Super Righteous Player
Chapter 402 - 399 Sublime Pseudo Body_1

Chapter 402: Chapter 399 Sublime Pseudo Body_1

Denton’s heart stirred slightly.

The surroundings rippled like water, and Bernadino’s height shot up to that of a down-and-out youth of about seventeen or eighteen — although still a teenager, his stubble and features made him seem like a twenty-seven- or twenty-eight-year-old.

He himself had turned into a kindly old man with white hair.

"...How about it, Bern?"

Denton chuckled with a benign voice, "Would you like to come with me to the Tower of Black Radiance?"

"But, but I’m already seventeen... Is it still possible?"

Bernadino’s gaze wavered.

In his eyes, Denton saw the familiar, newly kindled flame of hope—

And just as skillfully, he snuffed it out:

"Of course—"

He drew out his words, chuckling, "As long as you have money. I can give you a referral spot.

"Five hundred pounds, an opportunity to change fate, not expensive, right? So, do you have the money?"

Naturally, Bernadino did not.

Let alone five hundred pounds, his entire fortune amounted to only three pounds.

Watching the smile on Bernadino’s face fade and the flame of hope in his eyes extinguish once more, becoming dim, Denton merely patted his shoulder and whispered like a devil, "But there’s no need to rush... If you don’t have a chance as an apprentice, there’s always the option to be an unnamed apprentice."

"...Unnamed apprentice?"

"Yes. At the Tower of Black Radiance, we focus on idol and Soul Snatching School spells, and many spell practices require cooperation. If you’re willing, you can also audit some courses; all it will cost is becoming the subject of other students’ spells, just as a mind-reading target."

Denton said with a cheery smile, "Not only is it free of charge, but it also includes food and accommodation, how about that?"

—In other words, a guinea pig.

Soul Snatching and idol spells are types that cannot be used without a target.

Of course they wouldn’t let the students practice on the teachers.

But they wouldn’t allow the apprentices to experiment on each other, either.

Therefore, naturally they need to hire people as "course props."

Principle-wise, if an "unnamed apprentice" manages to learn any spell while spells are cast on them, they can directly become a regular apprentice. Not only would the tuition be waived, but they’d also receive some pocket money.

However, Denton’s goal was to destroy Bernadino’s beautiful memories and plant the seed of self-destruction in his heart.

So of course he wouldn’t say that.

As long as he knew that Bernadino had harbored a desire for self-destruction at some precise moment in his life,

he could detonate it exactly in the future.

This was merely the setting-up phase.

Watching the "youth" struggle vehemently, mulling things over, Denton gently patted his shoulder and added in a soft voice, "Of course, if you don’t wish to, I’m not insisting.

"—I just think that you’re so young. Shouldn’t you learn something, lest you waste your prime years?"

He asked casually, "Oh right, speaking of which, do you have a dream? Is there something you really want to do?"

"...A dream, yes."

The young Bernadino murmured in a low voice, "I surely have one."

"What is it?"

Denton asked gently, "If it resonates with me, maybe I’ll recruit you exceptionally, you know?"

—That, of course, was a lie.

The objective was to provide hope and then to administer further despair.

But Bernadino didn’t react excitedly with queries such as "Is that really true?"

He just fell silent, shaking his head, gazing at the sky.

His look was as weathered as that of an old man.

"I once wanted to become a philosopher; I wished to attend a seminary. I wanted to know what this world is truly like. I used to think I was smart; I wanted to personally experience the reality of this world; I sought to understand how this world, this universe, came to be," he murmured softly.

"But in the end, I... didn’t succeed.

"—I haven’t done anything right. I deserve to end up like this."

"What happened?"

Denton asked with a concerned and gentle voice, "Could you tell me about it?"

"It was my incompetence."

Bernadino shook his head silently, whispering, "This is destiny, which I have missed.

"As written in ’On the Mysteries of Fate and the Dice’s Halves,’ ’Fate is the Wheel of Celestial Chariot.’ Once it moves, it cannot be turned back... Thank you.

"For letting me let go of what I couldn’t let go of, what I couldn’t forget, at last."

As Denton listened, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

Without hesitation, he turned and ran.

Blue flames erupted on his skin, and like a fantastical bird made of crystal, he took off in an instant. The scenery around him changed rapidly, and with each flap of his wings, he fled a year into the past.

But just then, from behind the young and decadent Bernadino, there suddenly rose a half-translucent black giant formed of countless black spirits, with a single dazzling golden eye, like a slowly rotating nebula, in its belly.

The giant lifted its hand, crossing the span of time seemingly slow but fast, grabbing Denton as if he were a real little bird.

"Sorry! I was wrong!"

Denton immediately apologized, "I can sign a contract with you, any conditions you want!"

What a joke...

If Bernadino had shown this from the beginning, he most certainly would have fled right away.

As a seasoned Gold-tier Transcendent, he obviously knew what this was.

—This was the mark of one who had already attained the ’Crown of the Supreme’ and the ’Perfect Essence of Elements’!

The so-called ’Elevated False Body.’

The five essentials needed for the Ascension Ritual.

’Cycle of the Four Wheels’ — No longer possessing physical or spiritual weaknesses or vulnerabilities, and having a Perpetual Motion Machine that could generate infinite power.

’Work of Creation’ — Accomplishing great deeds that could only be achieved by oneself, changing an era with the power of one individual.

’Crown of the Supreme’ — Reaching the ’absolute number one’ in a certain field.

’Prototype of Truth’ — Finding and gathering a complete set of the Book of Truth.

’Perfect Essence of Elements’ — Awakening at least one element to its deepest level.

Among the five conditions for godhood, the first two are the most difficult. Each deity chooses a different path.

The last three are relatively much easier... The Book of Truth selects people directly, no need to strive forcibly. With talent, the other two conditions only require waiting.

Among the latter three, meeting the criteria for ’Perfect Essence of Elements’ and one or two other conditions qualifies as an ’Elevated False Body.’

That is, a true ’Demigod.’

If all three are met, there should be a distinctly contoured giant spirit—its form would reveal the essential desires deep within one’s heart as well as the true nature of one’s soul.

But Bernadino didn’t possess the Book of Truth, so his Elevated False Body was mired in mud and unclear.

Even so... this was still absolutely not an enemy Denton could resist.

"We have no conflict, do we? His Holiness the Pure Spirit Medium... What exactly do you want?"

"What I want..."

Bernadino murmured softly, a smile playing on his lips: "I don’t think you’d give it to me.

"—Because what I want is your spinal cord."

Having said that, he casually tossed Denton’s soul into the belly of the ’Elevated False Body’ behind him.

When Bernadino opened his eyes again,

the crowd that had been relentlessly attacking him had come to a dumbstruck halt.

They quickly came to their senses.

Screaming, shouting, fleeing, or attacking, over a thousand people were in complete chaos.

And no one could stop Bernadino.

Soon, an elf spirit came out of the palace, holding a string of bloody vertebrae.

Feeling the approach of several powerful presences, Bernadino chuckled without panic,

"Want to see us fight like dogs... Fine. I’ll give this body to you..."

Bernadino murmured softly.

He summoned his Elevated False Body again and tossed the spinal cord into it.

Then he absorbed all the spirits into his right eye.

After that, he simply tilted his head on the wheelchair and stopped breathing.