The wandering child froze in an instant.
Being watched by those hollow eye sockets, an indescribable, bone-chilling fear overwhelmed him.
He suddenly felt a slight itch on his back.
Like a healing wound.
As if bones were sprouting and slowly growing.
"Elle" gently touched it. She vaguely felt some protrusions beginning to form on her originally smooth spine, her vertebrae seemed to be wriggling, becoming sharp, even somewhat rough to the touch.
He caressingly touched his spine with great focus, unable to stop while feeling an itch beginning at his elbows and knees, as if something was about to break out—
"What’s wrong, Elle?"
Just then, Amos asked again, somewhat puzzled.
The wandering child jerked in surprise.
He was suddenly back to reality.
When he came to his senses, he realized Amos’s face was normal.
His face hadn’t turned into a skeleton; it was no different from before... no white bone spurs piercing through the skin on his neck; his skin was smooth, without any wounds or damage.
As if everything just now was merely an illusion.
"...No, it’s nothing."
Elle replied softly, continuing to change her clothes.
Putting on the frighteningly heavy, fluffy long dress.
Amos felt her gaze was a bit strange but didn’t press on, just scratched his face again and turned back.
...But that was definitely not an illusion.
The wandering child was absolutely sure of it.
Not just because there was still a lingering itch deep within his body.
But also because the barrage of comments that suddenly flashed before him confirmed it right away:
"—Holy shit, that scared me to death!"
"—Definitely a ghost dad (on a supernatural level)."
"—Damn it, I almost jumped when that guy turned around..."
"—Be content, at least his face was clean without maggots."
...Just watching this chaotic stream of comments, he was certain that the terrifying scene he had just experienced wasn’t a figment of his imagination.
So what was that all about?
The wandering child subconsciously opened his attributes panel.
And then he was stunned.
Wasn’t it just 2% a moment ago?
It should increase by 2% upon death... but just now it shot up by 3%?
The comments saw this number as well:
"—Did he just lose san?"
"—No, it’s more like he gained spirit vision."
"—This seems more severe than the penalty for dying once!"
"—Wait, isn’t the erosion rate going to keep increasing? This is just the preparation for the ritual, right?"
...So, you can actually increase your erosion rate directly in a nightmare?
Annan frowned slightly as well.
First, he checked himself, confirmed that he didn’t increase his erosion rate by watching the scene through the stream, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Was that the skeletal entity? Or something else?"
He muttered softly to himself.
But it didn’t quite fit.
According to what he read in books, the skeletal entity’s human form was a giant skeleton over two and a half meters tall:
"He should be clad in a Duke-like robe of blue and white velvet—said to be the fur of a unicorn, with a sacred copper crown on his head and a golden mask resembling a human face covering his face, heavy steel boots on his feet, and dragon skin gloves on his hands, completely cloaked in garments. Even the back of his neck would be covered by the high collar of the robe."
"The main way to identify Skeleton Dukes is by height, and secondly by their attire—they only have bones under their clothes, so they’re bound to appear extremely skinny. Skeleton Dukes are divine beings of ancient giants, and modern giants typically stand between four to five and a half meters tall, with only ancient giants having the comparatively short stature of less than three but more than two meters."
"Remember, do not use any abilities that allow you to see through or discern the essence when looking directly at a Skeleton Duke. The duke’s regalia it is draped in is a form of protection for others—if you see any part of the Skeleton Duke’s bones without protection, you will be continuously eroded by a curse. At the same time, ’ossification’ occurs, where the bones in the body become alive, rejecting the control of their owner’s will, actively devouring everything around including flesh and tissue in a frenzied growth..."
——The ossification phenomenon recorded in the book did resemble the situation with the wandering child just now. The increase in erosion degree also seemed to fit perfectly.
Annan distinctly remembered, at the moment the illusion appeared, "Elle’s" neck bone indeed started to become somewhat sharp and protruding...
But it wasn’t quite right.
If it really were a Skeleton Duke, then "Elle" simply couldn’t still be alive.
It seems that high-difficulty nightmares are not just about the threat of death. Even in a dream, if you see something you shouldn’t, the erosion degree that should increase will still go up.
In that case, he probably understood...why, in the case where only a small amount of erosion degree is added after death in nightmares, some people go mad in just one night after entering a nightmare.
This indeed seems to be the level of a silver-grade nightmare...
At first, Annan found it a bit strange, because this nightmare was just too simple.
Although he was only a checkpoint in the "gallery," it was the lowest difficulty of the silver grade. But now that he thought about it, if he hadn’t completed the portrait at the beginning...the difficulty would have immediately risen to the silver level.
So, what was the mechanism that triggered this?
The painting? The basement? The ritual? Or Amos’s mood?
"All preparations are complete, Elle."
At last, Amos sighed in relief.
Elle, who was beside him, had already changed her clothes.
She was wearing a triple-layered cashmere long dress, and now looked as bulky as a zongzi. Not to mention fighting, it was even difficult to move...it felt like she was so wrapped up that it was somewhat suffocating to breathe.
But the wandering child was actually much relieved by this.
With this setup, at least she wouldn’t have to get an injection...
It’s all good, all good.
Amos drew close to Elle and whispered to comfort her:
"Don’t be afraid, it won’t hurt. It’s just a very simple ritual... Luckily it’s June, so it won’t be too troublesome."
Elle paused for a moment, then spoke softly.
Seeing no fear on her face, and even a bit of curiosity, Amos smiled with satisfaction.
Under Elle’s gaze, he respectfully lit three thick candles, placing them in the 1, 2, and 4 o’clock directions around the bone bed.
Then, he signaled Elle to climb onto the bed from the 3 o’clock direction.
He then took out a protractor, and three black rams’ horns, three black bucks’ horns, and three pairs of ox horns. He placed them on either side of the three candles, forming three inward angles of 120 degrees that simultaneously enveloped "Elle’s" body.
The moment the three angles formed, the candles suddenly trembled at once.
The warm orange glow turned ice blue in an instant.
The wandering child suddenly felt an eerie coldness descend upon him.
It was as if his entire body was submerged in ice water, unable to feel the slightest warmth, yet not uncomfortable enough to shiver.
Instead, he felt a profound calm, a deep tranquility...with no desire to move, he slowly closed his eyes.
In the last moment, he tried to open his eyes.
But he saw Amos’s flesh falling off his face, his body beginning to decay, while his skeleton remained.
He vaguely heard Amos murmuring something in a low voice, but his consciousness was very dim. His body felt as if it were pinned down by something, unable to move a limb.
Afterward, the wandering child completely lost consciousness.
When he woke up again, he found himself still lying on the bone bed. And those three candles had been completely burned out.
Not only that, but Elle’s fragile body had suddenly become strong and powerful.
Even stronger than his body outside the instance.
As if with a light jump, he could reach the ceiling——
Only one thing was different.
He felt... some discomfort in his left eye.
He subconsciously reached out to touch it.
But touched only cold, lifeless... as if long dead——
——the eye socket of a corpse.