Lord: Sequence Master

"I've caught you..."

Graymouse activated his Sequence 6 Ghostly Sneak, silently appearing in a corner of the castle. Combining Headlong Retreat, Bloodthirsty Onslaught, Deadly Backstab, and Plague, his claws tore through the void, pulling out the Void Gallery from its hidden layer. A cat-paw-shaped pendant appeared in his hand.

As soon as the pendant was activated, Rosen was yanked out of the Void Gallery.

Rosen quickly reacted, blocking Graymouse's claw with his Dragon Fang Dagger in his left hand, while firing a point-blank shot from his Dragon King's Fury in his right. The Judgment Bullet struck Graymouse, severely injuring his divinity.

However, instead of defending himself from the bullet, Graymouse managed to scratch the back of Rosen's hand with his other claw.

In an instant, black, web-like markings spread across Rosen's body. His muscles began rotting, his blood decaying, and his organs dissolving. The poison was so potent that it posed a deadly threat.

"The Eye of Time's future vision is being interfered with," Rosen realized. This terrifying poison was Graymouse's hidden ace.

Using Void Flash to distance himself, Rosen took out a Sequence 6 Golden Apple, created through Nen Materialization, and ate it in one gulp. Despite the difficulty, his Gluttony Stomach allowed him to consume it.

Inside his body, the power of the Golden Apple clashed fiercely with the poison. With his nerves destroyed, he felt no pain, but the damage meant that his spiritual essence could no longer control his body.

He had to wrap his limbs in spiritual energy and Nen Qi, puppeteering his own body to keep moving.

Graymouse didn't attack further; he simply observed. Over the years, Graymouse had learned how terrifying Rosen could be. Even at Sequence 7, Rosen had killed a Sequence 5 Bronze Dragon, using all his tricks. His trump cards seemed endless, while Graymouse had only one.

If the Golden Apples countered the poison, Rosen would flay him alive. But if they didn't, this would be Rosen's last day.

As Rosen devoured several Golden Apples, Graymouse realized Rosen could continuously materialize low-level apples, and his odds of victory diminished.

Rosen had also noticed that the Golden Apples were merely a temporary fix. The more his life force recovered, the stronger the poison became. The apples' purification effects only kept the poison from worsening.

Rosen attempted to move, but Graymouse was ready to strike if he retreated.

Seeing no other option, Rosen decided to eliminate Graymouse before the poison overwhelmed him.

He swallowed all the remaining Golden Apples he had stored and handed his Dragon Fang Dagger to his Self-Portrait Avatar. Then, he began Void Flashing around the castle hall, attacking Graymouse from various angles.

Rosen's speed, combined with the Dragon King's Fury, kept Graymouse on the defensive. Initially dodging the shots, Graymouse soon had no choice but to endure the hits.

Graymouse knew about the Dragon King's Fury, but he didn't know its full capabilities or Rosen's Void Gun Dance ability. Caught off guard, Graymouse was severely outmatched.

If Rosen hadn't been sealed from using his other abilities, he could have easily used Human Mannequin with Gluttony to devour Graymouse.

Now, limited to using only divinity and miracle-based abilities, Rosen had to rely on traps. He couldn't deploy them via Trap Space, but he could use the Ashen Curtain's projections.

Infused with miraculous power, the Ashen Curtain was unaffected by the castle's sealing array.

Rosen quickly set up Void Transfer Traps, using continuous gunfire to corner Graymouse and his four divine avatars, eventually trapping them inside the Void Gallery.

But Rosen had no energy left to deal with Graymouse inside the Void Gallery.

He sat down, focusing on suppressing the poison. He had been too overconfident in his Eye of Time, believing the future he foresaw held no threat from Graymouse. But Graymouse had managed to scratch him, proving that relying too much on foresight was a mistake.

Days passed, and Rosen's condition visibly worsened.

Without a solution, he would die.

Rosen had found a lead on Graymouse's poison through the Main God Network—it was Abyssal Blood Poison, a Sequence 1 toxin controlled by powerful abyssal demons.

Rosen suspected the poison was tied to the Crimsonshadow Family.

Graymouse had hidden this trump card all along and used it against him now.

