Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 321 The Experiment of Ouroboros

Although those distorted shadow creatures clearly possessed divinity no less than that of a Sequence 4 level being, they lacked much combat intelligence.

Not to mention that "Demon Slayer" has an extraordinary suppressive effect on all kinds of evil. Under the combined attack of Roger, who has the strength of Sequence 4 in both pathways, and "Fallen Shadow" who has "Demon Slayer", many shadow creatures could not withstand it and fled into the dark shadows with howls.

For a time, on the main street of this abandoned city-state, only the largest minotaur, covered in shadow armor, and many shadow minions clearly loyal to it remained fighting against Roger.

This minotaur was clearly the leader of those shadow creatures; it seemed to have received some special instruction and had a particular obsession with this human city-state.

Even though the "Fallen Shadow" had already planted the "Demon Slayer" into the ground and unleashed the "Storm of Light," it was cornered and did not choose to escape. Instead, it willingly accepted being chopped into pieces and vanished into ashes in the scorching light of dawn.

Soon, a piece of crystal-clear black hand bone fell to the ground. Roger had an idea and walked over to pick it up.

"I never expected that these monsters would actually possess the extraordinary characteristics of the 'Black Knights.' I thought they were just servants of the 'True Creator's' divinity."

Roger thought for a moment, then shook his head:

"No, all the other minotaurs should be like this, only this leader is different..."

"I wonder why it insists on staying in this city... What's here?"

Roger looked puzzled. He shook his head and turned to look into the shadows.

"Boss, come out, stop hiding."

As soon as Roger finished speaking, he heard the sound of leather shoes hitting the ground.

Wearing a pointed soft hat, a classic black robe, and a monocle embedded in his right eye socket, Amon walked out with a smile, while gently applauding Roger.

"After becoming a demigod, his perception improved significantly, and he was able to detect me."

"Although this is just a clone, it is still worthy of praise."

Roger's face darkened upon hearing this, because Amon's implication was that there had been times when He had been secretly monitoring Roger without Roger's knowledge.

That must not have been the time I attended the founding ceremony of the Stray Animal Protection Association in Tingen; it must have been at some other time.

However, unlike Adam, Amon cannot be entirely trusted.

Even though He was unusually serious about Roger, He didn't hesitate to find amusement in Roger and enjoy watching him get humiliated.

"Stop fooling around. Why did you come here? Did you come specifically to find me?"

Roger looked at Amon with some curiosity and said:

“I went to the ‘Good Things’ general store to return the ‘parasite gloves’, but you didn’t open the door.”

"I can give it to you today."

But Amon just chuckled:

"When did you start having the illusion that you hadn't returned it to me?"

After saying that, he pulled a black leather glove from his chest and waved it at Roger like a child showing off his prank.

"what?"

Roger was slightly taken aback. He quickly searched his own body and looked at Amon with a blank expression after a moment.

"When did you take it? I didn't feel anything."

"If you can sense that I'm about to relinquish my position as the Angel King in the 'Thief' pathway."

Amon laughed.

"As expected of the god of deception."

Roger, realizing what was happening, immediately gave Amon a thumbs-up.

Since the items had already been stolen, he knew that Amon must have something to say or wanted to help him at this time, and his eyes revealed anticipation.

Is 'The Forsaken Land' fun?

Amon winked at Roger and asked.

"It's not exactly fun, it's just a bit boring."

Roger shook his head and said sincerely:

"To be honest, I really want to eat Fenerbaht pasta and grilled Sunia shrimp right now."

"By the way, you're here because there's something special about this place, right?"

"Why don't you finish reading that string of words on the ground first?"

Amon remained noncommittal; he pointed to the inscription on the stone pavement that Roger had not yet finished reading.

"correct."

Roger then realized what was happening, turned around, squatted down, and continued reading.

"Main Street... Fog City?"

Roger strained to make out the name, and then read it again from top to bottom:
"Main Street of Fog City?"

He seemed to have seen the name somewhere before. After a moment's thought, Roger asked somewhat uncertainly:
"I think I've seen this name in the Aurora Society's scriptures... It says that this city was a city-state that abandoned the faith in the 'original creator' and was eventually destroyed?"

"Yes, the name of this place is 'Fog City'."

"As for the part of the record you read, it is also about this place, but that part of the record looks very old, but it is actually not that old."

Amon nodded, and began to stroll slowly through the streets of Fog City, looking up at the building with a cross-shaped spire at the highest point of the city.

"This is a city-state that once believed in a 'true creator,' and in a sense, it is a part of the 'Aurora Society' in a broader sense."

"Is this place related to the 'Aurora Festival'?"

