บท 309: Chapter 310: Artisan Accepts Reality

"If I voluntarily give up the Illuminator characteristic, will you let me go?"

Hearing this, Lynn raised an eyebrow and his smile became subtle.

It was clear that Artisan had given in, and without hesitation.

This wasn't surprising. Even in the original novel, Artisan wasn't someone like the Storm Lord who would fight head-on. As someone who had a fair share of luck, he was more inclined to go with the flow. Maybe not exactly cowardly, but definitely not the most courageous or decisive.

Otherwise, how could Artisan have taken over a thousand years to digest the potion even after becoming a Paragon, only reaching the level of other Sequence 0 with Roselle's help?

Even in investing in others, Artisan was hesitant. While other gods like the Evernight Goddess and even the Storm Lord invested in Klein early, he only decided to choose a side during the final battle. Not too late, but if he had hesitated any longer, Klein wouldn't have needed him.

Artisan was never particularly forceful, but he wasn't stupid either. Realizing that the Evernight Goddess might have changed her support and tricked him here to kill, it was normal for him to give in.

-But it felt like something was missing. Lynn thought it would be more satisfying to give Artisan a beating first. He regretted not having the chance.

Though Lynn didn't have a deep-seated grudge against Artisan, he wasn't fond of the angel either. After all, he had betrayed Bonova and backstabbed the Evernight Goddess. He was partly responsible for the war between Loen, Feysac, and Intis. While the blame could be shared, Lynn and Artisan were naturally opponents due to their Sequence rivalry.

Lynn also had to consider the future Artisan who would become a god. If he could show his strength by beating him up, it might be better.

If they only relied on the intimidation of the Evernight Goddess and Mr. Door to make him work, it could cause unnecessary trouble.

So, if he didn't want to give up the Illuminator Characteristic, they would certainly have fought. But since he was so compliant, it wasn't appropriate to attack him.

After all, Lynn wasn't a demon who would beat someone without reason.

Artisan shivered, possibly sensing Lynn's unspoken malice. He instinctively took a step back and then looked at Lynn, saying,

"Although I am willing to give up the Illuminator Characteristic and withdraw from the competition for Paragon. If you really intend to kill me, I will fight to the death and severely injure you."

Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. Although Artisan wasn't very aggressive, he had reached Sequence 1 and wasn't weak. He was willing to give up the characteristic to keep the peace, but if Lynn and the others pushed him too far, he wouldn't go down without a fight.

A Sequence 1 might not be as strong as a Sequence 0, but if they fought desperately, even a non-adjacent Sequence 1 could cause a Sequence 0 some trouble.

—Adjacent pathways were a different story, like Klein with the Sefirah Castle instantly killing Zaratul after ascending to Sequence 1.

"Don't be so tense. I do want your Illuminator Characteristic, but I don't intend to push things too far. If you are willing to cooperate, that would be perfect," Lynn said in a soothing tone. He looked at Artisan and smiled, "And even if you don't trust me, you should trust your old friend, Amanises, right?"

Artisan: ...

Artisan had a thousand complaints. He used to trust the Evernight Goddess, but now it was hard to continue.

It wasn't his fault for thinking this way. From his perspective, it looked like a trap: being invited to the Evernight Goddess's divine kingdom, meeting Mr. Door's child, and discovering a deal involving the Illuminator Characteristic between Mr. Door's child and the Evernight Goddess.

Combining all these factors, it was easy to conclude that the Evernight Goddess had a new support target and that he was the sacrificial lamb in this deal.

In a sense, Artisan wasn't wrong.

'Should I trust her?' Artisan glanced at Amanises, who was standing calmly with a smile, and muttered.

"You can trust her. Although Amanises made a deal with me and chose to support me to become Paragon, she didn't plan to harm you," Lynn said with a smile, calmly pouring himself a cup of tea and pushing another cup toward Artisan. "I know you're tense right now, so how about sitting down and having a cup of tea?"

After hesitating for a moment, Artisan chose to sit opposite Lynn. Amanises followed and sat beside them.

Artisan tried to ignore the Evernight Goddess. Although he felt angry and sad that Amanises had changed support, he wasn't too surprised. Anger and sadness were minimal because this was the norm among high sequences and gods: supporting someone today and betraying them tomorrow was normal.

But this didn't stop Artisan from feeling very depressed. After all, it's never pleasant to lose what was already in your grasp.

But what could he do? The situation was against him. He couldn't defeat the Evernight Goddess, and even if he fought desperately, he would only cause minor trouble for her.

(End of Chapter)

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