Realizing his predicament, Rosen decided to advance his Noble Sequence to Sequence 6.

Advancing would awaken more of his demonic power and divine bloodline, granting him more time to survive. He still had a Sequence 2 Golden Apple in reserve, which could suppress the poison if necessary.

If all else failed, Rosen could use the Time Tower's time-sealing abilities to freeze his condition.

Advancing to Noble Sequence 6 was a simple matter for a hereditary duke.

The Noble Sequence Tree dropped two leaves, which merged with Rosen's noble essence, granting him new class privileges.

Ruler: You gain Sovereignty, Taxation, Judicial, and Military Rights over your Divine Territory.

Rosen quickly understood how powerful these privileges were.

Most nobles gained Ruler privileges at Sequence 3, but Rosen received them at Sequence 6, giving him a significant advantage over others.

With Sovereignty, he could gauge the loyalty of his subjects.

With Taxation, he could draw upon the strength of his subjects.

With Judicial Rights, he could create extraordinary laws.

With Military Rights, he could command his armies with perfect efficiency.

The true power of the noble sequence was now fully revealed with the Ruler ability.

However, Ruler couldn't save his life. Rosen activated the latent power of the Sequence 2 Golden Apple within his bloodline.

His demonic bloodline underwent a complete transformation.

His abilities—Gluttony Stomach, Slothful Feet, and Greedy Hands—were greatly enhanced.

He could also activate one of the remaining Seven Deadly Sins (except Pride).

After considering Wrath, Envy, and Lust, Rosen chose to activate Lust.

The moment he did, his demonic bloodline began constructing a new demonic organ between his body and soul—the Tongue of Lust.

His tongue could now extend up to 39 meters, and his saliva gained a dangerous allure, drawing any female into uncontrollable desire.

This was a side effect. The true power of the Tongue of Lust lay in its ability to satisfy the body and ignore the mind.

Lust LV4: Grants both partners limitless physical stamina and immunity to mental damage below Sequence 2.

Though powerful, Lust alone couldn't cure the Abyssal Blood Poison.

But Rosen noticed that "limitless stamina" implied limitless life force. If his life force became limitless, the poison couldn't fully destroy his body.

With a plan in mind, Rosen commanded his Self-Portrait Avatar to act.

The avatar quickly painted several portraits of beautiful women, bringing them to life. Soon, the Void Studio was filled with springtime bliss.

The constant damage from the poison was halted by the Lust authority, fixing Rosen's life force in place.

With his life force stabilized Rosen systematically eradicated the poison. He absorbed his Gluttony Beast into his body, allowing it to consume the poison and digest it in his Gluttony Stomach.

As the Gluttony Stomach developed resistance to the poison's life-draining effects, Rosen finally began recovering.

Two months later, Rosen left the Void Studio, though visibly exhausted.

In the Gallery Maze, Graymouse was still battling traps, trying to escape his confinement.

Seeing Rosen approach, Graymouse realized he had lost. Even poison strong enough to kill a demigod couldn't take down Rosen.

Graymouse, defeated, attempted suicide rather than fall into Rosen's hands.

But just as he was about to end it, Graymouse found Rosen inexplicably charming. Instead of killing himself, he ordered his divine avatar in Blackstone Port to return and merge with him.

Watching Graymouse almost leap into his arms, Rosen shuddered, realizing the terrifying power of the Tongue of Lust.

Not only did it grant limitless stamina, but the allure of his saliva affected both men and women. A bit of his saliva in the water-filled Gallery Maze had been enough to completely entrance Graymouse.

Rosen imprisoned Graymouse in the Void Prison, waiting for his divine avatar to return and fall into the trap.

From Graymouse, Rosen recovered two miracle items.

The first was the Cat Paw Pendant, a Sequence 9 Miracle Item.

Graymouse had once ambushed the Cat God, biting off one of its front paws as a trophy. Unexpectedly, the severed paw had become a miracle item.

Cat Paw Pendant: Miracle Item

Level: Sequence 9

Miracle Attribute: Weakens the restraints of abilities and attributes.

Miracle Traits: Hunting Mark, Unique in Heaven and Earth, Eternal and Indestructible

Rosen refined the Cat Paw Pendant, finally understanding how Graymouse had managed to escape both the Divine Beast Pen and the Nightmare Shackles. Due to its miraculous property, the pendant weakened the suppression from other abilities and attributes.

