When the plot-skips players into the game world

Mr. Antlers hadn't personally slain the King; instead, he wanted to leave the kill for another.

"Let's make a deal... I'll only do the task this time, and you can have all those people to kill,"

he proposed to Lily, demonstrating his harmlessness and good intentions.

He spread his hands, palms facing outwards, to show he bore no malice, "This time, I'll simply be your assistant, your bait. I'll stand outside and draw attention, while you can take the opportunity to strike... If I'm in danger, you don't have to show up to rescue me."

"In this way, you won't have to worry about me betraying you, and I can be a loyal member of your team—how does that sound? It's all upside for you, isn't it?"

Of course, Mr. Antlers knew that betrayal was common on the Path of Adaptation.

But had he not often dealt with two-faced individuals?

He had long become accustomed to interacting with such people.

Those used to betrayal do not inevitably betray. As long as they are given ample benefits and a sense of security and the cost of their betrayal is increased, these people can still be made use of.

Moreover, Mr. Antlers was certain that Aleister must be a young man under twenty. The "Knight" was just over twenty, and he had now confirmed that the King was one of the rare, utility-driven Transcendents who had ceased advancing after acquiring Mystical Skills.

In other words, everyone remaining was on double paths, including the one known as "Gray Robes."

Given double paths, they aren't likely to be as extreme as single-path Transcendents... just as he, being on the Path of Dusk, was still very approachable.

And Mr. Antlers always felt that the other's character was probably quite agreeable.

Because he felt no animosity towards Mr. Gray Robes, and even a faint sense of affinity. There was no concrete reason for this, merely his instinct—but his instincts were often accurate.

Although Mr. Antlers didn't immediately receive a response from Gray Robes, he faintly heard that the King's breathing suddenly stopped, and a low "giggle" sound emerged. It sounded like a throat being squeezed, but Mr. Antlers couldn't pinpoint Gray Robes' exact location.

After a brief moment, a deep voice spoke up.

"Done. His body is yours."

—That was what, less than half a minute?

Such proficient bare-handed strangulation... was he from the Strangler Party?

Mr. Antlers mentally hazarded a guess.

But that didn't mean he couldn't cooperate with the Strangler Party.

He laughed cheerfully, "We share a serendipitous connection... have you ever heard a saying? Among the nine Paths, three prefer action, three gravitate towards stillness, three are changeable. Wisdom, Adaptation, and Dusk are paths inclined towards stillness; you are a typical Adapter."

"But as for the Path of Dusk, I'm considered quite the talkative one," he said while feeling around for the still-warm head of the corpse on the ground.

He placed a hand on the dead man's forehead, and a dim yellow light, like a worm, slowly crawled across the King's face following his fingers.

"My friend, my kin, my lover. The person I killed by mistake, the one I couldn't save in time," chanted Mr. Antlers rhythmically in a low voice, "I am the sorrowful messenger of the Shepherd constellation, the Hound of Icarus. There's no place for you in the Underworld, so come back silently."

Having said that, he pried open the King's mouth and forcefully blew a breath into it.

In that instant, the King's body lit up like a lamp switched on.

His whole body emitted a dim yellow glow, growing brighter and brighter.

The light traveled all over his corpse, eventually half converging toward the heart and the other half focusing on the brain.

The "King" suddenly opened his eyes, and a dim yellow light shone in his pupils.

He sprang up from the ground nimbly and followed behind Mr. Antlers. He opened his mouth slightly but couldn't make any sound.

"...He can't speak?"

Having witnessed the "resurrection ritual," Lily finally couldn't help asking.

"Hmm, he can't. But he's still Mr. King, not just an empty shell. He just can't think normally," Mr. Antlers replied succinctly, "Speech and song belong to the realm of beauty, procreation, and emotions belong to the realm of love. Thought is associated with wisdom, training with transcendence—those who are dead in body but not in spirit are stripped of four realms, those who are dead in spirit are stripped of six realms, and those who have no soul left are stripped of eight realms, leaving only Dusk."

"From this perspective, the dead resurrected by Necromancy... are in fact still in the world of the deceased," he explained.

This was a principle of Necromancy that ordinary Necromancers wouldn't discuss.

But for Mr. Antlers, who was primarily a Legal Mage, there was nothing worth hiding.

Mr. Antlers glanced at the large door and commanded, "Go open the door."

The resurrected King, silent, gaped for a moment, then dashed over with uncanny agility, climbing it like a monkey.

"It's a pity there's no Bone Staff," lamented Mr. Antlers, "If I had the Bone Staff, I could enhance Mr. King's corpse even more. I wouldn't need to give out instructions like this."

"Aren't you one of the big shots from Avalon?" inquired Lily indifferently, "Wouldn't it be easy for you to make a Bone Staff?"

"That's actually a bit difficult; any weapon brought into the ritual has to be self-made," Mr. Antlers replied casually, "I'm getting on in years, and learning to sculpt from scratch isn't easy."

Unintentional words can provoke thoughts.

Merely the phrase "getting on in years" stirred something in Lily.

Although it was normal for a high-ranking individual to be older... for some reason, the first time she met Mr. Antlers, she felt a vague sense of familiarity, as though she had seen him somewhere before.