Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 337 The Three Giants of Extraordinary Creatures

Roger quickly arrived at the central stone platform of the "Primal Core" and looked up at the rust-colored star representing Linseria Louise in the spiritual sky.

At that moment, the star was twinkling slightly. Roger connected with it spiritually and soon heard her prayer.

"Reporting to the captain, since our last meeting, I have been leading the crew further east towards 'Silver City'—which, as you said, should be roughly to the east."

"At first, we were able to see some living creatures, including groups of monsters or powerful supernatural beings."

"We lost two more teammates along the way... but thankfully the vast majority of us survived."

"But as we entered a narrow canyon, the number of these creatures dwindled, which quickly alerted us, as this usually meant that there might be extremely powerful supernatural beings that ordinary creatures could not get close to."

"This made us very uneasy. We even deliberately created some openings to try and lure the monsters closer, but it had no effect."

"Moreover, the lightning in this area is more frequent than in other places. Although the frequent thunderstorms illuminate the night sky, they also make us feel more uneasy."

"Just when we all started to feel fear and wanted to leave the canyon, we made an unexpected discovery."

Linssaya paused, seemingly recalling the specific scene, before continuing:
"We started encountering severed limbs belonging to humans of different ages, genders, and physical conditions, and even some severed limbs of monsters and supernatural beings."

"This is clearly not caused by those monsters that prey on humans in the dark, because these corpses do not have obvious bite marks or irregular wounds. On the contrary, all the wounds and limbs seem to have been cut straight, with very smooth and flat cut surfaces."

"On the other hand, both these monsters and humans are missing parts of their bodies, and the missing parts are not the same."

"It took us a long time to find the two heads, but what shocked us was that these heads did not have facial features, but instead had a face as blank as a sheet of paper."

"This terrified many of my tactical squad members, but I immediately thought of the 'Mirror God's' method of killing that you once mentioned."

"If you have time, I think you should come and take a look. While you're at it, could you please bring us some drinks, chocolates, and tobacco? Thank you, Captain."

Linselia's message ended there, and the spiritual sky calmed down again, returning to its tranquil state.

However, Roger fell into deep thought, because Lindsay's report was indeed too bizarre, just as she had said.

According to Linsaya, the route she and her tactical squad took was not short, but the density of supernatural creatures and twisted monsters along the way was far lower than the average level in the "Forsaken Lands," which was undoubtedly something a "Mirror God" could not achieve.

On the other hand, judging from the state of the "Mirror God" that Roger saw, it shouldn't have absorbed and stitched together so many human and monster remains. Therefore, the strange canyon mentioned by Linssaya should only be one of the areas the "Mirror God" passed through, and there should be something even more terrifying there.

Roger thought for a moment, and then he wrote a letter to Bentley Morris, stating that he needed to purchase from the Church of Knowledge books on the mutual translation between Ancient Giants and Ancient Fursac, as well as comparative materials between Ancient Fursac and several major languages ​​of the modern Northland.

This is to help the "readers" of "New Fog City" learn and master the ability to read academic materials from the countries of the Northern Continent. With this language ability, they can truly access the latest developments in science and supernatural knowledge from the outside world.

On the other hand, Roger also stated that he needed a large number of academic books and reference materials in medicine, pharmacy, anatomy, biology, engineering, mathematics, physics, ritual magic, psychoanalysis, and symbolism, and hoped that Bentley would provide a total price for all of these needs, which he could collect in person if necessary.

After doing this, Roger bought the potion recipes for Sequence 9 to Sequence 7 of the "Generalist" pathway from Cattleya, and sent a letter to Sam, asking him to purchase five sets of the main and auxiliary materials needed for the "Generalist" potion from Mr. C, with Cecilia reimbursing him for any expenses incurred.

The main purpose of this is that although "New Fog City" currently has many extraordinary individuals who excel in research through the "Reader" pathway, they are still somewhat inferior to extraordinary individuals through the "General Knowledge" pathway in terms of hands-on skills and invention.

