When the plot-skips players into the game world

When Lily woke up, she magically undid the ropes that bound her in an instant.

This was the domain of her mystical skill "Silk Thread Control."

Because [Restraint] was also one of the many secrets of spider silk. To Lily, threads and ropes were like extensions of her limbs, controllable and reliable, causing no interference to her.

This body was much stronger than her own, so her heartbeat was also much more powerful.

In pure darkness, she slipped into stealth. Lily stood in the corner of the room, slightly closing one eye.

While distracted by the task requirements that appeared before her, she used the closed eye to sense her surroundings.

——In her perception, the surrounding world turned black and white.

With every beat of Lily's heart, clear white outlines emerged in the dark world of her perception, then gradually faded, only to become clearer with the next heartbeat.

But not far from her, the fading of two human-shaped outlines was significantly slower.

In Lily's 'Silkthread Perception' vision, their heart locations burst with numerous silk threads. The faint vibrations of their heartbeats were reflected on the ground, forming a web-like network. In just a few breaths, the human outlines were sketched very clearly.

After they woke up and realized their situation, their heartbeats suddenly quickened. The most direct effect was that the rhythmically reflected spiderweb on the ground enlarged, and its frequency also increased a bit.

"Is there anyone there?"

One of them couldn't help but call out, "Save me!"

Meanwhile, the other person's heartbeat suddenly slowed down.

A faint amber glow flickered on him, and the ropes binding him were partially petrified, losing their elasticity. He forcefully broke free from the ropes and shouted, "I'm coming to help you— who are you?"

"I am the King... who are you?"

"I am Mr. Antlers."

The man who had used petrification magic to free himself answered, "There should be another person in the room... Can you tell us your name?"

Lily gave a soft cough, indicating that she had heard them.

"So it's that gentleman from the Path of Adaptation."

Mr. Antlers immediately realized.

This is not good. Mr. Antlers thought after reviewing the ritual task requirements.

None of the allies he had rallied before were at his side. Instead, it was this reticent Adapter and the Botanist, who was not much of a fighter, that appeared with him.

The profession of Botanist is not quite the same as that of a traditional Alchemist.

Alchemists are not good fighters either, but at least they can provide various potions... But the Botanist's abilities are all about promoting, demonizing, and controlling various plants. High-level Botanists can even awaken ancient trees and turn them into powerful Treants.

If it were a forest environment, the King's combat capability would be very powerful. But in this enclosed space, the Botanist was essentially useless.

And their appearance together essentially meant they were temporary allies.

The most critical point was... now that the King was here, it meant that the strongest "Aleister" would appear somewhere else.

Even though a Demon possessed by a Shadow Demon wouldn't be as powerful as the Shadow Demon itself... but if it acquired even one-tenth of the Shadow Demon's strength, it would be unbeatable by others in the ritual.

——This is really bad.

Acquiring the Holy Lance would lock his position for other participants, and seeking victory through slaughter would be even more difficult for him, a low-level Transcendent of the Path of Dusk.

Mr. Antlers judged that Aleister, seeing the task requirement, would choose to claim victory through slaughter. This also meant he could obtain a large number of bodies— and they wouldn't be in conflict with each other.

His tasks in this ritual were not difficult, including "placing bodies in the Magic Cauldron for resurrection," for which each body was worth 800 points. And if he could resurrect himself and survive until the ritual ended, he could get 1500 points.

Besides, he had the "Close Door" task... using petrification magic to petrify the locks of certain doors, netting 500 points for each door. At this level, he could petrify but not undo the petrification, meaning every closed door would reduce the operating space for all ritual participants.

But that could also serve as a means to kill— after making noise to attract the Giants, he could use the opportunity to close the door and seal them outside. And doors that were sealing in advance could act as traps.

