Chapter 123
Codename: Alistair
Although Eivass didn’t know much about the New Moon Ritual, he knew it was a PVP mode.
Everyone was an enemy to each other, and only the winner could potentially ascend.
The cost of the New Moon Ritual was far greater than the Full Moon Ritual. Even though there was no penalty for failure, the material cost of the ritual was not low. Only those who were confident enough in themselves would hold a New Moon Ritual when advancing. In other words, it was difficult to have slackers in this mode.
Moreover, the difficulty of the Ascension Ritual would increase with the strength of the participants.
Before stepping onto their second Path, these Extraordinary individuals had already come into contact with high society and, as powerful beings, held various secrets, information, and resources. If they were to participate in a Full Moon Ritual at this point, they would easily bring a group of newcomers who were difficult to cooperate with into a ritual whose difficulty had been amplified many times over.
Therefore, after reaching the peak of their first Path, Extraordinary individuals would often use the New Moon Ritual to ascend to their second Path. The New Moon Ritual was, after all, just a mutual slaughter, so it didn’t matter if the ritual’s difficulty increased.
When being chased by a bear, you don’t need to outrun the bear; you just need to outrun everyone else.
So, who would be so confident?
—Besides reckless youngsters who were too young and didn’t know any better, it would be veteran Extraordinary individuals advancing to their second Path.
These people were the latter, while Eivass was to play the role of the former.
A newcomer who didn’t even know the meaning of a “codename,” possessed by a Shadow Demon due to too much luck or too little luck, and joined the Noble Red Society—that was the persona.
The alias “Alistair” actually had a special meaning. A meaning only Eivass himself knew.
This name was a variant of the surname Alexander. If “Alexander” was read in the language of the Iris Flower, it would sound like that, and rewriting it back would result in Alistair. Coincidentally, Eivass’s instinctive urge to Transcend was inherited from his grandfather named Alexander, and his mother was an Iris Flower noble.
This could be considered Eivass’s memorial to his past—to his biological parents whom he had been separated from before meeting.
As for the Noble Red Society, it was Eivass’s pre-emptive move. It was a paving stone for his future plans.
—He didn’t recognize others, but that old man codenamed “Lightning” was clearly Inspector Gordon!
His presence at the ritual was equivalent to certifying the existence of “Alistair.” Later, when Eivass attacked the Lloyd Society headquarters, the origin of that Shadow Demon would become clear, confirming he came from the Noble Red Society—at least no longer a “Shadow Demon summoner who appeared out of nowhere.”
At this moment, another person immediately appeared on the chair beside Eivass.
He was wearing a very loose gray hooded shirt, making it impossible to tell his gender or age.
“I guess you’re an Ascender of the Path Adaptation. ”
Mr. Antler spoke first: “It’s still early. How about we get acquainted? I’m Antler, an Ascender of the Twilight Path.”
But at this moment, the other party remained silent and motionless.
Antler continued to persuade him with a gentle tone: “I think you must be a newcomer. But you should have some understanding of the Ascension Ritual… Are you also on your second Path? Besides Mr. Alistair here, everyone else in our group is a veteran on their second Path. We are very experienced with Ascension Rituals… We can definitely cooperate.
“What should I call you? This… Sir, or Madam?”
The person wearing the gray hood tilted their head slightly but remained silent.
He didn’t speak or look up, making it impossible to discern his appearance or features. Nor did anyone know his codename.
Following this, a sixth person appeared—Eivass recognized this person as well. It was “Knight” from the previous Full Moon Ritual!
Obviously, he had failed his last ascension and decided to ascend again after only half a month of rest.
However, Knight had clearly grown a lot compared to his last ascension.
Unlike the gray-hooded person, facing Antler’s recruitment, Mr. Knight quickly agreed to half of it.
“We can cooperate for now and work together against the remaining three,”
Knight said solemnly. “But since you’re saying this to me, I believe you’ll say the same to others. Compared to me being recruited later, you’d prefer to cooperate with the powerful individuals who entered the ritual earlier.
“So, at that time, I will cooperate with Mr. Alistair and this gray-hooded gentleman.”
Although he didn’t know the content of this ritual yet, Knight revealed his judgment and plan without reservation.
It could only be said that Knight had grown partially, but not completely.
“But I’m a Fiend, kid.”
The Shadow Demon replied hoarsely.
