Chapter 841
“Hey, Why Are You Dead?”
Pushing open the door, Eivass’s spirit body stepped into the fantastical corridor.
He once again found himself before three different doors.
At this time, the first door had already vanished—it had transformed into the painting Eivass had seen and completed before.
Eivass paused, appreciating it for a while before smiling in satisfaction.
“It looks so good…”
He murmured to himself.
—I made this with my own hands.
The painting, with red and black as its primary colors, possessed a soul-stirring power. If an extraordinary being with the Path of Love, especially one with the faith of the Banquet Master, were to see this painting, they would surely receive resonance and inspiration from the Path of Love.
As for the remaining two doors… they were both still open.
More vines had become entwined around the second door.
Two of the three lotus petals on it were lit. One petal glowed brighter, while the other was dimmer.
The last door, however, was truly bizarre…
The steel door showed no external changes; it remained the same as before—only two petals were lit, and one was brighter than the other.
According to Eivass’s memory, the dimmer petal in both of these doors was about the same brightness as the dimmer petal of the second door in the previous round. However, the brighter petal in the third painting was only about as bright as the second door in the previous round.
Eivass stood before the two doors, lost in thought.
Given the Candlemaster’s preference for the number ‘three,’ it was highly likely that each of these three paintings contained three Ascenders.
And if the ‘brightness of the petals’ were considered other Ascenders who chose different ‘possibilities’…
Then, within the group of Ascenders associated with “The White Horse King,” in the first round, everyone should have chosen the same direction. But in the second round, one or two people had strayed, choosing another possibility.
In other words, the second round of choices for “The White Horse King” could only be 5:1. But the situation with “Be With Me” became bizarre.
His score ratio from the previous round should have been 2:1, yet it mysteriously changed to 3:1 in the third round.
—Why would two votes suddenly be lost?
In this Ascension Ritual, even death did not affect mission completion. Just like Eivass, one could still vote and complete paintings normally.
“… Is it the same situation as with Andrea?”
Eivass fell into thought.
This was certainly possible.
There was only one minute for contemplation between seeing the riddle and confirming the choice.
Although the entire world would be time-stopped, and he would be alone in that space without any other Ascenders, making direct interference impossible to prevent him from voting… if one entered a state of immobility upon entering that state, then participation in voting would be impossible.
For example, being frozen, petrified, sealed, or severely injured without yet completely dying.
“…Interesting.”
Eivass chuckled.
The third door had indeed proven to be the most difficult. In just one round, two people had lost their voting rights.
He wasn’t worried about Alistair.
While Alistair might not be as prone to overthinking as himself… in rituals like this, overthinking could also be a disadvantage.
Just like Andrea’s actions—even without any thought, victory could still be achieved. What the decryption determined was merely the distribution of contributions and the speed of completing the painting. Ultimately, one had to defeat the opponent.
And if nothing else.
—At the very least, in terms of combat prowess, Alistair was the strongest.
Now, besides Little Crow, she could even bring the King of the Wild Hunt.
Little Butterfly was registered here because Eivass had used it once during his Ascension Ritual on the Path of Devotion. As Eivass drew closer to Tier 5, he used Little Butterfly less and less frequently.
But Eivass did not need to ascend on the Twilight Path, so the King of the Wild Hunt could only be assigned to Alistair.
In other words, Alistair carried at least two summoned beasts of Sixth Tier energy. Furthermore, their specialties were distinct… and Alistair herself was not without casting abilities.
Whether it was Star Ice, Charm Aura, or the Light of the Garden of Eden, along with the reverse summoning effect of the King of the Wild Hunt, Alistair had the means to protect herself, not to mention her ability to use low-level ritual spells without material components.
“…Let’s look at the second painting first and see if she’s here.”
Thinking this, Eivass chose to enter the second door.
The surrounding world instantly changed.
From the oil painting style, a world that was somewhat distorted due to its excessive vibrancy and humidity, it instantly transformed into a fairy tale style—or rather, like a cartoon or a children’s picture book.
“This art style…”
Eivass seemed somewhat unaccustomed to it.
He checked and found that his spirit body had recovered its attire as a Cardinal. Unlike before, when even as a spirit, he had retained the suit of the “guest” he was portraying.
But unlike before, a halo had appeared above his head. His body had become semi-transparent, and the lower half of his body was almost completely transparent.
…Does this signify that I’m dead?
“Are you… Mr. [Sun]?”
