Super Righteous Player
Chapter 984 - 42 - s Correct Role-Playing

Chapter 984: 42 Chapters Correct Role-Playing

Without a doubt, the life that Father Ludwig had arranged for Bernadino was incomparably bright.

And Annan could see that.

The priest hadn’t just raised the orphaned Bernadino out of pure compassion, without expecting anything in return... He had seen Bernadino’s talent and hoped to cultivate him as his successor, imparting his own sculpting art to him.

Perhaps the reason Father Ludwig chose to live as a hermit here was another story altogether.

And as the priest’s voice faded away, a new main quest finally appeared before Annan.

[Main Quest: Play the role of Bernadino]

Immediately, beneath these words, a slew of smaller text quickly emerged.

But the content within made Annan slightly startled:

[Don’t regret it]

[Wake up quickly]

[Survive]

— The long-missed "survive".

Annan reflected silently.

It was truly befitting of a nightmare with the "repetition" feature.

All things past would become abstracted in this nightmare.

Unlike the "memory" type of nightmare, which focused on restoring facts, "repetition" also involved reenacting the past, but it emphasized the psychological manifestation. In other words, through a degree of "artistic processing," it possessed a different expressiveness.

Just like the "Big Hammer Bro" that followed in the gallery nightmare, symbolizing the impending approach of death; the endlessly repeating gallery symbolized Amos’s growing clarity of his inevitable death and the subconscious resistance within him.

The artifacts in the display case didn’t exist in that place in the historical reality; the shadows pressed under the lamp, the demons and hounds drawing nearer in the backward-flowing corridor, they all symbolized something.

Naturally, such things would never appear on Amos’s true escape route.

He was just an ordinary person, and Joseph could of course communicate... However, the "Big Hammer Bro" in the nightmare was simply a merciless death mechanism.

According to the nightmare study by Heath Tower of Black, "repetition" type Twisted Nightmares focus on abstracting and emphasizing a certain process. The repetition nightmare itself is an infinite loop of that nightmare.

In order to let the purifier fully experience this process, dying within this nightmare would result in the erasure of all memories that appeared within the nightmare.

All this was to provide a "deeper sense of immersion".

— That is, to prevent spoilers.

Fortunately, Hugo had not entered this nightmare at the time.

A slight upturn appeared on the corner of Annan’s mouth, revealing a satisfied smile.

Because of this, he could fully experience the entirety of this nightmare...

The world at present was still quite bright.

The sunset was outside the window, with golden light sprinkling over the shimmering sea. It was undoubtedly a very beautiful and dream-like scene.

Contemplating Bernadino’s feelings intently, Annan spoke softly, whispering, "I just... hope to become a more meaningful person."

"What does it mean to have meaning?"

Father Ludwig sighed lightly, "Is it more meaningful for a poor man to give all his rations to other hungry people and save one life, or for a wealthy man to distribute porridge every day and save thousands? The former exhausts all his strength only to give away his chance of survival to someone else; but the latter, if he puts forth all his effort, can even eliminate famine in an entire area.

"What you lack is not kindness, not enlightenment, but talent... or rather, power. Without power, you cannot accomplish anything. Conversely, with enough power, you can achieve whatever you wish.

"What is power? That is absolute excellence. Whether it is becoming a Transcendent, an official, or becoming a distinguished scholar, or a well-known artist—excellence is key. Your excellence will naturally transform into power."

"...Is what one excels at more important than what one enjoys?"

"Yes, it’s more important."

Father Ludwig answered without hesitation, "You are just a fisherman’s son; you have no room for affectation. If all you wish for is a quiet and happy life, then I wouldn’t ask more of you—your skill in sculpting could keep you from starving in any profession. But you want to do ’meaningful things’, to become a ’meaningful person’... you have your own ideals."

The priest sighed again and spoke slowly, "You are still young, you won’t understand... how heavy the word ’ideal’ is. It is so heavy that if you do not give it your all, you simply cannot carry it and have to choose to let it go.

"For you, then, mediocrity is an unforgivable sin.

"You may suffer, be unhappy, go mad, or be sad. But the one thing you cannot be is mediocre. Because you have dreams, you want to do meaningful things... and mediocrity means giving up those dreams."

Annan was struck dumb.

—For he knew Father Ludwig was right.

Bernadino didn’t even have any money; he still couldn’t survive on his own.

He relied on Ludwig’s money to leave Gemstone Island; even his living expenses were paid by Ludwig. The "apprenticeship" work he did was less a job and more an internship under supervision. His work was unsellable and worthless.

So Ludwig actually had the right to speak—he could just refuse Bernadino.

But the priest sat there, seriously reasoning with Bernadino.

—And it made a lot of sense.

After all, Father Ludwig had no obligation to indulge Bernadino’s delusions. He wasn’t even Bernadino’s biological father, nor related to him by blood at all.

And sculpting was indeed Bernadino’s only skill that could earn him a living.

This left Annan at a loss for how to respond.

After all, he wasn’t the real Bernadino; there were no cue cards in this Twisted Nightmare. He didn’t know how Bernadino would have rebutted or made unreasonable demands...

"If you have nothing else to say, then let’s end today’s conversation here."

Seeing that Bernadino had lapsed into silence, Father Ludwig concluded, "I’m going to the church to continue working on the new statue; remember to eat on time without waiting for me. Dinner is vegetable and dried tofu stewed fish, and it’s still warm in the pot.

"After dinner, remember to read ’The Beauty of Solidification’ for an hour, and then continue working on the plaster statue you started two days ago. I will check on your progress when I return."

Father Ludwig, who was both teacher and father, meticulously arranged Bernadino’s studies, who was thirteen or fourteen years old.

Father Ludwig’s face, always stern, showed no hint of emotion, always solemn even when he spoke, his eyes ever narrow. He didn’t seem easy to get along with... but he was extremely patient with the rebellious Bernadino.

Once Father Ludwig had left the house, time seemed to fast-forward, and it quickly grew dark.

Annan felt a stirring in his heart.

Seeing this reaction, it seemed that the memory was not over yet... his main quest had not failed either. It appeared there was more content to come.

...Could it be that this was not Bernadino’s last conversation before leaving?

Does that mean the role I’m playing now is actually the correct one?