Super Righteous Player-Chapter 1183 - 227 The Surviving Alfonso

Although Annan issued the main quest called "Wheel of Fate: Initiation" to players several months ago, instructing them to form a light-armed squad and reach the Bone-nurturing Ground by July 1st.

...But this main quest was evidently bound for cancellation.

One reason was that players had already become truly acquainted with Annan, establishing tacit understanding, so there was no need to fuss over those formalities anymore; another reason was due to some unexpected changes in the Underground City, and Annan had already ordered the players to not act rashly for the time being.

But the truly pressing issue was that Annan had been confined for over a month in that nightmare called "The Long Night Has Come".

Annan was locked up from the end of June until the beginning of August, skipping over the entire month of July.

...And the time for Saint Alfonso to perform surgery and remove the Sacred Remains was the seven days from July 1st to July 7th.

Because July 1st is the holy day of Miss Luck, known as "Saint Card Drawing Day"; and July 7th is also "Double Seven Day", also known as a minor day of Luck. From the first to the seventh is exactly seven days, which also fulfills the holy number of Miss Luck.

This is a grand ritual that can only be carried out once a year—if the ritual covers seven days from the first to the seventh precisely, it would receive a powerful blessing from Miss Luck. The success rate soars significantly.

Players reverently refer to it as "Saint Card Drawing Day".

They indeed felt that their luck had noticeably improved during these seven days.

Because Annan had previously granted the players access permissions... mainly for the convenience of using search engines or replying to messages, they were able to use their mobile phones within the Mist Continent.

Therefore, some players would "mentally draw cards" within the Mist Realm.

During these seven days on July 1st, it was as if the drop rate had doubled. Almost no ten-consecutive draw would come up empty, and occasionally they would even see three golden eggs.

Basically, the drop rate seemed to have increased sevenfold.

Grey Professor performed the surgery to remove the Sacred Remains for "Fearless Saint" Saint Alfonso under this boon of luck.

...But after all, a ten-consecutive draw is not the same as a single draw.

Especially when it comes to this life-risking single draw.

Should the ritual fail, the transplant recipient might not necessarily be in danger, but Alfonso would be undeniably doomed.

However, if the ritual were not performed... Alfonso had already gradually become unable to bear the power of the Sacred Remains, and he would end up dead anyway.

As proven by Grey Professor’s experiments, Silver Rank Transcendents truly couldn’t withstand the power of the Sacred Remains.

Alfonso endured for over a decade, and his body had become tattered as a result—not only due to the power of the Sacred Remains. The concoctions by Grey Professor had also made him weak.

Annan had seen Alfonso once before on the train.

Alfonso is the brother of Naifertali and is nearly thirty years old this year. Yet his voice is still as clear as that of an unbroken boy, and his height doesn’t even match Annan’s anymore.

This was the damage to his body from long-term injections of the "Courage Potion".

It was a certain concoction extracted from the solution obtained from the Sacred Remains—Grey Professor, while repairing the Sacred Remains, chose not to glue all the fragments back together but allowed some parts of the bones to regrow.

The excessive fragment pieces were taken away by Grey Professor and made into culture media.

This was the most pure physical form of "courage" in the world... The concoction derived from it could directly inject the "spirit of fearlessness" into the brain. To deceive the Sacred Remains, Alfonso needed regular injections of this concoction into his brain.

It wasn’t as simple as getting an IV or having a shot administered.

According to Naifertali, it was a helmet connected to many tubes. Inside the helmet were numerous, glittering cold needles. There were at least twenty, perhaps even more than thirty.

And Alfonso had to wear this helmet on his head. Under the precise control of Grey Professor, these needles would slowly rotate, parting the hair and drilling into the scalp.

It was only because Grey Professor had exquisite skills that he could rely on touch to inject the needles to the proper depth... But even so, Alfonso would still feel intense pain during the injections.

The concoction interfered with his development, causing Alfonso’s growth to halt at the age of fourteen.

And this concoction itself also places a strong stimulus and burden on Alfonso’s internal organs and brain. If it were an ordinary person, they probably wouldn’t live past three years... It is only with the continuous logistical support from the Gray Professor that he has been able to persist.

Alfonso himself is actually well aware of this.

Although he is honored as "Saint Alfonso," he also knows that there’s more mockery than respect in this title.

Just as he himself told Annan.

He said at the time: "Although I possess the Saint Bones, I am merely a thief who has stolen the power of the saints. My existence serves to prove that ’the power of saints can be stolen’... I am just a product display stand, a model."

So sad, yet so lucid.

So lucid that it’s even somewhat pitiable.

Such a person... Even if he had nothing to do with Naifertali, Annan wouldn’t want any harm to come to him.

After deciding to ignore Dennisiowa, Annan directly contacted Naifertali—regardless of how Alfonso’s ritual was handled, Annan now had to go to the Underground City.

After all, if he doesn’t leave, the war in Dennisiowa would inevitably be delayed.

As the saying goes, delay leads to unexpected changes.

In Dennisiowa, pirates are still gathering. No one knows what might happen if this continues to drag on...

So, Annan plans to leave the United Kingdom tomorrow.

Before that, Annan needs to ask Naifertali... how her brother’s situation really is.

Luckily, Naifertali is also a master of rituals.

She also caught on to the trend caused by Salvatore and installed a reflective mirror wall in her residence.

Without needing a player nearby to live-stream as a messenger, Annan can contact Naifertali directly.

Naifertali, seeing Annan’s image appear on the mirror, was obviously surprised.

But she quickly realized Annan’s purpose.

Without waiting for Annan to ask, she took the initiative to report:

"Last month, Alfonso’s ritual succeeded... He’s currently recuperating at home."

As she spoke, she lifted a small mirror to reflect, allowing Annan to see Alfonso, who was lying in the next room, through this mirror.

Alfonso lay on the bed with his eyes tightly closed.

His body, like that of a frail 14-year-old boy, was so gaunt one might associate it with a skeleton.

It is the fiery month of August now, and Alfonso is wearing shorts. One can clearly see the traces of protruding bones on his slightly curled and raised thighs.

Wearing a short-sleeved shirt, his unusually slender and pale arms also convey this impression. The prominent white bones give off a sense of death looming near.

He indeed survived, but clearly, the ritual couldn’t be considered a complete success.

From the looks of it, Alfonso seems to have depleted everything he could, pressed everything to the limit, and only then managed to survive the grand ritual of skeletal replacement... Even though this world possesses advanced medical rituals and Divine Arts, after a month, he still appears to be at death’s door.

But a new question arises in Annan’s mind.

Initially, the Gray Professor intended to sell the Bone of Fearlessness to Vladimir. Other potential buyers included the Ship in Stone captain, Maria, Annan, and so on... but in the end, apart from Vladimir and Annan, everyone else refused the Gray Professor’s invitation.

So, to whom did the Gray Professor give Alfonso’s Saint Bones?