The Effect of "Oliver" the Skull

Professor Armitage dialed Mr. Sawyer's home phone again, and Dr. Morgan answered the phone.

"That skull is no longer useful," Professor Armitage said.

"You broke it?"

"No, it's still intact, but Hope found a way to disable it."

Dr. Morgan didn't ask how he did it, "Well, Wilbur— "

"He escaped," Professor Armitage replied. "He possesses Third Tier Inspiration and seventh-order special abilities; we couldn't stop him."

Dr. Morgan paused for a second, then said, "Alright. We've already loaded the explosives onto the trucks, and Mr. Sawyer has even provided two oxcarts."

There should be enough time—we'll blow those rocks up before Wilbur gets back.

"He might not go back. Just because he escaped from the library doesn't mean he can escape from Miskatonic University."

Professor Armitage hung up the phone.

Professor Rice retrieved the revolver that had just been thrown away for Hope.

But he couldn't find the specially made dagger.

Wilbur picked it up.

Jack said he slammed his own dagger in front of Hope.

It's almost identical to Dr. Morgan's, except that unlike the exposed metal parts on that one, every part of this one is painted black.

Jack clutched his head, the veins on his forehead bulging beneath his blond hair.

This is a side effect of running out of Inspiration.

Even though Professor Rice's medicine has taken effect, he can only stay here and rest for the time being.

"You can give it a try," Jack said. "But don't go too far. Wilbur can only get out through the main gate, and the guards are armed."

Having a gun doesn't necessarily stop Wilbur —he probably knows that himself, so he must have made ample preparations— Hope thought.

He gripped the revolver, pretended to be sitting in the car, and then looked for the tires.

Jack pulled his hand back slightly to adjust his position. "Not so far forward. If you were sitting on the edge, the tires should be here."

"You have to be careful," Professor Rice said. "That could cause the car to go out of control."

"Just practicing," Hope replied. "It might not even be useful."

Professor Rice was fiddling with his bottles and jars again.

After a while, he gave Hope a bottle of medicine that was almost as black as ink.

"Your body is too weak right now," Professor Rice said.

"Ah—so, this is a potion that increases strength?" Hope asked.

He brought the bottle close to his eyes; in the black liquid, there seemed to be some undissolved green powder.

Professor Rice shook his head. "Unfortunately, while such a thing does exist, this is not it."

"So what does it do?"

"A potent painkiller," Professor Rice replied. "It will slow down your perception of pain and fatigue for a while, so you won't be afraid to exert yourself because of the pain."

"I know about this stuff," Jack said. "My colleagues and I always keep some on hand. In some situations, it can be incredibly effective—of course, if we actually encounter such a situation, we're not far from death."

Jack said it with a laugh, deliberately making his tone comical, but no one laughed at the humor in his words.

He shrugged. "This thing is strange; it makes you feel like a tireless superman. But if you actually believe you are Superman, you're going to die a horrible death."

Professor Rice continued, "Pain is a warning from the body, forcing the injured person to rest. But if the warning isn't received—ha!"

If someone is injured but doesn't realize it, and continues to engage in strenuous exercise—

Hope probably knew what the consequences would be.

Professor Rice shook his head. "But I'm giving you this only in the hope that it will alleviate your fatigue."

Hope drank the liquid from the bottle.

"It has a slightly bitter and spicy taste," he said.

"That's normal," Professor Rice replied. "This taste may linger on your tongue for a while, but you won't feel it anymore once the medicine takes effect."

Professor Armitage walked over, holding Oliver's skull, and placed it on the table.

All three of them looked at him.

"Something very interesting," Professor Armitage said. "God knows how Oliver managed to make his skull like that; he was a complete madman."

"Although the magic inside has dissipated, if Hope places her hand on the skull—"

Hope did as instructed.

Professor Armitage continued, "You'll find that the part of your Spirit Body that you lost 'didn't really disappear, but remained inside your skull.'"

Hope tried to use the "exchange" function to get the items back, but found that she couldn't use the items inside as a bargaining chip.

Is it because of the skull's unique characteristics—or because returns are not possible?

"Try to approach it with a little Inspiration," Professor Armitage said.

Hope was at a loss, so Professor Armitage added, "Close your eyes, and don't touch it; just imagine it in your mind."

Imagine it in your mind—well, Uncertainty?

"It won't trigger Uncertainty," as long as Hope doesn't think like herself.

Based on his extensive experience with Uncertainty, Hope found it easy to imagine the skull.

Finally, looking at the skull shape that had appeared in his mind, Hope realized that it was no longer entirely composed of his imagination, but rather that he was constantly adding details.

Inspiration ----

Hope had a guess.

Self-Sense is the body's various senses, while Inspiration is—completely illogical, without any medium, yet it can be seen.

Inspiration is more than just mana.

As the almost complete skull appeared in Hope's imagination, a strange feeling arose in Hope's heart.

He followed his heart and tried to touch the "imaginary skull".

1.05--1.55

Hope opened her eyes: "This—"

"It's only temporary, it should last about five minutes," Professor Armitage explained. "And it will only have such a significant effect when you use it. Others will only experience a slight increase in power."

Inexplicably, Hope's skin recovered rapidly, and the dry, wrinkled skin that resembled that of an old person vanished instantly.

Jack observed the changes in Hope's body and stared at the skull on the table.

When he heard Professor Armitage say that only Hope could use it, he shook his head. "What a pity."

"How much will the strength increase?" Hope asked.

"The same as your current rate of increase," Professor Armitage replied.

Hope looked at Jack: "Isn't that about the same?"

Jack simply shook his head. "Much worse."

Hope wanted to ask a few more questions, but Professor Rice had already brought the curtains Hope wanted.

It was made of the same material as the Paul provided, thick cotton, only this time it was blue.

The curtains were rolled up, Hope held them to her chest, keeping one side of the curtain firmly in her hand.

In this way, in an emergency, Hope can immediately unfold this magic cloth used for making people disappear and cover herself with it.

Feeling the bitter and spicy taste in her mouth subside and the painkiller taking effect, Hope closed her eyes.

He imagined himself sitting in Nancy's red car.