Chapter 1060: Chapter 398: Murder for Treasure?

Aleister, in his red fox form, stood atop the white horse, dangling the magic wand left by the baboon, wobbling his head.

Because it was too large for the fox, it almost dropped onto the horse’s back with a clang after being held for a while.

“Do you like it that much?”

The white horse spoke somewhat helplessly, its voice steady and polite: “Is it because it’s your spoils of war?”

“I always feel like it’s kind of powerful…”

Aleister said with a muffled voice, holding the baboon’s wand sideways in his mouth like a dog with a bone, “But it seems a bit difficult to use…”

The white horse was somewhat helpless, and could only continue to carry the fox on his back as he rallied the troops.

That fox kept standing on its back, not coming down when told. One really couldn’t tell who was the leader of this legion…

On the other side, Aleister was focused on fiddling with something.

Since he had killed that baboon, he had started studying the wand.

Thanks to Clown Laro turning this ritual into an open play from the start… when most people’s identities were exposed, who had the most advantage?

—-Of course, it was the candidate for the Path of Transcendence.

Be it the ritual or the curse, they play the ‘winning by being weaker’ strategy that can only be fully executed when prepared.

When the old mage’s true name got exposed — even just a fragment of it, it sufficed to serve as an effective target for a curse.

Aleister let the Night Fiend cast a curse on him, then easily tracked down the old mage attempting to lift the curse by following the trace of the curse.

Theoretically… in this promotion ceremony presided by the Candle Master, killing the opponent is pointless. Because even if the opponent dies, they can still “do the mission”.

This could very well lead to the dead stealing one’s contribution value, or even completing the mission in the opposite direction, thereby voiding one’s own task. Killing hinders victory and only makes it more difficult.

—-But so what?

Just let him go on with his mission.

After all, if he can complete the mission before death, that would indeed be impressive.

Aleister thought to himself.

The real reason he had to kill the old mage was simple… because Aleister knew his mind wasn’t that great.

Perhaps when the Hourglass made its cut, it gave more intelligence to Aiwass. This made Aleister’s cognitive and strategic abilities significantly decline; now, his capacity to think was more focused on schemes and deceit.

The old mage was too clever; if Aleister cooperated with him, he might get exploited; if he let him go, the old mage might cooperate with someone else… After all, being from the Mage Tower, the Transcendent had a deep understanding of the promotion ritual. A Transcendent who was about to progress from fourth to fifth level couldn’t possibly be a complete fool; maybe one sentence he uttered could enlighten another person?

Aleister also possessed the theological knowledge of Aiwass — and so he knew that the Candle Master paid great attention to the number three. There were three paintings in total, each with three possible endings, thus the number of candidates in each painting should also be three.

With the Night Fiend, Aleister was undoubtedly the most powerful being in this painting.

—-To prevent this painting’s world from becoming a chaotic scenario like the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Aleister had to eradicate the possibility of cooperation between the remaining two.

By killing the old mage, he wasn’t aiming to remove him from the game but instead to exclude the other one… Since the living can’t hear the voices of the dead, this way, without wanting to hear the old mage’s voice, Aleister completely separated the remaining two.

She planned not to kill the remaining one and also believed that the other person wouldn’t simply commit suicide first without having encountered them both.

Since in this promotion ceremony death is not real death… it would be better to consider “killing” as “confinement” and “isolation”. One alive and one dead, this would perfectly separate the two, preventing them from completing any cooperation.

The Holy Number is three… This number is simply too clever.

But since the old mage was taken care of, it wouldn’t hurt to pick up his gear —

Only personally crafted extraordinary items can be brought into the ceremony, like the potions of an Alchemist, the weapons of a Magus Craftsman, or the seeds of a botanist. After all, some Transcendents excel at creating; not allowing them to bring their items would seem too unfair, to the extent that candidates from the nine paths couldn’t maintain balance.

Just like Aleister’s Phantom Cards… Although they were the phantasms summoned out of nowhere, in some sense, they were also “items”.

And this wand…

Aleister recognized one key aspect of it.

If the gemstone embedded on it wasn’t counterfeit… it could very likely be the [Tetrahedron of Fire].

[Tetrahedron of Fire], [Hexahedron of Earth], [Octahedron of Wind], [Icosahedron of Water], along with the [Dodecahedron of Aether] representing the attributes of light and darkness, the essence of these five special crystals are actually shards of the Geometric Celestial Marshal.

The Geometric Celestial Marshal only retained the core [Dodecahedron], and willingly scattered the other four polyhedrons into the Material Realm, using these polyhedrons to gather the elements of earth, fire, water, and wind over a long period. They usually appear in the possession of highly intelligent scientists or scholars.

—-This is the promotion path for the Geometric Celestial Marshal.

To advance further to the rank of Pillar God, just relying on the strength it already possessed is far from enough. Thus, it chose to disperse its power, entering a long slumber in the Dream Realm, and through the scattered shards of the deity, it recruits apostles and accumulates power.