For instance, water might counter-fire, but only when the forces are roughly equal. If the fire is overwhelmingly stronger, the water simply evaporates. Similarly, the Cat Paw Pendant allowed Graymouse to diminish the control of both the Divine Beast Pen and the Nightmare Shackles. This weakening even extended to the contract witnessed by the Contract Spirit Deity, enabling Graymouse to break free.

The core ability of this pendant was the Hunting Mark. Graymouse had left a nearly imperceptible paw imprint on Rosen, and with that mark, the pendant could pull Rosen across space directly to Graymouse.

Rosen stowed the Cat Paw Pendant and picked up the next miraculous item.

Resurrection Cross: Miracle Item

Level: Sequence 3

Miracle Property: Spiritual immortality, physical immortality

Miracle Trait: Rebirth

Although the Resurrection Cross was a miracle item, it lacked the Unique in Heaven and Earth and Eternal and Indestructible traits typical of higher-level miraculous items. Intrigued, Rosen searched the Main God Network for information on the Resurrection Cross.

He discovered that the Resurrection Cross, when whole, was once a Sequence 0-level transcendent artifact. For unknown reasons, it had broken into nine parts, each a separate Sequence 3 Resurrection Cross, one of which Graymouse had possessed.

Normally, a being like Graymouse—whose physical body had been destroyed and whose spirit survived only in the spiritual realm—would struggle to regain his former power. But with the Resurrection Cross, Graymouse had managed to return and infiltrate Rosen's side. His downfall came from his greed and obsession with the Mysterious Study Room.

As Rosen prepared to refine the Resurrection Cross, the Main God Computer reacted. Network cables from the Mysterious Study Room sprang to life, wrapping around the cross. A special alert appeared, advising Rosen to capture and seal the Resurrection Cross within the computer's system.

Clearly, the Main God Computer considered this item highly dangerous.

Rosen compared it to the Sea God's Ring, which, though complete, had slightly weakened powers compared to its original form. The Resurrection Cross, on the other hand, appeared undamaged but had only one miraculous trait.

If the Sea God's Ring represented what a damaged miracle item should look like, then the Resurrection Cross may not have broken naturally. It seemed more likely that it had been deliberately split, and the fragments distributed for some unknown purpose.

Following the Main God Computer's warning, Rosen used the Hunter's Divine Eye to photograph the Resurrection Cross and uploaded it, sealing it in a secure, encrypted folder within the computer.

After dealing with Graymouse, Rosen turned his attention to Graymouse's lair. By sharing spiritual essence through the Nightmare Shackles, he refined the entire spiritual realm. The transcendent Graymouse beings were sent to the Void Prison, while the ordinary ones were exterminated, leaving the realm empty and temporarily sealed.

The castle itself turned out to be a Sequence 5 Noble Territory Building. Since Rosen already possessed his own Ashen Castle, he planned to trade this one for other goods in the Main God Hall.

The wealth Graymouse had amassed within the castle amounted to billions of spiritual essence crystals, adding significantly to Rosen's reserves.

Inside the Void Prison, Rosen deliberated over Graymouse's fate. Without the Cat Paw Pendant, it was unlikely Graymouse could escape again. However, the Resurrection Cross had posed enough of a threat for Rosen to remain cautious.

Recalling the advice of experienced hunters—"Don't make pets out of transcendent beings that weren't raised from a young age"—Rosen decided not to take any chances. Furthermore, Graymouse had fallen under Rosen's Lust Charm, and Rosen didn't want to risk an unwelcome attack from a charmed, rebellious rodent.

Determined to eliminate any future threats, Rosen made his decision. Without further hesitation, he shot Graymouse in the head, then fired repeatedly, ensuring that Graymouse's spirit was entirely obliterated.

At the moment of Graymouse's death, the Main God Computer reacted once again. Network cables extended from the Mysterious Study Room, penetrating the Void Prison and latching onto Graymouse's body.

What had been a vanishing pouch was intercepted by the Main God Computer and secured within its system.

Upon further inspection, Rosen realized the item was a Sequence 3 Miracle Item.

