Super Righteous Player
Chapter 1014 - 72: A New Fire Ignites

Chapter 1014: Chapter 72: A New Fire Ignites

"Huh, isn’t this..."

Husky seemed to have found something, suddenly getting excited, "Isn’t this that what’s-it-called plate! And there’s so many of them... Hey, there are even matching books!"

"Are you thinking of doing some research?"

After entering the room, Thirteen Spices’s first reaction was to open the "fridge" to look for a drink. While searching for snacks and beverages, he grumbled, "Fine then, just don’t break anything... I’ll find a place to read a book. I need to learn these spell books anyway, so if I can get them entered into the system quickly, I’ll have fewer to carry tomorrow."

If you had to say what was inconvenient about this "game".

That would be the fact that they still had no space bags...

But that couldn’t be helped; even their boss didn’t have one.

"Don’t worry, I won’t touch anything that might explode. I’ve just got a bit of an idea... after looking at that magic microcontroller thing, it doesn’t seem too complicated."

Husky’s eyes sparkled as he flipped through the books with a rustling sound, "I’ll give it a try, see if I can use these books and that what’s-it plate to learn quickly—don’t need to understand the principles, just memorize a few recipes and formulas!"

"...What exactly are you trying to do?"

Thirteen Spices turned back, looking somewhat surprised, "The game you’re developing doesn’t involve any complex logical calculations, right? It’s either fighting or shooting, hardly any are turn-based..."

"I want to copy a game of Yu-Gi-Oh. The previous Ritual Plate couldn’t do complex logic, but if I can learn the programming logic of this bizarre magic microcontroller, I think I’ll be able to do it."

Husky lifted his head, his expression incredibly serious, "Including field spells, a one-to-one reproduction, even better special effects. Also, to enable a dark game mode that causes base point damage as well as duelist damage. If I can pull it off, will you play?"

"...Damn, make it fast!"

Thirteen Spices blurted out, "If you can make it, I’ll definitely play! No, I have to let everyone know..."

"Wait, wait, wait, let me figure this out first! Don’t get their hopes up, don’t pressure me!"

Husky frantically tried to stop him, growing flustered.

Thirteen Spices struggled even harder, raising his voice, "You need a push or you’ll just slack off! You just said you could do it, get moving!"

"Damn it, this is oppressing an innocent Husky!"

"Dumb dog, get moving! Wait for me, I’ll whip up something for you to eat—"

"Call me daddy, and I’ll make it for you right now!"

"Call me that when you’ve delivered and it won’t be too late!"

"I’m so angry, you’re definitely trying to freeload off me, I’ve seen through your tricks..."

While the two of them were causing a ruckus in the laboratory, Annan and Isaac had once again headed to the highest floor of Heath Tower of Black.

Without waiting for Annan to ask again.

Hugo’s proxy—the slender human figure wearing the Alpha mask in black and red—silently materialized in front of them upon their arrival at the top floor.

Its appearance was strange, accompanied by invisible flames. It was as if something had been burned away...

But it wasn’t that it "vanished because it was burned", rather, it appeared as a result of being burned.

This was also Annan’s first time seeing it voluntarily materialize within his field of view.

"I heard that you have something to ask me?"

The puppet representing Hugo’s will spoke with a cold, hollow voice, "Did you see the past me in Bernadino’s nightmare?"

"Indeed. But I’m here now to ask about something more personal."

Annan nodded, "It’s about your private life."

"...Oh?"

Hearing there was gossip, Isaac, standing by with arms crossed, immediately showed an interested expression, "What is it? Can I know?"

"You might already know about it, but I thought it’d be better to ask Mr. Hugo in person."

Annan paused, then turned to Hugo and asked, "I heard... Tan Juan and Clarence are going to be resurrected?"

"Soon. Tan Juan is already nearing the due date. As for Clarence, probably by the end of the year."

Hugo replied calmly.

Isaac made a joke, "You wouldn’t be thinking of using your newly acquired abilities to resurrect them, would you? Oh, right, I’m just guessing—because I think since you have Healing Aura, you probably also have resurrection abilities."

Hearing the words "resurrection abilities," Hugo fell silent for a moment, as if he had lost connection.

"I indeed have that. It can also be considered Bernadino’s final gift."

Annan did not hide this fact but nodded truthfully.

"However, what I actually wanted to ask was... it’s said that Clarence’s new body’s mother is David Gerald’s illegitimate daughter; and his father is Tower Master Hugo?"

"...Is that so?"

