When the plot-skips players into the game world

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Although Aiwass didn't know much about the New Moon Ritual, he knew it was a PVP mode.

Everyone was an enemy to each other, and only the victor could possibly advance.

The cost of the New Moon Ritual was far greater than that of the Full Moon Ritual, and even though there was no penalty for failing, the materials for the ritual were not cheap. Only those who were confident in themselves would hold a New Moon Ritual upon advancement. In other words, it was tough for impostors to be present in this mode.

Moreover, the difficulty of the advancement ritual would rise with the strength of the participants.

Before stepping onto the second Path, these Transcendents had already tapped into the upper echelons of society, holding various secrets, intelligence and resources as the powerful. If they participated in the Full Moon Ritual at this point, it would be too easy to end up with a group of rookies who were hard to cooperate with, directly entering a ritual that was many times more difficult.

Therefore, after reaching the pinnacle of the first Path, Transcendents often used the New Moon Ritual to advance their second Path. Since the New Moon Ritual was essentially just a slaughter, it didn't matter if the ritual difficulty was increased.

When chased by a bear, one does not need to run faster than the bear, just faster than the other people.

So who would be so confident?

—— Apart from young, hot-headed fools, it was the veteran Transcendents advancing to their second Path.

These people were the latter, and Aiwass was to play the former.

A novice who didn't even understand the meaning of "code name", possessed by a Shadow Demon either out of good or bad luck, joining the Noble Red Society—such an image.

"Alistair," this pseudonym also had its special significance, known only to Aiwass.

The name was a variant of the surname Alexander. If one read "Alexander" using the language of the Iris Flower, it would sound like this, and transcribing it back would be Alistair. Coincidentally, Aiwass's instinctive impulse for Transcendence was inherited from his grandfather, who bore the surname Alexander, while his mother was of the Iris Flower Nobility.

This was also Aiwass's tribute to his past... to his biological parents whom he had never met before their separation.

As for the Noble Red Society, it was Aiwass's move to position himself in advance, laying the groundwork for his future plans.

—— He didn't recognize anyone else, but that old man with the "Thunder" code name was clearly Inspector Gordon!

Having him participate in the ritual here was tantamount to validating the existence of "Alistair." Later, when Aiwass attacked the headquarters of the Lohar Society, the source of that Shadow Demon would become clear—it was assuredly from the Noble Red Society and no longer just "a shadow demon summoner who sprang up from nowhere."

At that moment, another person appeared by Aiwass's side on the chair.

The individual was dressed in a very loose grey hooded sweatshirt, their gender indiscernible, their age uncertain.

"I guess you're a Transcendent of the Path of Adaptation,"

Mr. Antlers was the first to speak, "Time is still early, shall we get to know each other? I'm Antlers, advancing on the Path of Dusk."

However, at this moment, the other party remained silent, unmoved.

Nevertheless, Antlers continued to persuade with a friendly demeanor, "I think you must be a newbie. But you should have some understanding of the advancement ritual... Are you also on your second Path? Apart from Mr. Alistair here, we are all veterans on our second Path. We all have a lot of experience with advancement rituals... We can totally collaborate."

"How should I address you? Mister or Miss?"

The person in the grey hood slightly tilted their head but still said nothing.

Without speaking or lifting their head, there was no way to discern their appearance or features, let alone what their code name was.

Then the sixth person arrived—Aiwass still recognized him. It was none other than Sir Knight from the previous Full Moon Ritual!

Obviously, he had failed to advance last time and had decided to try again after only half a month's rest.

But Knight had clearly grown a lot compared to his last advancement attempt.

Unlike the person in the grey hood, Knight quickly agreed to half of Antlers' attempts to ally.

"We can tentatively collaborate first, to deal with the other three together,"

Knight said seriously, "But since you have said this to me, I believe you would say the same to others. You would likely prefer to collaborate with the stronger participants who entered the ritual before me."

"Therefore, at that time, I will cooperate with Mr. Alistair and the person in the grey hood,"

Although the content of the ritual was still unknown, Knight unreservedly shared his judgment and plans.

One could only say that Knight had grown in part, but not fully.

"But I am a Demon, boy,"

the Shadow Demon hissed in response.

Knight, however, continued earnestly, "External identities are irrelevant within the ritual. We are competitors, adversaries, but also potential allies. Thus, we should address each other by code names—Mr. Alistair, do you really not intend to adopt a code name?"

"Let's talk about it after the ritual is over," the Shadow Demon replied casually. Experience new tales on empire

Subsequently, Mr. Antlers revealed to "Knight" that his main Path was the Path of Authority and disclosed information about the latter's large unit and possible location, suggesting his own high status within Avalon.

Yet, Knight, whether coached or not, kept repeating, "External identities are irrelevant within the ritual." Despite being somewhat stubborn, he didn't divulge more of his own information, didn't fully trust Mr. Antlers' persuasion, and wasn't especially gullible.

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