Super Righteous Player
Chapter 561 - 102 "The Unfallen Shield" and "Professor Grey"_1

Chapter 561: Chapter 102 "The Unfallen Shield" and "Professor Grey"_1

Annan blinked.

He was at a loss for words.

Twelve significant injuries all over his body, and his occipital bone was smashed by a heavy sword—yet he was still determined by a spell to have committed suicide?

How did he manage to smash his own occipital bone with a heavy sword? Did he toss it into the air and then jump up to meet it?

That was far too precise a catch.

It was almost as absurd as being shot in the back of the head with one’s hands and feet tied.

—Could it be that he committed suicide using a Rube Goldberg machine?

"The results of the spell should be correct,"

Longjing Tea pointed at the newspaper and explained, "Look... because this result was so bizarre, no one believed it at the time. So, many wizards and ritualists came to verify it. Among them was even ’The Unfallen Shield’ Justus’s teacher, ’Professor Gray’ Seti."

... Wait a second.

"’Professor Gray’ Seti?"

Annan raised an eyebrow and murmured doubtfully.

Wasn’t Seti’s title "Bone Healer"?

Or could it be that this event happened before Master Seti became the Bone Healer?

It might not just be a delusion.

It could also be an overthought...

When Annan heard the word "Professor Gray," he immediately thought of "Professor Wolf."

Speaking of which,

Wasn’t Professor Wolf pretty much around this time stripped of his family name and started being called "Professor Wolf"?

Is he... trying to cash in on the fame of "Professor Gray" Seti?

The thought occurred to Annan almost instantly.

He became slightly wary.

"Hold on, let me take a look,"

"Mhm."

Longjing Tea responded and handed the newspaper to Annan. Annan spread the old newspaper out on the table and carefully reviewed the past records.

Defu also rested her cat head on Annan’s arm, focusing on the newspaper alongside him.

Chocolate also imitated them by placing her head on Annan’s shoulder, staring blankly and pretentiously at the newspaper, her pupils even staying still without moving left or right.

"...Huh?"

After flipping through it a couple of times, Annan was somewhat surprised.

The newspaper did not mention "Frederick Melvin" at all from beginning to end.

It only mentioned that Justus was given quite a mysterious mission. A prominent figure had tasked him to enter the Ashen Wasteland to look for a cursed artifact.

This mission was actually quite strange.

At that time, the Ashen Wasteland was uninhabited—it had just been destroyed by lava, and it was supposed to be desolate.

In other words, looking for something here should have been safe. Of course, it might be buried by lava... so the most challenging part should have been digging it out.

—Then they shouldn’t have chosen "The Unfallen Shield" at all.

"The Unfallen Shield," as a very young Gold-rank Transcendent and also "Professor Gray’s" most talented disciple, specialized in bodyguard and security work and was exceptionally tough— he could even resist a Flame Demon’s lava attack with his body, strong enough to swim in magma.

He would usually be called upon for invasions of underground creatures or to protect someone important.

With his own body, he could shield the innocents from severe damage.

"... A ’Convergence Courier’?"

Annan murmured to himself.

Luckily, the Transcendents of the underground world lived in the open, which allowed the newspaper to be so detailed.

— "The Unfallen Shield" Justus, indeed, had advanced from the silver-rank profession "Convergence Courier" to Gold.

Annan had already encountered this profession in "Nightmare: Gallery."

"Convergence Couriers" could transfer energy within visible range. They could draw life force from certain individuals to heal others or pool mana from several wizards into a single wizard.

It was a legitimate support profession.

Every nation, every power welcomed such Transcendents. As commanders, they could literally "combine the strength of everybody into one."

However, conversely... because the profession was so practical yet so specialized as a support,

advancing to Gold with this profession turned out to be even more challenging.

A comfortable and happy life made it difficult to break away from the present everything and ascend to a higher, stable, and pure "desire for ascent."

But "The Unfallen Shield" achieved it.

