Cruel Autumn

After Akropolis spoke, the dark space gradually gained color and took on shape.

But unlike previous Promotion Ritual, this "static preview" wasn't as clear as the ones given by Erlini and Gawain, nor as bizarre and misleading as the ones given by Merlin... nor was it like Terpsichore, who just danced for everyone and then showed them nothing else.

The scene depicted by Akropolis is extremely distorted.

The colors seemed to seep from the void, with a slippery and nauseating feel.

They were so vibrant, it was like a hallucination caused by eating mushrooms... Not only did they mysteriously magnify and shrink with each breath, but their edges even bore layers of colorful afterimages. Upon closer inspection, the surfaces of the objects seemed to be constantly changing, as if their shapes had not yet been fully defined.

Even so, Iver immediately recognized the scene—

This is the Banquet Hall of the Silver and Tin Palace.

When he saw this scene, which was both familiar and strange, Iver's heart skipped a beat.

Here stands a long table, several times larger than the Round Table Hall, measuring 77 meters in length and capable of accommodating 220 guests. In addition to the central long table, there are seven smaller round tables surrounding it, which together can accommodate over 300 people.

State banquets are only held in the Banquet Hall on very special occasions, such as a monarch's wedding or when entertaining important guests from other countries. At other times, the Banquet Hall is usually closed to the public.

Although Iver often lived in the Silver and Tin Palace, he rarely came here.

He was able to recognize it instantly because of something else.

The final and climax of version 1.0 of the game Ouroboros Ring, the event that pushes everything into a vortex of destruction... the opening scene of the main quest "Cruel Autumn" is also located here.

This quest requires a level of 29 to accept, while the level cap for players in version 1.0 was 30. Ignoring whales and top-tier players who forcibly complete the Promotion Ritual, level 29 can be considered the maximum level for ordinary players. This is the first quest available after reaching the level cap.

"This ceremony involves four individuals who have advanced to multiple paths."

Akropolis said slowly, "I won't repeat what I said before... those who know should already know."

"However, this ceremony Tai Yi from the previous ones. For most of you, this is the ceremony to decide which class you should advance to. But don't be too nervous... If you haven't decided which new class you should advance to yet, you can hold off on this opportunity and advance to the next class you advance to."

"I know some prophets and witches would choose this path because they don't want to be promoted to the Fool or witches... Heh, but in my opinion, the most cautious ones are the Demon Scholar."

The old man, covered in snake scales, was hunched over, leaning on his snake-skin cane, and spoke slowly.

His green snake eyes looked like jewels, shimmering with a faint light.

Unlike past hosts, he didn't follow any formula in speaking, but instead rambled on and on.

However, He does indeed have such privileges... because Akropolis is the most powerful, senior, and highest-ranking apostle under the Lord of Scales and Feathers.

and...

Iver gazed at Him.

Did He guess something, or did He know some kind of prophecy?

Before the "Ouroboros Ring" ceremony is completed, no one can say that the "Demon Avatar" advancement path is wrong.

—What if it's not A Huan who takes the position, but Ah Duo? If the Fallen Angel become the new Pillar God, and change the more changeable authority symbolized by the eighth Dream Realm River from upward "transcendence" to downward "fall," then becoming Demon Avatar would become the most correct path to advancement.

Summon demons, control demons, understand demons, and then become a demon...

Bearing the Great Sin Imprint, they become demons controlled by the Fallen Angel. They are also commanded to seize the souls of mortals in the Material Realm, with the mission of spreading evil and chaos.

Most importantly, becoming a complete demon means losing one's mortal body, giving up the ability to enter the Dream Realm through dreams, and thus giving up the opportunity to advance through Promotion Ritual. Undoubtedly, this is a downward "fall."

Constant abandonment, constant degeneration, constant corruption.

Isn't this a perfect fit for the path of "degeneration"?

Even if the Ring Angel ascend to power, as long as the Fallen Angel do not fall, the path of Demon Avatar cannot be considered "wrong".

Even if the Ritual Mage and the Grand Wizard belong to the Pillar God Serpent Father's path, it's not like the Celestials can't create professions. It's not like the Crowned Lord stole the position and power of the Supreme Heaven. Even if the Ring Angel replaced the Serpent Father, it would have nothing to do with the Fallen Angel.

Just as the Flame Angel created the "Blacksmith," the Blood Angel created the "Blood Mage," and the Amber Angel created the "Preserver," from the very beginning of the concept of "professions," there have been active Celestials who have poured their essence and power into them.

But judging from Akropolis's words, He seemed to have already decided that the Fallen Angel would fall.

Moreover, He seemed to know that once the Fallen Angel fell, the Ring Angel would take over—and only in this way could the Third Level Demon Scholar "temporarily not advance to become Demon Avatar" be the correct path. Otherwise, He should have thought that the profession of "Demon Scholar" was inherently flawed.

... Is this the prophetic ability Path of Adaptation? It can even foresee the death of celestial officials from other Daoist paths...?

Iver was secretly alarmed.

He subconsciously glanced around and noticed that "Olive" had slightly furrowed his brow, while "Advisor" seemed lost in thought. The other six remained oblivious to the crucial information revealed in Akropolis's words.

"Snort..."

Noticing the three's subtle movements, the old man's lips curled up slightly. It was a soft hum that sounded like a sneer, or perhaps satisfaction, but its meaning was ambiguous.

He tapped his cane, then fell silent, as if he had turned back into a stone statue.

The voice resounded directly in the minds of the promoted individuals—

This ceremony is limited to six days and is scaled to 24:1 compared to reality.

You will play a role in the arena and complete your assigned tasks. You will earn points for each completed objective.

Because this ceremony is Full Moon Ritual, cooperation is allowed, but no additional cooperation points will be awarded.

When cooperating with someone Path of Rejection to complete their task, 50% to 100% of the other party's points will be deducted during the settlement, depending on the contribution. Even if you help someone without discovering their identity as an opposing Daoist, points will still be deducted.

The ritual will immediately conclude when someone completes the Necessary Task or when the ritual time ends; the three players with the lowest scores at the conclusion will be eliminated.

During this ritual, all sentient beings other than the participants lack full intelligence but possess a portion of a real soul; therefore, any act of killing, healing, or sacrifice may trigger oaths, taboos, agreements, or curses.

[The difficulty level of this ritual is "close to reality." A real death during the ritual could lead to death in reality; permanent disability during the ritual could lead to disability in reality; a real death during the ritual will inevitably result in damage to the soul.]

All aspects of this ceremony, including the dream sequence, deduction, task and role assignments, and detailed rules for adding and deducting points, were handled independently by ' Lord of Scales and Feathers '; I take full responsibility for the safety and fairness of this Promotion Ritual.

Upon hearing this, Iver suddenly paused for a moment.

... Independently in charge? The entire Promotion Ritual was conducted by the Lord of Scales and Feathers, and the host was also the Lord of Scales and Feathers' chief apostle? The old man, leaning on his snake staff, slowly turned around and scanned the promoted individuals.

His final gaze settled on Iver's face.

He added, "As an aside, everything you see in this ceremony is fictional. It's best not to take what you see here as real history... or the future."

"—Then, the exam will now begin."

He tapped his staff and declared this.

A deep, slow voice uttered the words that Iver knew all too well. "The Cruel Autumn of 1899 marked the end of the Avalon Kingdom..."