When the plot-skips players into the game world

Chapter 792: Chapter 173: Is he not acting anymore?

Chapter 792: Chapter 173: Is he not acting anymore?

When the man, his body riddled with cuts and bruises, looked up, Aiwass felt a vibrant vitality emanating from the naked chest, the heavy breathing, and the multitude of wounds overlaying bulging muscles.

A sense of pure “Strength.”

— It was the “Ferocity” that had completely vanished in Aiwass’s era, a lineage of [Strength] that had been severed.

But at that moment, the man suddenly crashed forward, about to land headfirst onto the ground.

Aiwass was startled and immediately spurred his Pegasus into action.

The Pegasus streaked through the air with a brilliant golden arc, bringing Aiwass to the falling man’s side and catching him before he could reach the ground.

“Are you alright?”

Aiwass asked with concern, “What is your name?”

“I’m okay…”

The man’s voice was extremely dry and hoarse, as if he couldn’t manage to speak after a severe illness, “I am Arthur.”

The Sin Thorn on his body had withered away, dissipating into black smoke, leaving only a small piece still connected to his right arm that clutched the Holy Lance.

— Indeed, it was Arthur.

Aiwass thought to himself.

When he participated in the ritual that year, the Giant Chieftain had called out the name Arthur.

Judging from the youthfulness of Arthur’s body, this must be an adventure before he made a name for himself.

It was during this very adventure that Arthur had earned the Holy Lance’s recognition.

The Silver-Crowned Dragon’s human incarnation was indeed exceptionally fierce.

It’s just that he was also seriously stubborn.

“With that voice of yours, it hardly seems like you are alright…”

Aiwass remarked offhand, instinctively reaching out to press on the other’s chest.

Then, he suddenly paused, and it dawned on him that the power of the Path of Devotion, and even the Defiant Flame Butterfly, were both sealed at this moment.

During the promotion ritual of the Path of Devotion, he was able to use the power of the Little Butterfly, which also meant that the Path of Transcendence’s rituals could not be used.

Conversely, Aiwass could use the other abilities of the Great Sin Scholar and freely perform the rituals of the Path of Transcendence.

“Please wait a moment,” Aiwass surveyed the surroundings and found materials suitable for a ritual, “The Giant’s heart can be used for healing.

Although the Magic Cauldron is gone, the Giant should have a cup, which can also be used as a pot…”

While Aiwass was searching the area for clues, the human warrior he had helped onto the clearing suddenly spoke up: “Why did you save me?”

“…

What?”

Aiwass was taken aback, “Why…?”

He hadn’t really thought about this question.

— Rather, isn’t a local who can communicate normally, fight well, and harbors no ill will exactly the kind of temporary ally set up for him by the boss in the script?@@novelbin@@

As he pondered this, the other party asked again, “Is there no issue with you using Giants as ritual materials?”

“Giants aren’t exactly my kin…”

Aiwass blurted out.

But just then, he shuddered with a sudden realization and shock.

— Wait, what does he mean by that?

Is there something slightly off with his perspective?

Normally, a human seeing an Elf Knight, riding a Pegasus and accompanied by an Upper-Level Demon, would first ask about the Night Fiend, right?

Questions like “Who is she?” or “Why are you with him?”

But this man showed none of the reverence that humans typically have for Elves, nor any of the fear or wariness toward Demons.

You see, the first Demon Scholar was Jean de Fontenelle, who lived at the beginning of the fifteenth century.

According to Aiwass’s first Transcendence advancement ritual…

the story of the Giant couple Pandore took place in 1320, and Avalon was established in 1340.

This was at least a century before Fontenelle was born!

At that time, there were no Demon Scholars, and those Demons were still the Apostles of the Fallen Celestial Marshals!

An Elf Knight serving under the Candle Master and mingling with a Fallen Celestial Marshal’s Demon, does that make any sense?

…wait, something is still not right!

Aiwass suddenly realized the crux of the problem.

— The “Sir Helquinn” he was currently impersonating was actually a figure born before the “Arthur” era!

It was precisely because of the sacrifice of “Sir Helquinn” that people no longer viewed Giants as the supreme Giant Gods, and only then was it possible for Arthur and his nine warriors to dare to come here in search of the Holy Lance; and if Arthur was to search for the Holy Lance, it would mean that the Candle Master Envoy Castening had already died.

If the death of the Candle Master Envoy Castening had happened before Sir Helquinn’s sacrifice, then there would have been no need for him to go to Avalon to investigate the “Giant’s Evidence of Sin.”

In other words, “Arthur” should not appear in the story of “Sir Helquinn”!

During the era when Sir Helquinn was still alive, “Arthur” was still the Crowned Celestial Marshal of the Path of Strength!

— So, the Arthur who appeared before him must be problematic!

And Aiwass remembered another thing — he had sworn in front of the Silver-Crowned Dragon not to use his kin as ritual materials.

