"You sound like a shitty salesman," a man snickered. "And what if we don’t want the position you’re offering? It’s not like we chose to be a part of this nonsense. You showed up with a fancy ring and picked us, then you told us to survive."
The man’s eyes narrowed. "But what do you know... the moment I became a candidate for the Hollow Throne, my wife cheated on me. My uncle turned out to be a spy for the foreign nation, and better yet, I accidentally broke some stupid vase and ended up with a bounty on my head from the Emperor himself!"
"So tell me, Hollow King, what kind of curse did you put on us? Why have so many died, while others remained completely untouched, huh?" the man pushed, clenching his jaw. "Why did I have to go through so much misfortune, and the others—"
"Stop whining already," Kareth cut him off. "I have not cast a single curse on you people. If anything, by giving each of you a ring, I gave you extra power. What you did with that power was what got most of you killed in the first place."
"You grew complacent with the small boost in power, and the fact that you were chosen made you think you were more special than anyone else. You’re not special. You are just lucky."
The pressure grew, enveloping all of them again. It was a bit weaker than last time, but it all seemed to be concentrated on the man who complained.
But instead of killing the man, Kareth proceeded to float down and tap the air beside him. Immediately, a red hologram appeared, showcasing a few scenes.
In one of those scenes, the man was hitting his wife. In another, he was seen exiling his uncle because of a disagreement.
In the final scene, the man stormed into the Emperor’s chamber and smashed a vase holding the Emperor’s mother’s ashes.
It didn’t take long for everyone to realize that this man in front of them was an Imperial. He was special, but Rael was sure he was more special in the head than in rank.
Aside from that, it seemed like every single bad thing that had happened to him was not because of misfortune, but a simple lack of reasoning. He didn’t realize what he was doing wrong, and in turn, blamed it all on Kareth.
After Kareth was done showing everyone the truth, he simply floated back up into the sky and glanced down at everyone. A moment later, he spoke.
"As you can see, I have not interfered in your lives. Not directly, and not through some stupid curse you might be imagining. It’s a simple mark, a reminder you could say," Kareth added. "Now that I’ve cleared the obvious up, let me introduce you all to the next trial."
He cleared his throat, and in the next instant, a series of pop-ups appeared in front of everyone.
"I’m sure everyone has received the same trial," Kareth commented, a faint smile appearing on his face. "At the moment, this land is under my protection. After I remove my protection, monsters will swarm you, trying to kill every single one of you. As the trial said, make it to the capital and you will be safe."
With those final words, Kareth was ready to leave, but not before delivering a few parting words.
"I truly hope one of you has what it takes to become my successor... but, that Imperial idiot mentioned willingness a moment ago. He is right, I didn’t give you much of a choice, but since I do wish to be fair..."
And of course, his generosity was immediately met with scorn.
"10 seconds to choose? Come on! Give us more time to think about it!"
"Yeaaah! What is this nonsense!"
Rael wasn’t an idiot. When a big reward was involved, he was like a moth to a flame.
And it’s clear this is a trap. I’m betting that whoever declines the Hollow Oath gets killed on the spot, Rael mused with a chuckle.
At the same time, there was one skill he got recently that could potentially synergize with whatever Kareth would give him if he were to become his successor.
Puppetry: [Level 100 | MAX] (Divine)
1. Sovereign Grip (Passive): Any being within line of sight is subject to your control for 5 seconds per gesture. You may create custom gestures to control your opponents. (Reduced effect against stronger opponents.)
2. Spirit Marionette: Suspend a target’s soul midair. While separated, their body collapses and cannot act. You may speak through them and cast their skills/perks/abilities. (Reduced effect against stronger opponents.)
3. Thousand-Puppet Theater: Force every sentient being within 5,000 meters into a performance dictated by your will. You can freely control their movements, speech, and every single skill/perk/ability they have. (Reduced effect against stronger opponents.)
Cost: 250 Billion MTP
4. Puppet Master (Special): Craft puppets from any valid material: metals, corpses, emotions, or memories.
—Each base material gives the puppet unique properties:
Metal: High durability, special effects depending on metal used.
Flesh: Retain the stats and skills of the body used.
Emotion: Gains a special passive aura effects that influence others nearby (Fear, Wrath, Envy).
Memory: Grants 1–3 skills based on the person the memory was taken from.
Seeing that, Rael was left speechless.
The Puppet Master special effect was particularly overpowered, especially since it synergized with his Absolute Architect skill. There was also room for Neuroweb to work as well.
He was about to ponder further on the overpowered skill he got, but the ground suddenly shook as several hundred heads exploded around him, snapping him out of his daze.
And of course, the final pop-up soon followed.