LotM: Surviving as a Marionette

When Don arrived, the War Bishop had already been waiting in the room for quite some time.

"Sorry, kept you waiting." Faced with the not-too-sincere apology, the War Bishop merely nodded at him, then handed him a bag.

Inside the bag were several crystalline transparent gems, upon which countless complex and mysterious, three-dimensional and indescribable symbolic signs and magical markings were engraved.

Among these symbols were the incomplete Eye Without Pupils and the incomplete Twisted Lines.

They collectively imprinted certain 'mysteries' of the high sequences of the Seer Pathway, belonging to partial mystical symbols of 'The Fool.'

Something seemed to reside within the gems. If one looked closely, they could see within the gems one after another clusters of what appeared to be dead and dried worms. Just looking at them would cause mental breakdown, as if witnessing segment after segment of forgotten history surging madly.

These were charms provided by the theater, capable of borrowing spirituality from one's past self, rapidly recovering one's own spiritual state, and maintaining peak condition.

"You must grasp the timing well."

The War Bishop spoke steadily as a reminder.

The Yesterday Once More charm were not easy to craft, especially for a Miracle Invoker who had already died and become a sealed artifact. The stock of dead Spirit Worms it had stored was already running low.

Don nodded, then placed this War Bishop marionette into the system inventory.

He naturally couldn't manipulate this marionette. If he forcibly manipulated it across tiers, the divine contamination of Sequence 3 would instead flow back through the Spirit Body Threads and turn him into a little fool.

But manipulating this marionette wasn't Don's purpose.

Theoretically speaking, the system inventory was perfect. It could automatically derive various rules to seal the sealed artifacts and mystical items within, and even the negative effects of Uniqueness would be firmly locked inside.

As long as sealing methods existed, the various sealing conditions simulated by the system would perfectly match to carry out the lockdown.

And except for living creatures, it could stuff everything else inside.

The essence of marionettes was already that of dead people. Dead people stuffed into the inventory, even if they were marionettes, would be firmly sealed by various restrictions. Even Marionettists couldn't control them through a layer of system.

For Don, he could handle Marionettists of the same pathway with ease. By stuffing the opponent's marionettes into the system inventory, aside from item slot limitations, he could completely leave Marionettists with no marionettes to manipulate.

This was equally effective against theater marionettes. And now, the system had unlocked partial restrictions in the inventory, allowing the theater core to still remotely manipulate the marionettes inside.

The Sequence 3 demigod marionette was still being manipulated by the theater, which also secretly bound Don and the theater core together.

[There will be certain dangers ahead, Host, please prepare yourself.]

The system, which had already attempted calculations multiple times and derived the most feasible possibility for prematurely opening the 'Observer' module, said.

Originally with the 'Astronomical Telescope for Stargazing' Don shouldn't have been so hasty.

The 'Astronomical Telescope for Stargazing' could confirm Amon's location, even track His movements at any time. The system had originally proposed: [Host, we can wait until you advance to Sequence 4 before attempting to open it. Hehe, this thing really came at a critical moment.]

Don had shaken his head at the time, not agreeing with the system's viewpoint.

He had fiddled with the telescope in his hand and asked, "Indeed, the 'Astronomical Telescope for Stargazing' is very useful, but who is the potential enemy we have to face?"

He was about to forcibly enter the world where the 'Observer' module was located, and the Amon he was trying to contend with was no ordinary being.

A child of the Ancient Sun God, the King of Angel of the Error pathway, perfectly accommodating Uniqueness, the enemy of all high-sequence Beyonders of the same pathway.

Yes, from the current situation, Amon hadn't discovered him. Even if He had discovered him, He probably wouldn't even look down on him.

But there was a parasite in his territory. Connecting this to the families in this era that possessed Error pathway potions, and considering Amon's bad habits, he really couldn't feel at ease entrusting his little life entirely to fate and the occasional great mercy of devils.

With the Theater With Curtains That Never Draw around, he could develop while laying low. With enemies in the light and him in the dark as the premise, not doing everything possible to strengthen himself—was he waiting for Amon to actually come knocking to check the gas meter?

Leaving it to fate was the most foolish approach.

The 'Astronomical Telescope for Stargazing' was good, but its ability was 'observation,' and only 'observation.'

For Don, the 'Astronomical Telescope for Stargazing' wasn't the optimal choice.

"Moreover, grasping information in advance isn't a bad thing for me. My advancement ritual involves demigods, and I'll have to leave here sooner or later. I must prepare several more trump cards."

Preferably the kind where after the opponent thought he had revealed all his cards, he could still throw out a few more trump cards for entertainment.

Never fully exposing one's trump cards—this Chinese characteristic of keeping something in reserve was something Don had mastered completely.

What else could the system do? It could only properly assist its host and make sure he didn't mess things up.

Under its big data analysis, even if accidents occurred, it could absolutely guarantee the host's safety.

High safety factor, low risk, touching return rate—it was worth trying anyway... Ah, of course, it still had the dignity to struggle with whether this violated the main system's programming.

But the main system hadn't reminded it either... Forget it, whatever. Do it first, then talk. If the main system questioned it later, it could just slide and kneel to admit its mistake, right?

Under the system's guidance, Don found a chair to sit down. On the table in front of him were three items placed respectively.

The Yesterday Once More charm, Astronomical Telescope for Stargazing, Mosaic Glasses for Stargazing.

He looked at the sun outside the window, then extended his left hand.

The Ring of the Curator on his left pinky began to glow.

Don's expression was serious as he prepared himself.

"I pray."

Ancient Hermes slowly rang out, and the Ring of the Curator emitted a faint glow.

Layer upon layer, shadowy and indistinct, the Ring of the Curator resonated with the entire theater through the power of spirituality.

The theater core's will descended into the marionette in the system inventory, beginning to manipulate miracles.

In the system inventory, the War Bishop with his rigid and serious expression closed his eyes, responding to the miracle.

The light emitted by the Ring of the Curator grew larger and brighter, illuminating Don's body.

The theater core responded to Don's prayer, displaying a miracle!

"I pray that my body and spirit body can separate, no longer suffering the limitations of the flesh, able to roam freely in the Spirit World."

"I pray that my spirit body can perfectly accommodate the three items before me, allowing my spirit body to carry them, to bring them into the Spirit World."

"I pray that my body can remain here, that my spirituality can open the door to other worlds, that my spirit body can shuttle through them, able to..."

His spirit body was gradually breaking free from his body's control. The spirit body of Sequence 5 was solid enough, but the limitations of his own pathway meant he couldn't properly manipulate his own spirit body.

Remaining separated from his physical shell in this state for a long time, he would very likely become a ghost or wraith-type creature, and his body would completely die.

But with the power of miracles escorting him, allowing his spirit body to separate from his body, he could still return to his body through the power of miracles.

The power of miracles continued to flash, and he quickly mastered the state of his spirit body, beginning to use his spirit body to accommodate those three items placed on the table.

During the process of accommodation, Don's body also began to undergo silent changes.

[Warning, prematurely opening the 'Observer' module will result in unknown dangers!]

[Do you wish to proceed?]

'Confirmed.'

(End of Chapter)