Super Righteous Player
Chapter 388 - 385 Alexander_1

Chapter 388: Chapter 385 Alexander_1

Truth be told, when Annan finally met this once-champion Swordsman, he was indeed taken aback.

The appearance of "Alexander Robin" was indeed far beyond Annan’s expectations—

He appeared to be a middle-aged man in his fifties, exceptionally tall, at least over one meter eighty-five.

His skin was a sunbaked tan, almost brownish, and his hair was auburn. Alexander had a square face, deep-set eyes, and a resolute gaze, with his beard carefully shaven, leaving neatly trimmed stubble. A scar slashed across his cheek and cut obliquely across his lips, approaching his eyelid.

Just a bit further up, and his right eye would have been gouged out by a knife.

His amber-colored pupils seemed to glow under the light, adding even more intimidation to Alexander’s appearance.

...He looked nothing like the world-renowned great banker, the legendary sharp-eyed investor, the famous generous philanthropist he was supposed to be.

Instead, he resembled a fierce fighter, a strict and dependable mercenary band captain. His thick hands, covered with sword scars and calluses, were subconsciously clenched into fists; his stable stride and broad arms further accentuated this point.

Although he was dressed in the uniform of the Silver Baron’s Priest, which resembled a long white suit coat, his shoulder muscles filled out the inside of the suit so much that you could even see slight wrinkles where they were pushed up by his musculature.

—This uncle looked like the type who could enjoy a hearty conversation with a tasty roasted goose.

This was the first impression that came to Annan’s mind.

What was that saying again, moderate fitness attracts the opposite sex, excessive fitness attracts the same sex...

He and the tasty roasted goose were very close in height and build, except that his skin was significantly coarser and thicker, while the tasty roasted goose’s skin was quite fair.

Of course, the biggest difference was that he had hair...and quite lush at that. As for the tasty roasted goose, he had Sacrificed his own hair for his strength.

"What, did I scare you?"

After leading Annan and Paper Princess to his office, Mr. Alexander asked Paper Princess and Annan to sit down across the table before returning to his seat with a hearty smile.

His voice was low and magnetic, "Is it a bit different from what you had in mind?"

"...Yes."

Annan nodded, barely suppressing a smile that was about to burst forth, "But it’s not too shocking, actually.

"After all, I have seen Silver Baron Priests with a physique similar to yours..."

What Annan was referring to was Salvatore’s friend, Priest Louis. He could be considered at least a friend of a friend to Annan, and they had a good relationship.

Of course, the next time they met, Annan would have to address him as "Knight Louis."

"Oh?"

Alexander raised his eyebrows and countered, "Is he from the Hand of Silver? Now in the Royal Capital, preparing to become a Silver Knight?"

"...You know him?"

Annan blinked, not particularly surprised.

But then again, after all, there were just those people who were Silver Knights.

If old bread could recommend himself to learn swordsmanship from Alexander, it meant that Alexander was certainly not the kind of strong man who hoarded his sword skills.

And as the best active Silver Knight in swordsmanship, Alexander was bound to have many young Silver Knights and candidates coming to learn from him. It was no surprise he knew Louis.

However, looking closely...

Alexander slapped his hand on the table, letting out a hearty laugh, his voice growing a few decibels, "Louis, that lad, right?"

"Yes—that’s right; I met him at Frostwater Harbor."

"Hmm, indeed he was dispatched to Frostwater Harbor. He’s a good kid... With such a dangerous mission that’s a matter of life and death, I am not surprised that he took it up."

Alexander’s voice once again became steady and magnetic, "He is my pride. Just like his father."

...Huh?

Annan was somewhat surprised, "He is your...?"

"He is my nephew, my own flesh and blood,"

Alexander said slowly, "His father was my brother, also a Silver Knight... I am the leader of the Hand of Silver. When he was still in the Hand of Silver, I was the one who taught him personally.

"When he was investigating a case where a Black Widow’s follower poisoned a well, leading to the death of the entire village, his wife was killed in retaliation. Back then, Louis had just been born not long ago, and I could only place him in my home, where my wife raised him on sheep’s milk.

"At that time, he used a ritual that had a great cost, causing his condition to become unstable. Later, he sacrificed himself while purifying a nightmare... And when he eventually turned into a demon, it was I who personally executed him.

"I promised him one last request, to look after his son. When I was young, I made vows of celibacy and abstinence for the sake of greater power... Hence, Louis is also my son."

...I see.

No wonder.

That being said, Louis and Alexander’s statures were indeed not too different, neither in height nor weight. In Noah, men over one meter eighty weren’t all that common—male adult Elves typically stood over that height, but the Oasis humans tended to be shorter.

Upon closer inspection, their hair color both had a tint of red, just with different shades... and their faces also bore some resemblance. But compared to Alexander, who resembled a lion ready to rage at any moment, his nephew Louis looked much gentler and more peaceful, with much fairer skin and almost no scars on his body.

Yet another question emerged in Annan’s mind.

Seemingly noticing Annan’s confusion, Alexander spoke up, "Are you wondering why I sent Louis to Frostwater Harbor?"

"Just a small doubt,"

Annan nodded, explaining, "After all, you must also know... Frostwater Harbor is far too dangerous.

"Its nightmare being successfully purified had nothing to do with Louis. It was a task completely out of his control, so why have him undertake it?"

"It wasn’t that I wanted him to undertake it, but that it was a task that needed someone to do. The previous Priest was corrupted by the nightmare of Frostwater Harbor, and that was many years ago—he was recalled to the Royal Capital to take poison and die an honorable human death before turning into a demon.

"But after that, we had no knowledge of what happened in Frostwater Harbor. We knew that the Skeleton Lord was staying there for a long time, trying to carry out some ritual... Since Frostwater Harbor is a border region, we had an even greater need to send a cleric to bring it under control.

"This extremely difficult nightmare, which hadn’t been purified for fifty years, required at least one cleric to be sent to oversee it—at the very least, to send word to the Royal Capital or Roth Fort right away in case of an irreversible emergency, to completely purify Frostwater Harbor before the worst outcome came to pass."

Alexander continued evenly, "In fact, we didn’t initially plan to recruit a ’purifier,’ we merely intended to recruit a ’watcher.’ There was no need to choose young and capable individuals from within the promising Hand of Silver... Just sending an old bishop to take over would be enough.

"For other Twisted Tier nightmares, ’watching’ is much simpler—just enter the nightmare, observe its changes carefully, and then exit in time. However, in this nightmare, even the slightest carelessness can lead to loss of memory... The more one wants to ’watch,’ the more one must attempt to ’purify.’"

It was a dead end.

No matter what, one had to try to purify the nightmare—and the more one tried, the easier it was to die within the nightmare, to be corrupted by the curse.

Annan finally understood.

That was why...

Louis could not grasp the mechanics of the nightmare, nor did he investigate them.

With the purification of nightmares depending on luck... he fearlessly entered the Nightmare: Gallery each day, silently advancing through the never-ending corridors of nightmares without looking back.

—He was upholding his duty.

He did not investigate the mechanisms, so as to survive for a longer time.

So that no one else would take over his post... So that no one else would sacrifice themselves.

...Annan finally realized.

To oneself, to players, a nightmare akin to a level-up "instance"... For the "natives," what did it truly signify?

It was a true—nightmare.