The Righteous Player(s)

Chapter 562: Nightmare: Phantom Fever

Since “Ghirlandaio” was Annan·Austere-Winter, there was no need to maintain a barrier or keep information from him. It was best to be transparent and open with him.

Nefertari was so smart. Of course, she guessed what kind of secret she wanted to choose — it had to look important enough, but it had better be the type that the other party would know sooner or later, or a secret that would not hurt if the other party knew it.

So she pondered for a moment, and then revealed her three secrets:

“Firstly, I have one-eighth of elven blood in me. My grandmother’s mother was an elf who survived from the Third Age;

“Secondly, my teacher ‘Bone Healer’ Seti lost his elemental power after repairing the sacred bone. That was why he chose to change the title;

“Thirdly…”

When Nefertari said this, she paused slightly.

She said slowly, “Actually, I happen to be Annan Austere-Winter’s admirer.”

…Huh?

Hearing this, Annan froze for a moment.

The key itself was considered ritual. To guarantee that it worked, Nefertari would not lie.

Annan did not expect such a coincidence.

Annan’s heart suddenly moved.

He wanted to know what kind of person he used to be.

Why can I get close with so many upright deities?

What was my personality before amnesia?

As for the “internal combustion engine” Annan once told Father Flint, did He create it?

Where did he go in the past when he traveled around the world?

This knowledge was something that Dmitri was unwilling to tell Annan.

Just as Annan was about to ask, Annan hesitated.

He did not tell Nefertari that he had lost his memory.

With Nefertari’s wisdom, if she knew that he was Annan·Austere-Winter at the same time, and he had lost his memory, she was able to infer a great deal of truth.

This felt like Annan made a loss.

Annan did not know Nefertari that well after all.

Annan could not guarantee that Nefertari would not leak his information.

Thinking of this, Annan thought deeply.

Perhaps this was the essence of this nightmare “key”.

If the other party held a secret that created the intention to kill, how would you choose?

Is this why the “Professor Wolf” killed the “Shield of Unfallen”?

Is it because “you know too much”?

This cause of death is too unoriginal and traditional, right?

Is the truth really that simple?

Just when Annan was thinking, he suddenly felt a strong drowsiness hit him.

Annan felt groggy, and his consciousness became blurred.

Relying on his last sobriety, Annan found the sofa and sat down on it.

Nefertari lost consciousness earlier than Annan.

Before Nefertari could leave her seat, she passed out on the spot.

Suddenly, Annan suddenly felt a burning heat coming from his body.

It felt like the temperature of the skin suddenly started to rise. It was like being in a fire, scorching and boiling, and there was a burning sensation in the throat when breathing.

If Annan’s pain sensory had not been blocked, perhaps he would have felt severe pain.

What happens to Nefertari…

Annan felt that the surrounding temperature was still rising.

Just as this thought came to Annan’s mind, his vision turned into a quiet darkness at the next moment.

The burning sensation dissipated without a trace. Instead, a phantom fever still radiated from Annan’s skin.

It felt like a wound burned by fire.

Even if the flame were removed, the wound itself would carry the lingering pain of being burned by the fire.

[Dream key detected.]

[The existence of dream key is detected: Exchange “three secrets”]

[Searching for nightmares with the keyword: “secret”…]

[The nightmare has been found.]

[Falling into a nightmare. The dungeon instance is being generated…]

[Detected that the current dungeon instance has a unique property: Reenactment]

[The dungeon instance is being generated again…]

[Dungeon instance difficulty is distorted. There is no limit to the entry count, but you need to get the dream key again.]

[Current purification progress is 0/120.]

[Squad total erosion rate is 31%. The dungeon instance difficulty rises by 31%. Nightmare mutation probability rises by 31%.]

[Warning: Related elements detected. The nightmare has been distorted—]

[This dungeon instance has no save point, and death does not increase erosion rate; after death, you will be forced to exit the dungeon instance.]

[This dungeon instance provides a plot introduction and decryption rewards.]

[Dungeon instance customs clearance reward: Get 5% of the adaptability of the element (Understanding)]

[Dungeon instance decryption rewards: Element (Wisdom) awakening depth rises by 20%.]

[Loading complete.]

…En?

Annan watched the countless streams of data flowing downward in front of him, and suddenly realized something was wrong.

This seemed to be the first “twisted” dungeon instance that had no failure penalty in his experience.

Moreover, it was also the first nightmare that Annan experienced that could contribute adaptability to a new element to him.

This was also one of the few nightmares that Annan enters with a party.

In the “Nightmare: The Great Hunt” he entered with Kafni last time, if it wasn’t because the unique property of that nightmare was memory, it would definitely not produce distortion. Kafni’s erosion rate alone was enough to push that nightmare into distortion level.

Leaving that aside, how miserable was it to trigger the 31% probability? After all, the nightmare after the distortion level was basically equivalent to entering the “B side”, and the difficulty would increase significantly.

[TN: A CS:GO to enter the B bomb site. Usually goes with idiotic Rush B approach.]

Also, if Annan remembered correctly, his own erosion rate seemed to be only about 2%.

Nefertari is an ordinary person, why is her erosion rate so high?

Not only was she unable to help this time, but it made it more difficult for Annan to clear the dungeon. You must know that ordinary people would not have a clear sense of self-awareness in nightmares. In other words, they would not realize that they were in a nightmare.

Even if she realized it through Annan’s reminder, she still could not maintain a clear mind. It was like being in a dream and realizing “Oh, I seem to be dreaming”, but still unable to obtain a clear consciousness like waking up.

This game. I’m on a dual-queue to carry a girl.

Nefertari is even my fangirl, even though that is my past self.

While thinking wildly, Annan felt the phantom fever on his skin gradually dissipate.

The familiar feeling of weightless falling gradually returned.

Annan, who was suspended in the void, also felt that his body began to fall gradually…

Immediately afterward, there was the typical introduction to any nightmare.

However, this time Annan was surprised.

He heard two very different words.

A thick and steady voice said slowly on Annan’s left side:

“A fleeting moment of anger. A neverending remorse.”

At the same time, a gentle and elegant voice whispered softly on the right side of Annan:

“Life is the prison of death. Death is the hymn of life.”

The next moment, Annan suddenly woke up.

What appeared in front of him appeared a large face.

It was very reassuring to look at.