Chapter 1319: Chapter 1319

"The skeleton carried by the writer is stirring—one-fifth of its bones have crumbled."

Corpse Gentleman announced abruptly while the explorers' wooden figures marched downward.

"Ignore it! Move faster! The explorers are breaking into a run!" Hathaway declared.

"The sailor has the matches, ready to burn that skeleton at a moment's notice!"

That was Mr. White Cat's suggestion.

The downward staircase wasn't actually very long. The skeleton stirred only once more before the explorers reached the underground morgue—the very place where the Corpse Gentleman hosted his gatherings.

After a hasty call for an investigation check, only two players rolled high enough. The information they gained was sparse: the room seemed to be frequented by someone, as there was little dust on the floor or walls.

"Looks like we'll have to check the morgue drawers."

It was a difficult decision. Even if their adventure wasn't strictly a horror story, everyone knew something terrifying was bound to be lurking inside a morgue drawer.

But Jenkins was all too familiar with that place. In the linear memories he'd formed since arriving in this world, he visited this location every month. He could even pinpoint the exact spot where he and the professor stood on each visit.

This time, however, he wasn't visiting with the professor, but with a group of strangers and Briny.

"The investigation yielded nothing. What's our next move? Half of the skeleton the writer is carrying has already turned to dust. I'd say the curse will be fully released in another round or two."

Hathaway directed her question to the group.

"There are five of us, not counting the cat. Each of us can open one drawer in the next round. That way, before the curse is fully unleashed, we can open and check at least ten drawers. It's less than a fifth of the total, but it's worth a shot."

Mr. Hood proposed, and the others agreed. Each player chose a drawer to open. The other four avoided the one from which the Corpse Gentleman had repeatedly sat up and lain down—after all, their luck couldn't possibly be that "good." Jenkins hesitated for a moment before choosing the drawer to the lower left of that very one.

"The writer tiptoed open a drawer to find nothing but a skeleton, likely left here since before the hospital was abandoned. He was startled, but unharmed. The viscountess crouched and opened her drawer, finding it empty, much to her disappointment. The merchant's daughter strained to open hers, which was also empty. Investigation roll... pass. She spotted faint scratch marks on the drawer's inner wall, though they were too old to identify as human. The sailor silently opened his drawer and found several glass vials filled with powder. The writer and the viscountess both pass a mysticism check... they identify it as ground moonstone powder, freshly made and still usable. The noble lady opened her drawer and found a metal canister, a transparent resin tube, and an extremely fine syringe. The skeleton carried by the writer stirs again. Now, only the skull remains intact. After your next turn, the rest of it will be completely pulverized."

Corpse Gentleman prompted.

Mr. White Cat repeated the word, puzzled. The injection kit was in the drawer Briny had opened.

Only Jenkins knew what these things were. Like the moonstone powder the sailor had found, these were items the Corpse Gentleman had placed here for his gatherings. The powder was likely for a trade with another participant, while the injection kit was the oft-used Extraordinary item, B-01-2-8100, [Elements' Blood]—an item that could induce an elemental evolution in one of an Enchanter's random abilities.

"Why would a syringe be here?"

Mr. White Cat mused, then guessed:

"Could this injection kit be the source of the curse?"

"Let the writer make a mysticism check on it."

Seeing Mr. White Cat's reasoning heading down the wrong path, Jenkins interjected, hoping to stop them from simply burning the injection kit.

"Identifying this device will take a long time and use up your next turn. Are you sure?" Googlᴇ search N0velFire.ɴet

"Wait, we only have one turn left before we have to decide whether to destroy the skeleton. We can't waste this opportunity."

Hathaway immediately objected.

She had a point. Besides, knowing it was the Series B Extraordinary item, [Elements' Blood], wouldn't mean much to the explorers anyway.

"So, what's the plan? Next turn, does one person burn the skeleton while the other four keep searching drawers for clues? Or do we let our five friends bear the curse so all of us can keep searching?"

Hathaway asked, since the skeleton was currently with the writer she controlled.

"Maybe we have another option. Isn't it possible that burning that strange injection kit could end this? Even though we don't have a chance to investigate it, finding that equipment in a morgue is just too strange."

Mr. White Cat was fixated on the syringe, his line of thinking trapped in a dead end.

"The syringe isn't important. The secret of these drawers is what matters. The mastermind and the Corpse Gentleman went to great lengths to lure us here; it can't be for something as simple as burning an injection kit."

Jenkins finished speaking and glanced again at the Corpse Gentleman, who showed no reaction to his words.

"Mr. Candle has a point," Mr. Hood concluded. "So, let's put it to a vote. Should our friends bear this final curse, or should we temporarily unleash it upon Nolan, letting the city collect the full set?"

Mr. Hood summarized, and when no one else spoke, he laid out the options bluntly:

"Raise your right hand if you agree to do nothing and let the curse fall upon our friends. Raise your left hand if you agree to burn the skeleton and release the curse onto Nolan... Fine, if no one wants to take a stance, I'll go first."

With that, he raised his right hand. Hathaway immediately followed by raising her left. Her lovers were here, and Jenkins understood perfectly why she made that choice.

"This is just too difficult," Magic Miss lamented. "I haven't faced such a hard choice since my thirteenth birthday, when my father made me pick between a doll and a storybook."

As she spoke, she made the same choice as Mr. Hood, leaving only Jenkins and Mr. White Cat yet to vote.