The Drowner

**The Drowner** is one of **11** Devils currently featured in *Soul at Stake*.

She was introduced as the Devil of Drown in the Disgrace, a DLC released on 26 June 2019.

## Lore

Chu Mei mournfully shoulders in front of the hall like she was crying, and the back was still familiar. Hearing the sound, Chu Mei slowly looked back and looked at Guo Quan, full of horror and sadness. She moved her lips and wanted to speak, but she seemed to be speechless, and tears flowed down her cheeks.

Guo Quan didn't know what kind of expression he should show at the moment. His mind was blank. He only felt a hot stream rushing upwards, his face was red, his teeth were bitten, and he sang one word at a time:

"You killed my wife...?"

He kicked the brazier and took a chair and smashed it toward Chu Mei's head. Chu Mei didn't dodge, the chair squatted on her head, Chu Mei's body smashed into a smog, disappeared without a trace - it turned out to be an illusion.

Guo Quan collapsed, stumbled in front of the tablet and burst into tears.

At this point, there was a mad beggar in the town. He was unkempt, with a painting on his back and a spiritual card on his waist, which writes the name of "Guo Quan".

Many years, he became old, people are getting used to his existence, but none of them are willing to give him alms. The story about him has been circulating in the streets for a long time, and even the children know that this is the retribution he deserves.

Only one person will often give him some porridge or leftovers. She is the owner of the shoe shop on the street. Everyone calls her "June", she was gorgeous, always has a smile on her face, and was very kind to everyone.

June runs a small shoe shop, her craft is very good, and her days are still good. Every evening, she will come to the small pier by the river, looking at the end of the river, until the sky is dark and can't see further, she will turn around and leave silently.

Guo Quan is waiting for June here every day. She will bring some food. He will accompany her to look at the river until she leaves. Every time June turns around, Guo Quan will see the loss from the face of her.

For a long time, Guo Quan realized that June is waiting for her husband to return to the dock every day. Her husband had gone to the army in the early years and never seen his son once.

June's son is 4 or 5 years old. The child doesn't know if he will talk. Guo Quan never heard him talk, and he silently holds his mother's hand. When June looked far from the river, he turned to look at Guo Quan. Guo Quan sometimes tries to tease him or make him laugh, and he fails. One day Guo Quan used a willow branch to stain the water and painted a pair of small birds on the ground. The child immediately opened his eyes and looked down. When the water was quickly dried up, he painted another one, over and over...

June, surprised, hearing her son laughed. She looked back and saw Guo Quan's painting on the ground, her son seems to like it. June quickly squatted and pulled her son to her, seeing his face full of smiles.

June's tears came out and hold her child hard. This was her first time to saw her son's smile.

At night, Guo Quan slept outside June's shop, and there was a piece of wood under the body, a mat, and a quilt on his body. This may be the most extravagant feeling for so many years. Until the three days, the streets crowded with a lot of people, and yet he hasn't got up.

From that day on, June's shop has a new kind of goods - embroidered shoes. The flowers on the shoes look good and variety.

The best one is the red embroidered shoes worn by June, embroidered with pink peony, the flowers are gorgeous, the leaves are full, and as commensurate as June.

Guo Quan has been sleeping in the doorway of the shoe shop, which anxious Liu Er Dan, the brother of June's husband. Er Dan is very enthusiastic. He always comes to help June on weekdays, move some heavy stuff. In the evening, he often sits outside June's shop and smoke and drives out the playful children from time to time.

Guo Quan snoring at the door, apparently June allowed him to. Er Dan somehow, actually committed jealousy, squatting across the shop every day until very late, staring at the old man with hatred, and often kick him before leaving.

Before he slept here, Guo Quan saw Er Dan squatting at the door of June's shop at night. When they went to the shop to help the old man, the door of the shop was facing the aisle of the counter. There is a big tub hanging next to it, which is used by June for her bath. The pavement is small, Guo Quan thinks that when June put the tub in the aisle when she. He could also hear the sound of the water when he slept outside the door. Guo Quan knew clearly why Er Dan kicked him, just pretending not to, every time he jumped his feet and shouted.

This is a landscape so that the town is full of the warmth of life, the neighborhoods will hear the screams will also hang with a smile of peace of mind if it is limited to this. But that doesn't stop Er Dan.

In a few days, June was called by Er Dan's patriarch. When she came back, she lacks the smile on her face, and she didn't talk with Guo Quan. She just put a bowl of rice on the side of him and quickly closed her shop.

Guo Quan saw Er Dan squinting at the corner with a smirk. Guo Quan is a person who has experienced hardships, through all kinds of signs, he soon realized the situation. He slowly climbed up and squatted to the small dock - where he used to sleep.

When he walks passed Er Dan, the two men spit to each other, Guo Quan spits one more and walked away with satisfaction.

When Guo Quan walked away, Er Dan approach to the door of the shop and heard June was crying. He glanced, hurriedly opened the door, trying to comfort June. When she saw him, she forcefully closes the door, a sly, fell to the ground. Er Dan eagerly went to help, but was slammed by the door and fell in June.

It was still dark, and the neighborhood on the street did not know what happened. They saw Er Dan rushing out of the shop, and June closed the door, panting, and the hair was scattered...

Today, Guo Quan didn't see June came to wait for her husband, which is very unusual, he was a little worried, and looking into the streets. Er Dan approach to Guo Quan sullenly, and beaten Guo Quan up.

Guo Quan shunned in panic and ran, and was chased by Er Dan to the river. Guo Quan stopped, but was kicked by Er Dan and fell into the river.

