Aiwass did not actually know the specific process of the advancement ritual.
This was mainly because the official game did not have a Dream Realm map, and players' experience during advancement was incomplete.
Among the required ritual materials, only a few were slightly expensive; the others were just extras.
As long as these materials were gathered, a dungeon could be opened.
Before level 50, the advancement ritual entrance led to a nine-person instance, with only one slot for each Path.
Then, these nine people would enter without fighting any small monsters, directly facing a relatively easy random BOSS.
After completing the instance, all players would randomly be judged whether they passed.
The higher the level of the advancement instance, the greater the failure rate.
Without additional materials to increase the success rate, twice as many people would pass during a full moon compared to a new moon.
Initially, the success rate was quite high.
When advancing from level 9 to the Second Circle, six out of nine people could clear it, and even during a new moon instance, three people could successfully advance; but as the level increased, advancement became increasingly difficult.
When advancing from level 49 to level 50, there was only a guaranteed minimum of one pass in a full moon instance.
New moon instances could even see all nine people fail to advance.
Players had also grown accustomed to it.
It was like failing to get rare drops from gacha; it was considered a normal occurrence.
From level 59 onwards, subsequent advancement instances became high-difficulty solo instances.
In version 0, the level cap for most Paths was opened to level 85.
Authority, Equilibrium, and Wisdom were opened to level 90 first, with other Paths unlocking sequentially later.
The final advancement from 89 to 90 was terrifyingly difficult.
As a result, although the level cap was opened to 90, most players were stuck at level 89.
Only a few dedicated, paying, and skilled Big Brother could truly max out their levels.
It was estimated that only after the 90-level cap for all nine Paths was fully opened would the difficulty of previous Path instances be specifically lowered.
When the 80-level cap was opened before, the official game did the same.
However, although Aiwass did not know how NPCs advanced, he at least understood one thing.
That is, when NPCs advanced in the first 50 levels, they must also match nine people of different Paths of the same rank in the Dream Realm.
If nine people could not be gathered, the ritual could not be established—of course, low-level advancement rituals would certainly be able to gather enough people.
When enough people could be gathered, the nine closest people would be prioritized.
If not enough could be gathered locally, one or two would be pulled from further away, keeping the distance between the nine people as short as possible.
According to the Path of Beauty's mystical texts on advancement rituals, the advancement ritual is 'Prosperity with the Full Moon, Loss with the New Moon.'
According to the Big Brother among players, it might be PVE during the full moon and PVP on the new moon.
This also explained why the success rate of the ritual was higher during the full moon.
And tomorrow is a full moon, which is an instance requiring a certain degree of cooperation.
That means tomorrow Aiwass will enter the Dream Realm as a 'Path of Dedication' user.
Sherlock, on the other hand, is a Wisdom Path user.
Equilibrium Path and Authority Path users should both be from Avalon.
It's hard to say where the advancers of other Paths come from.
On the other side, after Sherlock exchanged pleasantries with Mr. Oswald for a while, they began to discuss serious matters.
The slender man, with a somewhat lazy and seemingly indifferent expression, took out a black-covered book from his Pregnant.
Sherlock handed the book to Mr. Oswald upside down, with the title facing down, casually saying, 'I'm just here to bring something from Director Kent to Aiwass.'
'For such a small matter, I thought that little girl with no sense of time would do it.'
Mr. Oswald clearly still remembered Haina being two hours late.
He handed the book to Aiwass without looking at its title himself.
This was Mr. Oswald's respect for his masters as a butler—since this book was a gift from the Supervisory Bureau to Aiwass, he would not look at it.
Aiwass took the book, openly turned it over, and looked at its title.
shepherds apocryphon.
It was also an apocryphon book.
He had no impression of its content.
But in terms of format, it should be an ancient technique of the Path of Dedication…
It was a pretty good reward, Aiwass thought.
Rather, it was too generous—an ancient technique that could be called an 'Apocryphon' was at least on the level of a church's sacred technique.
When Sherlock solved a major case for the Supervisory Bureau, the Supervisory Bureau would only give him a Wisdom Path apocryphon book.
...You're giving me such a good reward for such a simple low-level instance?
Why don't you just punch me instead? I feel a bit uneasy holding this Water Icosahedron.
'Please open the book and take a look first, Mr. Aiwass.
Confirm that you can open this book normally.'
Sherlock's expression was calm, and his tone was low.
Like a government employee working overtime, he exuded a sense of routine indifference: 'If you cannot open this book, then I will take it back to the Supervisory Bureau.
Director Kent will send you another apocryphon book that you can open.'
Upon hearing this, Aiwass roughly flipped through it.
