Super Righteous Player
Chapter 796 - 335: Recollections II: Love and Fear_1

Chapter 796: Chapter 335: Recollections II: Love and Fear_1

Although the rules of this nightmare had been largely ascertained,

when Thirteen Fragrances and the others were preparing to enter other branches, they encountered an unexpected difficulty.

——That was being unable to lose even if they wanted to.

Under the rules of the Thousand-Faced Phantom Tower, Challengers were not allowed to surrender.

And every time, the Rotful would realize that He was in a nightmare before the end of the first round. To be safe, the Rotful always chose to surrender in the first round.

This was no new tactic.

Annan easily recognized the Rotful’s purpose.

Without a doubt... He was trying to quickly purify the nightmare and end it here.

Not by sending all the enemies back,

but by following the enemies’ line of thought and rendering them powerless.

——Indeed, this was a tactic unique to the Rotful.

In Annan’s first battle with the Rotful, he could resist almost all negative states... but he could not against the enticing fragrance emanating from the Rotful.

Because it was not an "evil intent" to harm others.

But a "harmful benevolence" that was easily addictive.

The Rotful never believed that "fear," "pain," or "deterrence" could truly suppress others. His life experience told him that the most effective and thorough way to control a person... would not be intimidation, but temptation.

He tempted mortals with eternal life and rebirth, made them lose their will to fight with relaxing fragrances, and blocked their perceptions with warm touches...

He was intentionally indulging others.

Just like when he controlled the Iris King, consciously and maliciously spoiling others.

Now, He hoped to conceal some secret hidden in the third round. But instead of resisting invading strangers with all His might, preventing others from purifying the nightmare... He was using the method of "helping others to quickly clear the nightmare," to speed up the nightmare’s purification process, silently wearing down the total number of times the nightmare could be experienced.

It had to be said.

The Rotful’s decision was very useful and caused quite a bit of trouble for Annan and the others.

Once a nightmare was purified, it was almost impossible to replenish it—using it to create a new nightmare was fine, but the secrets hidden within the nightmare would be lost. The rewards obtained after purifying the nightmare would surely change, both clearance rewards and decryption rewards.

After Husky and Thirteen Fragrances purified the nightmare twice more, they temporarily sealed the nightmare.

Because the nightmare could only be purified ten times in total.

Now that a third of it had been used up, they hadn’t even seen a new ending, let alone reach the third round.

Out of caution, Annan once again employed the power of the players.

Mainly relying on the analytical strength of Four of a Kind, Delicious Goose and Dragon Well Tea, three "wise ones," along with Annan himself discussing together—Annan was not the type of wise person who would ignore the opinions of others just because he was intelligent.

Especially for this type of problem-solving that didn’t follow a fixed thought process.

Annan believed in the possibility of "every additional person brings an additional path." Even if the other party couldn’t provide any solid suggestions, discussions about "certain possibilities" could spark inspiration in others.

And this inspiration would immediately return to the discussion, serving as nourishment for new ideas.

This was what’s called brainstorming.

With everyone’s collective discussion, Thirteen Fragrances and Husky finally found an effective way to lose the game in front of the Rotful.

The fundamental idea was proposed by Annan, who knew Dmitry quite well.

——Because Annan realized that in real history... it should have been Dmitry who lost, not Annan.

This was a conclusion deduced by reversing Dmitry’s thought process.

If Dmitry lost the first round, and won the second round with Annan’s strong carry, only then would he boldly rely on the power of the werewolf Bella in the third round, and fully let his guard down.

However, if he won the first round, then based on Dmitry’s trust in Annan’s intellect, he would certainly be convinced that Annan could also win the second round.

In such a case, if Annan were to lose... he would surely become more wary of the Rotful. After the situation of Bella’s betrayal in the third round, the impact on Dmitry wouldn’t be as great—he would consider it expected.

Because at the moment of Annan’s defeat, he would have already sensed the possibility of failure.

This was not logical reasoning, but an emotional judgment based on Annan’s understanding of Dmitry.

That means.

If they could convince the Rotful that Thirteen Fragrances, playing as Dmitry, was the real deal and temporarily prevent the Rotful from realizing this was a nightmare. They could then channel Him into the real history.

——Thereby successfully losing the first round to the Rotful!

Regardless of the outcome of the second game, they could all enter the new ending.

If they had one win and one loss, the werewolf Bella could get it started.

And even if the serious Challenger ended up with a double loss, they might still see a new plot.

——The result did not surprise Annan.

On the evening before Annan was to head to Noah’s.

Thirteen Fragrance finally lost the first game with an excess of acting skill.

Of course, it was impossible for Husky to win against the serious Challenger...

So, Annan only saw the new ending.

Because Maria did not arrange the dream-entering ceremony in time, Annan was the only one who saw it.

And in this ending, Annan saw not just the reason for Bella’s betrayal.

He also saw his past self, with an unexpected person...

"Bella."

The emotionless voice of Vladimir, as cold and colorless as the ice plains, rose behind the werewolf Bella.

Bella turned around in a bit of a panic, and immediately lowered her head upon seeing who it was.

"Teacher..."

"Your voice is hesitating."

Vladimir interrupted her, "Why are you hesitating?"

"I was thinking about Dmitry..."

"You don’t need to think, nor do you need to ponder."

The man with frosty hair said calmly.

As he spoke, white frost breath spilled from his mouth.

The effect was like speaking slowly after taking a heavy drag on a cigarette.

"The Hand of Winter is merely a tool. It is Winter’s dog, nothing more.

"Do not assume he loves you just because His Highness patted your head. People and dogs are different."

There was no emotion in Vladimir’s voice: "He cannot father children with you, nor can he marry you. Because he is the eldest son of Grand Duke Ivan, he will eventually marry a Melvin or a Rasputin. If their child is a girl, she will be responsible for guarding the Storm Tower; if a boy, he will join the Hand of Winter, and eventually take over my duty with the Frost Beast troops.

"You are—can only be—his lover."

"...Is there not even a slightest chance?"

"No, for that is fate. [People are not the same], blood is the proof of destiny."

The middle-aged man did not even look directly at Bella. Or rather, Bella did not exist in his eyes.

He just stared calmly ahead, at the ducal mansion, his icy pupils unwavering: "Your destiny had been set from the moment you were born."

"...But if my destiny was truly decided, then I would have died in my homeland long ago."

Bella bit her lip, trying to muster the courage to counter her teacher: "It is because I overcame my destiny, that I made it here, that I met you, teacher, that I could meet... become acquainted with Lord Dmitry..."

"That too is a part of fate. Your birth determined that you would leave your homeland, your talent decided that you could traverse the storm, arriving in Frost Speech province meant you were destined to meet me, and meeting me meant you would definitely encounter Lord Dmitry."

Finally, Vladimir’s gaze shifted slightly.

He looked at Bella: "When I handed you the staff as I looked upon you, a homeless little dog, I already foresaw this day.

"——So, why do you think I did not stop you?"

With just this simple gesture, Bella’s legs went so weak she could barely stand.

In that moment, through Vladimir’s eyes, she seemed to see the vast, blank wilderness.

A world with nothing but blizzards.

A fear that nearly froze her spirit submerged her.

It was not a fear of death itself, but rather the terror of "everything turning to nothing"—

"Obey me, Bella."

Vladimir’s voice was still void of any inflection: "Return to my side. Come help me."

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