Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 246 The Three Riddlers

Roger pondered for a moment before answering:

“Your interpretation is very interesting, but to be honest, I also have some insights into divination, so I have different opinions on some of it.”

"Oh? Would you like to hear the details?"

Upon hearing this, Alger immediately sat up straighter and looked intently at Roger.

"Do you know why the number of government-employed pipeline maintenance workers in Bayam is far less than in Backlund?"

Roger blinked and looked at Alger.

"why?"

Alger paused slightly, then asked, following Roger's words.

"Because in places like Bayam, where rainfall is abundant, the drainage pressure is much greater than in Backlund... So when the pipelines here were designed, dredging and debris removal were already taken into account."

"But that doesn't mean there won't be blockages in the sewers here. In fact, the sewer system here always has problems, such as occasional sewer malfunctions and sewage backing up."

"However, after all, Bayam's sewer system is connected to the sea, and the seawater washes away most of the filth, so often the sewage recedes on its own before the official plumbers even arrive on site."

"That's what makes Bayam so great... Although there will be some filth, this ecosystem will eventually self-regulate."

"The same goes for the 'Devil' card in the sequence; it's just a coincidence that it comes to the wrong position, not an inevitable result."

Roger shrugged:

"The reason why demons stay in hell is because, according to the rules, they can only stay in hell. This has nothing to do with whether or not the gods intervene."

"In fact, the gods don't need to intervene."

"So, just as you said, although the 'wheel of fortune' has shown signs of turning, everything will eventually return to normal."

His words made it quite clear that he would deal with Bratov's influence in Bayam as soon as possible, and even Bratov himself.

Although there haven't been any major problems yet, maintaining the protection of the passengers and crew on the Obsidian is a burden for Alger. If this continues, both Pasu Island and the Wave Church will notice these anomalies, and Alger will face some trouble.

Hearing Roger say this, Alger, the "Hanged Man," breathed a slight sigh of relief:

"What you said makes a lot of sense."

"As for the reversed 'Star,' its interpretation depends on one factor... whether it is likely to be upright in future readings. What are your thoughts on this?"

Roger crossed his arms and looked intently at Alger.

This statement confirms his own speculation, namely whether Alger has indeed discovered the existence of a meteorite.

"In my opinion, at least for now, this possibility is unlikely."

Alger considered it for a moment and then answered.

"If that's the case, then we need to make some choices."

Roger nodded slightly and gently stroked Alger's stack of tarot cards with his right index finger and thumb.

Then card number 0, or 22, "The Fool," automatically fell into his hand.

This amazing move caught Alger's eye, and then Roger pushed the "Fool" card to his right hand, the position that symbolizes "gods".

"The Fool card represents choices and infinite possibilities. When spiritual guidance is obscured, the power of life itself will provide the answer."

This means that if you are unsure, you can consult Mr. Fool.

After all, Roger knew that his evil god friend was a diviner who controlled the "Source Castle," and even a simple divination on the "Source Castle" was enough to confirm many things.

Upon hearing this, Alger immediately nodded:

"What you said makes a lot of sense and has been very enlightening for me."

“You do indeed have profound insights into divination.”

Roger smiled as he heard Alger's praise once again.

You flatter me.

"As for this 'scepter' 3, it represents a stable and harmonious relationship."

"The first flame to ignite is a guiding light in the darkness; it is like a spark on the grassland that will eventually illuminate the entire night sky."

These words were spoken so subtly that Alger was momentarily confused.

"Is it possible..."

Suddenly, Alger thought of something.

"If Mr. Fool is the guide, then those who follow him will surely be enlightened as well."

"The starlight that illuminates the night sky, could it refer to divinity?... Yes, that's quite possible."

"After all, in the creation myth of the Orthodox Church, the gods are compared to 'light in the night sky' or 'morning star in the darkness'."

"In other words, Mr. 'Wheel of Fortune' is also reminding me that I don't need to dwell on his and Mr. 'World's' identities. I just need to remember one thing: as long as I focus on following Mr. 'Fool' and listen to His teachings, I will eventually be enlightened and possess true divinity?"

Alger, the "Hanged Man," recalled his previous conversation with "The World." In that meeting, Mr. "The World" had proactively connected himself with the card "The Fool," seemingly implying a connection between them.

Taking this factor into account, Alger became even more certain that his guess was correct.

