The Righteous Player(s)

Chapter 182: The Feigned Death Ploy

After a brief silence, Don Juan Geraint spoke softly, “Is this my nightmare?”

After he saw “John” using Silver Sire’s divine art, he roughly understood the situation.

“Yes.” It was not Annan who replied, but Benjamin Foster.

He patted Don Juan on the head and chuckled softly, “Didn’t you expect it a long time ago, Don Juan?”

“Ya, but I’m just worried.” Don Juan Geraint shook his head.

His eyes weren’t gloomy because he knew that he was dead.

Rather, he frowned and went into deep thoughts.

His attitude is a bit strange. Annan noted down.

On the other side, Benjamin smiled slightly at Annan, “It’s been a long time, ‘Ghirlandaio.’”

“But, I’m not the Ghirlandaio,” Annan confessed in advance.

Benjamin shook his head, “I naturally know very well what exactly is ‘Ghirlandaio.‘

“Just when I saw your face, I knew where you got your password and what you’re going to ask me. People who Master Michelangelo can recognize naturally have promising character and capability.”

“Let me guess.” Annan replied softly, “Have you already figured out that the Third Prince would want to kill you?”

Benjamin smiled slightly.

He didn’t answer directly but asked a question instead, “How many times have you come to this nightmare?”

“If you count my failed attempts, this is the third time,” Annan answered quickly.

Benjamin chuckled.

Three chairs with backrests and armrests were slowly growing out of the massive wooden hand.

Benjamin gestured to Annan and Don Juan to sit down.

“Since you can get Master Michelangelo’s approval and can see him, I guess you have already entered Gerald’s nightmare.”

Benjamin asked slowly, “In other words, Gerald is dead… right?”

“Yes.” Annan replied honestly, “Besides, I saw Don Juan being killed. Klaus killed you by violating your curse conditions.”

Upon hearing this, Benjamin grinned and smiled silently.

Don Juan on the side also looked at Benjamin blankly.

Don Juan looked at Annan curiously and asked, “What curse violation? You mean, teacher’s curse?”

“What’s wrong?” Annan saw Don Juan’s reaction and asked in reflex, “It’s your housekeeper. He fed Benjamin the poisoned wine mixed with squid juice. Is there something wrong here?”

“This is where the problem lies.” Benjamin smiled.

He knocked on the hand rest and asked Annan back, “You should know my curse, right?”

“Yes. ‘You can’t eat squid’ and ‘You can’t refuse wine offered by someone older than you.'”

“So, when I drank the poisoned wine, how many curses did I violate?” Benjamin asked.

Annan’s pupils shrank slightly.

He suddenly realized one thing.

He had been thinking about the issue of “poisoned wine.”

But the real problem was…

If Benjamin drank the “poisonous wine mixed with squid juice” and if the poisonous wine itself were enough to poison him to death, there would be no need to mix it with squid juice.

If the power of the poisoned wine wasn’t lethal for him, then if he drank the poisoned wine, it meant that he had not rejected the poisoned wine. So, in that case, Benjamin didn’t violate the latter curse.

In other words, the two curses held by Benjamin were mutually exclusive.

In any case, only one curse violation could be met.

There was only one possibility that Klaus would adopt this condition as his trump card.

“Is the information obtained via the Third Prince false?” Annan blinked and reacted, “He thought your curse was ‘You can’t drink the wine from the old man’ and ‘you can’t eat squid?'”

Don Juan looked at Benjamin blankly.

But Benjamin nodded calmly, “It’s ‘you can’t drink wine offered from the elders’ and ‘you can’t eat roasted green plums.’

“Great. You figure that out. Good memory. But, your thinking direction is quite narrowed and tunneled.”

Benjamin made some harsh comments, “Let me ask you again. You should have seen my body, right?”

“Yes.” Annan nodded.

He recalled the scene when he came out of the dungeon instance:

Benjamin was lying prone on the table with his mouth full of blood. His teeth and plates were stained red, and his eyes were pitch black. Next to him lay Don Juan, whose mouth was filled with blood. The old housekeeper had a long sword pierced from his back.

