Chapter 2: Chapter 2 Falling into Nightmare_1
Translator: 549690339
[Falling into a nightmare, generating instance...]
[Instance difficulty is easy, with a maximum of three entries allowed]
[Current purification rate is 0/3]
[Team's total erosion rate is 3%, instance difficulty increased by 3%, chance of nightmare mutation increased by 3%]
[There is 1 save point in this instance, erosive level increases by 1% upon death, and after three deaths, forcible exit from the instance is required]
[This instance offers plot introduction and decryption rewards]
[Instance clearance reward: Occupation (Swordsman) level increased by 1]
[Instance decryption reward: Unknown]
[Loading complete]
The world before Annan's eyes was pitch black, with only streams of data rapidly flowing downwards. He stared intently at each character, fearing he might miss any detail.
Just as the characters indicating loading completion also began to fade, he suddenly heard a faint and ethereal whisper in his ear:
"Traitors, they all must die..."
It was a young man's voice, yet it sounded like the cry of one drowning, moist and full of resentment.
The next moment, Annan suddenly felt himself being pushed forcefully.
"John? John, wake up!"
A brusque male voice rose in front of him, "How did you fall asleep? Where has the young master gone off to again?"
"Ah? Uh..."
Only then did Annan realize he was sitting on the ground, dozing off with his back against two wooden barrels.
He opened his eyes to see a man in his forties with a beard squatting in front of him, his face stern.
The man's stern face suggested he was very angry, but considering he didn't just kick Annan to wake him up, it was likely that the man was quite patient.
"Ah, I'm a bit sleepy... my sincerest apologies..."
Annan replied somewhat vaguely.
After all, he had no idea what the man's name was or what their relationship entailed. He could only respond in such a way.
But just as Annan spoke, he paused for a moment.
Despite the difference between his own voice and a recorded one heard from the outside, Annan sharply sensed that the resentful sentence he had just heard might have been spoken by "John".
Who is the traitor?
What status did "Annan" have on this ship?
Seeing Annan respond then become somewhat distracted, the middle-aged man raised his voice a bit, "If you're tired, go practice swordsmanship, don't laze around here!
"I shouldn't have let you stay in the cabin! You're truly wasting the young master's trust in you! How are you going to look after Tan Juan if you don't know when someone's taken him?"
"My sincerest apologies..."
"Don't apologize, say 'Yes, Drillmaster'!"
"Yes, Drillmaster!"
Annan conceded politely.
He had roughly figured out the relationship between the two of them.
"Wait a moment, Claus..."
A youthful, somewhat nervous voice sounded behind them.
Their gazes shifted.
It was a young man who had just come down from the doorway, about fourteen or fifteen years old.
The young noble named Tan Juan had black hair similar to Annan's, deep blue eyes, and equally fair skin. But his features were far less delicate than Annan's, with freckles on his face, slightly prominent cheeks, and small eyes.
However, his soft, tender skin on his hands and face made it clear that he was indeed a young noble, who kept himself very tidy on a regular basis.
The boy clutched a small bag of sugar cookies tightly in his hand. Noticing Claus, the drillmaster's gaze, he nervously put the cookies behind him and commanded in a feigned calmness, "Don't treat John like that, Claus! John... he didn't do it on purpose..."
His voice started confidently, but quickly faltered under the middle-aged man's gaze.
Claus, however, just kept a stern face and politely explained to the noble boy, "I am your guard captain; the Earl has entrusted me with your care, and I must take responsibility for your safety. In the Beihai region, the Geraint family name doesn't carry as much weight as it does in the Royal Capital. Anything can happen here."
"Anyway, you're here to protect me, aren't you?"
The young Earl's son wasn't too concerned, "And there's Lord Benjamin. Father says he's a silver-tier Wizard, what danger could there be in a remote place like the Beihai region..."
"Please don't make things difficult for me with the Earl, Tan Juan."
The tone of Claus's voice became slightly firmer, "At least openly, you've been sent here in exile. Although Lord Benjamin and I are secretly protecting you, we can't help you too much... and besides, it's almost time for dinner, you shouldn't be having sweets."
"Alright, alright, I know..."
Tan Juan Geraint pouted and replied with some irritation.
Seeing that Tan Juan seemed unreceptive, Claus turned the full brunt of his scolding on the young Geraint, completely ignoring John and giving Tan Juan a harsh lecture until he bowed his head and stopped retorting. Only then did Claus harrumph and turn to leave through the door.
"Remember to keep a close watch on the young master, John. Don't fall asleep again."
He gave one last warning to Annan before leaving.
"Yes, Drillmaster!" Annan promptly responded.
Seeing this, Claus nodded with satisfaction and left.
Once he was gone, Tan Juan finally breathed a sigh of relief and whispered a complaint to John, "Claus talks too much. Do I need to report to him about everything I eat? Seriously... anyway, thanks, John. I've got it."
While saying this, Tan Juan gestured to the area under his left armpit, a proud look on his face, "I sewed it into the lining of my clothes."
"I still think this is..."
Annan muttered ambiguously, not saying much, just trying to pry out some more information.
However, Tan Juan's expression immediately darkened, "You don't understand... I only feel secure with this item close at hand."