Knight, however, said seriously, “One’s identity in the outside world is irrelevant in the ritual. We are competitors, rivals, and potential allies. Therefore, we should address each other by our codenames—Mr. Alistair, are you really not going to come up with a codename?”
“I’ll decide after the ritual ends,” the Shadow Demon said nonchalantly.
After that, Mr. Antler directly revealed his main Path to be the Path of Authority and stated the group and potential location of the other party, implying his high status within Avalon.
Knight, whether he had been taught or was repeatedly reciting “one’s identity in the outside world is irrelevant in the ritual,” despite being somewhat stubborn, did not reveal more information about himself and did not completely trust Mr. Antler’s persuasion. He wasn’t entirely foolish.
Knight clearly didn’t want to chat with them. He even subtly advised “Alistair” not to continue talking with Antler and the others. However, since Eivass was intentionally doing so, he clearly couldn’t persuade him.
After trying twice, Knight stopped trying, and Eivass, disguised as “Alistair,” chatted with Antler, Hong, and Lightning. Through the subtly probing questions from the three with ulterior motives and the Shadow Demon’s improvisation, the image of “Alistair” gradually became clearer—
The current “Alistair” was a young man possessed by a demon since childhood. He studied in the countryside and went to Grey County after junior high school. His parents were believers, but he only believed in the Father. Later, his father died, and he inherited a not-so-generous fortune. He worked odd jobs and climbed mountains across Avalon, challenging himself and conquering nature. When he traveled to Garden City, adjacent to Glass Island, he was accepted by the local Noble Red Society.
He had only just joined the Noble Red Society and was not very clear about its principles or ideology. However, his “mentor” had provided him with an Ascension Path and taught him how to conduct the ritual. This was his first attempted Ascension Ritual—and he intended to hold a New Moon Ritual on his first try because his guide had boasted about his talent.
A very reasonable and exceptionally vivid persona. There was no problem with it, except that this person did not exist.
Eivass had decided that after the ritual ended, he would ask Lily to help him recall and memorize this persona.
They chatted for over an hour, and the previously sluggish, silent atmosphere gradually eased. Knight gradually realized that this Fiend was not an evil-doer, but merely arrogant—he had only gotten blood on himself because he was clumsy, not because he used human materials.
—Regarding this point, although the three people to Eivass’s left didn’t believe it, he was sure that Mr. Knight probably did.
Because of this, Knight and the similarly aged Mr. Alistair had a very pleasant conversation, while the silent gray-hooded person was gradually ignored by others.
During the conversation, the remaining three appeared one after another. They were clearly far from Glass Island, which was why the ritual had brought them here when suitable Extraordinary individuals couldn’t be matched nearby.
The atmosphere was completely different from the Full Moon Ritual. Two of these three did not introduce themselves, nor did they introduce their Paths.
One of them was a man so thin he resembled a rotten log. His back was slightly hunched, and his black hair, which fell below his shoulders, was like damp seaweed, forming small curls and strands. He kept his head down, muttering something to himself.
The other was a monk. He wore a coarse and simple dark brown homespun robe that looked like a rag. Upon entering, he clasped his hands together and remained silent.
Eivass now knew that Antler was on the Twilight Path, Hong was on the Path of Love, Old Gordon was on the Path of Devotion, he himself was on the Transcendent Path, Lily in the gray hood was on the Path Adaptation, and Mr. Knight was on the Path of Authority. This meant the remaining three should be on the Path of Balance, the Path of Beauty, and the Path of Wisdom, respectively.
Fortunately, the ninth person directly eliminated an incorrect option for everyone—
“Hello everyone, I am ‘King’ of the Path of Balance, a veteran ‘Botanist’! Brothers and sisters, if you need alchemical incense or essential oils, you can buy them from me. I’ll give you 20% off the market price! Free delivery within twenty kilometers of Mainz! International customers only need to pay half the normal customs tax and can receive it within half a month!”
The middle-aged man, who looked somewhat down on his luck, immediately spoke loudly and repeatedly as soon as he appeared: “Hello everyone, can you hear me? I am ‘King’ of the Path of Balance, a very professional botanist…”
“—So annoying!”
“Alistair” complained loudly and rudely.
Although the others remained silent, their slightly furrowed brows indicated their attitude.
But in his heart, Eivass couldn’t help but exclaim:
Amazing, it’s that GG brother from last time!
