Chapter 457: Baseline World Line (7000 words, 2-in-1)

When the camera gradually pulled in, zoomed in, and finally stopped on Queen Sofia's half-open, frozen gray pupils, Aiwass thought the CG was over.

The lens was indeed black.

——But immediately afterwards, another clip appeared.

Aiwass, dressed in a red bishop's robe, paced around the study at Moriarty Manor, looking somewhat anxious.

He pulled out a book from the bookshelf nervously, as if he wanted to read it.

But before he could read, he suddenly heard thunder outside.

Aiwass immediately walked to the window and saw that the sky was getting darker at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In the distance, large flocks of white-feathered griffins took off, and the pure white sky seemed to be stained with ink, spreading outward from the Silver and Tin Palace. Thunder roared, and a howling storm swept through the streets, instantly blowing away the fallen leaves on both sides of the street.

In an instant, countless dead leaves danced in the air, and a visible storm swept over.

When the camera stopped here, a fallen leaf was blown by the strong wind and hit Aiwass in the face.

Aiwass was stunned for a moment before realizing that the CG was over and he could move again.

"...seamless transition?"

When he realized this, a sharp and unpleasant hoarse voice like nails scratching a blackboard suddenly rang in his mind:

"You are Aiwas Moriarty. At the age of nineteen, you became a recognized bishop of the Church of the Nine Pillars, and you are also the youngest bishop in Avalon.

"Your sister, Yulia Moriarty, is a Phantom Demon Egg, but thankfully, with the care of your adoptive father, James, her condition has been well under control. Under your treatment, her condition is even getting better.

"But shortly after you were promoted to bishop, Yulia was suddenly abducted by a group of people. When you found her, she had lost control and transformed into a phantom demon.

"You suspected a conspiracy, secretly investigating and plotting revenge. And just recently, with the help of the renowned detective Sherlock Hermes, you finally discovered that the culprit was Minister Droste, a Star Antimony spy.

"At the same time, you also discovered another conspiracy - Xingtian and Avalon are recently organizing a marriage, but there have been unusual troop movements on the Xingtian border.

"With only one day left before the engagement banquet, it was impossible to stop it, so you decided to split up. You reported the news to the Grand Guardian stationed at the border, while Detective Sherlock decided to personally report the matter to Queen Sophia at the Temple of Silver and Tin. Also, because you had met Princess Isabel at the promotion ceremony, after much deliberation, you decided to send her a copy of the warning letter as well.

"Now a day has passed, the princess hasn't sent a reply, and Sherlock hasn't come back to see you. You realize that something bad seems to have happened again..."

The next moment, a few lines of words popped up in front of Aiwas's eyes.

[Necessary Task——]

[Continue to play as Aiwas Moriarty without being discovered or exposed by anyone other than your teammates (Points: 100)]

[Safely evacuate Princess Isabelle du Lac to the Eternal Kingdom (Points: 500)]

【Additional Task——】

[The Heart is a Sanctuary: Do not choose to hide in Moriarty Manor, and take the initiative to go to the Temple of Silver and Tin (Points: 100)]

[Trial: Will of the Candlelight: The total vitality lost from healing others exceeds the sum of your own vitality (Points: 100)]

[My Unforgettable Nature: Effectively heal others and keep the target alive (Points: 10 per person, maximum 500)]

[Heart of Survival: Safely send as many family members and friends as possible out of Avalon (Points: Maximum 500)]

[Trial: Life Watcher: Generate as much effective healing as possible (Points: Up to 500)]

[Save Detective Sherlock: Ensure Sherlock Hermes's survival (Points: 500)]

[Love's Oath of Revenge: Kill Charles Droste (Points: 500)]

[Day of Destruction Approaches: Survive to the end without evacuating or leaving Glass Island (Points: 500)]

[Trial: Beacon of Hope: Save the Doomed (Points: Up to 1000)]

[Something only I can do: Stop Xingti's conspiracy (Points: 1000)]

[???: Completed??? and increased the survival rate of Glass Island civilians to over 70% (Points: 1000)]

Two required tasks and eleven additional tasks.

Even if you deduct the three trial tasks required for job change, there are still eight additional tasks.

Without a doubt, this was the most challenging promotion ceremony for Aiwass.

