Super Righteous Player
Chapter 392 - 389: Entwined Fate (Third Update)_1

Chapter 392: Chapter 389: Entwined Fate (Third Update)_1

Joseph Backer... also known as Elle’s biological father, the "Big Hammer Bro" from the Gallery.

At that time, Elle Morrison’s name was still Eirelle Backer.

The reason Joseph abandoned Eirelle and divorced her mother was that Elle’s mother... who was his own apprentice Clara, planned to blackmail her mentor with this child.

She hoped to gain more benefits from Joseph... for instance, becoming a real wizard, or even a great wizard and mentor.

——In fact, Joseph had already given her a lot.

It was only after Annan thoroughly cleared the Gallery and reported the final outcome to Joseph... that Joseph told Annan the whole truth.

It was also the last fragment of history:

In truth, Clara simply lacked the talent to be a wizard.

The arcane knowledge that Joseph passed on to Clare — including a grimoire written by someone from the Winter family, which recorded Black Widow and Skeleton Lord, and other numerous gods, as well as books containing many secrets of False Gods. All these were gifts from Joseph to her.

His original intention was clear.

Knowing that she lacked the talent to be a wizard, he gave her the book with the hope that she could become a ritualist instead.

After all, Clare wasn’t particularly passionate about the path of the wizard. She learned spells merely in the hope of raising her status and becoming an important figure.

But what Joseph didn’t expect... was that Clare eventually chose to become a "Spider Speaker".

...He certainly didn’t want to spend much time with the followers of the Black Widow.

Maybe someday, he would be poisoned without even realizing it.

But the fate Joseph ended up with, wifeless and childless, was his own doing.

It was because of his direct recommendation that Clara was accepted into the White Tower... Back then, Clara hadn’t yet started worshipping the Black Widow and had not tasted power and wealth; she was still a naive and adorable young girl of thirteen or fourteen.

Simply put, he lusted after her body. Hence, he directly interfered, altering her life trajectory.

——Clara’s appearance can be seen in Elle.

And her family were bona fide, genuine commoners.

Her father was a dockworker, and her mother was a female factory worker in a textile mill. Not only were they not of noble birth, but they could barely recognize a few words. Her greatest advantages were her outstanding appearance and willingness to endure hardship.

That was also the reason Joseph fell for her. He even made Clara his silver-rank Keeper of Secrets — the power of the vow directly added some basic perception attributes to Clara, allowing her to barely pass the exam.

By the way, the Curse Binding Keeper of Secrets for Annan was Defu, who was guarding his advancement at the time. Later, considering it might not be appropriate not to tell Kafney, he told her as well.

After all, there wasn’t much value in keeping it a secret.

If we had to mention something, it was "his left eye actually can’t see anything." Other than that, there was nothing.

After Annan realized that the Curse Binding of the silver-rank could improve attributes, he planned to use it as the main reward for the next stage of the quest — it would strengthen the players, reflect his trust in them, and reinforce the power of the vow.

This is killing three birds with one stone.

What Joseph didn’t expect was that Clara’s personality quickly changed after he invited her into the White Tower... but she had already learned of Joseph’s Curse Binding and began to gradually blackmail him in return.

Perhaps blackmail is too strong a word, but she indeed kept demanding more from Joseph.

Or rather, having lived through tough times and lacking security, she was particularly concerned about her future quality of life. And due to Joseph’s possessiveness, she did not know other wizards, so she could only ask Joseph for more.

According to her original life trajectory, she would have married some foreman, government clerk, or teacher... With the best luck, she could have only married a young clergyman.

Unless this clergyman suddenly advanced to the level of a bishop, she would never have been able to achieve a class leap in her lifetime.

But after she came into contact with the world of wizards, this became possible—

If she could graduate and become a Formal Wizard, she could be employed by local nobles, live a comfortable life forever... and even the nobles would have to treat her with great respect. In addition, with her carefully maintained appearance and figure, with some luck, she could directly become a noblewoman.

Yes, although the status of a silver-rank great wizard is much higher than that of a local noble.

But Clara still hoped that Joseph would obtain a title, preferably a fief or more money... but Joseph himself knew that he didn’t need to do that.

As a Decree Wizard, he was the only Transcendent with the ability to "detect lies and verify the truth in the presence of a third person." Whether it was verifying the ownership of an item, determining whether someone was lying, carrying poison, or dangerous items, examining the cause of a wound, seeing through someone’s real name... as well as conveniently using spatial abilities, such as pushing someone away or swapping two people’s positions.

The Decree School is actually the most convenient school in real life.