"Thank you so much for your inspiration. I learned a lot today."

Alger, the "Hanged Man," appeared humble, placing his hand on his chest and bowing slightly to Roger as a sign of respect.

"It's just mutual exchange and learning."

Roger replied with a smile.

"By the way, I actually have another question about that set of cards."

He paused, then held the upright "Devil" card and the reversed "Star" card in his hand:
"If we consider these two cards together, do you have any new interpretations?"

As he spoke, Roger placed the two cards back on the table, and at the same time pushed the "Devil" card up slightly, making it level with the river in the reversed "Star" card.

At the same time, he casually tapped the "demon's" pair of black wings with his right index finger and calmly asked.

"..."

Alger was slightly taken aback. He quickly thought about it and then understood Roger's meaning.

"Does this sage have plans to explore the 'Blackwing Reef' recently? Is he seeking my opinion on this?"

He thought for a moment, then answered:

"When demons come to the sky, it will cause darkness to spread further. At this time, not only wisdom and divine enlightenment are needed, but also secret help."

The implication was that he was willing to assist Roger in exploring the "Blackwing Reef." This was not only out of enthusiasm as a fellow member of the "Tarot Society," but also because Alger hoped to gain some benefits from this exploration.

In fact, both sides had long been in agreement on this matter. Although Roger was powerful, without a "navigator" to lead his fleet, let alone breaking through the core area of ​​the "Blackwing Reef," simply getting close to that area of ​​water where it was easy to lose one's way was not an easy task.

"You're right, that's exactly right."

Upon hearing Roger's reply, Alger nodded, feeling much less nervous.

To be honest, he didn't want to sit in this coffee shop and have such a cryptic conversation with Mr. "Wheel of Fortune"—after all, he had already had such an exchange with Mr. "The World" once before.

It must be said that neither Mr. Wheel of Fortune nor Mr. World are any less skilled at telling or understanding riddles than I am. In the context of the “City of Generosity” Bayam being filled with spies from the Church of the “Lord of Storms”, this kind of communication, although it takes some brainpower, gives Alger a unique sense of security.

Most importantly, this in-person meeting allowed him to see the true face of Mr. "Wheel of Fortune" and seemed to have gained his approval.

Once this connection was established, it became much easier for Alger to do many things afterward.

"Thank you for the reading. I hope you have a nice afternoon."

Seeing that he and Alger had finished discussing the important matters, Roger stood up, leaning on his cane, and nodded slightly to Mr. "The Hanged Man".

"This dress is nice."

Before leaving, Roger, like Klein, made a comment on Mr. "The Hanged Man's" strange attire, which was completely out of character for him.

Although he didn't say things like "You don't suit this dress" like Klein did, he expressed the same meaning in a more polite way.

That's like saying, "This dress is nice, but whether it suits you is another matter..."

Having suffered two devastating blows in a row, Alger vowed in his heart that he would never dress up as a magician again in his life...

After leaving "Pamela's Fortune Telling Hut," Roger walked along, pondering the details of the fortune telling he had done for him by the "Hanged Man."

In fact, besides the superficial things Alger mentioned, there were many intriguing aspects to this divination—but only Roger could realize them.

The first card is "Wheel of Fortune," which perfectly reflects Roger's current situation.

Currently, everything is going smoothly for him. Not only is the process of collecting potion recipes and meteorites going very well, but he has even earned some extra money.

In terms of organizing the fleet, he was even more adept, thanks to Mitrom, who provided him with equipment and saved him a great deal of trouble.

However, for an extraordinary individual who possesses knowledge of the realm of destiny and wields the corresponding power, this is actually not a good thing. To paraphrase Roger's uncle James Abraham, "I'd rather have a close call than always have a smooth ride."

The general idea is that the development of fortune follows its own inherent laws, and both excessively good and excessively bad fortune can lead to the reversal of fortune.

Similar sayings include "after the worst comes the best" and "every gift of fate has its price already marked in secret."

In short, drawing the "Wheel of Fortune" card not only indicates Roger's occult connection with it, but also serves as a reminder that he must be very careful about what is about to happen, especially the obviously dangerous "Living Star Chart" ascension ceremony.

The second card also seems to symbolize this point; the so-called devil in power may also symbolize the unknown terror in the darkness.