Based on Aiwas's experience in the past few promotion ceremonies, the tasks given by the Snake Father are full of extremely difficult tasks that cannot be completed normally, while the tasks given by the Twin Mirror are full of fun, and the various huge points are simply filled in randomly, just to encourage you to cause trouble.

The best missions were given by Sand Time… His missions themselves were a form of guidance and suggestion. Even though Wei Zhe messed up the promotion ceremony, Sand Time was still working hard to organize the promotions' thoughts.

The Scale-Feather Lord had been very conservative with the bonus points he'd given the two missions, only giving high marks to one or two extremely difficult "add-on questions." The rest were tasks that were achievable with the naked eye... As long as you worked diligently, you'd definitely be able to complete them.

This is the case with Aiwass, and it should be the same for others.

Because of this, it might not be so easy to widen the gap in the Scaled and Feathered Lord scenario. Whatever mission can be accomplished must be accomplished.

Aiwass watched the dark clouds gradually spread outside the window and silently analyzed these tasks.

Those three trial tasks are all required for job changes - among them, [Beacon of Hope] is a necessary trial task for advancing to the Enlightener and the Temple Guardian Monk, and at least one-third of the progress must be completed.

The mission [The Day of Destruction is Coming] obviously conflicts with the necessary missions.

This should be a common task prepared for those ascenders who do not intend to help Isabel evacuate. It is a task available on all paths.

Because necessary tasks must be completed, they generally do not award points. The extra 500 points for helping Isabel escape will need to be made up for with other tasks—and it's clear that with the impending disaster on Avalon, evacuating to another country is the safest option. The next best option is to leave Glass Island and take refuge in the smaller towns.

Aiwass didn't know how big the map of this promotion ceremony was, but judging from this task... it was at least larger than the entire Glass Island.

The mission requirements were to send Isabel to the Theocracy. In the process, rescue as many people as possible and bring them to safety.

We need to rescue Sherlock as soon as possible. He might have been arrested while reporting the news, and it's hard to say where he's being held.

And then... Aiwass has to kill Minister Droste again.

——I have to say that this is the task that Aiwass is most satisfied with.

I gave the chance to Lily last time, but this time I can finally do it myself.

Although Aiwass knew that Droste had murdered Queen Sofia, he still didn't know how he did it...

Because the Shadow of Avalon Ritual was only missing one head... but after Queen Sophia was assassinated, the ritual was not started.

This means that Queen Sofia's head was not counted in this ceremony for some reason. When Queen Sofia explained the Shadow of Avalon Ritual to Aiwass, Aiwass had doubts.

Until then, he had always thought there were two heads missing. The Queen filled the second to last, and the final one came two years later, when the Fallen Angels descended, the stars split, and the doll Isabel, whose heart had awakened, sacrificed Isabel's brother John, using that child's life to complete the ritual and attempt to summon Lancelot.

But the queen said that only one head was left.

Now that Aiwas has seen the complete CG, he finally understands what happened.

The Queen said that only three people besides herself knew about this counterattack ritual. Meg and Arius, as commoners, were unaware of it.

Since even the "big names" of Avalon didn't know, and even Meg, Queen Sofia's most trusted person, didn't know, then Queen Sofia probably wouldn't tell Janice, a foreigner, about Avalon's deepest secret. On the other hand, Isabel clearly didn't know either.

Aside from George and Shafia, the last person to learn of the ceremony was probably Isabel's father, Prince Albert. It could also be Sherlock's father or brother, or even the Privy Councillor, Camelot.

George died in that famous charge, and Shafiya was the one who escaped with Isabel. But when Isabel finally left for the Theocracy, she was no longer with her, and most likely died at that time.

This ritual requires the blood of twenty-one Du Lacs who were murdered.

The key is "blood".

The Du Lacs who had been cursed and poisoned before were obviously also included in this. In other words, all they needed was blood... but no one knew at the time that blood needed to be taken from the Queen's body to activate the Shadow of Avalon ritual.

Perhaps Shafiya knew, so she might have tried to return and seize the queen's body... but ultimately failed. This would also explain why she died quietly, while the puppet Isabel was able to obtain relevant information.

Moreover, for the first time, an invisible and censored task appeared in this promotion ceremony.

However, although this task was blurred, Aiwass felt that the length of the blurred field should be "Shadow of Avalon".

——This explains why it is necessary to ensure that the "survival rate of civilians on Glass Island exceeds 70%."