If he had the chance to come into contact with the Holy Lance, he could also petrify the Holy Lance to seal its powers. This would prevent the person in possession of the Holy Lance from using its power against the Giants... thereby earning him 1000 points. If the person with the Holy Lance were to die as a result, he could gain another 500 points.

```

With this calculation, he would have at least five thousand points guaranteed. It would be very easy for him to win with points.

By now, Mr. Antlers had become a senior Transcendent.

He was very clear about one principle: the mission itself is a hint.

——Considering this mission, the Magic Cauldron's resurrection should only work once. And anyone can use it, not just the Giants. The fact that escaping the house offers so many points means it must be incredibly difficult and troublesome.

Given the one-hour time limit, there might not be enough time. If his temporary allies were a bit more reliable, he might have considered it. But at this point, all he could do was to restrict others and prevent them from escaping.

And that was very simple.

All he had to do was find and seal the door——ensuring others couldn't escape would keep them from earning those two thousand points and overtaking him.

To achieve this...

Seeing Mr. Antlers making no move to untie himself, the King gradually came to understand.

After a brief contemplation, he suddenly spoke up, breaking the deadlock: "Then you might as well just kill me."

With the King's words, the other two turned their gazes towards him.

Mr. Antlers asked with feigned concern, "Are you sure that's alright?"

What a hypocrite. Lily scoffed at the side.

But the King was quite open-minded, "To be honest, I never intended to advance.

"If the ceremony happened to be in a forest environment, I might have given it a try. But in this setting, I think I'd rather just give up. This ceremony is a New Moon Ritual; without sufficient strength, there's no way I could advance.

"It just so happens that you are a major client of mine——so I want to give my opportunity to you."

——He meant what he said. With his extensive experience, Mr. Antlers immediately discerned the King's earnestness.

Once someone volunteered to drop out, Mr. Antlers breathed a sigh of relief. The deadlock could now be broken.

Instead of capitalizing on the opportunity, Mr. Antlers crouched down, feeling his way forward, and then untied the ropes from the King's body. This allowed the King to sit up in a more comfortable position.

Only then did Mr. Antlers ask, "If you didn't plan on advancing, why did you attend the advancement ceremony?" Experience more tales on empire

"I came here to do business, as sales have not been so good recently."

The King sat up and spoke frankly, "In any case, no one dies in the advancement ceremonies at this stage, at worst it just leaves one weak for half a month. And those who attend are all Transcendents from my vicinity, all at the first Energy Level... I didn't expect to be pulled into Avalon these last couple of times.

"It's just that Star Antimony has been too chaotic recently, unable to gather a group of candidates for advancement."

"What's been happening in Star Antimony lately?" inquired Mr. Antlers, concerned.

"The Rose Cross Society has been clashing with the Royal Alchemy Association. The Necromancers didn't mediate this time, rather they stood by and enjoyed the commotion. As a result, things escalated, and two months ago a very famous Alchemist was cursed to death. Now, the Demon Scholars are being viciously attacked by the newspapers, yet the Rose Cross Society hasn't made a single move."

With a sigh, the King complained, "For some reason, the prices of finished alchemical potions have been rising sharply, while the cost of materials has been falling. It seems like a war might be brewing. I came to sell goods at the ceremony for this very reason.

"The Alchemy workshops that were buying materials from me have been continually asking for discounts or refusing to purchase from me altogether. I can't indulge them—I'm not selling that watered-down, inferior material. Each vial of essential oil I provide is full measure!

"...But it was as if they had agreed among themselves. As a result, all the workshops stopped buying from me, wanting to press the price down to 70% of the purchase price—Let me be frank, Mr. Antlers. The 30% discount I've been offering you was their wholesale price before. They want to take a discount on top of a discount, and I just wouldn't make any money. I have no intention of being at the mercy of those Alchemists."

The King shook his head, "If I could've advanced to the third Energy Level a few years earlier, it might have been better. A third-level Botanist could perform Alchemy, and I could have sold finished products directly. But in the previous years, I was busy making money... Incense, essential oils, perfumes, seeds, I made a tidy sum over several years.

"But now, let it go. I'm older now, with a wife and daughter to support... I just don't have the energy to delve into Alchemy again. It's better to go to the advancement ceremony and sell some goods."

At this point, he took hold of Mr. Antlers's hand earnestly, "I'll leave my opportunity for advancement to you all this time. Whether it's for the kill count or you can use my body as you wish... Just remember our deal, please!"

"Don't worry,"

Mr. Antlers nodded, exuding an air of authority, "I'm a big shot in Avalon, and I won't go back on my word. As soon as I get back, I'll send a deposit to your address right away—half up front; you can start production after receiving the payment and then ship in two batches. This way, you are definitely not at a loss... What do you think?"

"You really are a good person!"

thanked the King gratefully.

```