Roger was quite surprised.

He looked towards the outskirts of the city:
“I see signs that this place was once cultivated. How could this be?”

"Give me a gold pound and I'll tell you."

Amon smiled.

"..."

Roger's lips twitched. He took out a gold pound coin from his pocket and handed it to Amon.

Amon took the coin and flicked it into the air with his finger.

When Amon caught it again, he looked at the coin in his hand with great anticipation.

However, when He saw it clearly, He showed a look of disappointment.

Although Roger couldn't quite understand what Amon's actions were, he could generally tell that it was a form of divination.

"Thieves" are not skilled in divination, so Roger judged that Amon probably wanted to verify some conjecture.

"Boss, if you need divination skills, I can lend you mine for a few days."

Roger looked serious, his face radiating the sincerity of "Come and steal from me."

"...I think you want to die."

Amon couldn't help but curse. In all his long life, the last time he felt clearly provoked was because of that guy Medici.

Amon had considered stealing Roger's abilities, but from a mystical perspective, the guy's abilities were so numerous it was like raising a venomous insect.

He couldn't be sure what would happen if he directly stole Roger's power; he figured being blown to bits into a bunch of "Time Worms" would be the best outcome.

"...Getting back to the point, what were you going to say just now?"

Roger composed himself and continued asking.

"...You come from the starry sky, you should know the true identity of the 'Primordial Moon', right?"

Amon adjusted his monocle and looked at Roger.

"know."

Roger nodded:

"The owner of the 'mother nest,' right?"

"You do know a lot."

Amon was somewhat surprised that Roger knew about the existence of the "Mother Nest" source, but his expression remained unchanged.

"Then you should know that the 'Moon' and 'Mother' pathways both belong to Him, right?"

Seeing Roger nod, Amon continued:

“There was once a sealed artifact in Fog City that evolved from the extraordinary trait of the ‘Creator’ of the ‘Moon’ pathway Sequence 2. The effect of that sealed artifact was to allow life to grow normally in a certain area, which is why you can see them cultivating the land and obtaining food.”

"I see."

Roger suddenly understood after hearing Amon's words.

This is quite different from the effect of the divine-level sealed artifact in "Silver City," which may be the difference in the manifestation of authority between "Wasteland Matriarch" and "Creator."

"So, what are its side effects?"

he asked again.

"The side effect is that every once in a while, one to three people in 'Fog City' will be randomly transformed into monsters made of blood. These monsters will transform all non-human beings below the middle rank and ordinary people into similar blood monsters by sucking their blood. Therefore, 'Fog City' has always had a monitoring mechanism for this."

Amon continued:

"In fact, the reason I say that 'Fog City' is part of 'Aurora Society' is because this was once the place where Ouroboros developed followers for the 'True Creator'... He took a liking to the good conditions here and thus chose it."

"Urelius himself has shown up?"

Roger was somewhat surprised. He had originally thought that all the city-states in the “Forsaken Land” were like the “Silver City”, where there were no angels to guide them and the saints were the highest decision-makers. However, he did not expect that the “Mist City” would actually have an angel king personally in charge.

"That's not true."

Amon shook his head:

"There is also an underground space in Fog City, which contains many murals related to that snake. In most cases, it appears as a symbol. In the thousands of years of Fog City's development, it has never actually visited this place more than three times. Most of the time, it has only monitored this place through various means."

"You might be wondering why the exploration teams from other human survivor city-states, especially 'Silver City,' haven't discovered this place?"

Seeing Roger nod, Amon continued:
"In fact, 'Fog City' is very close to discovering 'Silver City,' but 'Silver City' is still a long way from discovering 'Fog City.'"

'In terms of distance, the two are not far apart... but this is actually one of the effects of that 'Creator' seal. If it hadn't been branded by it, the city and the surrounding darkness would have looked like one from the outside... until it was destroyed by Ouroles, it became visible from the outside.'

"As for why 'Fog City' did not come into contact with 'Silver City,' the main reason is that 'Fog City' was an experiment of Ouroluus. He wanted to cultivate a cleaner belief system, so he applied a special supernatural effect to the residents of 'Fog City,' causing them to always pass by other human survivor city-states."

Roger nodded:

"I understand. You just said that Ouroboros destroyed 'Mist City'. Why was that?"

"Because some residents of 'Fog City' have begun to worship the 'primitive moon'."

Amon shook his head:

"It's incredible, isn't it? After all, you can't even see the moon in the 'Forsaken Land,' yet this kind of worship has appeared. This has directly shaken the 'Fog City's' faith in the 'True Creator.'"

