Super Righteous Player
Chapter 766 - 307 Abandoned Dog_1

Chapter 766: Chapter 307 Abandoned Dog_1

Victor, like a truly competent butler, summoned Annan’s clothes out of thin air with a wave of his hand immediately after the brief skirmish was over.

He assisted Annan in dressing while Annan was still frowning in thought.

The "Worm" that was born from the Charioteer’s corpse, according to Vladimir’s description, is likely some sort of personification or deification of the concept of "entropy increase" or something similar.

...If that is indeed the case, then it indeed represents an overwhelming force that is difficult to resist.

But how did Vladimir manage to control the Worm and prevent it from harming himself? When did he first come into contact with the Worm?

If Annan’s conjecture is correct, he had been a follower of the Worm long before he defected from Winter’s Hand.

Thinking along these lines...

It seems that both the Frostbite Calamity and the Werewolf Chaos acquire an additional layer of meaning.

"Your Majesty, please take a look at this first,"

Victor’s steady voice called out as Annan was deep in thought, "Please be careful, just a light touch... This is a dream world coordinate left by Vladimir, don’t fall into a nightmare."

His left hand was behind his back, while his right hand steadily held the finger bone left by Vladimir.

Annan raised his eyebrows slightly but didn’t speak.

He reached out and lightly touched it.

A light screen immediately appeared in front of him:

[Uncleansed Nightmare Shard detected]

[Nightmare Shard has been bound]

[Level Requirement: Gold Tier]

[Class Requirement: Only available to those who have advanced from Frostspeaker/Wizard (Disabling School)/Winter’s Hand]

[Special Requirement: Have you found it, Your Majesty?]

...A message left directly in the special requirements?

So brazen...

No, that’s not right.

It should be said...

"—This is a trap."

Annan quickly realized Vladimir’s intent, "This is a trap left by him on purpose, completely undisguised... It’s an overt conspiracy.

"If I can’t find him, yet due to some reason I must, then entering this Twisted Tier nightmare he has prepared in advance through this dream world coordinate is the only way."

But why was Vladimir so certain that Annan would enter this nightmare in the future?

—Fate is but the track of the chariot.

Prophecy spells are ineffective against Annan, meaning Vladimir could only reach such a conclusion through judgment and reasoning.

"...Interesting."

Annan moved his finger away and commanded, "Keep it for now, it might be useful later."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"As for the creature from the dream realm... Did you think that by turning yourself into an Otherworld creature, I would have no way to deal with you?"

Annan tightened his collar and adjusted his somewhat disheveled clothes while taking a deep breath.

...At this point, he finally understood.

Why the Stone Father had gone to such lengths to indirectly resurrect this legendary alchemist using the remnant thoughts of Nicholas.

Perhaps only Nicholas himself could create a more useful, more potent "Dust of Cripple."

—What they needed was a powerful Dust of Cripple specifically targeting the Worm! And Nicholas seemed to have had a lead on it... Yet, he had gone missing before Annan had set out for Winter.

"...So, is the next goal to figure out how to find the missing Nicholas II?"

But if Annan actively sought Nicholas II, he still wouldn’t be able to find him...

"But what if... that was Vladimir’s goal all along?"

Annan furrowed his brows deeply.

This was entirely possible.

Vladimir had made it seem like Annan hadn’t caused any damage, but instead had provided a trove of information, exposing himself in the process. He appeared to be at a disadvantage in this confrontation.

But then he suddenly left through the dream realm in a stealthy manner, revealing his identity as a creature of the dream realm—perhaps it was to lead Annan to think of "Dust of Dream," thereby generating a desire to find Nicholas II!

With this, the entire situation suddenly became clear.

—Vladimir was preventing Annan from collecting all the mirrors!

Perhaps even the initial disappearance of Nicholas II was related to him!

His ability to appear and vanish without warning through the dream realm... could perfectly coincide with the sudden disappearance of Nicholas II.

"If that’s the case..."

Annan turned to look at Selicia, kneeling silently in the cage with vacant eyes, weeping without a sound, like a deserted dog.

—There was no denying that Vladimir had somewhat overestimated Annan.

The Annan from the first round was clearly a bit stronger than the current Annan.

Although the Annan from the first round seemed younger, he had already been in this world for at least five or six years. In contrast, it was less than a year since Annan had arrived in this world.

He might have believed that Annan had indeed engaged in a battle of wits with him by the fact that "Vladimir appeared here."

But in reality, Annan had only just realized how Vladimir had struck back at him with his sudden disappearance at the end.

Firstly, Annan operated the system backend to send a generous compensation reward to the more than one hundred thirty players who had come to support him at the first opportunity—a free resurrection per person plus three teleportation scrolls.

The least he could do was not let them come in vain.

When gathering the team, it was reasonable to have the BOSS directly soloed by his own NPC because the team wasn’t full or was being formed too slowly, right?

—He would use that excuse to deal with the players for now.

Then he would have Winter’s Hand arrange for them to find a place to stay nearby, and take them around a few times, to prevent Vladimir from making a return strike...

As for after that.

"Selicia."

Annan walked over and looked at the girl with soulless pink-purple hair, sighing softly, "How should I say this... I am not surprised by your ending."

Upon hearing this, Selicia’s body trembled violently.

She lifted her head.

The silver-haired young man with a gentle, soft smile on his face gradually overlapped with the image of the black-haired young devil from the past in her tearful vision.

And the voice came at the same time:

"’Because your worthless life was affirmed by him, you decided to offer your future life and all your loyalty to Vladimir... right?’"

It was a foolish loyalty born out of extreme self-abasement, deceived by someone else.

She held a faith-like loyalty toward Vladimir, but Vladimir did not care about her life or death—at least, this could be seen from the fact that Vladimir had her cover his retreat instead of following him into the underworld.

After that, she became Selicia, who barely survived and yet still tried to return to Vladimir’s side.

—From that moment on, her tragic end was sealed.

"In our place, there’s a saying that’s quite famous."

Annan thought for a moment and decided to be blunt: "The saying is... ’A fawning dog never dies a good death.’

"But I’ve decided to give you another chance."

He looked at Selicia, who lay before him like an abandoned dog with tearful eyes, her face filled with despair.

In a calm voice, Annan said, "Not as a dog, but as a person... as my hand, as an extension of my will. You, who have completely severed all ties with Solomonik... Selicia.

"—Would you pledge your loyalty to me?"

"I... I would..."

Selicia, who had been cruelly deceived by "Teacher" once before, sobbed and knelt, prostrate before Annan holding the tricolor scepter: "Whatever you ask of me, it doesn’t matter... Whether as a human or a dog, please need me, Your Majesty..."

"Ah, yes."

Annan answered gently with a nod: "I need you."

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.