When the plot-skips players into the game world

"Sulfur, salt, mercury."

At dusk, Sherlock Hermes was in his room, confirming the alchemical materials he would need for the advancement ritual that evening.

He wore a monocle, diligently checking the scrawled labels on the bottles and jars.

Murmuring softly, Sherlock's finger traced over the bottles and jars on the shelf: "Sanctified silver powder, blessed holy water. A bunch of wind-dried black sage, an unused clear quartz crystal, six new red candles…"

Meanwhile, in the Hall of Silver and Tin.

Princess Isabel was also pacing nervously in her room.

Her mouth continuously muttered the list of materials needed for the advancement ritual, visibly restless.

"There's also clove essential oil, cinnamon essential oil, cypress essential oil, Parthia essential oil… and everlasting flower essential oil, chamomile essential oil… and… and…"

Watching her, the elf artist Yanis, who was humming a tune and writing a composition, put down her pen with a sense of helplessness.

"—And there's ginger, dill, white bread. Look here… Little Isabel, what are you so nervous about? You must trust your court ritualists; they're much more reliable at setting up rituals than you are at preparing them."

"Yes, I know…"

Isabel murmured, not even insisting on the usual correction to "Call me Isabel, not Little Isabel."

Feeling somewhat breathless, she lightly clutched the neckline of her white gauze dress, as though she wanted to lift the collar to fan air inside and ease her tension—but considering the image and dignity of the royal family, she dared not perform such a vulgar act in front of others.

"The first advancement is very simple; there's no need to be nervous."

Yanis encouraged her gently: "You have to believe in yourself. You are very strong, with a foundation firmer than most people's. With the first advancement, especially during a full moon… There should be around six or seven people who will advance, so what are you afraid of?"

"…What I'm afraid of is exactly that."

Isabel's face showed worry: "If among nine people, six manage to advance and I do not—that would be a loss of face for the royal family if word got out.

"Moreover, people would gossip about you, saying negative things. They would spread terrible rumors…"

She had embarked on the Path of Beauty purely due to Queen Sofia's doting love. Because for the royal family of Avalon, the Du Lac lineage, one would normally only be allowed to choose the Path of Authority.

Of the queen's six grandchildren, the one Her Majesty favored most was the second youngest, Isabel.

Isabel was younger than only one, her two-year-old brother.

And from a very young age, Isabel had shown exceptional artistic talent.

When she was only four years old, she attended the opera "Lulu's Magic Flute" with Queen Sofia. Without understanding the Star Antimony language, she was able to hum the arias after hearing them just once.

Queen Sofia was very pleased. After all, before she became queen, she herself had dreamed of becoming a grand opera master. She even wrote a few operas in her spare time after ascending to the throne, only refraining from publishing them out of consideration for her status.

Among her many children, only Isabel inherited her talent for opera.

For this reason, she opposed many and made an exception.

She allowed Isabel to step onto the Path of Beauty and formally study the "arts."

```

The Path of Beauty is the way of harmony and art, flow and eternity.

And the key skill of the Path of Beauty is "art."

This includes opera, music compositions, painting, sculpture, theater, dance, poetry, all of which are part of the mystical skills of the Path of Beauty.

Art in itself is mystical. Great masters of art without exception, are all pioneers of the Path of Beauty.

Just like the key skill of the Path of Authority is "Leadership Art"—the Monarch's art of commanding and coordinating others to submit to one's will, which also possesses a mystical nature.

If one wishes to deepen their path, excelling in just one skill is definitely not enough.

Perhaps because of her quarter elfin lineage, Isabel's talent lies in singing and dancing.

And since she was to embark on the path, she had to walk it steadfastly.

Transcendents, once they step onto a path, will be troubled by a desire to ascend higher—their addiction to delve deeper and rise higher. The longer they stay in one place, the more likely they are to go mad.

It's like in a certain industry, where young people with some talent, but not geniuses, often feel despair over real talent—that is a chasm of the soul that outsiders cannot feel, and only those who delve deep into the industry can understand.

Such a feeling of powerlessness and shock, if it occurs on the transcendent path, will drive a person mad.

The Path of Beauty, with its emphasis on perceiving the beauty of the world and understanding its harmony and eternity… is thus even more likely to lead to madness.

Those masters who specialized in a single art almost invariably went mad.

Therefore, Queen Sofia specifically invited Master Yanis to teach Isabel the skills of painting, sculpture, and composing.

Because this was the safest route to advancement.

After all, succession was not of concern for Isabel. Since the Queen was happy, why not let the child play?

That's what others thought at the time.

But good times didn't last long.

Beginning from a decade ago, the Avalon royal family suddenly started falling ill one after another.

Initially, it was suspected to be poisoning, but later it was confirmed that someone was performing a powerful royal curse—that even the church's Illumination Art could not fully dispel, and the holy relics of sages past could not protect against this persistent and potent curse.

If a curse could not be dispelled or resisted with the power of a whole nation, it could only come from another nation.

Who else could it be?

It had to be the Kingdom of Star Antimony.

Though Avalon had no evidence, common sense dictated…the only Ritualists capable of using such potent ceremonies could only be in the Kingdom of Star Antimony.

Therefore, starting a few years back—with the first royal succumbing to the incurable curse and dying of illness—Avalon and Star Antimony officially entered a state of hostility.

To this day, Isabel's father is the only one left alive of his generation.

In her own generation, half have already died of illness.

Only her eldest brother, Isabel herself, and her two-year-old younger brother remain.

