After the Skeleton Lord had disappeared, Annan noticed something new on the ground.
It was a small piece of bone debris, pure white and irregularly shaped.
Although he knew there was some danger, Annan couldn’t help but pick it up.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be any kind of trap.
The moment he touched it, Annan felt a warm and cool sensation. The feeling was like wearing a jade pendant for many years.
What was surprising was that it actually had properties, albeit strange ones:
[The Skeleton Lord’s Temporary Shelter]
[Type: Accessory (Gold)]
[Description: The skeletal and treacherous "Skeleton Lord" has no current intention of being your enemy.]
[Effect: When entering any nightmare left by the Skeleton Lord’s followers, failing to complete it will not increase your erosion level; the Skeleton Lord’s followers cannot kill you.]
Are you really that much of a coward?
Annan was somewhat speechless.
Although the Skeleton Lord claimed It had only taken one book...
Seeing how cowardly He was, Annan started to doubt whether that statement was true.
He checked his bag and the books he carried once again, glanced at his attributes panel, and searched himself thoroughly, before he could finally, for the time being, confirm that He had indeed only taken one book...
That was the "Comprehensive Study on the New God ’Skeleton Lord’.
"What... is He trying to hide?" Annan murmured under his breath.
Could it be, could he find out some of His secrets from this book?
But if the existence of the book was a threat to him, why didn’t He take it away from Joseph earlier?
Annan’s gaze shifted to the clearly matching "Comprehensive Study on the New God ’Husband of the Rot’."
"...Are you hinting at something to me?"
Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.
He began to think seriously.
If he was truly the "Annan Winter," what should he be doing right now?
After being threatened by the Skeleton Lord and forcefully having the research report about the Skeleton Lord, which Annan hadn’t yet read, taken away, of course, he would be curious about what was written in the book the Skeleton Lord had taken.
So where could Annan find out?
Mysterious knowledge can’t be conveyed through language, and Joseph had already lost the vessel, meaning he couldn’t directly teach it to Annan.
Therefore, Annan could only try to find out the "knowledge that he originally should have obtained" by carefully reading the book about the Husband of the Rot and attempting to deduce the corresponding facts from it.
"Is He suggesting that I... immediately learn about the Husband of the Rot?"
Annan raised his eyebrows slightly.
Indeed, if it weren’t for this, Annan would probably have read the book about the Husband of the Rot last.
The Skeleton Lord’s book would definitely be the first to be read. The remaining four were reference books, and only the one about the Husband of the Rot... didn’t seem to have any use to Annan for the time being.
Whether it’s people or gods, as long as they have consciousness, and clear objectives, then in their many actions, they will more or less reveal some of their true intentions.
Wherever one has passed, traces will be left behind.
The same is true for the Skeleton Lord.
And for Annan, the traces He left behind, the information He revealed, was all too clear...
This is a very simple deduction:
First and foremost, what is the Skeleton Lord’s objective?
If so, why didn’t he do it himself? Why did he come over to recite his old grandmother’s name and make a special trip to convey mystical knowledge to Annan?
You must know, the Skeleton Lord knows Annan’s name. Naturally, he should be aware that there are only two healthy direct descendants left in the Winter Principality now... the old grandmother would undoubtedly value him highly.
Yet, at the very moment of their encounter, the Skeleton Lord directly invoked the name of the old grandmother’s god, reducing Annan’s health to just 1%—but after that, he did not finish him off.
Yes, that’s the reason why the Heart of Winter had been triggered.
Indeed, Annan couldn’t be killed by frost damage... but this special effect came from the Reversed Inscription. The ordinary people of Winter, or as He put it—Frostborn, do not possess the Reversed Inscription. After Annan’s health fell to 1%, he should have died after some time.
Moreover, after Annan started to lock his health, the Skeleton Lord didn’t rush over to finish him off; instead, He stood aside.
This unconsciously revealed that the Skeleton Lord knew from the beginning that Annan had the Reversed Inscription.
And His purpose was not to kill Annan; He even gave a charm for protection, ensuring Annan temporarily bore no hostility towards Him.
So, what was the Skeleton Lord’s purpose—to curry favor with Annan? Or was He delivering a message on behalf of the old grandmother?
Regardless of the possibility, there was no need to reduce Annan’s health to a critical state right away.
If the Skeleton Lord truly didn’t want Annan to learn of His related knowledge, He would have taken Barber’s book with Him; He could have even killed Joseph before taking or destroying the book.
All of the Skeleton Lord’s actions can only point to one purpose.
He wanted Annan to immediately take notice and start gathering information about Barber.
Do they have some sort of conflicting relationship?
"...I really need to take a look at this book, huh?"
This was an open strategy.
If Annan didn’t discern the Skeleton Lord’s intention, he would check Barber’s book first to confirm "what the Skeleton Lord was hiding." However, if Annan did see through His intention, to understand the deeper purpose of the Skeleton Lord, he still had to read the book.
—Because Annan had indeed offended Barber.
Think about it, Claus, the guard captain who was killed by Tan Juan, was Barber’s man; and Viscount Barber, whom Annan killed, was also one of Barber’s men... Claus was searching for Barber’s Book of the Celestial Chariot, and Viscount Barber himself had an inactive page of the Book of the Celestial Chariot on him.
Both pages of the Book of the Celestial Chariot that Annan now possesses are related to Barber. It could even be said they were snatched from the jaws of death.
Could this suggest that the Church of Barber is looking for the Book of the Celestial Chariot?
Considering this, Annan had to deepen his understanding of Barber.
Because it was clear that Annan had no intention of relinquishing this power.
No one understood the terror of "players" better than he did.
If the Church of Barber truly sought the Book of the Celestial Chariot... then He and Annan would become mortal enemies sooner or later.
And Annan probably couldn’t escape the royal conspiracies of the Kingdom of Noah either.
"...Thinking about it this way, there’s this subtly unpleasant feeling."
Gazing at the starry sky and holding his hammer, Annan let out a light sigh.
Despite gaining a bunch of valuable things, there was this feeling of obtaining money to buy one’s life.
Fortunately, although the first round of confrontation was a bit passive, at least it wasn’t foolish...
The situation was becoming very clear now. "Annan Winter" seemed to be entering the fray as a chess piece of the gods. Although he was still in a very peripheral position, it was obviously because he was still too weak...
Annan didn’t dis sensation too much.
Being seen as valuable enough to be used by others was, in a way, a kind of luck.
"Which side am I on? Who are my teammates? Who am I supposed to fight against right now?"
The memory-loss-stricken Annan Winter posed three soul-searching questions: "I’m a newbie who bought an account, is there anyone managing this?"
Clutching the hammer, his heart filled with confusion.