When the plot-skips players into the game world Chapter 118: Chapter 77: The Body in the Club

After greeting and shaking hands with Aiwass, Arlen turned his attention to Lily, who stood behind Aiwass: "I presu this lady must be Miss Lily? Are you also joining our club?"

"…Eh?"

Lily gave a small utterance of surprise, not quite understanding. Nonetheless, she politely returned Arlen's gesture with a curtsy.

Aiwass suddenly realized why Arlen was being so polite to him and Lily.

To confirm his thoughts, Aiwass asked on her behalf, "Do you know Lily as well?"

"Of course. The matter of Princess Isabel entertaining the two of you last night, I believe, has already spread throughout the entire Royal Capital."

The corners of Arlen's mouth rarely curved upward, but he displayed a faint, albeit not-so-obvious smile on his otherwise stern face: "I rember that banquet was attended by Master Yanis… After which, the Princess handed over the keys to 14 Roning Street to you."

He apparently smiled so seldom that his rare attempt seed unusually stiff, making his otherwise handso face look exaggerated and sowhat comical at this mont.

Lily couldn't help but think of the old butler Oswald—his smile was just as rigid and terrifying—so she involuntarily raised the edges of her mouth. Had she not pursed her lips, she would have laughed out loud.

Angela, on hearing this, looked at Aiwass with surprise, then turned her gaze to Isabel.

It was as if she suddenly ca to a realization, having an epiphany.

Angela reached out and gently pulled at Aiden's sleeve. After being tugged twice, Aiden finally reacted, but he hesitated for a mont as he glanced at Aiwass before silently shaking his head at her.

The blue-haired girl glared at him in frustration, and tugged at his sleeve again. Yet, Aiden remained unresponsive.

Anyway, they had already told President Arlen that they were the ones who introduced them…

Thinking so, Angela simply took the other person and left ahead of ti. She couldn't wait to share the juicy gossip she had just heard with her classmates—no wonder Princess Isabel ca to find Aiwass specifically!

Only Aiden was left waiting on the spot, sowhat out of step with the social atmosphere of the group, because only he indeed had sothing for which he needed Aiwass's help.

Isabel, who had been pondering deeply to the side, finally rembered Arlen's identity: "I've seen you before… you are Carter's son."

"Yes, Your Highness," Arlen responded, sowhat surprised that Isabel recognized him, but he replied respectfully: "The last ti I saw you was about ten years ago. Your mory is still as outstanding as ever."

"Thank you for your complint, Mr. Arlen."

Isabel also used "Mr." to address his status.

She then leaned in and whispered to Aiwass, "He is the Minister of Justice's son, he should know about us… and the painting."

No wonder he knew both and Lily, and no wonder he addressed as "Mr." instead of "classmate," Aiwass thought.

Or perhaps, Arlen didn't actually recognize Lily the person. But he knew that the personal maid Aiwass brought to the royal banquet was nad Lily.

…But then again, our relationship isn't really shaful, is it? There's no need to whisper so quietly…

While they were whispering, President Arlen directly opened a drawer and handed out three badges, placing them on the countertop. He didn't make direct contact with Aiwass and the others but kept a distance.

"The mbership papers for the three of you will be handled later. There's also no rush for the mbership fees, I will send you the invoice along with the mber's booklet to your residence later. Please feel free to find a seat."

Arlen smiled, displaying a friendly smile, and said smoothly, "If you want sothing to drink, you can order it here. We will have soone bring it over shortly—here is the drink nu, and here is the snack nu. There are also copies on the tables and in the private rooms on the second floor, and if you have any new requests, you can ntion them to the students delivering the als. These items are free, included in the annual mbership fee. Please help yourself to anything, don't be shy."

"Also, if you see any advertisents or flyers on the tables, please don't mind them. We don't prohibit mbers from personal promotions."

This weak and powerless Half-Elf President clearly had a good sense of propriety.

His style was decisively different from that of Hayna, who was also a leader.

He knew that Aiwass and Isabel's sudden addition to the White Ballet Shoes Club must have been at soone's invitation or for a specific purpose. Therefore, Arlen didn't co over to ingratiate himself or inquire about their business.

Instead, he tried to save their ti by planning to skip all unnecessary procedures as a gesture of goodwill, and he didn't pry into their reasons for being there, thereby maintaining a comfortable and safe social distance.

Such a way of handling things indeed made people feel more at ease. Even Isabel, who was exceptionally sensitive, didn't react strongly due to this.

Isabel walked over, picked up the three badges from the table, and handed them to Aiwass and Lily respectively.

Arlen explained, "These badges are proof of our mbership. You can wear them when you co here and no one will stop you. They are also a piece of Extraordinary Equipnt that can prevent you from getting hurt or dirtying your clothes if you accidentally slip and fall."

The badge looked pretty; it was made of white crystal.

It was a sleek and tall inverted isosceles triangle resembling an elongated and sowhat rectangular inverted teardrop. On its surface were shallow, crisscrossing indentations like a net.

It looked a bit like the marks seared onto a steak.