He couldn’t help but sigh at the miracles of the world, the connections between people, and the kid’s heaven-defying courage—what gave you the nerve to join a New Moon Ritual when you got instantly defeated in a Full Moon Ritual?
It’s all the same getting instantly defeated, right?
And besides, wasn’t it 10% off last time? Why is it 20% off this time? Are you short on money lately?
If you’re short on money, you can still join a New Moon Ritual? Why don’t you get another set for a Full Moon Ritual?
What Eivass didn’t expect was that his goods actually sold.
This roundabout seating arrangement had the ninth person right next to the first. And Mr. Antler, who got along with everyone, leaned over with great interest and quietly inquired about his source of goods.
From Mr. Antler’s words, it seemed he was going to order a batch of alchemical incense—at least a large order of over five hundred silver coins, which made the King so excited that he trembled and was about to jump out of his seat to discuss it with Mr. Antler.
Eivass shook his head repeatedly.
…Incomprehensible.
This kind of sales method actually worked?
Is this what they call diligence rewarded by heaven?
At this moment, the stone knight statue regained its color. It emanated a brilliant silvery-white radiance, and the golden holy sword in its hand shone brilliantly.
【All ritual participants, please remain silent.】
A solemn voice echoed from beneath the knight’s helmet:
【I will be presiding over this ritual. I am Gawain, a Knight under the Silver Crown Dragon.】
As Gawain’s voice fell, the surrounding space took shape and color, centered around him.
This was a gloomy, dark, enclosed building, but everything around them was incomparably vast. The flowing sea of blood beneath their feet turned into a pot of boiling thick soup, and they were in the pot, white steam rising.
The surrounding buildings were enormous. The doorknob was at least a dozen meters off the ground; and the doorknob itself was enormous, estimated to be about two meters long.
It was as if they had arrived in a land of giants, or as if they had been shrunk to smaller than a kitten.
This Apostle had no intention of chatting with them.
After arriving, he immediately began to explain without pause.
【During your first Ascension Ritual, I must explain the special rules of the New Moon Ritual to you.】
【There are six advancing individuals in this session who possess multiple Paths, but please note: only the abilities of the advancing Path and extraordinary items manufactured by yourself corresponding to that Path are allowed to be used during the Ascension Ritual.】
【What you will experience is not a story that actually happened, but a script written by the Nine Pillar Gods, set on the stage of history.】
【The dreams you use for each advancement will only be used once, and the content is fictional and differs from how things develop in reality.】
【Therefore, you must solve puzzles, search for items, defeat enemies, or survive under the gaze of the Nine Pillar Gods, proving your abilities.】
【The time limit for this ritual is one hour, with a one-to-one ratio to reality.】
【You must survive until the end of the ritual, or complete the Special Victory Condition during early settlement.】
【As this is a New Moon Ritual, kill rewards are calculated in points. Upon completion and settlement of the ritual, winners will be selected in descending order of held points; if all other ritual participants are killed, the ritual will immediately settle early. If there is no Special Victory Condition at this time, you will be judged as defeated.】
【The winner of this ritual is three people, and there is a Special Victory Condition.】
【The Special Victory Conditions for this ritual are: “Holy Relic Scramble” and “Frenzied Slaughter”.】
【Holy Relic Scramble: A powerful Holy Relic exists in this ritual. Those who hold the Holy Relic will have their location perceived in real-time by other ritual participants. The one who survives until the end while holding the Holy Relic wins directly, regardless of other victory conditions.】
【Frenzied Slaughter: If the surviving ritual participants at the end of the ritual cannot win by points, but their kill count is greater than the sum of the kill counts of the other survivors, they win directly, regardless of other victory conditions.】
【The difficulty of this ritual is “Challenge.” Death during the ritual will result in weakness in reality for four to ten days.】
【Additional Statement: The dream for this ritual was constructed by the ‘Silver Crown Dragon,’ and the script and bonus details are the responsibility of ‘Father.’ This has absolutely no relation to myself, the ritual witness.】
Gawain said this and raised the blood-stained holy sword in his hand.
He solemnly read the script for this ritual:
【In the year 1320, a giant couple in Arctos, the Kingdom of Giants, captured nine humans as reserves for the winter…】
As the blade swung down from its highest point, Eivass felt a strong dizziness.
The world before his eyes distorted and dissipated, and the nine people sitting on the chairs vanished without a trace.
Four thousand words, updated with seven thousand words today~
Update complete!
