Super Righteous Player
Chapter 991 - 49 Doctor Julius

Chapter 991: Chapter 49 Doctor Julius

"...Now...memory...spell...blown cover..."

The fragmented and muffled voice echoed in Annan’s ears.

It was like the sound of an old radio that isn’t quite tuned to the station, filled with a lot of static.

——I hope they understand what I mean by knocking twice with my ring finger.

Annan thought.

Indeed, he could decipher from the current fragments of speech what Isaac wanted to communicate to him.

It was nothing more than information like "If you can hear, knock on the chair with your left index finger," or "Your memory is theoretically disrupted by a spell, be careful not to give yourself away." As long as Annan vaguely heard some snippets, he could infer the parts he didn’t hear clearly by combining facts.

It was like doing an English listening exercise.

Especially here, where there weren’t that many distractors.

By putting it in context, one could guess what Isaac meant.

But... that was just now.

If he missed the "don’t" in "don’t do it," or the "not" in "don’t go," the meaning would change entirely.

Annan hoped to convey "I can hear, but it’s unclear" by knocking with his ring finger—the finger symmetrical to the index.

On the other end, Isaac quickly realized when he saw Annan knocking with his ring finger for the second time.

He pressed the button again and said, "If you can hear clearly, knock with your left index finger; if it’s unclear, knock with your left ring finger; if there are gaps in between, knock with your left little finger. Repeat, if you can hear clearly, knock with your index finger..."

"——Are you feeling a bit better now?"

While the intermittent voice rang in his mind, the doctor sitting in front of Annan saw him waking up. He tidied up the papers and files in front of him and asked with concern, "Do you feel any discomfort in your head? Are you experiencing palpitations? Do your fingers... feel numb?"

"...I’m okay."

Annan silently knocked twice on the chair with his left little finger, while covertly tapping his right index finger to his little finger in sequence.

He honestly said, "But to tell you the truth, I’m not quite sure... what exactly happened."

"Do you remember me, then?"

The elderly man clad in a white robe and with a kind face slowly asked.

Annan silently shook his head.

Seeing his somewhat panicked reaction, the doctor instead chuckled, "That’s normal, Bernadino. Don’t worry too much."

The doctor comforted Annan, then moved to his side to begin removing the restraints on him.

Once all the devices were removed, the doctor boldly extended his right hand to Annan.

It was a warm and firm, aged right hand that inspired a strong sense of security upon contact.

As the psychologist pulled Annan up from the chair and straightened his collar, he said orderly, "Let me introduce myself, you can call me Julius. I’m a friend of Ludwig, and the psychologist he arranged for you."

"...A psychologist?"

"Don’t worry, I am licensed to practice. I’m a Soul Snatching Wizard recognized by Dennisiowa, and I also teach at the Tower of Black Radiance. I might look old, but I’m actually not yet fifty—this is merely an image I need to maintain for my performance. It makes people think I’m harmless and can put their hearts closer to mine."

The old man smiled, "If you like, you can also call me Professor Julius."

"Professor Julius... I still want to ask..."

Annan pursed his lips, voicing confusion.

In front of a silver-tier Soul Reaping Wizard like Annan, he even momentarily stopped thinking. Excessive thinking, for a Soul Snatching Wizard, is as conspicuous as a bonfire in a snowfield.

He temporarily blocked most of his cognitive ability and carried on the conversation with instinctual acting.

But at this moment, he also took the opportunity to glance at his task panel.

[Don’t Regret]

[Wake Up Quickly]

[Survive]

——Three side quests, none completed.

That is to say, Annan was still in the dream.

Annan refocused his attention and continued to ask, "Do I have some kind of psychological disorder?"

"Alright, let’s first clarify a concept—"

In response to "Bernadino’s" question, the elderly Julius merely explained, "The thoughts of a person have power. If you believe that you have a certain disease—especially a psychological one, then even if you don’t have that disease, you may gradually come to possess it.

"At its core, it is your mind deceiving your body. Moreover, if you don’t trust me enough, even if I tell you ’your disease has already been cured,’ you might subconsciously doubt it. In that case, my treatment itself would be meaningless."

"Do diseases that require memory cleansing for treatment even exist..."

"Is it even possible to be aware that one’s memories have been modified?"

Old Julius slightly raised an eyebrow, "Ah, that’s fairly normal. After all, you can’t remember me anymore... I’ve also deleted my memory from your brain."

The white-haired, aged wizard showed a light and warm smile, "After we part ways, the memory of this conversation will be buried deep within you, not to surface in your everyday thoughts. Now, ask away if you have any more questions. As long as it does not pertain to your condition, I am willing to answer anything."

"Who pays for my treatment?"

"Naturally, it’s Ludwig."

The wizard returned to his seat, smiling and narrowing his eyes.

The gentle smile on his lips remained unchanged, "Do you have any income?"

"...I don’t."

"Of course, that makes sense. Especially since you’ve arranged with Ludwig to attend Dennisiowa Theological Academy, you need to save what little money you have. You wouldn’t want to go home dejectedly without a penny to your name, would you? After all, you swore to become a distinguished person before you could go back to see Ludwig."

Dr. Julius crossed his legs in a less formal manner, his fingers interlaced and resting on his knees. He naturally leaned back in his chair, appearing very relaxed.

This posture seemed oddly youthful for his "aged" appearance.

What Annan wouldn’t overlook was—

—during the conversation, he distinctly felt a mysterious power permeating the air with Julius’s words.

It was a trace of the Soul Snatching Spell.

Although the casting was very natural and could easily deceive Bernadino, both Annan and Isaac could clearly recognize the signs of the casting.

After all, he was just a fifty-year-old, silver-tier wizard who still had to teach at the Wizard’s Tower for a living.

Though Annan was also a silver-tier wizard... even within the same rank, there were clear differences in skill level.

This was the Suggestion Spell, a type of Soul Snatching Spell.

When the other party does not notice anything irrational in the language, it allows one to insert "non-existing memories" or directly change the other’s decisions through sprinkled suggestions.

Though those few sentences blended very naturally into the overall dialogue, there were still flaws. Because the Suggestion Spell requires very clear pronunciation and calm articulation, without any ambiguity.

Those sentences, not only did they sound slightly discordant... but also, when people normally talk, they do not speak so clearly. Everyone has their own dialects—even in Standard Mandarin, there is a significant difference from the broadcast tone, and it was this level of discordance that was present.

If Dr. Julius had been more vigilant, he might have chosen a better topic to instill a suggestion into Bernadino.

But to him, Bernadino was merely a mere mortal who had never mastered any spells. And still a child, who after the conversation would erase all subsequent memories according to the first suggestion’s effect—there was nothing to fear.

"Don’t be so nervous."

Seeing that Annan remained silent, Dr. Julius couldn’t help but laugh out loud, revealing a kind smile, "Are you very afraid of me? Oh, that’s right..."

Saying so, he took out an envelope from behind.

"This is a letter of introduction written by Ludwig for you, to arrange for your entrance into the theological academy to study the natural philosophy you wish to learn."

Dr. Julius spoke in a soft voice.

His lips parted slightly, his teeth clicking lightly. An invisible ripple echoed within the confined space.

"Is this... a letter of introduction?"

"Yes, Ludwig doesn’t want to see you so troubled either. He is your foster father, after all, and he loves you dearly. "

"Troubled?"

"Haven’t you already... decided you no longer wish to sculpt?"

Dr. Julius fixed his gaze on Annan.

His mouth curled up slightly, his tone soft and persuasive.