When the plot-skips players into the game world

Chapter 441

Chapter 441: Chapter 342: The Contractor of the Serpent Celestial Marshal Chapter 441: Chapter 342: The Contractor of the Serpent Celestial Marshal When the sun rose, the swamp, known as a forbidden land, sprouted a white mist just like any other day.

Yet, today was different.

Suddenly, the tranquil swamp split open, revealing a narrow and pristine path.

Merlin, clad in a deep blue robe and wielding a long staff, stepped out from it.

He casually tapped his staff on the ground, and as he moved forward, a staircase with clean and soft steps naturally formed one after another.

It was not until Merlin had completely left the swamp that the swamp, which had parted on either side like a living being, closed back up.

The temporary steps also dissipated, collapsing back into a mound of muck.

...

“Jacob, that fellow, really knows how to cause me trouble.”

Merlin sighed, adjusting his monocle with his hand.

However, despite his words, he did not look the least bit displeased at being troubled.

On the contrary, he looked very spirited and full of enthusiasm.

He had already arrived at Jacob’s workshop the day before through a door borrowed from the Fairy Kingdom.

As he had anticipated—Jacob had indeed situated his ritual workshop at the bottom of the swamp.

To be precise, it was situated between the bottom of the swamp and the Fairy Kingdom.

It existed neither within the Fairy Kingdom nor in the Material Realm...

but inside the Fairy Hole.

Of course, this location was not discovered by Jacob.@@@@

Because this “secret chamber” was carved out by Merlin himself back in the day.

Such a large-scale ritual would need to operate continuously for several hundred years.

If it were placed in the Material Realm, setting aside the possibility of it being eroded or weathered, no matter how tightly guarded, there still remained the chance that it might be discovered, destroyed, or tampered with by someone.

And the reason it wasn’t placed in the Fairy Kingdom is because Merlin knew all too well the nature of those fairies.

They were filled with curiosity and possessed a confidence of “although I don’t understand anything, I want to give it a try”.

If they discovered the ritual, they would surely meddle with it.

So Merlin secretly created an interlayer inside the Fairy Hole and stuffed the ritual’s foundation into it.

—Fairies would certainly go directly to the Material Realm if they were to pass through a door.

Very few would bother to look down and check the keyhole for issues when entering.

Only humans trying to reach the Fairy Hole from here would carefully search for its presence while passing through the portal.

So as long as humans were kept out, this ritual would remain undiscovered.

Thus, Merlin purposefully created a swamp to bury the Fairy Hole.

Initially, it was just a deep pit.

That sort of black and bottomless abyss—regular people who jumped in might just fall to their deaths.

And if they panicked and used an Earth spell during the fall, they would land straight in the Fairy Kingdom.

And since a mere material swamp couldn’t stop fairies, neither water nor mud could dampen their bodies, so they wouldn’t notice anything amiss here.

Naturally, they wouldn’t report any problems with this hole to their queen.

To prevent any passerby from accidentally falling in, Merlin simply transformed the area into a swamp.

At that point, the Crowned Celestial Marshal faced a dilemma.

He could no longer become stronger.

For he had already concentrated all the powers of the paths available in the Dream Realm within himself, yet there was still a significant gap between him and the Supreme Heaven.

He needed to re-enter the Material Realm and, through “action,” gain the additional new power of the path of rebirth.

However, unlike the Angel Envoy who could interfere with the Material Realm, it was virtually impossible for a Celestial Marshal who had gained authority to re-enter it...

yet the Serpent Celestial Marshal broke this common sense.

The Ouroboros kindly provided Him with a ceremony called the “Ring of Ouroboros.”

The Crowned Celestial Marshal who had reached the limits of strength successfully reincarnated as a mortal.

He dispersed his excess powers to create the “Knights of the Round Table”—these Knights became stronger through the powers dispersed by the Crowned Celestial Marshal.

And in the end, they followed Arthur to accomplish the extraordinary feat of defeating the Giant’s Country with their mortal bodies.

Only then was He able to compete with and defeat the Supreme Heaven, becoming the new master of the path, the Silver-Crowned Dragon.

Like the Ouroboros, reborn by devouring itself.

To devour all of oneself and achieve a complete sense of rebirth was essentially a “Shedding and Rebirth,” transforming into a stronger form, making it possible to transcend once again.

—Whether it was the ceremony where He usurped the body of the Dragon all those years ago, or the ceremony of His later descent back into the world of mortals, they were all provided by this Serpent Celestial Marshal.

Even in the earliest times...

when He was not yet the Crowned Celestial Marshal, had yet to defeat the Dragon, he was still a Contractor to the Serpent Celestial Marshal.

Merlin remembered Arthur telling him stories about that era.

It seemed to be an Extraordinary Profession related to the concept of “Shedding.” This was also the fundamental basis for the Crowned Celestial Marshal to be able to return to a mortal body and grow stronger again.

But the Shadowy Celestial Marshal was different from the Crowned Celestial Marshal.

The Shadowy Celestial Marshal did not have the affinity with the Path of Transcendence, nor did she wish to replace the Eternal Self.

If the Queen of the Shadow Nation were to be brought down into the body of Lancelot I, imprisoned and prevented from returning...

that lunatic would definitely go mad.

A deity of the Path of Love was much crazier than a Transcendent of the Path of Love.

However, as far as Merlin knew, there was no conflict between the Serpent Celestial Marshal and the Shadowy Celestial Marshal.

Moreover, there was almost no interaction between them.

So this was definitely not personal revenge.

—In that case, reactivating this ancient ceremony could only mean one possibility.

“Serpent Celestial Marshal, do you desire to go...

even further?”

Merlin lifted his head and looked up at the sky.

His gaze was profound as he murmured softly, “Jacob...

are you with Him?

Are you also His Contractor?”

So where does Aiwass fit into your plans?

Is he a pawn, an assistant, a collaborator, an heir...

...or perhaps, some kind of obstacle?