Roger hoped that there would be both types of extraordinary individuals in New Fog City. He had discussed this issue with Alexis in advance. After evaluation, the elder believed that the benefits of introducing a third extraordinary path into New Fog City at present outweighed the drawbacks. In terms of management, they only needed to be included in the ranks of "Readers", but these "Generalists" should not be allowed to participate in specific religious affairs and should focus on invention and creation.

After arranging everything, Roger found Bandit again, asked for its opinion, and then took the cat with him, using the "Traveler's" ability to teleport to the coordinates where Linssaya had sent out her prayer.

Unlike last time, this time Linssaya was noticeably less excited and saddened upon seeing Roger. She simply led the exploration team members to greet Roger, reported on the current situation, and handed over the ashes of the two fallen team members to Roger.

Roger observed Linseria carefully for a while and finally determined that this "Witch of Pain" had developed a certain resistance to pain during the process of digesting the potion, and that her and her tactical squad's mentality had also changed.

This is the growth of a warrior. In this "forsaken land" that is like an eternal night, danger, hardship, and death are unavoidable. But as long as the goal is clear, the warrior will always wipe away his tears and set off again, transforming little by little until he has superb combat skills and a heart of steel.

This was a choice made jointly by Linsaya and her team. Currently, many members of the team have already digested the potion from the previous stage and are ready to advance. Linsaya has also recorded the current pathway sequence of these people and reported it to Roger.

"Everyone has worked hard."

Roger stood in the middle of the narrow valley, looked around at the small team, and then decisively took out snacks, drinks, tobacco and various supplies.

He knew he didn't need to give these people any "instructions" because they already understood their direction. For soldiers, only direct and quick rewards were the greatest comfort.

Linsaya had emphasized this point in her previous prayers, and sure enough, when the warriors saw the supplies provided by Roger, their previously tense faces broke into rare smiles.

Although they longed for these things, they didn't rush to grab them. Instead, they lined up in an orderly fashion under Linsaya's guidance. It seemed that their discipline and self-control had greatly improved since the group was first formed, and Linsaya's personal prestige was also much higher than before.

After distributing the supplies, Roger took a small bottle of wine and a small bag of pomegranates, sat down next to Linssaya, and chatted with her while drinking.

After discussing with Lindsay, Roger had a basic grasp of the current situation. After a moment's thought, he asked again:
Have you checked for footprints or other traces on the ground?

"Have."

Linselia nodded:
"We analyzed the footprints on the ground and found traces of charring and fire, as well as some footprints that are similar in shape and size to human footprints."

“Apart from that, there was almost nothing else... except for the corpse that appeared to have been cut up by the ‘Mirror God’.”

"How many days have you been walking in this valley? It seems very dry here. Have you found any water sources?"

Roger frowned and asked again.

"It's been about a week. As for the water source, we sometimes hear the sound of groundwater in this area. We also seem to have seen an underground channel, but no one dares to go in."

Linssaya answered without hesitation.

"That's a bit strange."

Roger shook his head:

"Although this is a 'forsaken land,' as long as most monsters still have normal bodies and metabolic functions, they need to drink water."

“In the wild, water sources are very important. There is a bioaccumulation effect where there is water. So, in the situation you described, either the water is highly toxic or polluted, or there are no monsters around at all.”

"Do you remember where that culvert is? I need to collect some water to test it."

"remember."

Linssaya began to speak:
“If you follow this valley outwards, there is a cliff on the left side in the middle. If you stand on it, you can hear the sound of water.”

"it is good."

Roger nodded, and he took Bandit with him, the two of them flying away.

On the way, the tabby cat spoke with some concern:
"Roger, there's something wrong with this valley."

"I can also see that there's a problem."

Roger shook his head:

“That area is too strange. I just checked there with ‘Secret Insight’ and there were no toxic substances on the ground, or even any traces of supernatural power.”

"This means that it wasn't an external force that killed or drove them away. I really can't figure out what could do that."

"You and I are talking about different points."