The only difference was that the silver ring on Benjamin’s right hand was gone. The robes and jewelry on his body were all removed, appearing just like an ordinary old man.

…Like an ordinary old man? Annan’s pupils shrank.

Until then, Annan finally understood everything.

Benjamin was Transcended!

There wouldn’t be any abnormality to Bronze Rank Transcended after death.

But the situation would be different from Silver Rank Transcended.

For example, when Gerald died, his body turned into a skeleton, breaking into pieces.

How could Benjamin’s dead body be so normal?

Benjamin’s body only had his curse vessel and robes missing. Otherwise, he was just like an ordinary old man.

But the problem was that Benjamin wasn’t an ordinary old man at all!

“That’s a fake corpse,” Annan answered quickly.

Benjamin nodded in approval and said, “Yes. It’s like the body you are using now. It’s an Idol’s basic spell, called the ‘Puppet Clay Body.’

“My original plan was to use the ‘I’m Not Here’ curse to hide my existence after taking poisoned wine and feigning death. Then, I will use Shaping spells to manifest a substitute that looks exactly like me on my seat using the ‘Puppet Clay Body.’

“So if you examine my corpse carefully, you should be able to find that it weighs a lot more than an old man.”

Benjamin habitually had a mentoring tone and commented, “Those people failed to conceal their emotions. Klaus is a mistake in advancement ritual and a countryman who can’t achieve Gold Rank for life. He doesn’t know how great the wizard is. The fear and restlessness in the hearts of those people he brought are so obvious in my eyes.”

I can’t help it. I wasn’t a Transcended at that time. Annan shook his head and was silent.

Benjamin is indeed capable of using Soul Snatch spells. Annan still remembered what Salvatore told him.

Benjamin could use the four schools of spells: ‘Soul Snatch,’ ‘Alteration,’ ‘Shaping,’ and ‘Idol.’ However, only his Alteration and Shaping had levels close to the Gold Rank.

For Soul Snatch and Idol school, they should at least be at the bottom level of the Silver Rank.

The answer to this question created more questions in Annan’s mind.

“So, what happened to Klaus in the end?” Annan asked.

The corner of Benjamin’s mouth rose slightly, “Are you asking me about the future?”

He didn’t reveal too much but just replied, “I should have let him go because we don’t want to alert the enemies.”

“Teacher, am I really dead?” Don Juan Geraint asked unbearably.

Benjamin looked at Don Juan Geraint with a calm gaze, “Then it depends on how you define ‘death.’

“This is your father’s request to me. He doesn’t want you to enter the Freezing Water Port because there is a deity there. A deity who can sense who owns the Truth Fragment at a glance. But, his majesty issues your death. You need to die here. This is the only place where the Rotten Man can’t infiltrate his force in this vast Noah Kingdom, so you can only die here.

“His Majesty would rather give the Truth Fragment you are about to conceive to the Venerated Skeleton than to Rotten Man.

“Three-eyed Crow will never betray the crown, so you have no choice.

“Because you are the one who spawns the Truth. Only when you die can the Truth Fragment be revealed.

“If you stay in the royal capital, you will only die suddenly one day, making Rotten Man a true deity.

“So my plan with your father is to let you die here directly. Throw out the hot potato on your side, the Truth Fragment. Then, we will try to find a way to find your soul and resurrect you. After all, you are Transcended. Although you’re only bronze, there is at least a slight possibility of resurrection.

“I didn’t tell you this in advance because your acting skills aren’t adequate. Only a real death can win Klaus’s trust.”

Benjamin said plainly, “So, ‘Don Juan Geraint’ must die, but you may still survive. I brought the lantern that imprisoned souls which could save you. Then, I’ll find another baby with Geraint’s direct blood. You may be resurrected.

“But from now on, you won’t be Don Juan Geraint anymore. You must never think of him as you. You will never be connected with this name anymore. Remember that.

“Don’t covet the name of the past life.”