—Damn it, I really really want it ahhh!
That was Delicious Wind Goose’s first reaction upon seeing the item’s attribute panel.
It was also the reaction of the players who were watching the live stream on the forum:
"—Holy shit, can high-level equipment actually involve time?"
"—That’s so damn cool!"
"—Calm down guys, this must be a plot item, there’s no way they’d let us have something this powerful outside of the instance..."
"—Wait a second, look at the price you have to pay for this!"
"—Then I ask you, would you throw it away just because of the high cost?"
"—Absolutely impossible!!"
"—Then that settles it!"
After all, the players had not yet embarked on the path of the Transcendents.
They didn’t realize the severity of the Curse Binding issue...
However, Annan had a clear realization of it as soon as he saw the price.
—This cursed item, I’m afraid it’s a bait.
Its ability to reverse time couldn’t really resolve what people regretted in most cases.
At best, it could only deal with the person who caused the regret.
This might be the very spell that Master Michelangelo used in "Nightmare: White Tower" to blow everyone’s heads off instantly in the end.
So this gramophone was probably not meant for his own use.
Because the ability on it didn’t amplify one’s own power, but was a simplification of the power one held. Its purpose was to make others unable to resist the temptation of a "second chance" and choose to use it.
Just like those players.
And once it’s used, one would be marked with a Curse Binding.
The Curse Binding, judging simply by the name, seems to be for absorbing vital energy. The price to pay the second time wasn’t very clear; but if used thrice, the remaining lifespan would be completely drained.
If Eye of Lag had made many such gramophones, then he shouldn’t be lacking in lifespan at all.
...Another question arose.
How did she know all of this?
Annan and the players knew because they could see the attribute panel.
But Annan had already tested from Salvatore that the natives of this world could not divine the full properties of a cursed item.
They could only know to a certain extent the abilities and curses through some strange means. That’s why cursed items were considered extremely dangerous goods, banned from being sold or used among commoners. Once discovered, they would be sealed in the church or in large organizations.
And Elle, it’s not that she was a senior Transcendent...
She was merely a sixteen-year-old commoner, not even a noble or a priest. It’s true that both her biological parents were Transcendents, but she was very young when she left them.
She couldn’t possibly have known the attributes of this cursed item.
And based on Annan’s judgment of Elle’s character, she wouldn’t have been so impolite to Amos either.
Rather than saying that person was Elle, perhaps...
...it was the Skeleton Lord?
At this thought, Annan suddenly tensed up, his body stiffened, and his back was instantly soaked with cold sweat.
It was as if he was being targeted by something dangerously extreme...
Like half-asleep and half-awake, when you lift your head to see a snake slipping into your blanket.
If Annan had not already lost his ability to fear, perhaps he would have been scared enough to scream out loud.
But soon, the sensation of being watched gradually dissipated.
Annan didn’t have time to check his body and immediately looked back at the live stream—fortunately, he hadn’t missed anything.
As Delicious Wind Goose completely stopped the "Stilled Time’s Gramophone," the violin-like "background music" in the air finally disappeared.
Behind Delicious Wind Goose was still the sealed stone road.
In front of him, the T-shaped corridor split into two ends with two exits, and there were two mirrored display cases:
On the left display case, there was a silver revolver etched with many runes!
And on the right, there lay the police rifle that the "demon" had just had in his hands.
Without any hesitation, Delicious Wind Goose chose the left side.
It was a man’s instinct.
Because compared to the plain rifle, that gun was much cooler...
This time he encountered no obstacles at all. The pistol was taken down from the display case, and it fit snugly in his palm. As if it had always been Amos’s gun.
He clicked his tongue as he rubbed the gun in his hands, smiling as he examined it.
"...White ivory? Or is it Gaston? Wow, this gun is so cool..."
The moment he saw the gun, Delicious Wind Goose immediately calmed down.
Although he only had 3% health, he suddenly exuded a confidence befitting an expert player.
"As long as I have a gun—I’m telling you, no monster is a problem..."
Delicious Wind Goose’s words abruptly stopped.
Because after he slid out the magazine, he discovered there was a last bullet inside.
—Yes, the very last one.
"...The last bullet, just for me?"
Delicious Wind Goose’s face suddenly turned bitter, "This isn’t very lucky, brothers... Can I put it back?"
He said this, but his hands didn’t seem to have any intention of putting it back.
When he turned around again.
He just happened to see the man with the hammer standing silently in the middle of the corridor.
"—That blue guy, he’s busted."
"—The last bullet can be for you too."
"—8888 brothers, I’m off to see Jiu’er..."
"—Waiting for the host to lose his memory."
Facing this sudden turnaround, the players who had gradually gotten used to the scares immediately burst into a raucous laugh.
Nobody had thought that old Goose could still survive...
Just as Delicious Wind Goose was about to shoot, he instantly entered a CG:
Amos mumbled softly, raising the pistol at Baccara with an indifferent tone, no longer having the fear he faced on the third floor, "Do you really need to pursue this?
"This gun is engraved with the ’Heart-Piercing Line of the Skeleton Duke;’ you should have heard of it. There are three Dirty Blood Bullets inside. Whether you’re a Transcendent or not... if I shoot, you will die regardless."
Hearing this, Baccara’s pupils shrank slightly.
He was silent for a while, then cautiously asked, "Where did you get it?"
"That’s none of your business."
Amos sneered, "I just want to ask you one thing—are you able to leave this place? I don’t want us to die together here."
Upon hearing this, Annan raised his eyebrows.
Something is wrong...
Why was Amos’s attitude completely different from when he was in the basement? And how did he recognize Baccara at this time?
Just then, Annan noticed an overlooked barrage of messages:
"—Doesn’t this Baccara look like that baker from our place?"
Startled by this, Annan also remembered...
That baker who claimed to have come from the Royal Capital and had never left Frostwater Harbor...
Wasn’t he from Frostwater Harbor forty-five years ago?
"We can negotiate first," after a moment’s silence, Baccara extended his right hand, "You must tell the truth here. I need to know what Curse Binding you’ve put in the Dirty Blood Bullet."
"This was made with a corpse I bought at a high price... The Curse Binding’s content is ’No Traveling Far.’ As soon as you are hit once, you’ll have to stay in Frostwater Harbor for life, are you willing?"
Amos spoke slowly, frowning, "You should be able to tell that I’m speaking the truth."
"...Yes, I can see that."
Baccara was silent for a while, then nodded.
Then he stepped forward without hesitation—
And swung his hammer!
Amos also fired the bullet at the exact same time, the bullet leaving the gun later but arriving first, burrowing into Baccara’s heart!
But Baccara’s hammer was already striking at Amos’s head.
Just by inertia, it was enough to send Amos’s head flying.
That instant, Amos’s head flew out like a golf ball and smashed heavily against the wall—
Faintly, one could see the sneer at the corners of Baccara’s mouth, along with the deep-seated hatred that hadn’t been unleashed.