This is not hard to understand. As the carrier of the "Great Alarm Clock" Geheros source material, he was destined to attract many enemies; it was only a matter of time.

As for the reversed "Star" card, one of the most basic meanings is that the "Star of Judgment" has fallen to the ground, and the river in the sky may also have a corresponding symbolic meaning, perhaps pointing to a great being.

In other words, if the stars want to return to the sky and to their rightful place, they need the cooperation of that great being—this involves both risks and opportunities, and it depends on how Roger manages to seize them.

As for the fourth card, the "Three of Wands," it is even more intriguing.

That likely represents the three pillars. The one floating in the air with flames is most likely the "Fallen Mother Goddess." The flames represent her greater power, but they also represent that she is searching for something.

This is very likely to correspond to the source matter "mother nest" left on Earth, as well as the forces corresponding to the two pathways of "mother" and "moon".

As for the two unlit and silent scepters below, they likely correspond to the other two pillars: "Lord of Mysteries" and "God".

Although the latter two are still in the process of convergence, their paths are very clear because the extraordinary characteristics and uniqueness of the sequence 1 of the corresponding eight pathways are all on Earth. However, the convergence will require a certain amount of time to complete.

In Roger's own divination, the "Star of Judgment" fell to earth and, based on the effect of aggregation, became connected with two other potential candidates for the pillars—whether it was Klein, Adam, Bethel Abraham, or even Amon, all of whom were having a strange connection with Roger.

Needless to say, Klein was also involved. At this time, Adam had also formed an alliance with Roger. This "Imaginary Angel" was betting on Roger to resolve the potential problems after he became a god. He even left the last Sequence 1 "Writer" extraordinary trait, "0-08," with Amon to help Roger clear obstacles on his path to becoming a demigod.

On the other hand, Adam even pointed Roger out Mr. Door's resurrection plan.

This is actually a calculated move. Even if the resurrected Mr. Door loses most of his memories, Roger's subsequent ascension ceremony will likely require His power. Otherwise, Roger would have to take a greater risk to confront those powerful beings in the starry sky.

However, to resurrect Mr. Door, there is an essential step: Mr. Door must first be killed, which means breaking his seal and bringing him back to the real world.

At that time, Amon will surely seize the opportunity to plot the divine position corresponding to the "gate" path—all of this will happen naturally, and Roger has no reason to refuse.

In fact, Amon hasn't been in a hurry to reclaim the Sequence 1 extraordinary property from Pales, because he's been waiting for this opportunity.

Therefore, although Amon is Roger's ally, he is also Klein's enemy. The two sides will inevitably have to fight each other until a new "Lord of Mysteries" is officially born.

"Forget it, these are all things for the future. Thinking about them now is just a headache. Let's deal with the things in front of us first."

Roger shook his head and muttered to himself with a hint of helplessness.

Afterward, he returned to the Santis Hotel to retrieve the logbook sent by Hernandez, slept for a while, got up and had a cup of coffee, and then went straight to Zorn's mansion.

When he returned the necklace he had stolen from the governor's mansion to the powerful merchant, the latter's eyes widened considerably.

To be honest, he originally only asked Roger to do it as an experiment, but he didn't expect that this seemingly ordinary young man would actually find the things for him.

After repeated verification and confirmation, Zorn was finally convinced and had his men fetch Roger a check for 3000 gold pounds.

"I don't want checks, I only want cash."

To everyone's surprise, Roger shook his head and refused.

This is easy to understand, because Zorn obviously didn't know about the recent attack on the Governor's Mansion by outsiders; otherwise, he wouldn't have taken such a risky step as writing Roger a check.

Regarding the original commission, since the Secretary-General of the Bayam Governor's Office had obtained Zorn's priceless treasure through improper means, he, as a bureaucrat, had countless ways to catch Zorn in the act during the customs inspection in Bayam.

Because the goods entered the port anonymously, Zorn had no chance to take effective countermeasures.

But now that this item is back in Zorn's hands, the situation is completely different.

Even if the Secretary General of the Bayam Governor's Office had great power, he couldn't just arbitrarily search Zorn's residence. Furthermore, Roger, who stole the ornament, hadn't been punished, so Zorn was now acting with impunity.

However, although the Bayam Governor's Mansion appears calm on the surface regarding Roy King's abduction, the situation inside is undoubtedly in turmoil.

