"The full name of the painter Amos is Amos Morrison. He worshiped a False God whose name cannot be mentioned here... As long as you have an idea, I won’t specifically mention it."
Annan’s expression grew slightly serious as he spoke softly, "His daughter, Elle Morrison, was sacrificed to that False God by him."
Upon hearing Annan’s words, the players’ focus somehow drifted to very strange places:
"— Skeleton Duke? Sounds like some sort of subspecies of the Lich King..."
"— Lich King (in the style of the Mist Continent)."
"— That’s not Amos, though; that’s Almos."
"— But Mr. Almos didn’t screw people over... instead, he just forgot his kid, right?"
"— Elle: My dear old dad, from the day I was born, the fish in Frostwater Harbor were murmuring your name, Almos..."
...These players really knew how to create a buzz.
Annan glanced at the barrage of comments without leaving a trace, almost unable to keep from laughing out loud.
In order not to laugh, his expression instantly became even more solemn as he added:
"This is a story that happened forty-five years ago... In reality, Elle Morrison’s original name was Eirelle Backer. She was seven years old when her mother Clara remarried, and that was when Elle changed her surname to Morrison."
Annan didn’t mention that Elle’s biological father had died.
This was something he saw in the newspapers, but such intelligence could very well be half true and half false... but now, it could be confirmed as one hundred percent false.
After all, Annan had seen the man with the surname Backer in the hidden ending that Lin Yiyi displayed.
Not only did he not die, but he was also a Decree Wizard.
Annan could only pick out the parts he was certain of to discuss... while simultaneously giving the players a logical sneak peek of the plot.
Lest they again wildly speculate, forcing Annan to send anonymous comments to forcefully steer them back on track.
"However, Elle and Amos were not related by blood. And to a young girl, the charm of Amos, a tall man with a good figure, handsome features, and a well-known painter, was hard to resist..."
Annan paused slightly as he reached this point.
He turned his head, pretending to be somewhat shy and confused, and whispered, "So it’s reasonable that they would have a child together..."
"— Hold on a sec? This isn’t the bus to kindergarten!"
"— It’s a fast car, a very fast car!"
"— That’s a ○ father!"
"— But wait, they’re not related by blood either..."
"— Even though they’re not related by blood, wasn’t Elle underage?!"
"— I suddenly feel like calling the police..."
As such explosive news was heard, the barrage of comments in front of the wandering child instantly exploded.
At least three times denser than before!
So Annan added another line, "However, Elle’s child was not born, but miscarried at six months.
"Calculating back, Elle... uh, the day she had relations with Amos should have been exactly on her sixteenth birthday."
The wandering child was slightly startled.
He immediately remembered the instance he played early this morning.
Wasn’t the instance level "Gallery: Elle Morrison"... on Elle’s sixteenth birthday?
Thinking this, the wandering child jolted with realization.
...Good thing I ran fast?
"About a month after Elle’s miscarriage, she suddenly disappeared. Some time later, her body parts were found hidden within the frames at the Morrison Gallery... mixed in with the paints.
"And the fetus’s body was made into a specimen. It was stored in the basement of the gallery.
"Moreover, in the basement of the Morrison Gallery, there were also some bodies of vagrants, including the renowned art critic, Sir Absolon Vlaj."
Annan explained, "A long time ago, he was a critic of Morrison’s paintings. But over half a month before Elle’s birthday, he suddenly became an avid supporter of Morrison. Four months after Elle’s birthday, he went to Frostwater Harbor wanting to attend Mr. Morrison’s art exhibition—which was also the opening time of the Morrison Gallery exhibition."
"But he never arrived, and instead disappeared at an unknown time. His corpse was found hidden in the basement, so there is reason to suspect... Morrison didn’t just murder Elle alone."
"Later, when the Morrison gallery was being sealed, they discovered a very dangerous ’meatball burning with transparent, multicolored flames.’ This meatball caused massive destruction... Even with the help of a Transcendent, the casualties were severe."
The barrage of comments paused, then quickly picked up:
"— Isn’t this the level that Sister Pole played? That secret level?"
"— Shocking, so that ball was really an embryo?"
"— Didn’t they say it at the time, I think it was called Angelo..."
"— Hey, am I the only one concerned about Elle? Such a pretty girl just gone like that! My heart aches!"
"— Your heart aches for nothing, she wouldn’t spare you a glance anyway."
"... That’s all the information I can share,"
Annan said, taking a deep breath.
He looked at the wandering child with a serious and solemn expression, "You can information with them. But don’t tell outsiders... There is much in this information that must not be spoken of—if I find out there has been a leak, you will take full responsibility, understand?"
After Annan finished speaking, a prompt box appeared in front of the wandering child:
[This information is classified as "Confidential" and may be circulated internally among players. If a leak occurs, a portion of the goodwill will be deducted]
Hearing this, the wandering child nodded, "I understand."
In the early hours, some of the confusion in the dungeon... After receiving this part of the information from Annan, he finally had an epiphany—
However, the wandering child still had some lingering doubts.
He still remembered the very clear sensation of a foreign object and the cold feeling in his abdomen after waking up...
Could that possibly be an embryo?
That’s utterly impossible.
Even if Elle had accelerated growth, there’s no way a child could develop in one day, right?
That the embryo wasn’t Morrison’s, but... the Skeleton King’s?
Right now, he really wanted to ask what exactly the "Skeleton King" was.
Unfortunately, he had used up all his goodwill.
What remained... was for his companions to take over.
Elsewhere, Delicious Wind Goose pondered deeply.
After a long period of thought, he nodded as if coming to a realization.
He muttered to himself, "I feel time, I might be able to clear the level."
"Go for it, Uncle Goose."
Lin Yiyi cheered him on with a smile, swinging her fist, "If you clear it, I’ll treat you to seafood tonight!"
"... Do you have money?"
Delicious Wind Goose was surprised.
Lin Yiyi shrugged her shoulders, "It was Jiu’er who said it. She said if she isn’t the first one to clear it, she’ll treat us to a seafood barbecue, crab meat, and beer all you can eat."
"... She seems very confident."
Hearing this, Delicious Wind Goose laughed instead, "Well then, consider that meal eaten!
"Allowing her to enter the game so early... I’ll make sure that silly girl understands the importance of information!"
With that, he lay down again, closed his eyes, and whispered softly, "Skeleton King."
a deep and hoarse voice responded as soon as his words ended.