When the plot-skips players into the game world

Glass Island, Lohar District.

Sherlock scrutinized his surroundings carefully, following a path from his memory to find the stinking ditch and the mountain of trash.

Perhaps due to the intensified wastewater discharge from the factory, compared with the abandoned chemical factory in his dreams, the domestic rubbish here had piled up even more, and the water had become even fouler. It nearly sealed off the road, emitting an unpleasant stench of decay. As Sherlock leaned in to examine the garbage, disturbed cockroaches began to crawl out from beneath the mountain of waste.

Edward, who walked behind him, stood tall with tightly furrowed brows.

He stared deeply at the mountain of trash, with an expression of disgust clearly not wanting to move closer.

"...How did you discover this place, Hermes?"

Edward asked, standing still.

"First-hand information from an advancement ritual, my partner,"

Sherlock replied, without any concealment to his close friend: "Pass this place, climb over that small hill, and you'll see an abandoned chemical factory. The Sweater Brothers Association's hidden base is there."

"Then you step aside first."

Edward said.

Sherlock obediently stepped back, watching his friend, who gave off a deep, dark impression, draw one of the Elf Short Swords from his waist, pointing it forward.

White glowing runes lit up at his right wrist, quickly crawling towards the fingertips, ascending up the ridge of the short sword.

"——The law grants me the necessary right of passage."

With that command, a pure white radiance surged, and a storm roared.

An irresistible invisible force, along with the light, extended from the tip of the sword, pushing the entire mountain of trash to each side.

In the center, it left a spacious path wide enough for ten people to walk abreast, with a mist-like glowing layer covering the ground.

Under the illumination of that glowing path, three faint green and one black light lit up within the surrounding trash mounds.

"It seems your information is correct, Hermes."

Edward sheathed his short sword, saying calmly: "There are traps buried in this trash heap. Three of them are of the Path of Adaptation, one of the Path of Love. But their energy levels are not very high."

"Yes, I suspected as much."

Sherlock was not surprised, simply continuing forward while noting: "I had noticed earlier that the layout of this pile of trash was unnatural. It neither looked like it was discarded by people nor like it was blown by the wind. There is no trash where there ought to be, and a conspicuously clear path with the least trash had been deliberately left open. The truly safe path is probably not that path, but to go directly over the top of the trash heap."

"They're likely not lethally dangerous traps."

Edward analyzed, following behind Sherlock: "If there were bloodstains or corpses in the pile, it would give away their location more easily."

"It seems the Sweater Brothers really are here," Sherlock pondered with a slight frown, "but this surprises me. I previously thought they might be Demon Scholars."

"Why would you think that?" Edward asked in return.

"Because someone told me that the Sweater Brothers have connections with the people behind the scenes at the Pelican Bar."

Sherlock reasoned: "The people behind the Pelican Bar should be the Noble Red Society. You know, they are a bunch of Demon Scholars involved in murder, sacrifice, robbery, and theft. But after all, they have an inheritance—I mean, the one from Star Antimony.

"If they are assisting the Sweater Brothers, then the traps at the entrance seem rather simple."

Hearing Sherlock's words, Edward fell silent for a moment.

Of course, he knew there was no connection. Because they simply weren't qualified enough.

The Sweater Brothers Association was just a band of petty thieves. Though they mixed with Transcendents and might be somewhat troublesome for ordinary people... the "Noble Red" Society probably wouldn't give them a second glance.

However, it was fine if Sherlock thought that way.

On the contrary, it was better that way, Edward thought to himself.

He knew his lazy and defiant old friend possessed considerable adaptability on the Path of Wisdom and was extremely sensitive to the truth. He had come along because he was afraid that Sherlock might really find something on his own. Discover exclusive tales on m,v l'e|m-p| y r

Although his father hadn't made it explicit, Edward had roughly guessed the conspiracy behind the Pelican Bar.

Those people came from the Noble Red Society.

On the surface, it was an organization of Demon Scholars mostly comprised of Avalonians, with a few instructors from Star Antimony mixed in.

But Edward knew more.

They weren't just an illegal Transcendent organization; they were a faction funded by the Alktos Kingdom, intent on overthrowing the rule of the Avalonian Knights.

The reason was simple. Their leader was a Giant.

Their Giant bloodline harked back to 400 years ago, to the Giant Dynasty from the Alktos Kingdom, which had been overthrown by the founding Monarch of Avalon, Lancelot I, with the support of the Elves.

At that time, in this narrow island country, the strong and brave Giant King ruled and sheltered the diminutive humans. They were so powerful that they could maintain peace and independence under the influence of the empire.

Even though there is no evidence proving that the leader has royal blood of Alktos, there is no doubt he is one of the extremely rare Giants on the continent today. In "Alktos", Giants were basically nobility—so even if he wasn't royalty, he was at least a noble from the former dynasty.

Among the other high ranks of the Noble Red Society, there were many Half-blood Giants. Though not as tall and sturdy as their leader, they were superior to ordinary humans. The "Noble Red" implied in the Society's name refers to their noble lineage.