After speaking, he sighed.
"On this ship, apart from you, there isn't a single guard who's my man. They are either dispatched by my father or sent by my two brothers. Apart from you, I have no one I can trust, John."
```
"I will protect you."
Upon hearing this, Annan immediately put on a very moved expression and said righteously, "You can completely trust John."
Although he found John's tone a bit strange, Tan Juan still nodded in relief, "Then I'll leave it to you... By the way, John, you continue to pretend to sleep here. Remember to keep an eye on my package and don't let anyone near it. I'll come back after dinner, and then you can go."
"I always suspect someone wants to steal it. If someone tries to approach, chase them away and then tell me privately who it was."
"I understand."
Annan softly replied, a thought stirring in his heart.
If you're talking about someone who wants to get close... isn't Claus one of them?
But obviously, Tan Juan doesn't suspect him yet. So Annan wisely didn't say anything more.
He thought for a moment and then made up something to say, "By the way, young master. Claus just asked me where the other black-haired, blue-eyed kid on the ship is. How should I answer him?"
"...Black hair and blue eyes?"
Tan Juan paused, "Impossible, that's a characteristic of people from The North Lands, only people from the Winter Duchy have black hair and blue eyes. Unless it's my mother... In any case, there's no such person on this ship."
Having said this, he frowned slightly and confirmed, "Are you sure Claus asked you this?"
"Yes."
Annan answered seriously, "Should I reply to him like this?"
"No... don't rush. If he brings it up again, just tell him there is no such person—although there really isn't."
The boy with black hair repeated his instructions somewhat anxiously, "What I just told you, don't tell him about it."
"Yes."
After getting the information he wanted, Annan followed the principle that the more he spoke, the more mistakes he could make, and kept silent.
...So there's no such person on the ship anymore?
That means "I" didn't perish on this ship? Well, that makes sense, this ship didn't meet with a sea disaster, but was raided and wiped clean by traitors.
In that case...
Annan glanced at Tan Juan and had a thought.
Maybe I can replace his existence.
Now what's needed is more information about this world, especially the personal secrets that belong to Tan Juan...
Watching Tan Juan leave and close the door, Annan once again felt a sensation of being hit on the back of the head with a brick, but this time, he was getting used to it.
He shook his head, and a vast stream of data emerged before his eyes.
[Even Earl Geraint couldn't protect his youngest son, Tan Juan Geraint. Perhaps, being dispatched to the remote Beihai Territory was the last refuge his father prepared for him.]
[The most important city in Beihai Territory is Frostwater Harbor, which borders on Winter Duchy. If the Geraint family survives the upcoming calamity, then he can naturally return to the Royal Capital; if the Geraint family suffers a disaster, he can at least escape to the neighboring country's domain at the earliest opportunity, seeking refuge.]
[But clearly, poor Tan Juan Geraint didn't live to reach Frostwater Harbor.]
[His most loyal guardian John, likewise...]
As these traces faded away, new texts appeared before Annan:
[Main Quest: Fulfill John's unfinished last wish.]
Suddenly, a large block of small text surfaced below this line:
[Identify the true identity of the traitor.]
[Survive until the dinner starts.]
[Do not let Tan Juan Geraint drink the poisoned wine.]
"...Traitors, huh."
Annan contemplated.
He suddenly remembered the resentful whisper, almost like an underwater echo, that he heard when he first entered the instance.
"Traitors... all must die..."
At the moment, Annan considered that the most suspicious seemed to be the chief guard, Claus.
John was ordered to feign sleep in the room, the purpose being to let him stay in this room more naturally. This way, if he was seen by someone, he wouldn't alarm them - from this perspective, young master Tan Juan still had some brains.
However, it appeared that he did not believe that this chief guard, brought in by his father, was the one planning to steal his valuables. Instead, it was the nonsense that Annan had just made up that made the young master suspicious of Claus.
It's clear... at least in Tan Juan's view, Claus had no motive to take his treasures, but he might have ill intentions regarding his heritage.
"...This level of puzzle difficulty indeed only qualifies as simple."
Annan sighed after glancing at the three details derived from the main quest.
Forget it, after all, this game involves my own personal safety. Better take it a bit seriously.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, his mind in gear, "If I were John, what would I do?
"John is an extremely loyal guardian. Perhaps the only person loyal to Tan Juan... If that's the case, then maybe he really never left this place until his death.
"Therefore, he probably died without ever knowing who betrayed Tan Juan, and was killed before dinner began. Yet, he clearly knew that Tan Juan would be made to drink poisoned wine..."
Annan didn't overlook a detail.
John was the only person who died on the deck. There was just one bloodstain, right beneath where John lay.
So, John did eventually leave this room. And it was when he left this room that he was betrayed and met his death.
Conversely, to fulfill John's last wish, I must not stay put here. Otherwise, I would be repeating the same story that happened to John.
I have at most three chances, so this time I must at least gather some useful, advantageous intelligence.
If I can find out who the traitors are on the ship, what time they plan to act, and where they will do it… this intelligence could then be used in the next attempt.
Crouching here would mean knowing nothing.
I must leave this place.
—But I can't let Tan Juan discover it.
Annan's thoughts grew clearer.
```
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone