When the plot-skips players into the game world

As the Shadow Demon submerged back into Aiwass' shadow, the murky spread of darkness that had oozed across the entire bar was retracted into the shadow beneath him.

It was as if a pool had opened its drain, and soon the shallow lake of shadow had become "dry."

The warm winter sunlight once again streamed in, filling the room of the bar.

It was as though the previous damp cover of shadow was merely an illusion.

—Very good.

Aiwass breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, the four main tasks at hand had been completed.

He had accomplished his revenge, killed the "friend" who had betrayed him; successfully eradicated his incriminating evidence; obtained the next clue for his investigation; and awakened and soothed the Shadow Demon.

Now, it was time for the delightful task of opening the treasure chest!

Aiwass carefully listened and found that Hayna was still searching below, and had not come upstairs.

—Loot licking time has arrived!

He rubbed his hands together eagerly, prepared to search for his valuable loot.

Aiwass quickly found a thumb-sized round box that looked like a container for cooling oil. It was etched with an image of a crescent moon sporting a human face and inscribed with a line of small characters "1886-03-071, Living Silver Workshop."

This item was familiar to him.

It was a dose of Dream Intoxicant, a special product from the Kingdom of Star Antimony.

"Nice find. What a great start."

The corners of Aiwass' mouth lifted slightly as he carelessly pocketed it.

Dream Intoxicant was a type of magic potion that could stabilize dreams and anesthetize the body to prevent easy awakening; an alchemical product of the Path of Balance. It could also be used as an anesthetic for surgeries, but its primary purpose was as an auxiliary substance to strengthen the success rate during advancement.

In a cultivation fantasy novel, it would be roughly equivalent to a Foundation Establishment Pill. At lower levels, it significantly boosts the probability of breakthrough success.

Within the player community, Dream Intoxicant was known as a "minor advancement potion," able to increase the success rate of advancement rituals. It was somewhat like those classic MMORPGs where you can use potions to enhance the probability of successful equipment enhancement.

In the game setting, advancing a professional level involved entering a dream to hold a complicated ritual with a very high failure rate. But in the game, it was represented by a cold percentage of advancement success, and preparing certain specific rituals or materials could improve those odds.

If successful, dazzling effects would signal the success of the advancement, with the professional level cap increasing by ten. Then, three options would pop up for you to select one.

This was the pathway trait obtained from successful advancement.

If it failed, you would be demoted back to level 19. Players would simply lose their materials and prepare for another attempt at advancement; for NPCs, a failure meant waiting for a cooldown that increased with level and could take at least half a month.

Veronica was currently a level 19 Demon Scholar and was nearly ready for her advancement; alternatively, she might have failed several times already and thus had prepared Dream Intoxicant for herself.

Judging by the number of ritual spells she mastered, she must have been stuck at the second energy level for a while now—with a cap on her level, though her skills could still improve, it would no longer increase her professional level.

The difficulty for Aiwass to rise from the first energy level to the second energy level was not great, with almost certain success. He wouldn't need it for now.

He would use it later when advancing from level 19 to 20.

Also, because Aiwass was progressing on two paths, he would need two doses.

Dream Intoxicant wasn't an exceedingly rare magic potion, so it didn't warrant special treasure. It was reasonably priced in Star Antimony at forty-six White Crown Coins, but due to exclusively being handcrafted by alchemists, the supply was limited; hence it was by reservation and quantity restricted.

Moreover, for the time being, it would be somewhat challenging to purchase in Avalon.

For the past two years, the Kingdom of Star Antimony had been an enemy nation to Avalon.

All alchemical products from Star Antimony were restricted from export to Avalon; correspondingly, Avalon banned the import of alchemical products from Star Antimony and likewise forbade the export of its own minerals and lumber to Star Antimony.

The current supply of Dream Intoxicant in Avalon, apart from a few reserves... would probably only be from scalpers charging ten times the price.

Five hundred White Coins was just the starting bid.

That was a price Hayna couldn't even dream of—roughly equivalent to about a decade's wages for an ordinary worker.

Aiwass, on the other hand, could afford it.

He just didn't want the scalpers to make such easy money.

He also did not plan to leave it for the Supervisory Bureau—if they obtained it, they would also sell it at a high price, and most likely to the Moriarty Family.

Because everyone knew that Mr. Aiwass had recently embarked on the path of Transcendence, becoming a Priest. He too needed to stock up on Dream Intoxicant in advance.

—Then there was no need to let the middleman make a profit from the difference.

Unfortunately, after finding the Dream Intoxicant, Aiwass failed to find any other valuable items.

He only came across some ritual materials.

But those were human materials, such as placentas or baby scalps. Not only were they of little value, but he also had no use for them.

Aiwass had sworn not to use materials from his own kind for rituals—and indeed, he did not fancy such cruel practices. So, he didn't take them with him. Instead, he left them on Veronica's body as evidence of her crimes.

Her red robe was actually valuable.

...But Aiwass felt he probably couldn't strip it off her.

Setting aside the fact that it was a dress, Aiwass couldn't fit into it; besides, Veronica wasn't wearing much underneath, so pulling the dress down like that would be somewhat perverse...

Of course, there wasn't much use for him to have the red robe anyway.

In the game, players didn't have identities, which is why they could infiltrate The Association using a red robe. But now he was Aiwass Moriarty; there was no way he could pass Noble Red Society's vetting process.

If he actually managed to join, it would be the Society that would threaten him in turn. Because once exposed, Aiwass would no longer be able to mingle in the Kingdom of Avalon. Even his foster father, elder brother, and Yulia could suffer consequences because of him.

"...Huh?"

Suddenly, Aiwass found a brass ring shimmering with bright golden brilliance.

It was engraved with a fist full of wounds, gripping so tightly that blood dripped from between its fingers. The sparkling "blood," in reality, was powdered ruby. Under the sunlight, it reflected a sticky, dark red luster akin to real blood.

The next moment, a light screen popped up:

[Noble Red]

[Transcendent Accessory (Light Purple)]

[Accessory - Ring]

[Trait: Minor Decree Resistance (Triggered only by Transcendence Path)]

[Spell: Severe Coughing Spell (Once Daily, 1/1)]

[Required: Darkness 2]

[Gesture, Medium Distance, Immediate Effect]

["——We are all fists of wounds, hands of blood, and blades without scales."]

Yes! Good loot!

Aiwass's eyes lit up.

This was the best gear that could come off of Da Zi!

Minor Decree Resistance allowed first-energy-level Decree Spells and Rhythm Tactics - Scold from the Path of Authority's interference and control effects to be nullified and weakened the control effects of anything below the third energy level by one level.

The Path of Authority was the most common power seen in Avalon. If Aiwass wore this ring, any Transcendents under level ten who deployed control skills couldn't subdue him; the strength of control skills from Transcendents under level thirty would be reduced by about ten levels. The only downside was that the ring was a bit too conspicuous; wearing it would make it easy for others who knew their stuff to mistake him for a member of the Noble Red Society.

But the ring's effect was indeed excellent, exceptionally useful in the early stages... and Aiwass was on the Path of Transcendence, able to trigger the passive effect. It suited carrying in his pocket, to be worn only when necessary.

As for the ring's affiliated spell "Severe Coughing Spell," although it sounded a bit silly, it was actually quite practical.

The fact that the ring itself was needed to cast the spell, coupled with the requirement of two points of Dark Attribute Mana to release it, made it clear it was not some low-end trinket.

"Coughing Spell" belonged to the first-energy-level spells of the Transcendence Path. Its effect was to cause a person to enter a choking state. If Aiwass got his hands on a relevant book of mysteries now, he could learn this spell.

"Severe Coughing Spell" was the second-energy-level upgraded version. Its effect was to plunge a person immediately into a state of severe coughing. Judging from the description, it was like having chili oil or seawater poured down one's nose, causing seconds of uncontrollable coughing before one could recover.

If someone was constantly coughing violently, then it's difficult for them to exert strength.

Since they cannot breathe properly, their strength would weaken somewhat. In the game, the effect was described as "damage -10%, hit rate reduced by 10%, and attack and movement speeds decreased by 10% for three seconds," but Aiwass thought the figures were definitely conservative.

In reality, if someone was suddenly struck by this move without warning, it was entirely possible for them to expose a fatal flaw.

Similarly, a person in a state of severe coughing would also be unable to speak, let alone shout at someone.

Even after the effect ended, they might not be able to speak clearly for a while. The mucous membranes would have been damaged, making it easy to slip into coughing again accidentally.

And the Decree-class abilities of the Path of Authority all required shouting.

From this angle, the ring seemed specifically designed to counter the powers of the Supervisory Bureau. Once discovered, it could be used to hold back enemies and then make an immediate escape.

Aiwass couldn't help but feel fortunate.

——Thankfully, he had sold a flaw, enticing Veronica to commit to using Hayna as the point of attack.

She probably thought that his shot lacked power to pierce through her defenses. It would be better to endure a shot and then play dead, using the moment Hayna let her guard down to cast the spell and take her out.

So she didn't want to appear too threatening—what she needed was Hayna's underestimation.

Those from the academy were very prone to exposing mental weaknesses.

But Veronica knew that... and of course, Aiwass knew it too.

He was aware that Veronica looked down on Hayna, so he deliberately set the stage by pretending to target her, allowing Veronica the opportunity to carry out her plan. As Veronica watched her plan getting closer to success, she also relaxed her guard.

Luckily, he had dug a pit and chose a righteous, sneaky pitfall attack!

Otherwise, if a real fight ensued, even if Veronica's continuous spellcasting didn't hit, she could simply grab and use the "Severe Coughing Spell" to weaken Hayna.

Moreover, the ring itself was proof of membership in the Noble Red Society. Only full members could obtain it, unlike affiliated personnel like the Evil Bartender who didn't have such an item.

Even though it was just a piece of equipment in the game...

Aiwass thought.

In reality, it might have other uses.

Just as Aiwass dared not wear it on an ordinary day, fearing being misunderstood about his identity—the reverse might also be true.