Miracle Pouch: Miracle Item

Level: Sequence 3

Miracle Property: Increases the likelihood of encountering miraculous items

Miracle Traits: Treasure Seeking, Appraisal, Treasure Storage, Invisibility, Void Evasion, Equivalent Exchange, Unique in Heaven and Earth, Eternal and Indestructible

Using the Main God Computer, Rosen uncovered the properties and traits of the Miracle Pouch, finally understanding how Graymouse had ascended from an ordinary rat to a demigod.

As a simple rat, Graymouse had stumbled upon the Miracle Pouch. Lacking the power to actively use it, he had unknowingly benefitted from its passive influence, gaining wisdom and leading him down the path of transcendence. The Treasure Seeking ability allowed him to gather resources, which facilitated his eventual rise to demigod status.

Despite its power, not all the pouch's traits were beneficial.

Invisibility meant that the pouch was difficult to detect or refine, and Graymouse had died without ever realizing he possessed it.

Void Evasion caused the pouch to vanish into the void upon the death of its previous owner. Without the Main God Computer intercepting it, the pouch would have been lost.

The most critical ability was Equivalent Exchange, which greatly amplified the Treasure Seeking ability.

While standard treasure-seeking required no sacrifice, the chance of discovering miraculous items was slim. Equivalent Exchange increased those odds dramatically—but at the cost of draining the owner's luck.

Realizing this, Rosen felt a chill.

No wonder he had encountered so many miraculous items without being aware of the hidden dangers—both his and Graymouse's luck had been silently consumed by the Miracle Pouch.

Fortunately, the miraculous items Rosen obtained had improved his luck in return. Not all the items he encountered came from the pouch; some were genuine rewards for completing miraculous events. This balancing effect explained why Rosen hadn't noticed any ill effects. Had this continued unchecked, though, his luck would have eventually run out.

Even with the aid of the Main God Computer, refining the Miracle Pouch took Rosen an entire month.

He decided to use the Treasure Seeking ability cautiously, avoiding Equivalent Exchange unless absolutely necessary. He was more intrigued by the other traits: ordinary treasure seeking, appraisal, and treasure storage.

Upon activating Treasure Seeking, images of places he had visited and objects he had seen flashed in his mind. Items he had previously overlooked now seemed to glow with significance.

These, he realized, were valuable treasures the Miracle Pouch had identified.

Many of these treasures were stored in the Main God Hall, but the pouch highlighted only those whose true value exceeded their cost. Thus, the Treasure Seeking ability didn't create treasure—it revealed value based on subtle, existing clues.

Next, Rosen tested the Appraisal ability, which acted as a powerful tool for identifying the true worth of treasures.

The Treasure Storage ability impressed him even more. The Miracle Pouch could hold valuable items, and the more rare and precious the items inside, the stronger the pouch's abilities became. Moreover, once the pouch stored an item, the Treasure Seeking ability could guide Rosen toward related items.

The first treasure that came to mind was the Magic Potion Bottle and the remaining seven Dragon Blood Bottles from the same origin. However, finding these miraculous items would likely require the use of Equivalent Exchange, a risky move that could drain his luck.

Rosen decided not to pursue those bottles just yet, recalling Graymouse's rise and fall. The pouch had granted Graymouse power, but it had also led to his demise, including his ill-fated encounter with the Cat God.

Rosen stored 90% of his unused treasures in the Miracle Pouch, keeping the remaining 10% in his Scavenger Space.

The Scavenger Space could also store treasures and enhance his spiritual perception, but this enhancement had its limits. Now that Rosen had reached Sequence 6, the perception boost from the Scavenger Space would only reach Sequence 5 levels.

Finally, he placed the Miracle Pouch inside the Scavenger Space, combining the powers of both storage abilities.

With the situation involving Graymouse resolved, Rosen prepared to visit Blackstone Port.

On the way, he also intended to bond with the Storm Thunderbird as a replacement for Graymouse.

The Storm Thunderbird had been hatched by Rosen himself, and as it imprinted on him from birth, it readily accepted both the Divine Beast Seal and Nightmare Shackles without resistance. Sharing the same golden divine essence, the creature was destined to be a loyal companion.

(End of Chapter)