Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 233 The First Star Core and the School of Life
To be honest, Roger didn't initially intend to compete with anyone; he only wanted to win the meteorite he had been longing for in the lottery.

But who knew that Glenn Hernandez's lottery would adopt a sequential draw format and an abstract rule of "absolutely multiple wins" that completely disregarded the "monster" path? This forced Roger to compete against an extraordinary individual who was highly suspected of being the "winner," turning the entire lottery into a contest between the two.

However, due to the disappearance of Will Onsetin, the chairman of the "School of Life," and the instigation and exploitation by the Rose School of the "School of Life" of its worship of the "Primal Moon" Beyonders, the School of Life has been in great turmoil. As a result, there are not many Beyonders who are currently out of town and capable of reaching the middle sequence or beyond on the "Monster" path. Therefore, it is perfectly normal for Glenn Hernandez, the owner of the Potrull Market who may be a "sheriff," to take this lightly.

As the extraordinary item corresponding to the "General Knowledge" fell into the hands of the gray-eyed woman, many people at the scene wanted to question the rationality of the lottery again, but remembering Glenn Hernandez's words earlier, they all fell silent.

Actually, the owner of the Portlu Market was also feeling bitter. He didn't know which deity he had offended today, that he had attracted two ancestors with such incredible luck.

Although he had guessed that this might be some kind of extraordinary ability, and had clarified that there was no behind-the-scenes manipulation at the Portlu Market, he couldn't stop people from gossiping outside. Therefore, he felt it was necessary to discuss with Roger and the guest number 33, and ask them not to participate in the second round of the lottery for the time being.

Soon, the second half of the auction officially began, and it was around 12 o'clock. However, neither the Portru Market nor the "Shadow Portru Market" showed any intention of closing down and leaving customers behind; on the contrary, they became even more lively.

Roger, who was eating a sandwich cookie and watching the commotion, suddenly saw the hot young woman walking towards him again. She was holding a plate of pastries and smiled at Roger, asking:

"Sir, would you like some more cookies?"

"It's okay if you can't finish it now, you can take it to go."

"...That's fine."

Roger, who was almost full, was about to refuse, but then he understood the meaning behind the other person's words and nodded.

While the young lady was giving him the cookie, she slipped a note under the plate to Roger.

Roger held the note in his hand for a while before opening it and glancing at it. Then he continued drinking his tea as if no one else was around.

After a while, he stood up, walked towards the bathroom door, went in, and locked the door.

"Hello, Mr. Hernandez, is there anything I can help you with?"

Roger smiled and looked at the person in the brown cloak standing inside. Roger had seen him before; he was one of the staff members guarding the warehouse.

"Sir, it's like this, Mr. Hernandez has something to discuss with you."

The man removed his hood, revealing a gaunt face and a head of brown hair, and then handed Roger a list:
"These are our unsold items and prizes for the second draw. If you are interested, you can take them for 10% more than the starting bid, but Mr. Hernandez asks you to forgo the second draw opportunity."

"If you agree, you are a friend of the Portlu Market, and you can contact us for anything in the future."

Roger chuckled upon hearing this, realizing at that moment how much trouble he had caused Hernandez.

“No problem, Mr. Hernandez is a straightforward man.”

Roger didn't waste any words and immediately nodded in agreement. In fact, he also wanted to befriend Hernandez, a local strongman in Bayam. Now that the other party had given him the opportunity to benefit from this, how could he refuse to save face for him?

Not to mention that he had already gotten what he wanted and even earned an extra 100 gold pounds as a bonus, so he was in a great mood.

Roger took the paper and quickly read it, discovering that it contained quite a few good items, some of which were planned for today's auction, and some of which were newly arrived goods.

To be honest, Roger currently possesses so many sealed artifacts that they rival the Charis Gate beneath the Church of St. Serena in Tingen, so aside from demigod or angel-level sealed artifacts, Roger is truly uninterested in ordinary sealed artifacts.

But soon, he discovered a collection that piqued his interest.

It was a collection of nautical manuscripts from an old captain who had lived on the island of Toscart for nearly 50 years. It filled two boxes and contained detailed records of various voyages, as well as anecdotes and stories about the area around Toscart. It was very rare, but the starting bid was not very expensive, only 250 gold pounds.

250 gold pounds, plus a 10% fee, that's 275 gold pounds, a price that Roger could easily accept.

Most importantly, Roger originally wanted to explore the "Blackwing Reef" mentioned in the sea chart left behind by the demigod Zartwin of the Rose School, and the Blackwing Reef was located in the southern part of Toscart Island.

After thinking it through, he immediately spoke:

"I want this nautical manuscript."

"That's it?"

Hernandez's waiter was slightly taken aback. He had thought Roger would take the opportunity to do something big, but he did not expect that the other party would choose such a tattered manuscript that had been neglected for a long time.

In fact, that's exactly why this piece is so cheap. When it was first brought to the Potrug market, the owner had asked for a high price of 450 gold pounds. However, as the market did not meet his expectations, the manuscript failed to sell at auction multiple times, and the price dropped again and again.

