Volume 1, Chapter 28: Clearing the Stage

The young priest's curse was designed to trap the personalities of Conductor Jack and Mary within the Death Train for eternity, unless someone were to break it.

Jack, however, was only human—a mere mortal. Even while living within the curse’s loop, it was a loop of his own existence, not a suspension of time itself. As time marched on, Jack was destined to age, wither, and die. Yet, it seemed that even as Jack reached the end of his life, the curse remained unbroken. If he had simply been allowed to grow old and pass away, the curse would have dissolved naturally. But without external intervention, the curse could not be broken. This, too, was a rule.

And so, at the very end of their lives, the personalities of Jack and Mary merged into the grotesque, neither-human-nor-ghost entity standing before them. This explained why the creature wore a red dress and why one must not make a sound in her presence—a manifestation of Mary’s personality defect, stemming from the constant judgment she faced regarding her attire. This birthed the rule: silence is mandatory. Yet, she also wielded a shotgun, adhering to Jack’s patrol rules by attacking any escaping players.

*Whoosh—*

The spectral shadow had reached Qin Shang, hovering mere inches from the young man. A foul stench, heavy with the smell of blood, washed over him. But as Qin Shang finished speaking, it was as if an invisible barrier had materialized between them; the shadow of Al could not advance a single step further.

[Ding! Congratulations on completing the main quest of the Death Train.]
[Exploration Rate: 100%]
[Generating game rewards for you...]

Hearing the notification in his mind, the flush on Qin Shang’s cheeks faded as he let out a sigh of relief. His decision to recklessly step forward and present his hypothesis was based on his understanding of the Divine Path.

Balance. Yes, it always came back to balance.

This boss, "Al after resurrection," was simply not something a standard player could handle. While she was bound by rules—that so long as Qin Shang and the others remained motionless and silent, she would not attack—the players were simultaneously stripped of their ability to communicate. The Divine Path instances were like examinations; there had to be a way for the students to hand in their papers. The rules did not forbid "early submission," so one only needed to let the Divine Path know that the student was ready to turn in their work.

A moment later, the electronic chime echoed in his mind again.

[Rewards: 25% EXP, Cursed Red Dress, Holy Cross (Consumable) *3, Rename Card (Consumable) *1, Points *25]
[Level: Level 1, 25% EXP]
[Congratulations on becoming a Level 1 Trickster]
[Class: Trickster]
[Skills: Inheritance, Decipher (05:22 minutes remaining), Heal (05:22 minutes remaining)]

Only five hours left? Seeing the remaining time on his inherited skills, Qin Shang felt a faint sense of relief. Time really did fly in this eerie instance.

[Cursed Red Dress: A dress cursed by a young, fallen priest in medieval Europe who lost his beloved. Because this is a non-class-specific item, using it requires a price.]
[Skill 1: Summon the vengeful spirit of the red dress to fight for one minute. Remember the rules: do not make a sound, do not move, and do not attempt to draw the red dress's attention, or the summoner will also be hunted.]
[Skill 2: Wearing the red dress allows the user to enter a state of "void" comparable to a spectral shadow for five seconds, during which they cannot be harmed by physical attacks.]
[Note: This item inherits the priest's basic {Night Vision} skill, allowing the wearer to use it briefly.]
[Passive Skill: Rewind]
[Description: Due to the priest’s curse, the two fragmented souls are trapped in this dress, enduring an endless cycle. Upon the wearer's death, they may trigger one "Rewind" via the Cursed Red Dress.]
[Note: This is a passive skill and cannot be triggered manually.]
[Price: Using it for more than five minutes will result in blindness for one day.]

The entire sequence of events was now perfectly clear. Initially, Conductor Jack had been a deserter rehired to maintain order on the train. However, haunted by his experiences on the battlefield, he suffered from nightmares about his missing comrades, leading to a paranoid obsession with the idea that passengers might be going missing. He despised his own cowardice, and eventually, a weak personality—Mary—was born, inheriting his nightmares. From then on, the primary personality, Jack, began to fantasize that he was a war hero.

The split personality, Mary, had a penchant for dressing in women’s clothing and would parade around in front of passengers during the day. Though the passengers noticed, they chose to ignore it. The only one brave enough to confront the issue was Al. She discovered the truth and told Jack, but he refused to believe her until he realized Al had a habit of writing letters and intended to report the matter to the outside world.

Jack’s personality spiraled out of control, feeling insulted as a "war hero." After killing Al, his personality retreated in denial. Mary’s personality emerged, assuming the role of a terrified staff member whose colleague had gone missing. She appeared openly before the passengers, who remained as blind as ever, ignoring the situation even as another staff member disappeared.

Then, Al’s former boyfriend boarded the train to investigate her disappearance. He realized that the sealed Carriage No. 3 might hold secrets, and after finding Jack’s diary, the young priest completely snapped. He blamed the passengers; Al hadn't been without attempts to send messages out, and Jack had worn women's clothing in public more than once. But the passengers, prioritizing their own safety and adopting a "none of my business" attitude, were the true cause of Al’s death.

Thus, he placed a curse on the train, trapping the Jack and Mary personalities within the events following the third day described in Mary’s diary. Jack’s actions then became a cycle. Every time the train started, Mary would pass a message to Jack: "Al is missing!" Jack would then patrol at night, attacking passengers indiscriminately. Mary would wake up, find people missing, and sink into deeper terror, eventually gathering the passengers for "evacuation," leading them into Carriage No. 3, and detaching it. Finally, she would watch as Al slaughtered the passengers, before resuming her role as Jack to return the train to port.

Then, the cycle would begin anew. Only the two personalities of Jack and Mary bore the weight of this endless terror, repeating the same actions day after day. That was why the diary entries were stuck in a loop.

Of course, the logic couldn't be scrutinized too deeply, as it was merely a game instance. Why was Jack reappointed as conductor after passengers went missing? How did the cursed carriage return? It was likely just a bug in the Divine Path instance. After all, this instance was once called [Train Exploration], but due to a source of pollution, it transformed into [Death Train]. The nature of that pollution was perhaps linked to the priest's curse. It was unclear whether the instance would refresh after being cleared or if time would continue to move forward.

If time existed as a concept within the Divine Path, perhaps Conductor Jack, after dying of old age, had been forced to conform to the rules of the curse, merging with Al into that grotesque entity. Thus, the source of pollution was formed.

Of course, this was all conjecture on Qin Shang's part. Unless he met the developers of the Divine Path and asked them directly, the minor details and bugs of the [Death Train] would remain a mystery.

"Did... did we clear it?"

The Sheriff and the elderly priest nearby heard the electronic prompt at the same time. Both stared in shock at Qin Shang, watching as the young man stood straight, staring directly into the eyes of the spectral shadow, which now showed no intention of attacking.

The Sheriff and the old man knew for certain that the instance had been cleared. Otherwise, the NPC would surely still be attacking "Licking Cockroach's Jade Feet."

*Damn it? We won by just lying there?*

The Sheriff was taken aback. This polluted A-rank instance was cleared just like that? Before entering the Divine Path this time, he had even prepared himself for death. Who would have thought that after a night of terror, the main quest would be completed so inexplicably?

Shock and disbelief filled his face. I’ll be damned... I was led by a rookie player to clear an instance that had never even been officially recorded?