He was a little dizzy. When the water was immersed in his head, he seemed to be a little awake. He seemed to hear the sound of the water, but very distinct. Guo Quan woke up and quickly reached out to touch the painting. He couldn’t help but be surprised. The painting was gone. He was afraid that it would fall when he fell into the water. He quickly searched in the water and traveled deeper and deeper. When he felt that the oxygen was running out, he could no longer swim to the surface.

Guo Quan touched the spiritual card at the waist - still. There was a smile on his face, realizing that the spirit card would finally come in handy. He had no loved ones. He could have a spiritual card after his death and he would be content with him. This was his wife, Chu Mei, personally made for him.

The warmth made him open his eyes again, the sun was full, and it was always a rainy town.

Guo Quan propped up, touched the spirit card, and stood up suspiciously - Am I dreaming?

A lot of people were surrounded in the distance, and Guo Quan slowly walked over. Only to saw June's son was crying loudly at the riverside. He was holding June's soaked red embroidered shoes.

June is dead, and Guo Quan could not believe that she was sentenced to death because of adultery.

No matter how Guo Quan argues with others, no one listens to him, and even calls him a madman, one of the people saw the scene in the shop, perhaps because of it, June had to kill Er Dan to cover up the truth. This is the conclusion that the family has unanimously passed. Therefore, the subjective judgment of the majority has become a fact, June is adultery, sentenced to be drowned.

Guo Quan drove to distraction. June's son holding her embroidered shoes. They both sitting at the riverside where June was drowned...

The next day, Guo Quan woke up with a headache and found that June's embroidered shoes were gone, and June's son did not cry and look for it, but he still looked at the water surface where June sank.

People of the town, including the patriarch, starting to die, in an extremely brutal way. Some were drowned, and some even had their face stripped. . . The only thing in common is that they have a pair of wet embroidered shoes next to their bodies, red and fascinating, embroidered with pink peony.

Guo Quan feels that he can no longer stay in this town. It doesn't matter to himself, but afraid that June's son will be implicated by this incident, and is prepared to take him to escape by boat overnight.

From the boat to the place where June was sunk, the child suddenly hugged the ship's side and looked down. Guo Quan quickly went to pull him. He suddenly saw a lot of water mist on the surface of the water. June was tied up by the rope, slowly rise from the water. Seeing the child's face full of tears, waving his hands to her, June wants to hug him, but seems to be caught by someone from behind, unable to move forward, only to tremble her voice to Guo Quan, pleased him to take care her child and tells him the truth.

That night, Er Dan shamed June and she slapped him in the face, so he beat Guo Quan to vent his anger, and fell into the river as well when he kicked Guo Quan. When Er Dan was trying to surface himself, he was pushed back into the water by someone's hand.

The hand has long nails, like a claw, it was the devil - The Phantom.

Hearing that, Guo Quan is already in tears, crying for a good time to see Chu Mei, however, that is no longer possible - the painting has disappeared without a trace, forever...

Both Guo Quan and the child crying in the bow of the ship, beheading the empty night, the two beautiful and close relatives have already dissipated...

## Overview

**The Drowner** may teleport a distance to the front and leave a pond there. The first Gambler stepping on the pond will be cursed.

## Abilities

The Drowner has two abilities. The Drowner can press key 1 and key 2 to switch between the two modes which share the cooldown.

### **Venom**

The Drowner may teleport a distance to the front and leave a pond there (Up to 4 in total). The Drowner will sense the aura of the cursed Gambler for 10 seconds and hear an auditory warning when a Gambler is stepping on a pond and being cursed to be seen as a pair of red shoes to nearby Gamblers. Cursed Gambler will transfer the curse to a cardholder when they touch it, and the next Gambler touching the same cardholder carries on the curse.

### **Sink**

The Drowner can trap the Gamblers in a sink. Gamblers have to free themselves or get rescued, or will be seriously wounded when the sink drowns them. Gamblers may free themselves from the Sink, but they will take damage and lose 60% of the health.

#### Ability notes

* Both **Venom** and **Sink** have a cooldown of **20** seconds.
* **The Drowner** can maintain up to **4** *Ponds*.
	+ Each new *Pond* will replace the oldest one.
* It takes **60** seconds for the healthy Gamblers trapped in a *Sink* to be put into the seriously wounded state.
	+ Takes **30** seconds for the wounded Gamblers trapped in a *Sink* to be put into the seriously wounded state.
* Gains **20** Stakes each time a Gambler gets trapped in a *Sink*.
	+ Gains **20** Stakes each time a Gambler break free by themselves or seriously wounded by *Sink*.
* *Ponds* are all *invisible* to Gamblers.

## Cheats

*The Exclusive Skill of **The Drowner**.*

## Tips

Playing as The Drowner
* Using **Venom** can help your positioning to land your hit.
* Try to hold down Sink shortly before you think a Gambler might attempt to close a Door or vault a Window. Such hits are often easy to land due to the Gambler's animation lock.
* **Venom** ignore Walls and any obstacles, you can use this to your advantage to ambush the Gamblers.
* **The Drowner** doesn't need to vault Windows or break Doors/Windows since she can teleport through them with **Venom**.

Playing against The Drowner
* Breaking out from the Sink by yourself may either get yourself free but will take damage and lose 60% of your health.
* Do not attempt to close the Door or vault through Windows while you're being pursued by **The Drowner**, you might end up getting trapped in the Sink due to the animation lock.

## Notes

* The Drowner is the fourth female Devil.
* The Drowner is the first Devil to come without an accompanying Gambler or Map
* The Drowner is the second Devil who floats, the first being The Bride.
* The Drowner is the first and only Devil who has two different Abilities.
* The Drowner is the second Devil who can teleport with other means, the others being The Bride and The Twins.
* The Drowner is strongly ressembles **Water Spirit**.