This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 610 - 541 Conspiracy Theory

Chapter 610: Chapter 541 Conspiracy Theory

Within the Connected Dream Realm, Withered Rose lay on a soft velvet chaise lounge, listening to Amberser recite from a knight novel by her side.

"I, Lancelot, am a knight who fights solely for the Queen, and only Queen Guinevere has the right to decide your life or death. If you truly submit, go and beg for her mercy..."

Amberser spoke with great emotion, looking very serious.

But halfway through, Withered Rose interrupted, "I don’t hate Laine anymore, so there’s no need for you to make up a story about King Arthur’s Queen having an affair. To be honest, my ancestor is quite respectable."

"It’s just a namesake." Amberser said sincerely, "It seems you don’t like the story of King Arthur. I’ll tell you about the female version of King Arthur, Altria, next time."

With a smile, Withered Rose replied, "Okay, but people’s tastes can change. Don’t always make up stories based on my childhood memories, I’ve grown up."

As a child, Princess Laine was fond of those stories where knights and princesses loved each other to death but never ended up together. No matter how many tears she shed, she just liked that kind of heartbreaking stuff.

As she grew older, and real heartbreaking memories piled up, wishing to be forgotten, the present-day Withered Rose found herself preferring stories with happy endings.

Amberser didn’t feel awkward. He simply closed the book and then snapped his fingers.

The cozy two-person world of the garden quickly transformed into a huge round table meeting room.

Withered Rose rose from the chaise lounge, stretching her perfect waist. In the dream realm, her muscles could still feel fatigued.

"Looks like it’s about time. Have they all arrived?" Withered Rose asked.

Amberser nodded, time indeed flew by quickly. He hadn’t realized how enjoyable their world for two had been. Had he known, he would have delayed their meeting.

Just as he was reflecting, a black shadow draped in a long robe, over two meters tall, joined the room.

The shadow approached the round table, lifted his robe to reveal a tall and robust body, and sat down with great presence, assuming a very imposing posture.

Upon recognizing the newcomer, Amberser couldn’t help but say, "Hake Stone, you’re really fooling yourself here. We’ve seen each other in reality, who are you trying to impress by taking on the appearance of a giant?"

The newcomer was the Dwarf Vampire Hake Stone, but at that moment, he towered over Amberser, sitting a head taller even while seated.

Hake Stone scoffed, "Mind your own business. Do I need your permission for how I look in a dream?! Aren’t you just a skeleton, looking all human in this dream?!"

Amberser laughed confidently, "I am actually alive right now."

Hake Stone gave him a contemptuous look, mocking, "Jumping out of a mirror doesn’t count, you call that being alive?"

Without mercy, Amberser retorted, "That’s still better than you, who disappears at the slightest tilt of a mirror. Are all the mirrors in your house installed at an incline?"

"Damn lich!"

"You want to fight? A dead dwarf infatuated with food!"

...

Withered Rose watched the bantering duo, her lips curving into a smile. Both of them were old creatures who had lived for many years, yet they acted as childishly as the young. Somehow, she found it quite entertaining.

Perhaps life needs such vibrancy to be meaningful.

However, when Aige appeared in the meeting room, both of them immediately shut their mouths and sat up straight in their chairs.

Looking at the two of them, Aige asked in confusion, "What’s this, have I come at a bad time?"

Withered Rose stepped forward and took Aige’s hand, "I think you’ve come at just the right moment, sister. We’ve been waiting for you."

All four took their seats, and all of today’s guests had arrived.

As they were all familiar friends, Amberser skipped the unnecessary pleasantries and got straight to the point, "Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve invited you here today to explain a few things. First, I have successfully revived. However, within the Elegy Poetry Society, only a few of you are aware, and I hope this news will not be spread for now."

Intrigued, Hake Stone asked, "Not even Gareth? I thought you two were quite close."

Amberser explained, "It’s precisely because we’re friends that I don’t want to burden him further. Keeping secrets can also be a pressure."

"Ha, you’re quite the friend... Wait, what do you mean by that?" Hake Stone sensed something was off. What did he mean by not wanting to burden a friend? Then what was he?

