When the plot-skips players into the game world

So you're a boss too, big bro!

Aiwass immediately felt a sense of kinship.

Although theoretically, Aiwass should be on the protagonist's side, he was acutely aware of his own vile nature. It seemed that becoming a boss wasn't that far off for himself.

Moreover, in Aiwass's view, a boss was, in a sense, a "hero who had taken a misstep."

——At least, that was the case after the mid-point of the version, when everyone's presence had been established.

Because they had sided with the wrong team, stood against the tides of their times, or because of various reasons had made a misstep... they had become bosses and entered the dungeons.

If they had taken the right step during critical moments of wrong decision-making, perhaps they could have survived. They might have even become great heroes, as they too harbored their own beliefs.

Take the Holy Sword Guardian Samuel, for instance.

He loved his homeland, Avalon. Hence, after the destruction of the Kingdom of Avalon, he traveled the world, seeking power. Eventually, he found the technique to reforge the Holy Sword, turning the key of the St. Genvieve Chapel, which he guarded, into the "Holy Sword-Red-Handled Sword," once wielded by the ancient hero Galahad.

What he didn't know was that this sword contained a powerful curse. It was for this reason that it had been cut off and sealed by the Mage Merlin.

One must wield this sword with a steadfast and pure will. Samuel, who picked up the Red-Handled Sword without any warning, was almost instantly overwhelmed by a curse that had been brewing for hundreds of years, dominated by a Light-affinity Phantom Demon born from the curse, ultimately becoming a key executor of the "Shadow of Avalon" plan.

Aiwass treasured the heavy key and accepted it.

He knew how much Bishop Mathers valued this key and that the Bishop was aware of the key's origin and worth.

He valued Aiwass so much that he was willing to lend it to Aiwass temporarily for self-defense——

At that moment, Aiwass had made up his mind.

Apart from his sister Yulia...

He would also seek to change the destiny of Samuel Mathers as a way of repaying the trust and esteem he was shown at this moment.

Strictly speaking, this wasn't difficult; all he needed to do was prevent the reforging of the Holy Sword. But a more radical solution would be to prevent the fall of Avalon itself.

And that was something Aiwass was already intending to do.

Because our goals align.

In Aiwass's heart, the tasks he set out to do intensified, but he didn't feel burdened by it; rather, he was eager to begin.

Just then, an idea sprang to Aiwass's mind:

Although he certainly didn't remember the main storyline, and he had almost completely forgotten those important NPCs. He only remembered a few NPCs from the protagonist's camp, and had no idea when the rest had joined the team or paid any attention to their personal stories.

But Aiwass remembered the bosses!

At least, he was intimately familiar with the main path's bosses. Not only did he know their names, occupations, and mechanisms, but he was even aware of their backgrounds to some extent—like how they ended up on their respective paths.

So, in fact, Aiwass had a mature and stable way of acquiring "comrades-in-arms."

——That was to prevent the fated destiny of those destined to become bosses.

If they could grow into bosses that players needed to contend with, it meant they must also have notable strength. If Aiwass could redeem some essentially good people at the right time, he would likely gain their gratitude and help in return.

Regaining his composure, Aiwass pretended he didn't know the value of the key, but still showed great appreciation and gratitude to Bishop Mathers, sincerely thanking him and vowing to return it within two months.

There was no conflict.

Unless something unexpected happens, the incident that caused Yulia to lose control should occur in just over a month.

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At least three third-energy level Demon Scholars and one third-energy level Legal Mage, along with a fourth-energy level Arbiter, were involved in that incident. He knew the Arbiter's weakness, and perhaps by acting in advance, he might prevent him from attending the scene.

But the remaining four were still difficult to deal with, not to mention the Demon Scholars who had prepared in advance.

In the original storyline, it was through Yulia's sacrifice that the enemy was resolved.