Finding that he could indeed open it, he didn't pay attention to its content, closed it, and placed it on his lap.
And when Sherlock saw Aiwass confirm, he gently took off his top hat.
'Hello, Mr. Aiwass.'
At a faster pace than before, Sherlock routinely relayed: 'Director Kent plans to hold an awards ceremony next Thursday.
The location is the Crystal Slipper Club in White Queen District, and the time is 5:30 PM.
There will be a dinner after the awards ceremony.
'The nature of this awards ceremony is to 'recognize outstanding Inspectors who have made excellent contributions to eradicating evil in the name of the Queen' and to summarize important events of this quarter.
Director Kent invites you to attend.
At that time, the Supervisory Bureau will award you a Crystal Cross Medal.'
Upon hearing this, Aiwass immediately reacted.
—This was the Supervisory Bureau trying to ask him for a favor, giving him a deposit in advance, fearing he would back out.
Was there anything recently that Aiwass could help with, and that only he could help with?
That would probably only be the matter of Aiwass appearing in the newspaper today.
He independently solved such a major case, personally killed a dangerous wanted criminal, and even found and cleared a Noble Red Society contact point within Glass Island… His becoming a 'hero' and 'celebrity' was based on the Supervisory Bureau's incompetence.
After sealing the Pelican Bar and investigating further along that lead… the Supervisory Bureau could easily discover that this was a long-standing transnational black market on Glass Island.
Even Transcendents often bought contraband here and even exchanged top-secret intelligence.
If they could follow this lead, let alone minor issues like Demon Scholar or forbidden books of illegal Paths, they might even catch major cases like smuggling, espionage, and treason.
But conversely, if they really did directly investigate along the Pelican Bar lead… that would be like slapping themselves in the face.
Such an important stronghold, under their noses for so long, had not been discovered by the Supervisory Bureau, but instead became an almost open secret among civilians, a vital market for people to trade illegal items.
Finally, this secret was even discovered by a university student who was not yet a proper Otherworlder, a cripple in a wheelchair.
Then the Supervisory Bureau would probably be in trouble.
So Director Kent's intention should be to hope that he could make a statement—as long as he could mention at the awards ceremony that 'his discovery of the Pelican Bar was related to the Supervisory Bureau,' that would be enough.
For this, he even gave Aiwass a very valuable apocryphon book.
Not only that.
As long as Aiwass accepted this book, it was equivalent to accepting this commission.
It also meant that Director Kent owed him a favor.
So, Aiwass thought for a moment, revealing a cunning and mischievous smile like a fox.
—'Inspector personnel?'
He feigned confusion, but he believed that both Sherlock and Mr. Oswald would understand his meaning: 'But I'm just an ordinary person.
I'm even a student still in school.'
Sherlock indeed understood what Aiwass was expressing.
'That's not an issue.'
He said without hesitation: 'You are not a formal Inspector, but even a student can become a Consultant for the Supervisory Bureau.
Just like me, you'd be registered with the Supervisory Bureau.
And there won't be any substantial tasks; you just need to state that you are also a part of the Supervisory Bureau at critical moments.
Afterward, if you are interested in any incident and wish to participate in the investigation, you can also join with your Consultant status.'
Sherlock's words were very fluent.
He had clearly memorized Director Kent's original words.
Given Sherlock's Consultant status, being able to make such a promise directly to Aiwass clearly meant that Director Kent had considered Aiwass's potential reaction before Sherlock left.
That should be Director Kent, who had thoroughly inquired about Aiwass's personality, abilities, and what he intended to do, by asking Haina beforehand.
When he realized that Aiwass was a smart person and not easily fooled, he immediately arranged more substantial benefits for Aiwass.
'Director Kent's original words were, 'This is a reward for your heroic actions, and also an advance appearance fee for inviting you to participate in the awards ceremony.'
'Of course, if you really don't want to attend, it's fine; you can still keep the book, and I can decline Director Kent on your behalf.'
Sherlock put his top hat back on, pulling the brim down.
—'So, what's your answer?'
'Of course, I agree.
Please tell Director Kent that I will attend on time.'
Aiwass showed a gentle smile, but he didn't mention the shepherds apocryphon book at all.
Only then did he truly understand the weight of his identity.
Now, he was not a player without a proper identity or backing… He was Aiwass Moriarty.
As long as James was alive and Avalon had not fallen, no one could steal his credit.
And no one could treat him as a mere tool, ordering him around at will.
As long as they wanted Aiwass's help, they had to exchange benefits with him and absolutely could not take without giving.
And then, Aiwass immediately realized another thing:
—You scoundrels.
So, when I was a player, these people secretly embezzled so much from me!