…So we just received the official mber badges, huh?

Pretty cool.

Aiwass unassumingly accepted it.

Suddenly, a screen of light erged before him:

[Crystal Ballet Shoes]

[Extraordinary Accessory (Blue)]

[Accessories - Badge]

[Spell: Regain Composure (Once per day, 1/1)]

[Requirent: Any 1]

[Instantaneous, Touch, Imdiate Effect]

["——I might save you once when you occasionally stumble, but if you fall, there's nothing I can do."]

Although the spell was of little significance to Aiwass, who was now wheelchair racing every day, it was a good thing for both Lily and Isabel.

In the ga, it was the accessory for the "badge" slot that players could most easily obtain during the early quest sequences.

Badge-slot equipnt was extrely rare and typically served as proof of mbership in a Transcendent organization.

Compared to rings, necklaces, and bracelets, badges had one major drawback—they did not directly touch the skin.

This ant that the wearer had to touch the badge with their fingers to activate the stored spell, which was much more troubleso than using a ring.

Because it wasn't convenient to channel mana into it, a badge could usually only store a small amount of mana points, just enough for an instant charge to release the spell. And with such a design constraint, the effect was bound to be lackluster.

The main significance of these complicated, costly, and weakly effective extraordinary equipnts lay in the increased cost they imposed on those who might attempt to counterfeit them.

Not all badges that served as organizational proof of mbership were designed to be worn openly. For example, the Noble Red Society's symbol was a more concealed, practical, and user-friendly ring.

Under the influence of the Path of Balance, only one of each type of equipnt could be worn at a ti. Therefore, a practical badge was even rarer.

Organizations like the White Ballet Shoes Club required players to raise their reputation to Friendly to unlock the reputation shop to buy it. Many players, even at levels thirty or forty, could only use the "Crystal Ballet Shoes."

That's because the badges that dropped in dungeons were usually even less useful than this one.

The "Regain Composure" spell was a rudintary Law Magic from the Path of Authority and was a very practical low-level spell, the kind that was almost a pity to give to a Legal Mage. Its effect was to imdiately dispel external forces and recover balance in states of imbalance, staggering, or falling, enabling the wearer to quickly regain normal posture.

For instance, it could save your life or even turn the tables in the mont you are thrown over soone's shoulder, step on sothing slippery, or lose balance from a failed block.

It was a very classic and practical free anti-control equipnt in the MMO, although it could only dispel soft control.

The ssage attached to this badge was also quite aningful.

It seed to speak about the equipnt... but also hinted at the nature of the White Ballet Shoes Club itself.

The club looked like an alumni association, but in reality it was a political association with a rather loose structure.

If you caused a bit of trouble, everyone could help you out conveniently and share so resources; but if a major issue occurred, the club would definitely not help you.

——They issued this disclair when you joined.

Seeing Aiwass, Arlen, and Hayna finally complete the process and successfully join the club, Aiden breathed a sigh of relief.

"Please co with , Aiwass... it's a favor!"

He earnestly pleaded with his hands clasped together, "She should be on the second floor... Just like we talked about on the way here, please help explain! Thank you, Aiwass! I won't lie to you, I forgot everything you told this morning after the afternoon classes!"

Aiden had already explained what had happened on his end while they were rushing over after class.

Although his classmates unanimously ridiculed him for his desperate request for outside help, they also blessed him for "finally finding soone he liked."

Isabel was also hesitant because she wanted to go with Aiwass as well, but she wasn't sure if she would be a nuisance.

Taking a princess who might die at any mont to et a stranger she had never seen before was admittedly a lot of pressure.

"You better stay here," Aiwass said gently, "I'll help Aiden with his love troubles first..."

Mainly, he wanted to see what kind of troubleso woman Aiden had gotten involved with this ti, whether it was the one he rembered.

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Isabel also breathed a sigh of relief and agreed.

Interacting with strangers was quite difficult for her too.

But just as they were preparing to go their separate ways for a while, the exclamations of the crowd and the sudden halt of a violin's music abruptly interrupted their conversation, making them all look over at once.

They saw soone struggling and falling from beside the railing on the second floor.

It wasn't a student close in age to Aiwass and the others, but rather a middle-aged man holding docunts, wearing gold-rimd glasses, and with a partially bald head.

The man fell heavily, but didn't cry out. His body made a dull noise upon hitting the ground, and the papers in his hands scattered like snowflakes.

Though it was only the second floor, the man only made a soft moan, convulsed violently a few tis, and then lay still. Black blood slowly spilled from his mouth and nose, and a small, very thin, dark golden dagger was embedded in his back.

That thing looked more like a needle than a dagger. It was about the size of the file on a nail clipper and did not even have a handle.

It effortlessly pierced through the clothes and inserted into the back of the dead middle-aged man.

Aiwass frowned and quickly looked up to the second floor, but he saw no one suspicious.

Sothing was off.

This was a plot developnt that had never appeared in his mories from a previous life.

And the key question was... what had Aiwass done to cause the storyline here to change?