"In fact, this was one of the inherent problems of that 'Creator' seal artifact... Ulorus originally thought that these problems had improved over time, but He clearly underestimated the immortality of this effect."

“Even though there are still some people in ‘Fog City’ who believe in the ‘True Creator,’ Ulorus believes that its purity has been lost and that the belief in the ‘Primordial Moon’ must be completely eradicated. In his subsequent investigation, he also discovered that almost all the residents of ‘Fog City’ have that mark, which is the core mechanism by which it transforms normal humans into blood monsters.”

Roger nodded:

"So Urelius later sent those 'true creator's' servants to attack and destroy 'Mist City'?"

That's not accurate.

Amon denied Roger's claim:

"The shadowy creatures you saw originally lived in the underground of the church in the city. They were one of the forces that guarded 'Fog City'. They were once called 'servants of God' by the people of 'Fog City'. They were also responsible for hunting blood monsters."

"These shadow creatures were only one factor in the destruction of 'Fog City.' The real main force was one of Urolius's subordinates, who, through a series of meticulous plans, without relying on extraordinary power, personally orchestrated the devastating calamity that befell 'Fog City' and ultimately led to its destruction."

"She thus completed the 'Mage of Misfortune' ascension ceremony and was promoted to a Sequence 4 Saint."

"As for the 'Creator' seal, it was sealed by Urolius in a special space, and it will not come out again unless something unexpected happens."

"she?"

Roger astutely captured this persona:
"Do I know this saint? Is she in the Aurora Society?"

"Yes."

Amon nodded.

"Venera, the Saint of Calamity?"

Roger asked tentatively.

"Yes."

Roger, having received confirmation from Amon, suddenly had a sense of realization.

He had always suspected a connection between "Saint of Calamity" Vinera and "Angel of Fate" Urolius, and today he finally received confirmation from Amon.

Based on Bernadette's account of the time when Vinera defected from the "Council of Fate," she should have been developed into a subordinate by Ullolius during the low sequence period. Her main purpose in infiltrating the "School of Life" should also have been to steal the "Dice of Fate," a level 0 sealed artifact that corresponds to the uniqueness of the "Wheel of Fate" pathway.

After the theft failed, Vinera had no choice but to temporarily leave the "School of Life" and join the "Aurora Society" as one of the five saints—of course, now there are four saints.

"If that's the case, isn't my relationship with this 'Saint of Calamity' a bit complicated?"

Roger rubbed his temples:

“Within the Aurora Society, Vinera and I were almost openly hostile, but from the perspective of the ‘True Creator,’ there was a possibility of cooperation between us.”

"...Speaking of which, I have something to confirm with you. So, did Adam ascend to godhood?"

"Hmm, it seems you understand what I mean."

Amon nodded, confirming Roger's statement.

"So, can I interpret this as Adam wanting me to work with Vinera within the 'Aurora Society'?"

Roger asked again.

"You can't say that."

Amon shook his head:

"Given what you have done to the 'True Creator,' it's highly unlikely that Vignella will cooperate with you until Adam truly obtains the authority of the 'Hanged Man' pathway."

"How about it, it's difficult, isn't it?"

He smiled and looked at Roger.

"really."

Roger didn't deny it; he remarked with emotion.

The current situation is indeed somewhat difficult. It means he needs to wait, neither completely severing ties with "Saint of Calamity" Vinera, nor allowing her to gain an advantage in the Aurora Society's power struggle. In other words, the two sides are both enemies and friends. To put it more broadly, this actually represents Roger's view on the ownership of the "Monster" pathway sequence 0.

"This difficult problem is now in your hands."

Amon shrugged:

“I can be frank with you, the ‘Wheel of Fate’ path is very special, and you are a very important variable in the competition between Will Onsetin and Urolius for the 0th position of the godhood in this path… or rather, before the new ‘Lord of Mysteries’ is truly born, your influence on the River of Fate may be even greater.”

What did Adam say?

Roger raised an eyebrow and inquired about the opinion of this newly minted "dreamer".

"His attitude has always been that the capable should take the lead, or to be more precise, that fate chooses its sequence 0, rather than sequence 0 choosing its own fate."

Amon replied.

"Hmm, okay, I'll have to think about it."

Roger nodded:

"Speaking of which, 'Mist City' isn't completely wiped out, right?"

Although twenty years have passed since the destruction of Fog City, Roger still managed to detect some anomalies using his "Secret Insight".

"This is another thing I want to tell you."

Amon nodded:

“When Urelius was dealing with the issue of destroying ‘Mist City,’ he gave Vinera considerable discretion. She ultimately decided to release the ‘Mist City’ members who were most devout in their faith in the ‘True Creator’ and see how long they could survive without the protection of a divine seal.”

