Aiwass actually didn't know the specific process of the advanced ritual.
The main reason was that the officials hadn't created a map of the Dream Realm, so the player's advancement experience wasn't complete. Among those essential materials for the ritual, only a few were slightly more expensive, and the rest were just fillers.
As long as all the materials were gathered, a dungeon could be opened.
Before level 50, entering the advancement ritual would line up a nine-player dungeon, with each Path having one spot. Then, these nine players would enter without fighting any minor monsters and directly combat a randomly spawned boss which was fairly easy to defeat.
After completing the dungeon, there was a random determination of whether the players successfully advanced. The higher the level of the advancement dungeon, the greater the failure rate. Without the use of extra materials to increase the success rate, the number of players who advanced during the full moon was double that during the new moon.
In the beginning, the success rate was quite high. When advancing from level 9 to Energy Level 2, six out of nine players would succeed, and even during the new moon phase, three could smoothly advance. However, as the levels increased, advancement became more difficult. When advancing from level 49 to 50, only the full moon dungeon guaranteed at least one player would succeed. It was even possible for all nine players to fail the new moon dungeon.
Players had gotten used to it.
Just like not getting the desired cards when drawing. It was seen as a very normal thing.
Starting from level 59, subsequent advancement dungeons would be high-difficulty solo dungeons.
By version 6.0, the level cap for most Paths had been raised to 85. The Paths of Authority, Balance, and Wisdom were the first to be opened up to level 90, while the others were still being unlocked in succession. The final advancement from level 89 to 90 was frighteningly difficult, so much so that although the level cap was raised to 90, the vast majority of players were stuck at level 89. Only a few who were both dedicated and willing to spend money, with a good skill set, could truly reach the maximum level.
It was estimated that only after the level 90 cap for all nine Paths had been unlocked would they specifically lower the difficulty of previous Paths' dungeons.
This was what the officials did when they opened the level 80 cap previously.
However, although Aiwass didn't know how NPCs advanced, he at least understood one thing.
That was, NPCs also definitely needed to match up with nine people from different Paths of the same rank for advancements in the first 50 levels. If there weren't enough people, the ritual couldn't be carried out—of course, low-level advancement rituals would certainly have enough participants.
In cases where there were enough players, the nine nearest people would be selected first. If it wasn't possible to gather enough locals, then they'd reach out further afield and grab one or two people to keep the distance between the nine players as short as possible.
According to the mysticism texts of the Path of Beauty, the advancement ritual was "sharing prosperity under the full moon, and joint loss at the new moon."
Based on the speculations of the leading players, perhaps during the full moon PvE was encouraged, and PvP on the new moon. This could also explain why the success rate of the ritual was higher during the full moon.
And tomorrow is the full moon, requiring a certain degree of cooperation in the dungeon.
That means Aiwass would enter the Dream Realm tomorrow as a practitioner of the Path of Devotion. Sherlock would be of the Path of Wisdom.
The Path of Balance and the Path of Authority would probably be Avalonians. Where the advancers from the other Paths come from is hard to say.
Meanwhile, Sherlock chatted amicably with Oswald for a while before bringing up serious matters.
This slim man, who looked somewhat indolent, as if he wasn't too concerned about anything, took a dark-covered book from his chest.
Sherlock, holding the book upside down with the title facing downward, handed it to the old butler, casually saying, "My visit this time is just to bring something to Aiwass on behalf of Mr. Kent."
"I thought it would be that girl with no sense of time handling this minor task."
Oswald clearly remembered the incident where Hayna was two hours late.
He handed the book to Aiwass without looking at its title himself.
This was Oswald's respect for his masters as a butler—since the book was a gift from the Supervisory Bureau for Aiwass, he wouldn't examine it.
Aiwass took the book and openly turned it over to look at its title.
The Nurturing Secret Sequel.
It was also a Codex Book. He didn't remember its contents.
But in terms of format, it should be an ancient technique of the Path of Devotion...
Actually, it was a nice reward, Aiwass thought.
Or rather, it was excessively generous—any ancient technique that could be called a "Codex" had to be at least on the level of the church's Sacred Arts. Sherlock received a Codex Book of the Path of Wisdom from the Supervisory Bureau only when he cracked a major case.
...For such a simple low-level dungeon, you're giving me such a great reward?
Why don't you just beat me up instead? I feel a little uneasy holding onto this.
"Please flip through the book to confirm you can open it, Mr. Aiwass," Sherlock said, his expression impassive and his tone deep, reminiscent of an overworked government employee, exuding an air of routine coldness. "If you can't open this book, then I'll have to take it back to the Supervisory Bureau. Mr. Kent will send you another Codex Book that you can open."