During the "Cruel Autumn" incident, although Glass Island was attacked by the Gargoyle Army, the Colossi and the Army never advanced. The main casualties were the Transcendents who attempted to resist; the Star Antimony did not directly attack civilians.

From the perspective of ordinary people, this story is about an assassin transformed into Isabel who poisoned Queen Sophia, and then the Star Antimony people took the opportunity to invade, annihilate the Griffin Legion of Avalon and eliminate all the fifth-level extraordinary people, making the people of Avalon feel fear.

At this time, Princess Isabel succeeded to the throne and ceded a large amount of interests to negotiate peace, while continuing the marriage with Xing Ti. As a result, Xing Ti withdrew smoothly... Throughout the process, although the civilians were severely frightened and many cities were severely damaged, there were actually not many civilian casualties.

They didn't know that it was Minister Droste who poisoned the queen and that the real Isabel had escaped. They also didn't know that the Knights of the Round Table were fighting each other and those who remained were from Xingti's side.

After all, at least half of the Founding Family was intact, and the Round Table and the entire Avalon government were still functioning normally. They would only think that the rest had died in the invasion, not knowing that the entire upper echelon had been replaced.

From the Theocracy's perspective, it was Minister Droste who poisoned the Queen, and the Avalon rebellion was initiated from within by the ministers. Although Xingti secretly instigated the rebellion, he did not have the transcendents directly attack the Queen or pursue Isabel, thus avoiding breaking the Theocracy's bottom line.

Moreover, the people of Avalon at that time all recognized the puppet Queen Isabel because she brought "peace" - after the people of Avalon realized the strength and cruelty of the Star Antimony, the hard-won peace was even more cherished. Even though the puppet Isabel continuously provided various benefits to the Star Antimony and caused people's dissatisfaction, no one dared to oppose it.

——After all, they were indeed frightened by the Xingti people.

Even though they signed one unequal treaty after another, constantly draining Avalon's blood, no one dared to resist Xingti. Because Avalon had been disarmed, resistance was impossible.

After the Theocracy recovered, they couldn't directly interfere with Star Antimony's puppet rule because that would mean eliminating all of Avalon's upper echelons of rulers—including most of the founding families.

This is simply impossible.

Because Avalon is essentially a joint rule of the founding families, allowing the Du Lac family to be the monarch is only a compensation for Lancelot not becoming an apostle immediately, but continuing to stay in the world to rule Avalon for the Silver Crown Dragon.

But in principle, the ruling power of Avalon is divided equally among the founding families.

It wasn't until the arrival of the Fallen Angels that Isabelle, with the support and help of the Theocracy, defeated them, and the people of Avalon began to doubt their puppet queen. And after being freed from control, the puppet Isabelle gradually found her true self.

It was precisely because the puppet Isabelle tried to summon Lancelot to save Avalon that Avalon was truly destroyed.

Because Ying Tiansi destroyed everything equally.

Whether it was the Hall of the Round Table, the Temple of Silver and Tin, or the knights and founders of the old times... no matter if they were inclined towards Star Antimony or towards Avalon, they were all equally destroyed.

Is it possible to complete the Shadow of Avalon ritual without causing the deaths of civilians?

Aiwass fell into deep thought, but soon realized a way out of the situation.

“…It seems like it can really be done.”

Aiwass murmured.

The key point is time.

Because when [Required Task 2] is completed, the promotion ceremony will end immediately and the settlement will be made.

That means that no matter what state he is in at that moment... Aiwass can return immediately.

Because the requirement of [Necessary Task 2] is to "make" Isabel evacuate, not "evacuate with" Isabel.

In other words, you don't have to evacuate together.

Aiwass must complete the Shadow of Avalon Ritual before Isabel evacuates to complete this mission!

As long as Shadow Sky Master descends, both the two fifth-level warriors and the gargoyle army will be engulfed. [Something Only I Can Do] can also be accomplished at the same time.

...The only problem is that there's a high probability that Aiwass will die there as well.

This necessary task does not require survival, which means... it can be completed even if you die.

However, this ceremony is very difficult. If you die, you may die in reality, and your soul will definitely be damaged. Once the soul is damaged, it will increase the difficulty of subsequent promotions.

No, that's too risky.

Moreover, if he did not follow Isabel, he might not be able to allow her to reach the Theocracy safely.

