The stray child was stunned for a moment.

Gazing into those empty eyes, an indescribable, chilling sense of fear overwhelmed him.

He suddenly felt something tickle in his spine.

It's like wound healing.

It's like a bone is sprouting and growing slowly.

"Elle" touched it gently. I vaguely felt that there were some protrusions on my originally smooth back. His spine seemed to be wriggling, in the ...... It became sharp, and even a little awkward.

He caressed his spine intently, gently. Some couldn't stop, and at the same time, I felt that my elbows and knees began to itch, as if something was about to burst out of my body-

"What's wrong, Elle?"

At this moment, Amos asked again, somewhat confused.

The stray child was suddenly startled.

He was back to reality.

When he came back to his senses, he realized that Amos's face was as usual.

His face did not turn into a skeleton, and there was no difference from before...... There are also no white bone spurs sticking out of the skin on the back of the neck, and the skin is smooth and even free of wounds and breaks.

It's as if everything was just an illusion.

“…… No, it's fine. ”

Elle whispered and began to change her clothes.

Put on those three heavy, intimidating, plush dresses.

Amos sensed that her gaze was a little strange, but he didn't pursue it further, just scratched his face again and turned back.

…… But that's definitely not an illusion.

Stray children are very sure.

It's not just because there's some itching in the depths of his body.

And the large barrage that suddenly flashed in front of him also confirmed this for the first time:

"-I'm scared to death!"

"—It's the ghost father's conviction (referring to the supernatural plane)

"-Fuck you, this big brother scared me when he turned around......"

"-Be content, at least your face is clean and free of maggots."

…… Just looking at this chaotic barrage, he could be sure that the terrifying scene just now was definitely not his own delusion.

So what's going on here?

The stray child subconsciously opened the properties panel.

Then he was stunned for a moment.

[Health: 95%]

[Erosion: 5%]

…… Wait, 5%?

Wasn't it just 2%?

Even if you die once, you will only add 2%...... Just a 3% increase in erosion?

The barrage also saw this line of numbers:

"-Is this a drop?"

"-No, I guess it's a spiritual vision."

"—This seems to be worse than the punishment of one death!"

"-Wait, it's not going to increase the erosion in the future, is it? Is this just a preparation for the ceremony? ”

…… It turns out that in the nightmare, can it directly increase the erosion?

Annan also frowned slightly.

He first checked himself and confirmed that he had not increased the erosion when he saw this scene through the live broadcast, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's the Skeleton? Or what? ”

He muttered under his breath.

But it's not quite like that.

According to what he learned in the book, the human body of the skeleton was a giant skeleton two and a half meters tall:

"He should be clothed in duke-like blue and white fur robes, said to be unicorn hair, and on his head he should have a sacred crown of white copper, a golden mask like a human face, heavy steel boots under his feet, and dragonskin gloves on his hands, and his whole body should be covered with clothing. Even the back of the neck is blocked by the stand-up collar of the robe.

"The main way to identify the skeleton is his height, and secondarily his dress—he has only bones under his clothes, so he must look extremely thin. The skull is the god of ancient giants, and the height of modern giants is generally between four meters and five meters and five, and only ancient giants will have short bodies that are less than three meters but more than two meters.

"Remember, don't use any ability to see through or perceive the essence when looking directly at the skeleton. The duke's garb he wears is a kind of protection for others - if you see any bone of the skeleton without protection, it will continue to be eroded by the curse. At the same time, 'ossification' will occur, and the bones of the whole body will become active, refuse the will of the owner, and actively devour all the crazy growth around it, including flesh and blood......"

- The ossification phenomenon recorded in the book is somewhat similar to the situation of the street child just now. The increase in erosion also coincides with this.

Annan clearly remembered that at the moment when that illusion appeared, the bones in the neck of "Elle" did begin to become a little sharp and protruding......

But that's not quite right.

If it was really the skeleton male, then "Elle" could not be alive at all.

Now it seems that the difficult nightmare may be more than just a death threat. Even if you are in a dream, but you see something that you shouldn't see, the erosion of the rise will still increase.

In that case, he probably understood...... Why would someone go crazy on the night of the nightmare when the nightmare only increases a little bit of erosion after death?

This should indeed be a nightmare level at the silver level......

Annan was a little strange at first, because the nightmare was so simple.

Although he is only a level of the "Gallery", it is the lowest difficulty at the Silver level. But now I look at it, as long as I didn't finish the portrait in the first place...... The difficulty will immediately rise to the Silver level.

So, what is the mechanism that triggers this?

Is it a painting? Basement? Rite? Or is Amos in the mood?

"It's all set, Elle."

Finally, Amos breathed a sigh of relief.

Elle on the side had already changed her clothes.

She wore a three-tiered cashmere dress, and now she looked bloated like a rice dumpling. Not to mention fighting, it's hard to move just by moving...... I feel like I'm even a little out of breath.

But the street children were much more relieved.

Looking at this posture, at least you don't have to be injected......

It's all good, it's all good.

Amos leaned over to Elle and whispered to comfort her:

"Don't be afraid, it won't hurt. It's just a simple ritual...... Luckily, it's June, so it won't be too much trouble. ”

“…… Yes, Father. ”

Elle paused and whispered.

Seeing that there was no fear on her face, and even some curiosity, Amos smiled with satisfaction.

Under Elle's gaze, he respectfully lit three thick candles, placed in the direction of one o'clock, two o'clock, and four o'clock in the bone bed.

He then motioned for Elle to climb into bed from three o'clock.

And he took out a protractor, and three black ram's horns, three black ram's horns, and three pairs of bull's horns. They are placed on either side of the three candles, forming three inward angles of 120 degrees, enveloping Elle's body at the same time.

At the moment when the three angles were formed, the candles suddenly shook at the same time.

The warm glow of orange suddenly turned ice blue.

The wandering child suddenly felt a strange chill fall on him.

It was as if his whole body was immersed in ice water, and his body could no longer feel the slightest temperature, but it did not tremble uncomfortably.

Instead, I felt very quiet, very peaceful...... I didn't want to move at all, and then slowly closed my eyes.

In the last moment, he struggled to open his eyes.

only to see pieces of flesh fall from Amos's face...... His body began to decay, but his bones remained.

He could vaguely hear Amos whispering something, but his consciousness was very dim. It was as if the body was being pressed by something, and the limbs could not move.

After that, the stray child is completely unconscious.

When he woke up again, he found himself still lying on the bone bed. And those three candles have burned out completely.

Not only that, but Elle's frail body suddenly became strong and powerful.

Even more powerful than his body outside of his copy.

It's as if you can jump to the ceiling with just a light jump—

Only one thing.

There is only one difference.

He felt ...... I have some discomfort in my left eye.

He subconsciously reached out to touch it.

But I only touched the cold, temperatureless ...... As if he's been dead for a long time—

- The corpse's eye sockets.