Super Righteous Player
Chapter 776 - 316 First Meeting, Long Time No See_1

Chapter 776: Chapter 316 First Meeting, Long Time No See_1

Annan stared at the wolf claw, momentarily lost in thought.

He was actually quite familiar with this claw...

Back in the "Wolf Kiss" Nightmare, Annan had appeared in the dream as Bella, and at that time, he had looked at his hands after transforming into a werewolf. It hadn’t been too long since then, and Annan hadn’t forgotten.

Now, seeing one such hand in his own, still in the form of a canine animal’s paw, Annan suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity.

It wasn’t the feeling of "I just want to live a peaceful life."

It was more like "Let’s shake hands"...

And after grabbing this "dog paw," system prompts appeared before Annan’s eyes immediately:

[Detected an unpurified Nightmare Shard]

[Nightmare Shard has been bound]

[Level Requirement: Must be of the same tier]

[Occupation Requirement: None]

[Special Requirement: Three persons must enter simultaneously, among whom the relations of two must be close enough; and at least one of the trio must be female, at least one must be male]

Because the requirements weren’t met, there was no prompt for Annan to fall into the Nightmare after ten seconds, even while holding it.

...A Nightmare for three?

Annan slightly furrowed his brow.

If it requires individuals of the same tier... it would need to be handled quickly.

If Annan was to advance to the Gold tier, finding two others who would advance with him would be difficult.

"I’ve already used the ritual to investigate the theme of this Nightmare thoroughly,"

Maria explained, "This Nightmare is the scene of the gamble against the Decomposer that you and Dmitry were involved in years ago. Three people are needed to enter this Nightmare, taking the roles of you, Dmitry, and Bella."

"If you can’t gather people now, once you advance to Gold... you can enter this Nightmare with me. I’ll help you find others to fill the numbers,"

Maria said calmly.

But the excitement in her words wasn’t hidden at all.

—So you actually just want to duo with me, right?

Annan thought to himself.

But he wasn’t foolish enough to voice this truth.

That would be asking for a beating... although it would most likely not be Annan who got beaten, but rather Maria finding an excuse to smack Dmitry again.

According to Dmitry and Aunt Zoya, it appeared that in the past, whether it was Maria or Annan who made a mistake, Ivan would beat Dmitry — and after Maria grew up, it turned into "if Annan made a mistake," then both Ivan and Maria would beat Dmitry.

Though the so-called "beating" was mostly just like the time when Dmitry tried to smoke in front of Annan, and Maria slapped his arm.

Ivan’s beatings seemed to hurt more—due to the old man’s lack of strength, he generally would use the Tricolor Scepter to whip.

"Because this Nightmare is related to that bet Dmitry lost back then... and the time Bella betrayed him, I don’t plan to let Dmitry know about this,"

Maria whispered quietly, "After all, Nightmares are but illusions. If he wins by exploiting knowledge of the future, it would only leave him feeling empty; but if he fails, it would be a reenactment of his fears. Regardless of the outcome... it would be secondary harm to him."

The concern hidden very well in her ice-blue pupils reflected, "Dmitry is gradually moving on from that incident, and I hope to not have him recall it...

"So remember to keep it a secret when Dmitry comes back."

Maria said this and reached out with her slender, pale right index finger to her lips before slowly moving it away and placing it on Annan’s lips.

She didn’t smile, her gaze remaining focused on Annan’s eyes—especially on his left eye that was as clear and transparent as an emerald prosthetic eye without any reflection.

"How have you been holding up, Annan?"

Maria murmured softly as if the two of them were lying side by side before sleep, whispering face to face in bed, "Being alone, do you feel a great deal of pressure? If you feel sad or lonely, do you ever feel like crying?"

...Ah, that’s not likely.

Annan silently thought to himself.

Sister, you probably don’t know that during the past half-year, I’ve managed to gather quite a few hundred brothers here...

And I can actually come up with two friends to start a new venture with me... such as Lin Yiyi and Husky. In fact, I could even put together a trio right now to start clearing—the three of them are staying in the guest room next door.

To say nothing of a trio, if needed, it could be done a hundred times over without repeating the lineup. There would likely still be people who wouldn’t get a turn.

It’s quite unfair, to say the least.

The chance to team up with Annan for a dungeon run, more or less equates to a frenzied free-for-all...

"If it’s three people, I do have some trustworthy individuals on my side."

Annan casually said, "I have three friends over here who just meet the criteria—capable of forming a male and a female pair, and the relationship between two of them is definitely close enough."

"How did you meet them?"

Maria asked with slight wariness, "And what about the remaining one?"

"Hmm..."

Annan fell into silence, "The remaining one is probably female."

He wasn’t quite sure how to categorize Husky.

What made Annan’s expression particularly subtle was the fact that the three of them had opened two rooms at the ducal residence.

But Husky shared a room with Thirteen Fragrances instead of with Electric Arc. This was fairly understandable, after all, Electric Arc was a bona fide teenage girl, whereas Husky’s true nature was that of a male office worker... and the players didn’t need to take off their clothes to sleep, they simply needed to lie down on the bed and log off.

Still, it sounded quite odd.

"As for how I met them... They are, in fact, visitors from the Otherworld summoned by the ’Book of the Celestial Chariot’."

"Are you discussing those children?"

Dmitry’s voice came from outside the room, and Annan hurriedly stuffed the now-dry "dog paw" into his bosom.

It was a unique gesture of tenderness and consideration from his elder brother—making his presence known before entering, giving the two inside a chance to save face.

If Maria had any topic or action she didn’t want him to see, he would simply signal his imminent return from a greater distance to avoid any embarrassment at the moment he entered.

A few seconds passed after that—clearly, Dmitry had deliberately waited a moment at the door before entering the room.

He walked in, taking off his overcoat and entering the room in just his shirt.

He held a tray with two jugs of drinks, a bucket of bad wine, and numerous snacks in one hand, and made an exaggerated bow to the two with his other hand.

"Mission accomplished—"

He bent down, smiling at Maria, "May I ask if this esteemed young lady would permit me to have a drink here?"

"You can drink on your own, but don’t drink too much, and don’t get Annan drunk with you."

Maria said sternly with a straight face, looking up.

She said so, and lightly sniffed her nose.

"Besides, you still smell of smoke!"

"Hey hey, I already took off my overcoat!"

"Who told you not to dress properly, your chest isn’t covered! You still smell of smoke!"

"Then, shall I go change into a different set of clothes..."

Dmitry said with a grimace on his face.

Maria fell silent for a moment, then turned her head and looked at Annan.

Her tone softened a little, "Forget it.

"Today is a day worth commemorating, a bit of a pungent smell might even make the memory more enduring."

As the three of them sat around the table.

Maria held a golden, shimmering glass of honey wine.

Even before she drank it, her cheeks flushed with a delicate redness.

And Dmitry also poured himself a glass of bad wine, and poured Annan a glass of sparkling water. All the while, he muttered, "Actually, Annan is of age now, according to grandmother’s rules, he’s allowed to drink."

"But that will wait until Annan chooses the alcohol he likes."

Maria habitually retorted Dmitry.

Then, she and Dmitry raised their glasses together and looked at Annan.

They, unable to feel joy or love, smiled sincerely at the corners of their mouths.

—It was a blaze of light as dazzling as a lamp in a blind man’s hand.

"Annan," Maria said softly, "nice to meet you..."

"And..."

Dmitry continued, raising his glass steadily, "long time no see."