Unless "Lulu" also comes upon her, if the two of them cooperate, there might still be some drama.

"...But if we don't complete the Shadow of Avalon Ritual, how can we 'stop Xingti's conspiracy'?"

Aiwass fell into deep thought.

How about finding a way to kill that prince and queen?

This thought suddenly popped up in Aiwas' mind.

When watching the CG just now, Aiwass was quite unhappy with those two people... Even though he knew that the prince was just a supporting role and the "Isabelle" who was nominally married to him was just a ball-jointed puppet, Aiwass still felt very uncomfortable.

Whether it was his possessiveness towards Isabel or his desire to protect her, his anger at the Queen being poisoned and Isabel being wrongly accused, his heartache for poor Isabel... and his worry about "Lulu" seeing this CG, all of these made Aiwas' hatred for those two people increase.

——If we can kill them, we may be able to stop Xingti’s conspiracy.

No, that's not right.

Aiwass faced his true feelings.

There is no need to deceive himself with points and tasks, he can just look directly at his own heart.

To be precise, regardless of whether killing them can stop Xingti's conspiracy, Aiwass wants to kill them - even if they are not the targets that must be killed in this promotion ceremony. Killing them is not only risky but also has no points reward.

Aiwass simply wanted to do this.

Thinking of this, Aiwass began to check his condition and the abilities he could use.

...But his heart soon sank.

Apart from the Butterfly of Rebellious Flame and the four sacred skills of the priest, he can only use "Shepherding", "Dawn Fire" and a small number of simple rituals.

The good news is that the body of the "Evans" he used was undoubtedly his own body. There was no awkwardness in using the Aiwass, it was very comfortable and smooth.

It's just that his mana pool is outrageous.

It has a full 87 points of light attribute mana, and only 29 points of fire attribute mana!

Aiwass calculated for a moment and figured this was the standard mana pool for a level 29 priest, with two levels of Light Vessel and one level of Flame Vessel added to create the mana pool. Because the Vessel attribute applies to the body and can't be used in dreams, this must be this body... the attribute Aiwass himself selected when he ascended in this world line.

In other words, it was the mana pool allocated to Aiwas by the Lord of Scales and Feathers.

"Isn't this a bit too weird?"

Aiwass couldn't help but frown, confirming one thing - that this Aiwass was definitely not himself as a time traveler.

Even though Aiwass was a single-class priest, he couldn't have raised the level of the Light Vessel to such a high level... In other words, if he didn't have the adaptability to transcend the path and the mana pool required to make the mortal sin card, he might not even have chosen the container entry.

Because the dilution of container attributes is the most obvious, the higher the level, the lower the benefits.

The container entry is only meaningful unless there is a special profession that can convert mana into combat power, such as the Great Sin Scholar who has an urgent need for mana, or the Mage who can convert mana into each other, and the Blood Mage who can convert mana and life into each other.

Even if one of these three container entries was "Container of Burning and Radiance," it would mean that the container was selected for at least two promotion ceremonies. Then, when Aiwas reached the third energy level, he could only have one other entry at most.

With such a high mana level...does that mean you don't want any combat power at all and just want to heal others?

etc……

"...No adaptability beyond the Tao?"

Aiwass murmured.

He finally realized why he felt so strange when he saw the introduction to the plot—

He subconsciously thought that it was because of his dedication to the path of advancement that the mana pools belonging to other professions in Aiwas's body were blocked.

But now it seems... this should be another possibility for Aiwass.

This is Aiwass who is purely dedicated to the path!

His religious impulse did not strike, so he focused on the path of a pastor from a young age.

Then he wouldn't have gone crazy and dropped out of school to study demonology at home, he wouldn't have secretly written letters to contact the Noble Red, he wouldn't have become a demonologist, and he wouldn't have been tied up and sacrificed.

He would not have been exposed to the Pelican Bar case, nor would he have received the letter sent by Minister Droste's secretary. He would not have learned the details of the "Red Stone" case, and Aiwass would not have been attacked and killed at the commendation ceremony.

Because Aiwass had selected all the container entries, and with Aiwass's sufficient comfort and treatment, the Flame-Defying Butterfly, which shared Yulia's memories and personality, would not be as volatile, but would instead grow and develop peacefully. Consequently, Yulia's health would improve significantly, preventing the seal from prematurely failing and losing control, turning her into a phantom demon.