"That's it."

Roger smiled and said, "At some point, knowledge will be more important than anything else."

"it is good."

The waiter nodded, then asked, "Would you like the goods taken away, or should they be delivered to your residence?"

"I'll take the meteorite with me. Deliver the manuscript to room 304 of the Santis Hotel in the dock area."

This was done to avoid any unforeseen complications, because for Roger at the moment, the meteorite was far more significant than the nautical manuscript whose contents were still unclear.

"Ok."

After reaching an agreement, Roger returned to his seat.

Not long after, number 33 was also called out separately. She seemed to have reached some agreement with Hernandez's waiter, and after a while, she returned to her seat.

Sure enough, in the final lottery draw after the auction, neither Roger's number 15 nor number 33 was drawn again. He judged that numbers 15 and 33 had been taken out of the lottery box directly, which fundamentally eliminated the possibility of them being drawn again.

In fact, Roger's luck has declined somewhat, and he probably wouldn't be able to compete with others if it came down to it.

Roger then participated in the free trade at the Shadow Portru Market. Compared to the previous auctions which mainly focused on "items," this part involved things like potion recipes and potion ingredients. Roger also helped Zeus buy the Sequence 8 "Wrathful People" potion recipe and also picked up a horn of a shimmering black serpent.

The former goes without saying, while the latter is a necessary potion ingredient for the "Arbitrator" promotion sequence 7 "Interrogator," which Roger naturally bought for his first mate, Philip.

Over the past period of time, Roger had been very satisfied with his cautious, disciplined, and conscientious first mate, so he naturally had the idea of ​​passing on the "playing method" to him and Zeus to help them go further.

He also confirmed through this incident that Glenn Hernandez should have already obtained the main ingredient for the "Interrogator" potion and was likely to be promoted to a Sequence 7 Extraordinary at any time. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have let this Extraordinary material slip away from his nose.

It wasn't until 1 a.m. that the "Shadow Portru Market" came to an end. Roger yawned as he paid the bill, picked up his extraordinary materials, and carried his meteorite as he walked out.

Now that Roger had come into close contact with the meteorite, he was absolutely certain that it was a meteorite from the inner solar system, most likely from the Kuiper Belt or similar region, and that it emitted a unique "smell" characteristic of his star system.

"Once I get back and extract the star core, I'll have the ingredients for the first 'Living Star Disc' potion..."

This gave Roger a sense of exhilaration. Although the journey to Bayam had been full of twists and turns, the rewards were still quite plentiful.

Outside, the Portluy Market was still brightly lit, while Rossman kept looking anxiously in the direction where Roger had disappeared, his face very tense.

When he saw Roger reappear with a rock in his arms, the vendor finally breathed a sigh of relief. He hurried over to help Roger with his things, but Roger shook his head and went straight to his stall.

"Tell me Zorn's address, and I'll come and settle your accounts tomorrow."

Seeing Rothman hesitate, Roger glared at him again:
"Be content. I definitely won't give you the money, otherwise you'll just gamble it away."

Seeing Roger say this, Rossman's Adam's apple bobbed a few times, and he could only nod to express his gratitude.

"If you ever need my help in the future, please feel free to contact me. Although I don't have much money, I've been around the Rothschild Islands for so many years, so I still have some connections and relationships."

Rossman said with a hint of flattery that he was now completely certain Roger was a reliable boss, the kind who was both rich and powerful.

I'll look for you when I have the chance.

Roger nodded, then seemed to remember something:
"By the way, give me a detailed description of all the special places in Bayam, the kind that are secluded, such as places to buy intelligence, wholesale all kinds of supplies needed for going to sea, and trade magical items... Don't tell me you don't know what magical items are."

“Of course, of course.” Rossman nodded, and then carefully explained to Roger the various location information he had gathered.

Besides the Swordfish Bar that Roger had already visited, he also mentioned places like the Seaweed Bar and the Scented Leaf Bar, which were used for intelligence trading and illegal procurement. In addition, there were places where one could hire temporary laborers, buy currencies from various countries, sell stolen goods, and purchase various essential maritime supplies, including coal, beer, and bread, at low prices. These were places that only local Bayam thugs knew about, and the prices were generally much cheaper than those of well-known merchants.

The reason the prices are so low is that these places are basically linked to illegal businesses, such as theft and robbery. Pirates and thieves seek to quickly sell their goods at low prices, which gives rise to these underground channels controlled by Rothman.

Roger was very satisfied with this information. He even suspected that some of the locations were not very familiar to Alger, because according to Rossman, those places were very sensitive to people who might be undercover agents of the Church of Storms.

"Well done."

Roger patted Rossman on the shoulder, then frowned and looked at his shop, saying:

"Speaking of which, do you really not have any genuine products at your stall? Haven't you ever thought about just honestly doing a mineral business?"

"I need to have that ability too."