The murder of a demigod and the theft of an important figure involved in the whereabouts of a level 0 sealed artifact have practically created a huge hole in Bayam's sky.

If nothing unexpected happens, MI9's intelligence forces in Bayam, both overt and covert, are certainly already fully mobilized. Any unusually large bank transfers or bill payments will definitely attract their attention.

Therefore, for Roger, not accepting the check was both a protection for Zorn and a protection for himself.

As expected, Zorn, the seasoned businessman, immediately became serious and lowered his head in deep thought after seeing Roger's reaction.

"Go and get cash for Mr. West."

"Yes, Mr. Zorn."

About ten minutes later, Roger, who was drinking 1286 Olmere wine, finally received a heavy brown paper bag.

He weighed it briefly and knew that the amount of money inside was correct.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Zorn."

Roger stood up and gave Zorn a slight bow.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. West."

At this point, Zorn showed Roger a degree of respect. After a moment's thought, he posed a new question to Roger:
"Mr. West, if, I mean if, I want to hire you as my bodyguard later, is that possible?"

"It depends on the risk level of the task and the compensation you can offer."

Roger paused, then smiled again:

"In fact, you may not need me to protect you personally at all... My men might be of some use."

"Ok."

Although Zorn was clearly disappointed, he had received Roger's promise, which put his mind at ease.

After leaving Zorn's mansion, Roger went straight to the Portlu Market, which was not yet open for business, and found Rossman idling around.

“Mr. Mattus, it’s so good to meet you.”

The jewel dealer immediately beamed when he saw Roger.

“My name is West. If I ever hear you mispronounce my name again, I’ll blow your head off.”

Roger frowned slightly, took out the "Death-Defying Revolver," and pointed it at Rothman's head.

"Yes, yes, Mr. West."

Rossman was immediately terrified and turned pale. He straightened up with all his might and begged for mercy repeatedly with a look of panic on his face.

"I've already paid off Zorn's debt."

Roger pursed his lips and put away his gun.

"From this day forward, I, Rossman, am your man, Mr. West, and I am willing to serve you faithfully..."

"Stop talking nonsense and do me a favor."

Roger sighed and interrupted the guy's rambling nonsense:
"Help me find some goods."

"What cargo?"

Upon hearing this, Rossman immediately became interested.

"15 ml of pure liquid mercury, 15 drops of honeysuckle essential oil, and 50 ml each of lake water and glacial water."

These are the auxiliary ingredients for the "Recorder" potion recipe, Sequence 6 of the "Apprentice" path, which was prepared in advance for Bandit. In addition to these, three pages of a diary with a history of more than twenty-two years are also required, as well as a certain amount of seawater.

Seawater was naturally very easy for Roger to obtain, and the twenty-two-year-old diary had already been found—the previous decades-old nautical logbook was sufficient.

Roger only needed to select some suitable paragraphs that conformed to the diary format, transcribe them, and then remove the original paper.

On the other hand, he also specifically told Rossman about the dosage, which was a move made with the possibility of error.

"Okay, I'll have it all ready for you by tomorrow afternoon."

Although Rothman was somewhat frustrated that Roger's demands were generally of low value, meaning he wouldn't gain much, he was still willing to do anything for his boss, considering that Roger had just paid off a huge debt for him.

After explaining things to Rossman and confirming that he had shaken off his pursuers, Roger returned to the "Star Lord".

As soon as he returned to the ship, the first thing he did was call Philip and Lindsay over for a meeting.

As for Zeus, he was assisting Matteo with some ship maintenance work and was temporarily unable to leave.

During this time, he was unusually proactive in all his work on the ship. Roger knew that this was not only his responsibility as the second mate, but also an attempt to digest the "Sailor" potion.

In fact, the same effort was also being made by Philip, the first mate of the "Star Lord". Ever since he learned of the existence of the "Acting Method", he has been consciously inspecting the three ships, arbitrating and mediating some conflicts between sailors, in order to accelerate the process of digesting the "Arbitrator" potion that he had not fully digested before and which had left hidden dangers for his promotion.

As for the role of the "sheriff," Philippe has been thinking about it and has begun to experiment. If all goes well, he will soon find a clear direction.

"I called you here today because I need to announce a battle plan on short notice."

Roger glanced at the two people in front of him and spoke slowly.

(End of this chapter)