Super Righteous Player
Chapter 824 - 363: Guiding and Simulating Reality

Chapter 824: Chapter 363: Guiding and Simulating Reality

After receiving the main quest, Annan didn’t hesitate too much.

The information in this room should have been fully collected.

This was never a room where Annan often stayed. According to Annan’s character and behavior, he would never intentionally hide something crucial in a hard-to-find corner.

Such mechanisms that tested one’s eyesight and luck were Annan’s least favorite.

He preferred to have the essential items openly and straightforwardly placed in front of him or within reach.

Until the moment they were needed... they wouldn’t be discovered, "So the most crucial thing had already been obtained by me from the start." That’s what could truly be called a "surprising" design.

The "Detailed Diagrams of the Ritual," so conspicuously placed on the table that one could see at a glance, should not have been there.

Annan had deliberately arranged it here to serve as "guidance."

What followed was entirely in line with what Annan had envisioned—

Right after Annan left the room, he immediately encountered the Winter Hand waiting at the door.

The Winter Hand directly took him to the basement.

As soon as he entered, he scanned the area. He noticed that the ritual site had already been set up.

Then, a second Winter Hand immediately came over to report the situation to him.

It was essentially about the tasks that Annan had assigned to him earlier, which had been completed—it was the bringing in of the spices needed to summon The God Enveloped in Fragrances.

And according to Annan’s prior instructions, they had placed different spices in different locations and labeled them accordingly.

All this was to ensure that the stranger purifier’s nightmare experience could proceed smoothly and not suddenly falter, not knowing what to do and entering a "CG."

Just like with Dmitry.

When the purifier doesn’t know what to do, which might deviate from the original plotline, they would experience an uncontrollable "plot CG," taking them directly to the next plot point.

In the previous gallery nightmares, this often happened.

This indeed ensured that the plot within the nightmare could progress normally, adhering to the history recorded by the Dream Realm, and not deviating too much. However, this also meant that the "second-life" immersion brought by the nightmare would be somewhat lacking.

Of course, for the purifiers, they certainly didn’t care about any "immersion." No matter how good the experience or novel the content of a nightmare, their primary goal was still to purify the nightmare to prevent innocent people from accidentally entering unprepared.

But even so, Annan’s unique aesthetic sense—or perhaps his professional instinct as a planner—still allowed him to execute "player guidance" very well.

The performer on Dmitry’s side was treated completely differently from the performer on Annan’s side.

Not only did he have to randomly search within a room without knowing what he could find, but only after leaving the room would he know his identity. By then, a sudden CG would insert itself, making it too late to return to the room.

If someone entering the nightmare did not have prior knowledge about "Dmitry," he would probably be utterly bewildered when he reached the basement.

His mind would be filled with confusion like "Wait, who am I, where am I, what am I supposed to do?" He might even not know what he looked like from start to finish.

In contrast, on Annan’s side—there was a mirror in place right from the start, and with one look back, one would know what one looked like. A clear, though somewhat nonsensical, identity description was provided, and all necessary items were placed within sight.

From beginning to end, the purifier playing Annan did not need to engage in aimless "wandering searches," but could smoothly "advance the plot" while continuously being fed information, directly escorting Annan to the ritual formation.

No wonder even Husky could stand there obediently, without getting lost.

As Annan stood in the middle of the ritual site and began the preliminary ritual preparations, activating the ritual formation.

Within less than two minutes, "Dmitry" opened the door and walked out from outside.

He was dressed neatly, his back erect, his hair combed meticulously, and his expression solemn and serious. In his always indifferent and calm pupils, no trace of emotion could be seen. His long, dark hair cascaded down to his waist, and his skin, like jade, seemed to be covered with a thin layer of frost.

At a glance, Annan thought he was the real Dmitry.

...Impressive acting, senior?

Annan was momentarily surprised.

He had never expected Salvatore’s acting to be so exceptional... Could it be that his sister was controlling Dmitry’s body?

Seeing Annan performing the ritual and burning incense in the center of the room, "Dmitry" nodded slightly at Annan, signaling him to continue.

Annan did not, like Husky, dare to let his eyes wander around the ritual formation.

So Annan did not respond but focused on performing the ritual.

The smoke in the room began to billow gradually.

It came faster and was thicker than when Husky performed the ritual. Annan’s chanting echoed more clearly in the dense fog... as if men and women, old and young, in the mist were responding to Annan’s chanting.

Soon, the ritual was nearing its end.

Annan’s chanting was one-fifth shorter than Husky’s.

He realized that the ritual had a lot of safety margin; it wasn’t necessary to burn all the incense to sanctify the domain. The reason so much incense had been prepared was to consider the possibility that "even with steps and chanting prompts automatically provided, there might still be mistakes."

After a rose-colored flame spontaneously ignited in the brass brazier in the middle, Annan added the last and most important ingredient—the "snake shedding" that symbolized corruption.

"We burn the snake shedding to summon the skin of the undead..."

As Annan chanted,

The surrounding space gradually filled with an alien fragrance.

The air became slick, reminiscent of blood and oil. A sour taste inexplicably rose on the tongue, as if one had eaten an unripe kiwi.

At the moment the rising rose-colored flame touched the snake shedding,

The flame, along with the snake shedding, melted and collapsed. It turned into a gel-like substance, and the strange fragrance in the mist along with the overlapping echoes of old men and children also dissipated.

Annan nodded to "Dmitry," who was standing outside the ritual formation, then took the silver ceremonial knife in his hand, offering it to "Dmitry."

"Dmitry" nodded coldly.

He took the ceremonial knife and made vertical cuts on the pads of his left thumb, index finger, and middle finger. He then brought the three fingers together, placed the knife blade horizontally at the end of the wounds, forming a "E"-shaped scar.

He plunged his bleeding fingers directly into it.

At the same time, "Dmitry" chanted softly:

"—I humbly summon the Rotting Lord."

As his voice fell, the gel-like rose-colored substance immediately boiled, melted, and emitted a dizzying strong scent, turning into a blood-like deep red... and, like boiling water, quickly dried up, forming a dry, deep brown layer similar to dried blood.

Before Annan could perform the final chant,

"Dmitry" directly raised his left hand, signaling Annan to step back.

He bravely took over the most dangerous part of the ritual without any fear: "I humbly summon the Undecayed God, The God Enveloped in Fragrances—

"With my blood, I call for your arrival."

He said solemnly, his gaze unwavering.