Upon hearing this, Isaac was taken aback and turned to look at Hugo, "That’s impossible... No, wait, it might be possible. At that time, Lord Hugo no longer needed to stay submerged in that tank. But..."

Isaac’s face showed his confusion, "Where did you hear about this? I’ve been at the Heath Tower of Black recently and haven’t seen Hugo leave this place."

"Of course, Salvatore told me."

Annan shrugged, "I found it quite surprising too, so I came to ask specifically."

"That child indeed carries my blood."

Hugo’s voice was flat and unemotive, "But I have no relation to the child’s mother."

Upon hearing this, Isaac’s brow furrowed tightly, "You mean..."

"It was a virgin birth."

Hugo’s voice resonated, "Eva Gerald did indeed have feelings for me, but I bear the Curse Binding of ’not to have offspring.’

"It was because I pushed myself too hard when I was young... to prevent my body from being overwhelmed by fatigue, stress, and illness, I conducted a ritual to the decaying husband and acquired the Curse Binding of eternal youth in exchange for [not being able to bear offspring]. This was not a limiting curse... but it eradicated my ability to create offspring.

"That is also why I entered the Heath Tower of Black without leaving behind descendants. Unlike what people think of me, I wasn’t zealously or naïvely ignorant of the importance of continuing the bloodline... I knew from the beginning and rationally gave it up for more time and opportunities.

"Thanks to this curse, I was able to immediately possess combat abilities after my body had been in such prolonged stasis. Because ’disease’ wouldn’t occur to me, and naturally, the condition itself is a disease.

"Not long ago, Eva approached me—although she’s not a Wizard, she was a friend of Clarence’s. She said she was willing to be Clarence’s mother... The only requirement was that she hoped I would be the child’s father.

"So I told her that I couldn’t have offspring due to the constraints of the curse. She proposed another solution... which was to create an artificial human.

"Using Eva’s womb as the vessel and using my blood to create a child from the cup; with her lineage as a Soul Reaping wizard, to carry Clarence’s soul. In this way, Clarence would retain his complete memory, and he also wouldn’t be hindered by Eva’s lack of ability, allowing him to fully inherit my talents.

"In other words, we planned to create a ’Hugo replica with all of Clarence’s memories.’ And as a virgin birth, Eva could also add divinity to the reborn Clarence, making him highly compatible with the idolatry school."

Hugo detailed his thought process.

Before Annan could inquire further, he continued on his own, "I know what you want to say. I once thought that as long as the Black Tower is passed down from generation to generation, the technology of the era would gradually improve, and people would naturally become happier.

"But I soon realized... time is not infinite, the world is not unchanging, and people’s desires are dynamic. Though materially wealthy, people’s needs changed along with it.

"Fifty years ago, people of Noah considered it a happiness to have meat during festivals, and now even farmers can eat meat every week, so they will hope to eat meat every day.

"When they can eat meat every day, they will long for tastier meat, more expensive and rarer delicacies. Just like in the beginning, people only hoped to have medicine that could heal fatal injuries; later, they needed it to be cheap, convenient to carry and store, and even painless during treatment...

"I don’t think this insatiable desire is evil. On the contrary, I believe it’s proof that the world is getting better. People’s desires are rising, which means the times are improving.

"But I also realized that my previous idea was wrong. Simply giving people gradual material affluence only brings an ever-expanding desire.

"The wish I had to create unlimited resources so that everyone could be happy was like a madman running after the sun. Although it seems close, you’ll never reach it. Because that is not an undertaking that can be achieved with perseverance alone.

"I’m out of options. I’ve surrendered, I’ve admitted my failure... but humanity cannot give up; the world is so fresh and ever-renewing, there must still be hope for the future.

"Since then, I’ve gradually stopped inventing new things and focused on training successors. Whether it’s Salvatore or Benjamin, David or Clarence, they are all talents I nurtured.

"Salvatore’s student... that child is also quite good. But there can’t be just one successor; conflicting thoughts can also spark healthy competition.

"Salvatore is the successor I’ve prepared for the next generation, a disciple destined to ascend to godhood; Feng Hohenheim is the successor I’ve prepared for a few years later, after Salvatore’s transcendence; Clarence is the next one I’ve prepared to take over from Hohenheim in twenty or thirty years.

"I actually had plans for yet another successor... but I thought about it and decided it was unnecessary."

"Why?"

Isaac couldn’t help but ask.

"Because with you around, the times will surely get better."

Hugo’s emotionless voice settled calmly, "Me interfering with a new era I don’t understand as an artifact of the old times... might very well be counterproductive. Not to go beyond Clarence was already my limit.

"I am about to burn out, and new fire is set to ignite."