"I have something I’d like to confirm with your opinion,"
Annan’s tone was gentle.
He asked seriously and earnestly, "You wouldn’t mind us purifying this nightmare, would you?"
Although as the "Baker" and "Lord," Annan was his absolute leader, as Transcendents and fellow Wizards, Joseph Baccara was undoubtedly Annan’s senior.
If Joseph truly objected, then Annan would do his best to respect his opinion... at least he would leave him some purification attempts.
These few attempts, even if taken, would not significantly benefit too many; but to Joseph, it might be his "photo album" for reminiscing about the old days in his later years.
Even though this "photo album," for him, was somewhat cruel...
Hearing what Annan had said, Joseph looked at him with a hint of surprise.
Straight after, he smiled warmly.
This was the first genuine smile Joseph had shown since Annan had entered the room.
"Of course I don’t mind. On the contrary, I would be very grateful to you,"
Joseph merely shook his head, waving his hand weakly, "I’ve just lacked the energy... Otherwise, I would have purified it forty years ago, written a letter to Gemstone Island, lifted the curse binding on me, and left this place.
"But now I’m not quite sure what I’ve been busy with all these years. I’ve seen too many separations through life and death... either struggling in endless nightmares or spectating the suffering of others in reality.
"I don’t want to continue anymore. I’m just a bit tired, a bit confused, a bit... unsure of what to do next,"
He spoke, looking at Annan.
Those dark green pupils, profound and weary.
"Lord, I no longer wish to be a Transcendent. If you find my vessel, please do not return it to me.
"Of course, if you have any questions to ask me, or any inquiries about spells, just come directly to me. I’ll always be here; I quite enjoy the life of ordinary people.
"And if you wish to completely purify this nightmare... my advice is to be sure to find the true cause of Amos’s death. The cause of Amos’s death and the whereabouts of my curse vessel are the only mysteries left now."
The cause of Amos’s death...?
Annan immediately reacted to Joseph’s words.
In his mind, he recalled the phonograph curse-item of the Eye of Lag.
The police and Joseph were both unaware of the effect of that cursed item, but Annan knew.
The effect of that phonograph allowed the user to enter a world of the past and affect what has happened. Aside from not being able to touch living beings, one could almost do as one pleased.
From Elle’s words, his use of the phonograph on the fourth floor should have been his second time.
If it was true that Amos used the phonograph for the third time, and with his last bullet, shot his past self on the roof... then that wound would be plausible.
But why would he do such a thing?
If he had ended the effect of returning to the past, he would still die instantly, with his lifespan completely drained by the Eye of Lag.
That last bullet should have been able to kill one more person.
His actions were highly illogical.
It was as if a piece was missing in the middle...
A spark of realization flashed through Annan’s mind.
What if Amos’s purpose was exactly that?
Amos’s course of action came to Annan’s mind:
To die on the rooftop, he must have reached the rooftop before.
Then, he went back to the fifth floor or somewhere where the phonograph was, using it for the third time to enter the past world.
After that, he went down to the basement to release Angelo.
Later, for some reason, he returned to the rooftop... and from behind, shot his own self that has just reached the rooftop "in the reverting time."
Since Amos had already died, he couldn’t leave the rooftop to activate the phonograph. So he would have to die on the rooftop, and it had to be a shot to the back, killed by the only Dirty Blood Bullet.
This could explain both who released Angelo sealed in the wine and why Amos was shot in the back by a Dirty Blood Bullet.
But what was his motive?
Annan reached out and rhythmically tapped on the table.
After pondering for a moment, Annan slowly spoke up to Joseph, asking, "I have a question that I think you can tell me now...
"What exactly was your curse vessel’s advancement from all those years ago? I want to know both the taboo and the effect."
The curse binding that comes with advancement is stored within a carrier object.
Joseph, having lost his carrier object, no longer had any need for secrecy.
Joseph, however, seemed not at all surprised when Annan brought up the question.
"You are very clever, my lord."
He simply chuckled and said, "There is nothing much to say about the curse binding I got when I advanced to the silver rank. ’I cannot kill people with a knife,’ that’s all. The effect is that when I use any blunt weapon, I can ignore eighty percent of its weight. For the path of a wizard, it’s quite a useless curse binding...
"But my bronze rank curse binding is that if someone greets me within a ten-meter radius, I must respond within ten seconds.
"And the effect is... within a radius of one thousand meters, if someone says my name, I can vaguely see their exact location and what they roughly look like."
Upon hearing this, Annan’s eyes widened.
He realized something.
Could it be that calling for "Skeleton Lord" in Frostwater Harbor would get his attention not because the Skeleton Lord was powerful or because he was in Frostwater Harbor,
but because the composition of this nightmare had something to do with Joseph’s lost carrier object?
The threads of the incident from forty-five years ago were gradually becoming clearer in Annan’s mind.
Annan slowly nodded, "Thank you very much, Mr. Backer. You have provided some very important information..."
As he spoke, Annan suddenly remembered something.
"That’s right," he asked hastily, "that two-handed hammer-shaped artifact you had back then, what exactly was it?"
Annan wanted to know its specific attributes.
Whether for his own use or selling to players, it would presumably be very useful.
Joseph simply shrugged.
A bright, even somewhat childlike, proud smile appeared on his face.
"Looks pretty scary, doesn’t it?"
Mr. Joseph Backer shrugged and stood up, "One moment, please... I’ll get it out for you."
Saying so, he walked into the back room.
About ten minutes later, he dug out a large hammer that was tightly wrapped in cotton cloth. It was covered in dust, and even had a strange smell like old clothes that hadn’t been touched in over a decade.
Joseph handed it to Annan.
What was less friendly was... the hammer was about as tall as Annan.
It was an eyebrow-high hammer.
Annan silently laid it flat.
A list of attributes appeared before his eyes:
[Right Arm of Barrier Breaking]
[Type: Weapon/Tool (Light Blue)]
[Description: It exerts greater power against objects with the "Barrier" attribute.]
[Effect: When attacking objects such as "walls," "barricades," "shields," it provides a temporary +’10’ bonus to strength; its anti-shock effect is "fairly good," reducing a certain degree of recoil force.]
[Cost: It can only be wielded single-handedly in the right hand; if held in the left hand, it is particularly prone to causing fractures when attacking.]
The effect was strong, the cost was low.
A ’10’ point temporary strength bonus is approximately double the strength of an ordinary person.
Annan’s own strength attribute was 10 points. If he wielded this hammer, it meant his strength would double when smashing walls.
...What is this called?
"I’ll give it to you."
Joseph said with a smile, "After all, I’m just an ordinary baker now, and it’s of no use to me..."
Annan remained silent for a while, then stood up and graciously thanked Joseph with a bow.
Afterwards he whispered, "Actually, I was more interested in your book collection..."
Upon hearing this, Joseph nodded repeatedly and got up again, "Yes, of course, I kept them, couldn’t possibly throw them away. Just a moment, my lord, I’ll go get them—"
Annan was a bit dumbfounded.
Dude! That’s not what I meant!