So, they survived?

Roger was somewhat surprised; for these people who had left the city-state, it was almost impossible to survive in the "forsaken land."

"Some survived and have continued to live to this day."

Amon confirmed:
"Of course, their situation is precarious... You need to confirm the specifics further."

"If you can find them, you can do whatever you want with them."

Dispose of it arbitrarily?

Roger raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

To be honest, he needed to confirm whether those people were abnormal. After all, according to Amon, they had been branded with the mark of immortality, and Vinera did not kill them purely out of recognition of their faith.

But in reality, these people are already considered bad believers by the "true creator." Heaven knows what problems exist within them. Amon probably wanted to see how Roger would deal with these people.

"There should be clues about the survivors of 'Fog City' within the city itself; you can search around there."

Seeing that Roger remained silent, Amon added another sentence to himself.

"ok, I know, thank you."

He expressed his gratitude to Amon.

In any case, Amon could say or not say this, but if he had to show up and say something, Roger would have to express his gratitude.

Where do you plan to go next?

Roger asked again.

“I’ll take a look around the underground space here; there are some interesting things there.”

Amon replied:

"I won't be leaving anytime soon. If you make any interesting discoveries, feel free to come find me."

“You are welcome to bring those humans from outside in to explore, as long as they don’t eat random things or go underground for no reason, I don’t care.”

"it is good."

Roger nodded, and very straightforwardly washed the side of the "Traveler's Dice" that corresponded to the captain's cabin of the "Mad Blade" and re-signed a contract with the main street of "Mist City".

Now that the situation in "Fog City" has been basically figured out and the "servants of the gods" lurking within the city have been eliminated, Roger doesn't mind using this place as a fixed coordinate for external exploration.

At the same time, since the destruction of "Fog City" was very hasty, it is possible that some useful sealed artifacts or valuable items may have been left behind.

"Good going."

Roger said to Amon.

"Bye-Bye."

Amon waved at Roger without uttering a sound, but his mouth made the Chinese "baibai".

Roger felt a chill run down his spine, but Amon didn't give him a chance to say another word. He just laughed and then left the main street, heading towards the spire church in the very center of "Fog City".

"...As expected of Amon, he always manages to give me a shock when I'm most relaxed."

Roger was momentarily confused about Amon's intentions in doing that. This act, which seemed to be both teasing and intimidation, made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

He watched Amon's figure disappear completely before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Roger put away the "Demon Slayer" and then suddenly squatted down.

The next second, he used the anti-gravity field created by his "gravity" ability to launch himself out and fly towards the exploration team's resting place.

"Your Excellency, 'Mysterious Queen,' something is flying over there."

At the campsite, Ophina ran over to report to Bernadette.

With Roger, the backbone of the "Star Lord," absent, Bernadette is the strongest person here. Compared to Leomaster, the "Black Saint" who looks mentally unstable, Ophina prefers to communicate with Bernadette.

"Don't worry, that's your captain returning."

Bernadette didn't even look up; she just kept pouring water from the kettle and drinking it.

"Oh……"

Ophina breathed a sigh of relief; she was one of the few who knew that Roger had only left an avatar here.

So she called Zeus and the others to stand near the campfire at the campsite and gaze at the black dot that was flying rapidly in the lightning flash.

Roger did not enter the camp directly, but first retrieved the clone created by the "Dreamweaver" ability before approaching Ophina.

"Captain, are you alright?"

Seeing that Roger was unharmed, Ophina and the others breathed a sigh of relief. As soon as he landed, they surrounded him and asked him questions.

"Well, I'm fine."

Roger nodded, glanced around at the people resting in the makeshift camp, and then spoke:

"Don't disturb everyone. After everyone has rested, we can explore that lost human city-state."

"A lost human city-state? Is that confirmed?"

Bernadette asked with some curiosity.

"It's confirmed. I've already eliminated those divine monsters inside."

Roger nodded and gave Bernadette a general account of what he had seen and heard in "Fog City," but he made some appropriate rhetoric and embellishments, while omitting the part about his meeting with Amon.

"If that's the case, then it is indeed a very valuable location."

Bernadette nodded:

"If a group of residents of 'Fog City' did indeed leave, there might be clues to their whereabouts in 'Fog City'... and there should also be many valuable relics left behind in that city."

"Yes, as long as we don't eat anything in there, there won't be any problems."

Roger then remembered Amon's parting words and spoke at the opportune moment.

Bernadette nodded, indicating that she would instruct her staff to keep this in mind.

"By the way, Bernadette, I'm going to say hello to the 'Star Admiral,' you don't mind, do you?"

