The Righteous Player(s)

It had been a long time since Annan had seen their system pop up on its own.

Except for using [Nightmare Fragments]… which were the keys left behind by the transcender after his death that led to nightmares, and the [Truth Manifestation] prompt when Annan obtained the Divine Transporter page fragments, he basically hadn’t seen the system’s prompt popping up when he was outside a nightmare.

Moreover, it was such a disturbing bright red font.

Annan slightly frowned, extending his perception as far as possible around him, slowing his steps on the staircase.

Fragmented images kept appearing before them… When distracted, there was a possibility that one of them might slip and fall.

“Be careful and don’t trip. Walk slower!”

Annan reached out to grab the hand extended by Zoya, using his staff like a cane to slowly descend in the dark corridor, raising his voice to warn, “I feel the frequency of the illusions has noticeably increased—”

Annan heard his own voice, which seemed indistinguishable from his real voice.

However, when others heard Annan’s voice, it wasn’t quite audible to them.

As they approached the special environment of the curse cellar, his voice stretched out extensively, becoming severely distorted. It sounded like a radio with poor reception, or a record on a slipping turntable.

“Actually… panic… because…”

Jacob’s voice, which became increasingly vague and fragmented, sounded in everyone’s ears. However, this time it was no longer a problem of not being able to hear clearly — just like when a call came in while the phone was placed near the speaker, Jacob’s voice was covered up by the sharp and intense whistling sound.

They even felt uncomfortable buzzing in their ears.

The players, however, felt a sense of familiarity… It was like the discomfort in the ears during an airplane’s takeoff.

The next moment, all the sounds they could make completely disappeared.

Whether it was the sound of speaking, the footsteps while walking, or the noise made by Annan when he used his staff, they all vanished in an instant—replaced by a low, faint white noise.

A line of prompt appeared again in front of Annan:

[—Warning, you have entered Black Rock Curse Shaft.]

Then, Annan felt that the ground beneath his feet disappeared, and he was rapidly falling!

Annan felt that Zoya, who was falling simultaneously with her, clenched her hand tightly for a moment.

…It turns out you are scared too.

Annan threw a faint smirk.

After another half minute passed, he still did not feel the sensation of touching the ground.

At this height, if they landed on the ground, they would definitely fall to their death. Annan even felt that Zoya’s palms were sweating and trembling slightly.

To comfort the elder, Annan did not hesitate to firmly grasp back, gently shaking her hand to signal her to be calm.

His firmness and calmness seemed to be transmitted to Zoya through the warmth of his palms. She stopped shaking almost immediately, and she didn’t hold Annan’s hand so tightly.

However, in this lightless, soundless, falling abyss, Annan didn’t have any fear.

—The reason was simple.

This feeling of falling… how should I put it? It was a bit fake.

The center of gravity in humans is not usually in the middle, especially when their feet were not touching the ground and they could not exert force to adjust their posture. A momentary fall might have been okay, but they had been falling for such a long time. They should have either fallen forward or backward by then.

Yet, even without tensing his core, Annan still felt as if he was falling very smoothly and vertically—without even the sensation of wind resistance from accelerating, just a pure feeling of falling. Zoya at Annan’s side also wasn’t tilting at all… It was only because of her nervousness and slight movements that her body was slightly leaning.

Zoya seemed to realize this quickly, and gradually relaxed and adjusted her posture.

…That’s probably why Jacob asked us to hold each other’s hands.

Annan thought so.

Suddenly, Annan felt a slight change… It seemed like their falling speed was beginning to slow down.

Then, more than half a minute passed.

Finally, they felt the sensation of the ground beneath their feet and stood on solid ground once again.

The low humming sound still lingered in the air.

After a brief silence, Annan asked, “Everyone… Can you hear me?”

“Yes, we can hear you.”

“That was terrifying. I thought I was going to fall to death…”

“This must be one of those slow descent platforms that blow air upwards, right? How could anyone possibly fall to their death…”

In the darkness, the players were the first to react.

“Should I light a fire?” Zoya’s throat was a little dry, and she asked Jacob in such a low voice.

She seemed to have warmed up to Jacob, not as dismissive as she was at the beginning… It probably started when Jacob demonstrated his ritual knowledge to penetrate barriers, and she realized that Jacob truly had genuine skills. Her attitude towards him improved a lot from then on.

“Yes, that will be fine.” Jacob hesitated for a moment before responding, “But I still recommend using a lighting method that doesn’t generate heat… Do you need me to do it?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll do it.” Zoya shook her head.

She raised her hands high and shouted, “Look at me!”

The next moment, her fingertips sparkled.

Like a spark igniting on a flint — Zoya’s right index finger burst into bright light, illuminating the surrounding space.

That was the Idol Spell called [Guiding Light].

By igniting light at the fingertip or the tip of a sword—by continuously infusing Order Mana, this light could be maintained indefinitely.

It allowed anyone who saw the light to have their attention forcibly focused on the hand emitting it—in simple terms, a quick-cast group taunting spell. If one forcibly resisted the taunt, their other actions would suffer a concentration penalty. This method compelled those who saw the light to prioritize attacking the one emitting it.

If used in the midst of intense combat, this spell could also be suddenly employed to try to create a momentary opening in a tightly defended enemy… or to awaken teammates who had their souls captured. It could also be used to interrupt an enemy’s ongoing attack or disrupt a concentrated action.

Now, using it merely to maintain light seemed like an overkill… However, maintaining this spell meant that any sudden attackers would prioritize attacking Zoya. This, in turn, made it easier for the group to respond to threats.

Under the illumination of this light, they finally saw the interior structure of the curse shaft.

It was a shocking and magnificent structure.

They were in a circular hall, resembling an amphitheater with stairs surrounding the center. Around them were numerous stone slabs like seats, but not a single person was on them.

Behind the “lectern,” there was an enormous, pure white door, about twenty people tall.

It had neither a handle nor a door knocker.

There were no pictures on it, only the inscriptions of Elvish words.

In the four corners of the hall, there were four white pillars standing like the legs of a turtle. Their width required more than five adults holding hands to encircle them… but upon careful listening, one could discern that these pillars were hollow.

They were not pillars, but rather, conduits.

However, rather than being conduits, they were more akin to the blood vessels of some magical creature.

This was certainly not a marvel that could be constructed by the Northern Brotherhood. It exuded an ancient air, steeped in history.

In other words…

“Didn’t the elves here dismantle this curse shaft from the very beginning?”

Annan’s pupils shrank slightly.

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