And this is currently the only piece of Celestial Marshal Shard that can be obtained in the Material Realm–if the remaining four polyhedra can be collected, that’s essentially obtaining four-fifths of the Celestial Marshal Shard.

The only problem is that these polyhedra repel each other. Without obtaining the [Dodecahedron], they cannot be brought close together or else they will instantly teleport to random distant locations; forcibly gathering them would trigger a violent explosion.

And each crystal contains one-fifth of the Geometric Celestial Marshal’s power.

The Old Mage might not know its true origin and value, but he must know that this thing is extremely precious.

This mage obviously realized its properties of “instantly fleeing when encountering another Celestial Marshal polyhedron” and “disappearing if used by someone of insufficient intelligence,” and so he has placed heavy seals and constraints on the magic wand, preventing others from using it.

But this also constrains its power… otherwise, a spell damage equivalent to a strike from a Celestial Marshal, and the Night Fiend’s spell resistance wouldn’t be enough to resist it. That is the Geometric Celestial Marshal, who is the Celestial Marshal from the Path of Wisdom, and is especially skilled in elemental spells.

This is truly a fine item.

Although it’s likely too precious for Aiwass and Aleister to handle, Sherlock might have a chance to use it.

Initially Aleister intended to examine its specific properties.

But the seal seems too effective, so much so that Aleister can’t see its properties at all.

It might be better to just go directly to the Material Realm and see it there.

–Since he has this wand in the advancement ceremony, it means he certainly has it in the Material Realm as well!

If he dies during the advancement ceremony, it means that… in the Material Realm, it will become the “relic” of this Old Mage, which could likely be obtained easily.

If Sherlock can use this wand, then it could be given to him; if he doesn’t fancy it much, the gemstone inside can be dug out as nourishment for the Defiant Flame Butterfly.

Although Aleister isn’t very fond of the Defiant Flame Butterfly–perhaps out of jealousy, or maybe something else.

As the only Great Sin Beast that can participate in Aiwass’s Path of Devotion advancement ceremony, and the only Summoned Beast that hasn’t reached the Sixth Power Level and isn’t bound by the Hourglass, the Defiant Flame Butterfly has some special significance. For this very reason… Aleister never calls her “Liya,” only referring to her as the “Defiant Flame Butterfly,” addressing her as a future colleague.

Liya, that’s a name Aiwass chose, what does it have to do with me?

But if it’s for the sake of Aiwass, methods could be considered to enhance the Defiant Flame Butterfly…

Aiwass certainly couldn’t do something like killing and looting, so I have to carry this burden for him.

Aleister pondered seriously.

If the Great Sin Beast wants to evolve to its complete form, the corresponding Celestial Marshal Shard is needed.

Strength does not matter; the key is Deity’s Law–in the game, it’s like enchanting a new modifier onto the corresponding attribute of Great Sin Beast, and that modifier is usually the key skill of the corresponding Celestial Marshal, which can be overwritten later if not sufficient.

For example, if the Flame Demon gets hold of the Candle Celestial Marshal’s crown, then its healing will also provide equivalent healing to allies; if the Flame Demon obtains the Dawn Celestial Marshal’s crown, it would significantly increase the range of skills and gain extreme fire penetration and Light attribute additional damage.

The Fallen Celestial Marshal is about to descend… and Aleister is becoming increasingly anxious.

In the game, that would be the first sight eight-person raid, and a high-difficulty twenty-five-person raid challenge.

In reality, Aiwass is but one person. And the Fallen Celestial Marshal is no fool, nor a raid boss with memories that can be wiped. If the first fight doesn’t end in victory… the next time Aiwass comes, It will be prepared.

There is only one chance.

And that is the first fight where the Fallen Celestial Marshal, due to “arrogance,” underestimates Aiwass.

When the two meet, it must result in the death of one party.

And if Aiwass fails, it’s complete death… According to Aiwass’s personality, if self-sacrifice is helpful, he would not hesitate to sacrifice himself for the sake of others.

Aleister cannot accept such an outcome.

If Aiwass represents absolute selflessness, then Aleister is the epitome of selfishness–

The “Pelican” wand gave Aleister a hint.

As a Four-Attribute Celestial Marshal, its shard can be considered as having all four attributes simultaneously.

If they are split up… is it possible to consume multiple times?

Since “Pelican” has studied the shards of the Geometric Celestial Marshal, he likely has other information and data on additional polyhedra.

Aleister remembers that the shard representing “Wind” should be in the Parthian Ancient Country, and the shard representing “Water” should be inside a ruin; he could go excavate them later.

Time to strengthen up urgently and strive for a one-shot success!

–Decision made, I will visit your place once the ceremony is over.

Feel free to blame me… I am already prepared to do whatever it takes for victory.

Aleister thought to himself.