```

She did nothing, yet somehow she became the third heir to the Kingdom of Avalon.

—If she truly were to inherit the throne, a significant problem would arise.

The Avalon that revered the Path of Authority would have a new queen with no affinity for the Path of Authority whatsoever.

Currently, she is the third in line, but no one knows if she might suddenly become the first. Because even being "third" is already a dangerously precarious position.

Isabel had done nothing wrong, and neither had Master Yanis. However, due to the shifting circumstances, rumors had even spread among the kingdom's elite that the Kingdom of Star Antimony's goal was to place Isabel on the throne—to plunge Avalon into chaos from within.

The entire kingdom's privileged class, all the Transcendents in government departments, and even the majority of soldiers hailed from the Path of Authority. How could a queen of the Path of Beauty possibly earn their absolute loyalty?

Therefore, Isabel felt immense pressure.

Any mistake she made would be endlessly magnified, criticized, and blamed.

But she did not want to blame them.

Because she could sense that they, too, were under great pressure, anxious about such a future.

She could understand that their worries were justified—if she really became queen in the future, Avalon would likely descend into prolonged chaos. But indeed, she had no adaptability for the Path of Authority... She had tried many times, but she really couldn't learn it.

All she could pray for was that her brothers would stop dying.

But there was nothing she could do about it. This wasn't up to her.

She could only do everything according to the rules, quietly, and do her best—not to give others the opportunity to nitpick.

For this reason, she did not utilize her royal privileges. Instead, she enrolled in university and lived alongside other students.

It was only after passing three semesters' comprehensive assessments in her freshman year that she formally became a Transcendent through the official channels. Before that, she strictly limited the scope of her studies, focusing only on the more peripheral parts of the "artistic" skills that ordinary people could also reach... And then it was a continuous refinement of basic skills, but never involving the study of Transcendent powers.

She patiently practiced the basics for thirteen years.

It was boring and seemingly meaningless, painful enough to induce vomiting. But she still persevered.

Because she wanted to show that she wouldn't abuse royal privilege capriciously.

She hoped that in doing so, those voices of dissatisfaction would be silenced.

Isabel strived to diminish her identity as a "princess," hoping that people would see her as an ordinary person and not the third heir to the kingdom.

It was only now that she suddenly realized—

Perhaps she had never truly been an "ordinary person."

She was still served by people, pampered by them, helped by them.

While other Transcendents were preparing their rituals by themselves, she could only sit to the side sipping tea. The Court Ritualist would take care of everything for her—she didn't have to worry about her Ritual Array being drawn incorrectly, nor fear acquiring inferior or counterfeit materials that could cause the ritual to fail.

"...I think, I'd better do it myself," Isabel decided firmly.

She bowed deeply to the Ritualist, "Master Osborne, my apologies... It's not that I don't trust you. It's just that, perhaps my presence on the side... might not be good."

Isabel didn't know how to describe the tension and anxiety in her heart.

But watching the white-haired Ritualist prepare the ritual for her always made her feel restless.

It felt as if a mistake of hers was being borne by someone else.

Her elder brothers and sisters had always been very protective of her. Whenever she accidentally broke something, they were the ones to admit fault first.

Although young Isabel was never scolded, she still always felt restless.

—Just like now.

It was as though something was tormenting her heart.

"Please let me prepare the Ascension Ceremony myself," Princess Isabel repeated.

Her voice became clearer, not as timid as before, "You can assist me from the side, Master Osborne."

To the side, the white-haired Ritualist chuckled, stroking his beard and nodding his head in agreement.

"Sure, my little princess. Indeed, such matters... one truly needs to do it oneself to feel the ritual significance.

"Remember this feeling well, Your Highness. The first time entering the Dream Realm, the first contact with the other eight Paths. Truly leaving the status of 'apprentice' behind, becoming a real Transcendent—"

Meanwhile, on the other side.

In Moriarty Manor, Aiwass, holding his forehead, got up from his bed.

He hadn't really slept enough.

But his spiritual intuition told him that if he didn't wake up now, it would be too late for certain matters—so he forced himself awake.

The evening sunset was falling outside.

With trembling hands, Aiwass struck a match several times before finally managing to ignite it.

Shivering, he lit the white candle by his bedside—obviously a "healing remedy" prepared by Oswald.

Gripping the flame, Aiwass felt the vitality steadily flowing from the candle into his body, which finally allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.

Fortunately... due to his interest in mystical studies, his room was equipped with various materials. There wouldn't be a delay.

As the saying goes, "The worse the student, the more school supplies they have."

Even though he didn't know how to use them, he had bought whatever he could find.

...It's just that he hadn't eaten all day. He was so hungry it made him panicky.

Better figure out a way to fill his stomach, then come back and hurry to prepare for the Ascension Ceremony.

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