Upon hearing this, Aiwass briefly flipped through it.
Finding that he indeed could open it, he didn't pay attention to its content and closed it, placing it on his lap.
Seeing that Aiwass had confirmed, Sherlock gently removed his top hat.
With a quicker pace than before, Sherlock went through the motions as he reported, "Mr. Kent plans to hold an awards ceremony next Thursday. The location is the White Ballet Shoes Club in the Red Queen District, and the time is five-thirty in the evening. There will be a dinner after the awards ceremony.
"The nature of this awards ceremony is 'in the name of the Queen, to recognize outstanding Supervisory personnel who have made exceptional contributions to the eradication of evil,' and to summarize the important events of the quarter. Mr. Kent invites you to attend. At that time, the General Supervision Bureau will present you with a Crystal Cross Medal."
Upon hearing this, Aiwass immediately caught on.
—They're looking for a favor from me and have given a deposit in advance, afraid that I'll back out.
What has happened recently that Aiwass could help with, and furthermore, that only he could help with?
That would likely be the matter Aiwass had reported in the newspaper today.
He had single-handedly cracked such a major case, personally shot down a dangerous fugitive, and even found and wiped out a Noble Red Society contact point within Glass Island... the premise of becoming a "hero," a "celebrity," was founded on the Supervisory Bureau's incompetence.
After sealing off the Pelican Bar and following up on that clue for a deeper investigation... the Supervisory Bureau would easily find that it was a long-standing international black market within Glass Island. Even non-Transcendents often purchased prohibited items there or even exchanged top-secret information.
If they continued to follow this lead, it's not just minor incidents like the Demon Scholar or illegal forbidden books that could be uncovered, but they could even catch smugglers, spies, treason, and other major cases.
But conversely, if they were to start investigating directly following the lead from Pelican Bar... that would be equivalent to slapping their own faces.
Such an important stronghold had gone unnoticed by them for so long right under their noses, but it had become an almost public secret among the civilians, an important market for trading illegal goods. And in the end, this secret was uncovered by a mere college student, a disabled person in a wheelchair, and someone who was not yet quite a proper Transcendent.
The Supervisory Bureau would likely be in trouble then.
Thus, Director Kent probably intended for Aiwass to take a stand—simply mentioning at the awards ceremony that "the Pelican Bar incident is related to the Supervisory Bureau" would suffice.
For this, he had even sent Aiwass a rather precious Codex Book.
What's more, by accepting the book, Aiwass would likewise be accepting this commission.
Meaning Director Kent owed him a favor.
So, Aiwass thought it over and revealed a fox-like, mischievously pleased smile.
"—Supervisory personnel?"
He feigned confusion, but he was confident that both Sherlock and Oswald would understand his meaning: "But I'm just an ordinary person. I'm even still a student."
Sherlock clearly understood what Aiwass meant.
he said decisively: "You're not formally an Inspector, but even as a student, you can serve as a counselor for the Supervisory Bureau. Just like me, with a nominal position at the bureau. There won't be any actual tasks; you just need to indicate you are part of the Supervisory Bureau at critical moments. Later, if you're interested in participating in any incident investigations, you can also join as a counselor."
Sherlock's words were very smooth, clearly reciting verbatim what Director Kent had said.
With Sherlock's counselor status, he could make such promises to Aiwass was obviously because Director Kent had foreseen Aiwass's reaction before Sherlock's departure.
That meant the director had previously sought out Hayna for a detailed inquiry into Aiwass's character, abilities, and the tasks at hand.
When he realized that Aiwass was a smart man who wouldn't be easily fooled, he immediately arranged for Aiwass more substantial benefits.
"Mr. Kent's exact words were, 'This is a reward for your act of bravery and also an advance appearance fee for inviting you to the awards ceremony.'"
"Of course, if you really don't want to attend, it's not a problem; you can still keep the book, and I can decline on your behalf to Mr. Kent."
Sherlock readjusted his top hat, pressing the brim down a bit.
"—So, what's your answer?"
"Of course I agree. Please tell the director that I will be there on time,"
Aiwass said, his smile gentle as he deliberately omitted any mention of the Nurturing Secret Sequel book.
It wasn't until then that he truly understood the weight of his own identity.
Now he wasn't just an undocumented player with no backing... he was Aiwass Moriarty.
When James was still alive, before Avalon was destroyed, no one could take his credit away. No one could treat him as a tool, to be ordered around at will. If they wanted Aiwass's help, they had to exchange benefits, never to take without returning.
And immediately following, Aiwass also realized another matter:
So when I was playing as a gamer, these people quietly took so much from me!