“The effect of [Page Lock] is equivalent to the spell of the same name in the Edict school. It affects the “carriers of knowledge” such as books and newspapers within a certain range of the curse-bound person. The texts in the said entities will manifest and bind the victim on the spot. The more secretive the knowledge, the more difficult it is to break the chain. Once the victim breaks free, the pages of the book will be damaged. The maximum time to trap the victim depends on the amount of text imbued in the chains binding the person and the reading speed of the curse-bound person. Generally speaking, the effect ‘dissipates’ at one-tenth of the time needed to finish reading the books. After the effect is over, the curse-bound person is equivalent to reading all the contents of the books that bound him.
After speaking, Salvatore looked at Annan, “Do you think this is a powerful curse?”
“Yes, it is.”
Annan exclaimed, “They are all practical curse binding!”
“Then, let me tell you why it is called the ‘trigger.’ It’s because it can ‘launch’ the curse binding in it.”
Salvatore replied, “Using a person’s bones and blood as bullets, three different curse bindings can be injected into a person’s body for 24 hours. This tool can be used once a day. Any number of curse bindings can be injected into another curse vessel. For one month, the person who touches the curse vessel will be entangled by the curse. As of the second usage of the tool, you may temporarily let the curse binding disappear from the trigger before the curse binding returns to it.
“Bone and blood need to be loaded from the back of the hammer like bullets. The amount needed is minimal. The only requirement is that this tool needs to be used once a week. The ‘Bone and Blood’ sacrifices used each time must come from different people. Whether the tool wielder uses repeated sacrifices or fails to use it even once, three kinds of curse binding in it will be randomly infused into the tool wielder for 24 hours.”
While Salvatore was still talking, Annan’s thoughts had drifted away.
He suddenly remembered something.
In the first nightmare when he came into this world, Annan saw a mirror.
[The Mirror without Tongue]
[Type: Material/miscellaneous (Blue)]
[Description: The ruined curse vessel has lost its original function.]
[Effect: The curse holder will suffer curse binding “Speak No Evil.”]
Annan now understood that the so-called curse vessel was the object that contained the curse binding.
If it was said that the “ruined curse vessel” had lost its original function…
So, why was the effect of curse binding “Speak No Evil” not lost?
Or…
“Speak No Evil” was not the attribute of the mirror itself but was infused into it.