"Are you the over-sensitive boy from a bad novel? Can I finish without interruptions?" Amberser mocked Hake Stone, then continued, "Although I’m talking about keeping secrets, it probably can’t be hidden for long. After all, news from Hell will inevitably leak out, and I suspect the Guild Leader and the Poet already know about this."

Aige asked, "I understand keeping secrets, but why keep this secret? Aren’t we all friends in the Elegy Poetry Society?"

"We used to be, but after my resurrection, something felt off. Besides, I’m no longer a member of the Elegy Poetry Society. After I was resurrected, the Necromancy Codex that belonged to me has vanished."

Amberser dropped this bombshell, startling both Hake Stone and Aige.

"How could this happen?" Hake Stone asked, agitated.

He had joined the Elegy Poetry Society much earlier than Amberser, and he had never seen the society expel anyone. With this first instance, who knew if there would be a second?

Amberser comforted him, "Don’t worry, there’s a reason for this. I can no longer be considered a Lich, not even Undead. It’s only logical to be expelled from the Elegy Poetry Society. It’s just that the Guild Leader never brought it up with me, just took back my Necromancy Codex without a word. I have no complaints; I’m just doubtful."

"Doubtful of what?" Hake Stone asked.

"I doubt the real reason for establishing the Elegy Poetry Society," Amberser said, trying to maintain his composure. "You all joined the Elegy Poetry Society before me, personally selected by the Guild Leader. What do we have in common? This secret organization wields such mighty power, so what is the purpose behind its establishment?"

These questions were something neither Aige nor Hake Stone could answer. They hardly even contemplated these issues.

Because it wasn’t important.

Each member of the Elegy Poetry Society could be considered a "powerful" force in their own right. They had their own lives, their own careers. The most mysterious Guild Leader had gathered them, allowing them to communicate freely, to cooperate with each other, but never made any demands. Over the years, everyone became accustomed to this state of affairs.

Amberser joined later, thinking as a newcomer, he wasn’t entitled to probe into these deeper secrets.

But after the Necromancy Codex was taken away, the God of Alchemy revealed something to Amberser.

It was very likely that the Elegy Poetry Society had been established to select a successor for the Grim Reaper.

The God of Alchemy dared to tell Amberser this because Amberser had already lost his qualifications. Otherwise, the God of Alchemy would not want to interfere with Yeg’s grand plans.

Amberser thought differently, so after his resurrection, he began to use the Magic Mirror to seek information from his "friends."

He was astonished to find that the members of the Elegy Poetry Society he addressed were all unaware of this secret.

This was highly illogical.

Yeg selecting a successor for the Grim Reaper but never telling the candidates any requirements, merely gathering them and waiting for hundreds or thousands of years as if watching a play.

There is no sense in this.

What Amberser despised most were so-called tests of human nature, which are influenced by emotions and circumstances and are unpredictable as standards of assessment. A person may withstand hunger and refrain from stealing bread, but does enduring one day mean they can do so for a lifetime? If they can resist stealing bread, does it mean they wouldn’t secretly take a sip of water?

To Amberser, such tests were meaningless.

A constantly fluctuating curve—if you only look at the highest peak and the deepest valley and ignore the average, then there’s no analytical value.

The logic that should govern the world is rules, like sinners going to Hell, the devout ascending to the Divine Realm, or under Aeo’s rules, deities not interfering casually with the Mortal Realm... These are the things that matter. Tests of human nature are just small stories used to express personal views in tales, suitably embellishing dull life, but using them as standards is the origin of disaster.

Amberser didn’t know what Yeg was thinking, but when it concerned the Withered Rose, Amberser couldn’t help but probe further.

Turning to the two, Amberser said, "You both have been members of the Elegy Poetry Society for a long time. I want to ask, has there been anyone else who, like me, has disappeared? If so, what were the reasons for their disappearance?"

Aige and Hake Stone’s expressions turned serious, Hake Stone especially, as he asked tensely, "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Amberser didn’t mince words, "What I’m saying is, if the Elegy Poetry Society is really hatching some grand scheme, were the disappeared members truly accidental deaths? Among all the members, is it really just friendship without competition?

"The Guild Leader and the Poet must know something. If the Elegy Poetry Society inherently includes competition, and you know nothing about it, then you are prey being targeted in the dark. I’m safe now, but my friends, are you safe?"