Super Righteous Player
Chapter 526 - 67: Only One Chance to Clear_1

Chapter 526: Chapter 67: Only One Chance to Clear_1

[Falling into a nightmare, replica being generated...]

[Detected special properties of the current replica: Web, Phantom Dream]

[Dying in this replica does not force ejection from the replica]

[This replica will not distort]

[Different changes occur when different people enter this replica]

[Different changes occur each time you enter this replica]

[Replica difficulty: Twisted, with a maximum of thirty-three entries]

[Current purification rate: 0/1]

[This replica has 12 archive points, and the erosion rate increases by 1% with each death]

[This replica does not provide a storyline introduction, but there is a decryption reward]

[Replica clearance rewards: Any profession below the Gold rank rises 3-5 levels; any profession above the Gold rank rises 1-3 levels]

[Replica decryption rewards: Elements (Vengeance) or Elements (Poison) or Elements (Strictness) awakening depth increases by 10%]

[Replica loading complete]

As Annan slowly opened his eyes, what appeared before him were trees twisted and malformed like monsters. Their leafless trunks were covered in dark green moss, the air thick with the damp smell of spores.

Annan had some concerns that Jiu’er might do something to his body—considering that it was "Giralda" and not "Annan" sleeping outside, there probably wouldn’t be any problems.

I, as a handsome and adorable boy, should also protect myself when I’m out and about.

"But some things, you really have to enter a replica yourself to see."

Annan squinted slightly.

The privileges of the players were different from Annan’s.

Otherwise, they should have noticed the anomaly right from the replica’s introduction.

Not to mention anything else.

—Why does this replica have a maximum purification rate of only [1]?

This means that as soon as any person clears this replica, it would be immediately purified.

And as far as Annan knew... only the specialized nightmare abilities of Priests could pry into the experiences of others within nightmares.

It was the ritual used by Priest Louis when Annan had not yet set foot on the Transcendent path—if the full ritual was prepared completely, it was possible to observe from the outside the process of clearing the nightmare, or to command the ones tackling the nightmare, or even forcibly interrupt the nightmare to rescue people from within to avoid high erosion rates.

Annan certainly knew this Divine Art.

But for him, it didn’t hold much use... Since the players could achieve the same effect directly through forums.

They could observe (meaning live streams), they could command (meaning comments), and they didn’t need to interrupt the nightmares because Annan could directly clear the erosion rate. Moreover, Annan had the authority to kick players offline—

In this respect, the players were like Annan’s own Priests...

To ordinary people, especially the Underground City without Priests, a replica "that can be cleared only once" almost certainly couldn’t be decrypted.

The means to probe a replica’s durability were also Divine Arts.

"Does that mean the Sporogenesis Mill is... a man-made nightmare?"

Annan murmured softly, squinting slightly.

—Perhaps this is the full implication of the [Web] characteristic.

Trapped in a nightmare unable to break free, one would repeatedly die in the nightmare until their life was drained; but once you break free, it gets shattered as if it were a light, delicate web, leaving behind no trace.

I didn’t expect that I’d touch upon its secret without even starting the nightmare.

In that case, this nightmare can only be deciphered using decryption methods...

"I hope to solve it in one go."

The moment Annan moved, a young girl’s tender whisper reached his ears:

"—Observers and wrongdoers are no different; both should be despised."

"I’m not the same as them."

Looking at the side mission [Enter the Sporogenesis Mill] emerging before him, Annan replied calmly, "I won’t just stand by and watch."

Although he knew that no one would hear the words he’d just spoken.

But this sentence was not an exchange between the living and the living.

It was a prayer from the living to the dead.

He didn’t hesitate, turning and walking away.

— The child had guessed at least one thing correctly.

The secret of the Sporogenesis Mill must lie with "the messenger". Understanding how to use this contrarian thinking was already holding the key to victory.

It’s just a pity... Four Dark Locks is sharp enough, yet not wise enough.

Four Dark Locks could sense there was a problem here but couldn’t pinpoint where exactly. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be an impasse here—he would have found the problem by now.

Because the real answer had been in front of him all along.

"...Heh...ha...ha..."

Heavy breathing and the squelching sounds of boots stepping into moist soil reached Annan’s ear.

Annan knew that according to the previous strategy, the messenger would definitely fall outside of his field of vision. Then the messenger would reach out, asking the player to pull him up.

Four Dark Locks subconsciously thought that the messenger had to be killed. So he didn’t prevent the fall... Or rather, he hadn’t considered that the messenger’s fall could be prevented.

"— Glover."

Annan suddenly spoke out, calling the messenger’s name before he even saw him.

At the moment his voice sounded, the steps of the messenger came to an almost immediate halt.

"... Who is it?"

The messenger Glover asked tentatively.

"It’s me, Jobe."

Annan calmly replied with a second name.

All of these were names that "Little Bear" had inquired about... If everything went as expected, these names could surely be acquired from somewhere and could be used somewhere.

— Like now.

Only after hearing the name "Jobe" and recognizing that it was his voice did the messenger Glover finally relax.

He breathed heavily, slowly approaching.

The man who walked from the shadows into the light was wearing a tattered leather armor, with slightly graying temples on his dark skin.

His skin was as dark as marble, his figure lean and somewhat aged. His pupils burned with a pale gray light.

But as he approached Annan, even before he could speak to Annan,

The expression on the messenger’s face suddenly froze.

For when he stepped out of the darkness into the light, and caught sight of "Jobe."

"Jobe" was holding a flintlock pistol in his right hand, loosely aiming at his head.

"Stop. Don’t move, Glover."

Annan said slowly, "I’d really prefer you not to move... my friend."

"Jobe’s" voice was hoarse and rough, not at all pleasant. He must be a man over fifty years old, appearing to be from the same era as Glover, whose temples were slightly graying.

With a gun pointed at his face, Glover’s lips twitched, his expression swiftly cycling through confusion, astonishment, and tension.

He quickly realized something.

"... I didn’t run away, Jobe!"

Mr. Messenger argued desperately, an anxious look appearing on his face.

But Annan just watched him with an impassive face, a vague smile hanging on his lips.

Soon, the messenger’s expression began to settle into calmness.

"I’m curious, Jobe."

Mr. Glover frowned slightly, the fear on his face already dissipating: "How did you find out?"