To save the players and Aiwass, she voluntarily lost control multiple times, finally fully awakening the Defiant Flame Butterfly. With her last bit of rationality, she controlled the Defiant Flame Butterfly to kill the enemies, and allowed the players to take Aiwass away.

After that, Yulia's soul vanished. She became a part of the Defiant Flame Butterfly.

And Aiwass could not shake people at will—because he was going to seal the Phantom Demon and use the Shadow Demon in this incident, and Yulia would reveal her identity as a Phantom Demon Egg. It would be best if no one except Yulia knew about these two secrets of his.

Initially, Aiwass also intended to resolve the incident with a Phantom Demon sealed in the Blank Card.

Now with this "Holy Sword," Aiwass had a lot more confidence.

"...then let us continue to learn."

Bishop Mathers steadied his mind, reluctantly accepting the existence of someone "more talented than himself."

He then passed on his experience to Aiwass even more earnestly, "The so-called Illumination Art is not about emitting flashes of light, but is similar in principle to the Rite of Fire—seeing diseases, curses, fatigue as 'darkness' and dissipating them with light. Since it's not burning but illuminating, the weak heat from this light disperses them. So this process is more stable, slower, and safer.

"Imagine yourself as a candle, and your palm is the candle's wick. You can ignite your own life force by drawing on your fire attribute, or you can use an external flame to help ignite it, which could save some of your mana. But since you possess the Path of the Flame Container, you don't have to be that frugal.

"Then all you need to do is continuously channel light attribute mana, gently touch the other person's forehead, back of the head or heart with your palm, and infuse the light generated from burning your life into them. This can help soothe the mind, dispel curses, heal wounds..."

The Illumination Art is very simple. Anyone with a bit of light attribute mana can easily learn it.

Aiwass didn't use experience to speed up the learning process and took only about ten minutes to get it, proving his talent indeed.

After that, he paid three experience points and quietly learned the Blessing Skill. However, he did not show it off—because the Blessing Skill is the most difficult in the Sacred Arts. He could explain quickly learning the simpler Rite of Fire Skill due to Aiwass's innate affinity for flames.

But the Blessing Skill is not something one could learn instantly.

That involved strengthening allies, sanctifying the environment or items, producing Holy Water, among other measures…pretty complex. He listened to the lecture for more than an hour.

And the fact that Aiwass spent three experience points to learn it is proof of its difficulty. This confirmed that Bishop Mathers' initial calculations were entirely correct—for Aiwass, Blessing was indeed three times more difficult than the Rite of Fire.

That is to say, Aiwass used four experience points to save two to three days and a week's time—which was totally worth it.

Because what he lacked now was time.

—Tomorrow night, it would be the full moon of November.

The full moon and the new moon of each month are the two specified days for advancement rituals.

The success rate of rituals during the full moon is twice that of the new moon, while the new moon is more likely to yield rare terms.

In a month and a half, he was going to participate in a tough battle. Before that, he only had three opportunities for advancement at best.

If Aiwass does not hold back his leveling, he could advance to Priest, Demon Scholar, and Priest respectively, during the full moon, the new moon, and the full moon.

If he missed this day, Aiwass would have to wait another two weeks to advance. And before the advancement is completed, the overflowed skill levels would not translate into professional grades. That would be a waste of experience... which would directly lead to the collapse of subsequent plans.

As long as Aiwass wanted to produce the first Blank Card within a month and a half, he had to complete these two advancements as a Priest, and he must complete the first advancement tomorrow—otherwise, with only half a month left, even if he took shortcuts, he would definitely not be able to raise his Priest level to 19.

—Fortunately, the two from the Pelican Bar provided valuable shared experience!

Aiwass still had fifty points of shared experience. If he distributed it evenly among the four Sacred Arts, raising each by one or two levels, he could get his Priest level to 9!

Thus, he could enter the Dream Realm during the full moon tomorrow to complete the first advancement ritual... and light up the second tier of his Path of Devotion directly!

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