Rossman replied with a long face:
"The island's mineral resources are either being developed under the leadership of the Governor's Office or by wealthy business owners. Only their first-hand sources offer the cheapest prices, but unfortunately, I can't get them."

"Of course, if you are interested in a particular stone, I can also give you some advice. Actually, it's true that my ancestors were mineral merchants in the Rothschild Islands."

Roger laughed:

"Of course I know it's true, otherwise I wouldn't have told you so much."

Then he stood up and said:
"Alright, I've got your word in mind. I'll contact you if I need anything later."

Before leaving, he confirmed Zorn's address with Rossman one last time before leading Bandit toward the Santis Hotel in the dock area.

Even in Bayam, a city known for its vibrant nightlife, the streets were not crowded at this time. Only the bars, markets, and brothels that stayed open all night were still making noise.

Roger breathed in the slightly salty sea breeze and strolled slowly down the street, soon spotting the street where the Santis Hotel was located.

Just then, Roger's eyes suddenly narrowed.

He dropped the meteorite, grabbed Bandit with his arms, and rolled toward the ground. At the same time, a gunshot rang out about ten meters behind him!

Because Roger dodged in time, the bullet didn't hit him, but instead struck a roadside metal trash can with a loud "bang".

But the next instant, Roger felt a sudden pain in his chest.

The bullet that had been deflected bounced off the metal trash can and struck him again!

Roger knew perfectly well that this was no coincidence, because he was all too familiar with it.

Because one of the functions of the "life-or-death revolver" is "a shot that will always hit!"
Roger knew in that instant who attacked him. Fortunately, the bullet was still some distance from his heart and carotid artery. As he pretended to fall to the ground, he suddenly stretched out a gloved left hand behind him.

The next second, to the horrified gaze of a black-haired woman holding a revolver, Roger, whom she had previously shot, appeared in front of her.

The woman immediately felt a heavy punch to her face and was sent flying backward!
Before she could even get up, she felt a buzzing sound in her head, and when she came to her senses again, she was already encased in a pool of flesh and blood.

Although the flesh and blood looked extremely fresh, it was as hard as iron, and the woman struggled several times but could not break free.

Her grey eyes glared hatefully at Roger, and she cursed angrily:
"The Aurora Club's g..."

However, before she could finish the word "dog," a piece of flesh suddenly sealed her mouth shut, preventing her from speaking further.

"Why would a beautiful woman use foul language?"

Although Roger's eyes were narrowed into two crescent moons, there was a cold glint in them.

Although the woman couldn't speak, she kept struggling, and the resentment in her eyes didn't diminish at all.

After a while, Roger saw that she was tired from struggling, so he took off her "mask".

The woman took a deep breath and was about to start cursing again, but Roger covered her mouth again. This happened several times until she finally ran out of strength.

This whole sequence of events left Bandit, who was running over from the street corner, completely dumbfounded. He wanted to speak up and persuade Roger several times, but he was afraid that the woman might do something that would provoke the police to yell at him, so he didn't stop her.

"Beautiful lady, is there some misunderstanding between us?"

Roger released the woman, who appeared to be a member of the "School of Life," for the last time, and asked with a frown.

"Is there some misunderstanding?"

The woman scoffed, "You killed my family and you're pretending you know nothing?"

"Relatives?"

Roger paused for a moment, then pulled out the "Death-Defying Revolver" from his pocket:
"You mean it?"

The woman's eyes immediately welled up with tears when she saw the "life-or-death revolver," while Bandit wanted to dig a hole and crawl inside.

When it comes to telling hellish jokes, Bendit is second to none except Roger.

"Hey, hey, don't cry."

Roger noticed the black-haired, gray-eyed woman was about to cry, and then realized what was happening and quickly tried to comfort her:
“I found this in the mansion of an Intis. I think the person you’re looking for is him, not me.”

“Intis…yes, the Intis people…”

The woman paused slightly upon hearing this, then murmured to herself:

"I told you those Intis people had bad intentions, but he wouldn't believe me..."

The woman was about to cry again, but then Roger said:
"In a sense, I've avenged you."

"I think you're referring to Beckeran Jean Madan, who I've already killed."

Strictly speaking, Roger himself did not kill Beckeron, but Mr. A, who was commissioned by "Justice" Audrey. However, under the current circumstances, Roger believed that this was the most appropriate way to put it.

The woman stopped sobbing upon hearing this, and after a long pause, she said:
"Thank you... I'm sorry about earlier."

"I sensed his presence on you just now, and seeing that you're from the Aurora Society, I..."

"It's okay, I understand."

Roger released the "Rose Bishop's" flesh and blood seal and then pulled the woman up.

"As for the Aurora Society, you can think of me as an undercover agent lurking in there."

“My name is John West, and I’m a ship captain. You’re from the ‘School of Life,’ right? What’s your name?”

"Emily Davenport".

The woman shook hands with Roger, then asked in confusion:
"You actually know about the 'Life School'?"

"Not only do I know him, but I also indirectly know a high-ranking member of your 'Council of Destiny'."

Roger smiled and shrugged.

(End of this chapter)