He would be the best policeman, detective, bodyguard. Any noble must at least befriend a Decree Wizard, or else they will be helpless when trouble arises.

It would be more accurate to say that if a Decree Wizard had his own land and title, his actions would become much less convenient... because he would no longer be objective.

However, Clara couldn’t understand this. She even connected him to some work, asking him to use his spells to do something illegal — and if Joseph refused, Clara would bring up the fact that as her mentor, Joseph had not permitted her to graduate and become an advanced wizard.

—This, in fact, was the direct cause of the intensification of their conflict.

Considering the age...

Louis is thirty years old this year, and his father died shortly after he was born. Alexander, his older brother, personally taught him when he was in the knight’s order. That means Alexander’s time on missions would be about fifty years ago. And the death of Elle’s mother was roughly forty-six or forty-seven years ago.

So, it’s possible that Joseph even had a clash with Alexander back then...

Because there was a significant problem with the intelligence, it’s certain Alexander let many people go... and Elle’s mother might have been among them.

Annan came to this conclusion and immediately asked,

"Your Excellency Alexander... do you know a man named Joseph Backer?"

"...From where?"

Perhaps because too much time had passed, Alexander was somewhat puzzled at first.

But after Annan reminded him that this was something that happened forty-five years ago in Frostwater Harbor, a flicker of realization crossed Alexander’s eyes.

"Are you talking about... ’Hand of Justice’ Backer? I certainly did know him, but it has been a long time since I last saw him. He is probably dead by now.

"Yes... I saw him. In fact, I was in pursuit of his ex-wife, who was a worshipper of the Black Widow... Although in the end, I didn’t manage to apprehend her successfully. That’s because, when I pushed her to the limit, she attempted to create a poison potent enough to kill me, beyond her own capabilities. But she lack the power and died instantly due to the backlash of a failed ritual."

He shook his head with a trace of pity, "It’s a shame... because I never intended to kill her.

"Even if his ex-wife had been arrested, according to the laws, she would still be sentenced to death...

"...but in fact, Backer had already spoken to me by then."

He paused here, then added frankly, "Or rather, I had accepted his bribe. Of course, it was within the ’transactions’ allowed by the Silver Baron — after all, his ex-wife became a follower of the Black Widow not long ago and only managed to kill one person. She almost killed her second husband, but thankfully I arrived in time, and that man survived. I remember he was a well-known painter or something... I’m not too familiar with that, so I don’t have a strong recollection. Since she hadn’t committed multiple murders, the charge could be reduced from ’live sacrifice crime’ to ’murder’, and after paying a sufficient bail, her imprisonment could be shortened to ten years.

"It’s just that his ex-wife didn’t trust me... or rather, she didn’t trust Mr. Backer, and in the end, she died. And I had already consumed the potion Mr. Backer gave me and couldn’t return it to him. I am truly sorry for that.

"So after he returned to the Royal Capital, I could only compensate him with my own weapon. Although he didn’t want to take it and said it wasn’t my fault, in the end, I still gave him that hammer.

"It was my favorite cursed object... not the one he needed the most. But it was about punishing myself, so I needed to give up what I treasured most to remind me of my error."

Alexander sighed, slightly regretful and nostalgic, "Even though I know that what I gave doesn’t match the value of what he entrusted to me, that was the most substantial compensation I could offer."

Paper Princess curiously asked from the side, "Is it to remind yourself to be more serious about the things you promise to others?"

"—No, it’s not to make unfounded promises. Especially the things that you may not be able to accomplish."

Alexander’s gaze was calm, his pupils deep.

Wait, a hammer?

Annan suddenly paused.

Could it be?

Annan felt a sense of absurdity wash over him.

Fate really is... the best and worst of directors.

Indirectly, Alexander killed Clara, leading to Amos starting his studies in ritual spells, then summoning the Bone Pope, betraying Elle, and eventually leading to "Nightmare: Gallery." And Amos himself was killed by Backer who possessed the "Barrier-Breaking Right Arm."

...At the same time, had it not been for Annan’s intervention, Louis would probably have perished at Frostwater Harbor. Given his obstinacy, perhaps by that time, the Betraying Angel would have almost hatched.

If that oversized hammer was the one Alexander gave to Backer... then everything was connected.

—This was the cause and effect from outside the nightmare.

The destined fate.

Annan tentatively asked, "May I ask something? Do you still remember the name of that cursed object?"

Unsurprisingly, the answer was exactly as Annan expected—

"It was named ’Barrier-Breaking Right Arm’, a one-handed hammer. It was a cursed object custom-made for me by the blacksmith in my church." Alexander replied with a hint of nostalgia.