Bernadette paused for a moment, then nodded:
"No comment."

Seeing Bernadette lost in thought again, Roger stood up and walked straight toward Cattleya, who was dressed in a bulky black robe.

Seeing Roger approaching, Cattleya, who had been somewhat nonchalant, suddenly tensed up. She stared intently into the darkness ahead, remaining motionless.

Roger chuckled and plopped down next to Cattleya with a "plop".

"Your Excellency, King of the Galaxy, what are your thoughts?"

Cattleya bit her lip, trying to calm herself down, and asked.

Just call me Roger.

Roger's lips curled up, revealing his teeth:

"I was wondering why you hadn't replied to my invitation to explore the 'Forsaken Land,' but I didn't expect you to have arrived so quietly."

"The Hermit Lady".

Roger said those last few words in a low voice.

After a long pause, Cattleya sighed softly:
"Nothing can be hidden from you."

"piece of cake."

Roger waved his hand, took out a packet of Pupa jam-filled cookies from his pocket, and handed it to Cattleya:
"Eat?"

"Uh...thank you."

Gadriya was speechless at Roger's contrasting behavior, which seemed like he was giving snacks to a child.

However, she eventually took the cookie, opened the outer paper packaging, pushed it between herself and Roger, and took out a piece to eat.

"...Have you finished modifying the 'True Star Map'?"

After a long while, Cattleya asked.

"Yes, the modification is complete. I plan to find an opportunity to place it near 'Silver City' and then have Mr. 'Sun' pick it up when he has time."

Roger nodded slightly and explained his plan.

"...How did you do that?"

Caldelia couldn't help but ask the question. As an "astrologer," she was genuinely curious about Roger's methods.

"The effect of a certain '0' level sealed item."

Roger responded with a half-truth.

In a sense, the "Primal Core" is indeed a level 0 sealed artifact, and that makes sense.

"……All right."

Cattleya nodded, though she still had many questions, she ultimately refrained from asking them.

Since the "Wheel of Fortune" in front of her had no intention of telling her, she didn't feel comfortable asking.

What's in that city?

Cattleya pressed for more information, just like a curious child.

“Those extraordinary individuals who use the ‘Spy’ pathway are truly curious…”

Roger mentally complained as he repeated to Cattleya what he and Bernadette had said to each other.

He emphasized the point about not eating random things, and instructed Cattleya to make sure to inform her subordinates.

"Uh……"

Cattleya raised an eyebrow:
"Don't worry, my crew will definitely not have that problem."

"Oh……"

Upon hearing this, Roger suddenly realized something; he suddenly remembered the existence of Frank Lee.

For the crew of the "Future", this crazy first mate was definitely a dangerous person, and not eating random things should have become a creed engraved in their bones.

With that, he stopped worrying about it. After exchanging some more astrological questions with Cattleya, the "General of the Stars" said he needed to rest for a while.

Roger also rested for a while, and along the way he had "Fallen Shadow" work with Bernadette to keep watch and protect everyone's safety.

After about a hundred lightning strikes, Roger was awakened by Bandit's cat claws.

"what?"

Roger asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Meow……"

Bandit lowered his voice:

“I just woke up and saw Leomaster kneeling and praying. Do you want to go see him?”

"Uh."

Upon hearing this, Roger immediately sat up and saw Leomaster kneeling on the ground, muttering something to himself.

He didn't dare delay and went over immediately.

But Roger did not disturb Leomaster; instead, he stood beside him and together they chanted the name of the “True Creator.”

He read aloud while listening to what Leomaster was saying.

After a while, Roger's furrowed brows finally relaxed. The other person was just reciting some specific prayers and did not seem to be using the ability to "listen".

This relieved Roger, who continued to silently recite similar prayers. Having read the "Aurora Society" scriptures, he could almost recite their contents by heart.

After a long while, Leomaster finally stopped talking and looked at Roger with approval.

After Roger finished praying, the "Black Saint" spoke softly:
“Roger, you are truly a devout believer of the Lord… You will surely ascend to the Lord’s Kingdom soon and become an angel serving Him.”

"Going to heaven, my ass..."

If Roger hadn't known that Leomaster was mentally unstable, he would have definitely thought that Leomaster was cursing him.

He praised it without batting an eye:

"Praise my Lord!"

"Praise my Lord!"

Leomaster said the same thing, and then he brought up another matter:

"Roger, we've been in the 'Forsaken Land' for some time now. Does my lord have any new instructions?"

"This one……"

Roger was about to answer when he suddenly heard the sound of prayer in his ear once again.

(End of this chapter)