Gazing into the calm eyes of the human warrior who claimed to be “Arthur,” Aiwass gradually realized something.

…My heavens.

Who are you?!

“Very well.”

Arthur nodded slowly, his expression grave, “You must remember, the sin of heavenly calamity is to a certain extent idealistic.

Take a Half-Elf for example, he can consider both humans and Elves as his kin, or believe that neither humans nor Elves are his kin.

How he judges in his heart, so will the sin of heavenly calamity assess.

“The fundamental principle of the sin of heavenly calamity is the sin of the act itself of ‘regarding one’s own kind as material.’ It is a sin of pride, the very first of the seven deadly sins.

And this kin does not necessarily have to be limited to ‘same race’…

it could also be the same ethnicity, or the same nationality, even the same kind of people, or individuals of different races with a close friendship.”

“You just need to live upright and without shame.

Then the Mark of Sin will cause you no harm.”

The seriously injured Arthur, his bones nearly completely shattered, neither cried out in pain nor rested; maintaining such a battered stance, he seriously and solemnly advised Aiwass as an elder.

Aiwass trembled, as if on thin ice.

— He hadn’t even introduced himself yet!

The other party was so familiar with explaining the secret of the Mark of Sin…

and even for a general Demon Scholar, the Mark of Sin was knowledge unrelated to them, let alone the sin of heavenly calamity, a mystic knowledge that would still be considered clandestine more than five hundred years later.

This was most likely the Silver-Crowned Dragon himself!

Only, Aiwass didn’t know whether this was a helper invited by the boss, or if He had come of His own accord to join in the fun…

Speaking of which…

the “Calamity Demon Dragon,” which was still the Crowned Celestial Marshal, seemed to indeed have the desire to transcend as the individual entity “Arthur.”

That is to say, he truly was Aiwass’s predecessor on the Path of Transcendence.

In the end, Aiwass did not find the copper pot and copper goblet, but he found a copper shield.

He lit a fire underneath, placed giant heart and liver fragments on top, and found enough caraway and garlic in the kitchen to pan-fry them.

This recipe, similar to a skillet-grilled steak, was the simplest form of utilizing high-quality meat materials for a ritual.

Grilling itself represented the first type of ritual — it signified the skill of cooking food to make it palatable.

In the primitive past of humankind, “cooking” was the most effective method to exploit the nutritional value of food and reduce its toxicity.

Just as in a Witch’s Magic Potion, some ingredients had to be added to the stew to maximize their effects.

— Boiling and roasting are the simplest rituals.

Just like warriors who slay dragons bathing in dragon blood and consuming dragon hearts — ingesting a dragon heart raw would undoubtedly cause one to burst from its power.

However, if the dragon heart were cooked before use, its toxicity and danger could be greatly reduced.

The most fundamental principle of Ritual Studies is that of a sacred act of “not understanding why one must do this, but proceeding with exactitude, embarking on the act with a clear purpose and hope, and not having sufficient ability to achieve the desired outcome of the ritual on one’s own.”

As long as there are transcendent elements mixed into such sacred acts, they no doubt belong to Ritual Studies.

And if the ritual is fully elucidated and demystified, then it becomes part of Alchemy.

And while consuming the giant’s heart, “the Arthur of unknown identity” provided experienced evaluation and guidance:

“Your approach is viable, the heart and liver of the Giant are abundant in life force, belonging to the elemental powers of fire and earth.

Copper is a metal that pertains to fire and can bring out the ‘fire element’ portion of power from within.

If you had sage, amaranth, ginger, and cinnamon, you could further enhance the healing effects.

“Moreover, the marrow of the Giant is also excellent ritual material.

After simple detoxification, it can be used for healing bones.

You can ferment and purify it using grapes, especially those that have been sick, have shriveled skins, and grow a black-grey fuzz.

Using these kinds of grape skins mixed with Giants’ marrow, and then fermenting them further.

To accelerate fermentation and maintain cleanliness, you can add water and light elemental mana, with blessed oak ash or honey as the best mana carriers.

By doing so, after concentration, you will obtain a fragrant black ointment.”

“In addition, the skin of the Giant has great uses, especially the skin of pure-blood Giants, whose red bear fur can be collected, degreased, dried, and preserved.

This dried bear fur mixed with cinnabar can be used as a potent fire-attributed infusion material, and adding a small amount of Flame Spirit can further enhance the effect.”

“And the de-haired back skin of the Giant can also be tanned using tannin, turned into leather.

Preserved using fatty oils extracted from Giant blood, and after being burned in intense fire for seven years, if successfully processed, it can become a material with excellent magic resistance.

It can immunize against many spells of the third energy level or lower…”

Arthur’s words became increasingly wild as he spoke.

Aiwass listened, full of fear and trepidation.

…Brother, hold up, brother!

Do you even want to continue playing this role?