Because he was not exposed to this series of things, Aiwass was able to study with peace of mind.

Finally, he reached the third level one year after entering school, passed the church assessment and was promoted to bishop.

——But at the same time, Aiwass in this world line missed all opportunities to come into contact with Noble Red.

So Aiwass would not know that the person who kidnapped Yulia was Noble Red.

If Aiwass hadn't eliminated the Giant Prince in time, both the Noble Red and Lloyd's Society would remain intact. Therefore, the succubus Emma wouldn't need to relay orders from Griffith, but could directly order her students to take Yulia's blood.

When Yulia was dying, the undeveloped Flame-Defying Butterfly would burst out of her belly - the Giant Prince must have drained Yulia's blood, causing the Flame-Defying Butterfly to hatch.

“…I understand!”

Aiwass's eyes suddenly lit up.

He figured out the fundamental difference between the two world lines.

Aiwass's urge to transcend the Dao wasn't entirely inherited from his grandfather. A large part of it came from the "divine entity." It was precisely because of Huan Tiansi's influence that Aiwass lost his mind and acted as he did.

His parents were still dead, and he was still adopted with Yulia, which meant that at least the first half of the story was the same. But for some reason, the divine entity within Aiwass never awakened...

In other words, this is the world line where Huan Tiansi has no influence on Aiwass!

If there is a "baseline" world line, this should be the "cleanest" possibility!

In this world, there were no "players," no information about travelers, and no influence from the Huantiansi. Aiwass had no contact with any other special beings.

In this world line, Aiwass and Isabel are not even familiar with each other, just strangers who met once. Instead, he became friends with Sherlock.

He didn't even know Haena, and Lily might have died inexplicably. Meg wasn't saved, Chloe wasn't caught, and the Bone Sculptor had successfully completed his mission.

Lloyd's has survived, Tommy Lloyd still lives, the Noble Red is intact, and the Giant Prince may even have the Book of Law. The Round Table is completely corrupted, and Isabel remains cowardly and powerless.

...Thinking of this, Aiwass's mood became subtle.

Huan Tiansi did nothing, but things got worse...even worse than the future without the time travelers and players, but Aiwas was influenced by the divine entity.

At least in that possibility, Lloyd's and the Noble Red would be punished, the corruption in the Round Table would not be so serious, and Aiwass and Isabel would become friends - Aiwass, who did not have a transcendent heart, would not have taken the initiative to contact Isabel.

Aiwass chose so many container entries, obviously for Yulia.

Could it be that this is also part of "transmutation"?

Let things change, so that new possibilities emerge...

Aiwass had a deeper understanding of Huan Tiansi. Thinking of this, his mind was a little confused for a while.

He subconsciously reached out and held the necklace on his chest in order to find peace of mind.

He had long developed the habit of touching the "Tears of Isolde" given to him by Isabelle when he was thinking.

But the unfamiliar touch within reach made Aiwas stunned.

Aiwass subconsciously tightened his grip on it, but he didn't dare use too much force...for fear of accidentally breaking it.

——He realized what it was without looking down.

With a burst of involuntary sadness, Aiwass' tears flowed uncontrollably.

Perhaps because his soul and body were so closely connected, he directly felt the sadness that permeated "Evans"...

After watching the CG earlier, the anger that had been suppressed by rationality suddenly erupted. His body trembled as if he had shivered, and his empty left hand suddenly clenched into a fist.

Aiwass was silent for a long time before he wiped away his tears and looked down carefully.

He saw a ruby ​​necklace emitting warmth lying in his palm, like a butterfly, a maple leaf, and a flame.

Even when held in the hand, it still radiated that familiar warmth...like someone's body temperature.

It was so familiar, yet so strange. Aiwass had only seen it in the game.

"Fortunately... this is just a dream." He whispered in his sleep.

——It is the wreckage of Yulia.

A 7,000-word update! But it doesn't quite fit into two chapters, so I'm posting two chapters in one~

Then I'll recommend the new book by the author from Qidian. He's one of the few original authors on Hedgehog Cat who can consistently get 10,000 subscriptions. I've been recommending chapters for him since the 4k days, and I didn't expect he'd still be recommending chapters after returning to Qidian. I really miss him...

(End of this chapter)