A somewhat surprised voice sounded, “Are you perhaps the one from the first painting…?”
You can see me?
Eivass looked back in confusion and found a spirit floating beside him.
It was an old man with a white beard, holding a strange staff.
A deep crimson tetrahedron was suspended above it, and below was a purplish-red, pinkish bronze scepter—even the staff itself had been cartoonified and simplified. Originally, its structure was quite complex, with numerous encrypted structures for anti-piracy and plagiarism. Now, with those removed, it had become a rather common image of a “staff.”
The old man wore a mage’s robe and had a long white beard. He also wore a halo above his head like Eivass, and his semi-transparent body was glowing.
Isn’t this… Old Sandro? Hey, why are you dead?
“…Mr. Pelican?”
Eivass first confirmed the other party’s identity, then politely asked, “Did you die here?”
Hearing Eivass’s words, Old Sandro felt a sense of absurdity.
—Why does this person treat something as serious and dangerous as “death” so casually!
“Where did you die?” The greeting was as natural as asking, “Have you eaten?” It even left Old Sandro, who had intended to complain, speechless.
Old Sandro had originally wanted to say that the “Great Serpent” was probably out of his mind. But given that the “Great Serpent” and “Sun” were likely working together, he held back.
The old mage pondered for a moment and then, in a more roundabout way, began to recount how they had met. “I believe this ritual should be a choice regarding history…”
He also took the opportunity to educate Eivass.
Extraordinary beings from other regions did not possess the systematic research into Ascension Rituals that the mages of their Daffodil Duchy did—they had statistics and research on game types, basic rules, common openings, and even the final ascension traits.
“This Ascension Ritual is clearly a ‘Friendly Fire Contribution Mode,’ a very classic mode within the New Moon Ritual’s Ascension Rituals. This means completing a difficult mission together as a team, and then assigning points based on corresponding contributions.
“If you feel strong enough, you can undertake the mission alone and enjoy all the points; if you feel you cannot complete the mission quickly alone, you can form a group to complete it together, utilizing the advantage of numbers to accelerate mission completion and overtake the tasks of lone powerhouses.
“According to the rules of Ascension Rituals studied in the Mage Tower, this is one of the most engaging rules. Determining one’s own strength and how to form one’s team to achieve the optimal solution involves a set of quite complex mathematical formulas… I won’t go into specifics, but in conclusion, it’s best if we don’t fight.”
Old Sandro explained earnestly, and Eivass listened attentively, learning.
—Because if people on both sides fight, it will waste time and delay mission progress, potentially allowing other teams to arrive, complete the mission, gain contributions, or disrupt their own nearly completed missions. All of these are possible, so in this format of Ascension Ritual, peace is the theme; fighting will result in a disadvantage.
This ritual even specifically added a note explaining that “mission completion is possible even after death”—this was a clear indication that killing was pointless, and one should focus on the mission!
The rule of this ritual was about “snatching points”—both from opponents and from teammates.
“—But I had already voluntarily withdrawn, and she even chased me down to kill me!”
At this point, Old Sandro’s resentment could no longer be contained.
The old mage complained, “The Candlemaster’s Sacred Number is three, and there are three paintings here, meaning there are a total of three people in this Ascension Ritual—I had already left here to go to the other side and even said goodbye to you… Even if you intended to make a move, you should have gone to find the hidden person first!”
This ritual could be cleared without killing anyone, so why did you rush over to kill me!
Are you crazy!!
And what was with that demon?! Was it a demon hatched from the body of a Demon Avatar? Why could it move so freely…
Even the spell guided by the Fire Tetrahedron could not harm that demon.
Thinking this, Eivass became thoughtful.
If she hadn’t appeared by now… perhaps the Crown Princess had gone to the third painting.
“Since you are already dead,” Eivass asked, “then you are effectively free—within this painting, who is the third Ascender who is not yet dead?”
“It’s the Clown, Laro.”
Old Sandro’s emotions cooled slightly. He nodded and replied, “Here, all living people are turned into animals. For example, I am a baboon, and ‘The Great Serpent’ is a fox. So, if the other party wants to hide, it’s very difficult to confirm if they are an Ascender… I exposed myself proactively, clearly showing goodwill.”
“And Laro?”
Eivass said with interest, “What animal did he turn into? A donkey? A mule? Or perhaps an intelligent pig?”
Old Sandro’s answer exceeded Eivass’s expectations: “He’s a dog.
“—Look, he’s that dog basking in the sun over there.”
(End of Chapter)