As a Gold-rank, he was like a guardian deity walking among mortals.

He could transfer wounds already suffered by others onto himself; or preemptively transfer attacks meant for his teammates onto himself before they struck.

He would then quickly heal himself by drawing on the power of enemies or nature.

No matter if his heart was pierced, limbs broken, skin completely torn off, or spine extracted... as long as there was a breath left in him, Justus would not die.

He was like a human-shaped shield.

As long as he stood there, rooted to the earth,

even if those around him were engulfed in a barrage of bullets, covered in a rain of fire, or had their hearts pierced, throats slit, and brains shattered by assassins, they would not suffer any harm.

Simply put, as long as Justus wished to protect them... unless the target was directly kidnapped out of Justus’s sight, Transcendents below the Gold-rank could not kill them.

——Justus was a guardian capable of providing such a strong sense of security.

Whether it was protecting militia against monsters, responding to natural disasters, or escorting others into dangerous areas...

As long as they stood with Justus, his teammates were essentially using a "health-locking" cheat.

"...Eh?"

Annan furrowed his brow slightly.

——This didn’t add up.

If Justus’s vitality was so unyielding...

how could he possibly be taken down by a mere backstab? And how could such obvious injuries remain on his body?

"It seems there are many doubts."

Defu said softly.

Her cat head moved slightly on Annan’s arm, raising her head to look at Annan, "Your Highness, are you here to cleanse this nightmare?"

"Yes."

Annan nodded, still pondering.

If the mission was to find a certain item... then indeed, he might have joined Frederick Melvin. Although a Ritualist looking for something might not be as swift as a Prophet and get immediate results, the process of deducing would be much simpler.

As long as they "would be able to find the item in the future," a Prophet could immediately obtain this result; but similarly, if it was impossible to find the item... that is, if the chance of completing the task was low enough, a Prophet’s divination would be ineffective.

But it was different for Ritualists.

They had ways to turn cause into effect. Even if the item was hidden hundreds of meters underground, if they were powerful enough, they could still "search" for it directly.

From this perspective, perhaps Frederick sought out Justus after he had taken on this task.

...Then, the likelihood of a premeditated trap set for murder didn’t seem so high after all.

At that time, Frederick hadn’t reached the Gold-rank yet.

It was only after being disowned by his family that he advanced to Gold.

At that point, he was but a silver-rank Ritualist... while Justus was a Gold-rank meat shield class.

It’s possible that Frederick’s full-powered stationary attacks wouldn’t even outdo the healing of Justus.

So much for murder.

"But Justus really was murdered, and that is a fact. And it was a perfect murder, one that no one has discovered for so many years... He even exchanged power with the Tragedian through this ritual."

Longjing Tea summarized, "It seems impossible to collect information outside of the nightmare.

"Does this nightmare have any clues? Like, where the key might be found... I think we may need to delve into the nightmare to gather more information."

"Unfortunately, no."

Annan shook his head helplessly, "Neve and I came here to look for the ’key’.

"Since the truth has remained hidden for so many years... even the fact that Justus died at the hands of Professor Wolf is a secret. Then, I estimate that the key has certainly not been unearthed here.

"In other words... if Professor Wolf didn’t cleanse this nightmare, we’re likely facing a brand new nightmare that no one has ever cleansed."

That is to say, they would have to start with finding the "key."

"——You can skip the first step,"

a deep voice echoed in the room.

Annan felt Defu suddenly bristle in his arms. The delicacy goose instantly opened her eyes, casting a sharp and bright gaze, Longjing Tea slightly furrowed his brows, taking a deep half breath ready to speak and use a Decree spell at any moment.

But at that moment, they suddenly realized.

This voice... it sounded somewhat familiar?

"Hold on."

Annan stopped them from proceeding.

He looked on in surprise, at the floor-length mirror in the room.

Or rather, at the person stepping out from the floor-length mirror.

"Benjamin... Your Highness?"