Bandit refuted Roger's claim:
“There is something on the other side of the canyon. I don’t know what it is, but it makes me feel extremely dangerous.”

"The other side?"

Roger frowned:

"Are you referring to the opposite direction we're flying in now?"

"Yes, that's the direction Linssaya and the others are heading."

Bandit nodded and admitted it.

"That doesn't make sense either... Never mind, let's find the water source first."

Roger shook his head. He had a strong feeling that the water source was related to the humans who had been attacked by the "Mirror God".

When Roger and his cat arrived at their destination, they indeed saw the sound of flowing water coming from a hidden, sunken cave, suggesting that there was indeed a hidden channel buried there.

Roger used the Traveler's ability to retrieve objects from a distance to collect water three times at three different locations within ten minutes, and then used Secret Insight to analyze the properties of the water.

"The first batch of water was perfectly normal, with a small amount of plankton in it, but it was not toxic and could be considered a natural water body."

"The second batch of water contained no plankton, but a small number of bacteria, and it also lacked supernatural powers."

"The third batch of water was quite unusual; it contained traces of what appeared to be mammalian excrement, which could be human."

Roger made a quick judgment.

"If it were human excrement, where do you think those people would be?"

Bandit asked with great interest, because if it was human excrement, it meant that there was indeed a human survivor city-state nearby.

The previous experiences in "Fog City" and "New Fog City" greatly enriched Bandit's knowledge and made its "Traveler's Potion" noticeably digested. Now the cat is looking forward to Roger finding another human settlement where it can further broaden its horizons and learn new knowledge.

"Judging from the direction of the water flow, it is very likely the very dangerous place you mentioned."

Roger made a reasonable deduction, which, frankly, was very far-fetched, because in an extremely dangerous area, there would likely be no survivors.

Of course, another possibility is that the city-state possessed a powerful extraordinary being at the angel level, and that this angel harbored strong hostility towards outsiders, which would have given Bandit that feeling.

Sometimes, animals have a far greater instinct for danger than humans. Even if Roger were a demigod, he wouldn't dare say that his subconscious reactions in this regard were as accurate as Bandit's.

"Let's go back first, no matter what."

After some thought, Roger decided to take Bandit back to meet up with Linssaya and the others first, and then formulate a specific exploration plan.

After Roger and the cat flew back to the location where Linseria and her exploration team had temporarily set up camp, Roger recounted the situation he had gathered to Linseria. The "Witch of Pain" suddenly said:
"Captain, one of our two fallen brothers also mentioned the situation that Bandit described."

"That was a member who was born with some of the extraordinary characteristics of a Sequence 9 'Secret Seeker,' and whose spiritual intuition was significantly stronger than that of other extraordinary individuals of the same sequence."

“He said that direction made him feel uneasy. I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time, but now that I hear you say this, I’m afraid he really did sense something unusual back then.”

Roger nodded after hearing Lindsay's words, and then said:
"Please allow me to perform a divination."

Then, under the watchful eyes of the many members of the tactical squad, Roger pulled out a deck of tarot cards.

This tarot deck is incomplete; it does not have the 22 Major Arcana cards, but rather only the 56 Minor Arcana cards.

This was a possible method of divination that Roger had heard his uncle James talk about when he was very young, and that James was researching.

In other words, if the diviner understands astrology and this knowledge is deeply ingrained in the roots of the mind, they can use the Minor Arcana cards to perform simple astrological divination for certain specific, long-term matters that cannot be quickly divined through celestial phenomena.

This divination method does not directly refer to celestial phenomena, but rather uses astrological knowledge to extend the symbolic meaning of celestial bodies into symbols. Then, it simulates a celestial phase pattern that matches the content of the divination through a card-drawing process, and then interprets good or bad fortune using the thinking of divination and astrology.

The ten cards numbered 1 to 10 can simply represent the ten major celestial bodies in the solar system, while the four cards "Wands," "Cups," "Swords," and "Pentaxer" can represent the four elemental attributes of "fire," "water," "air," and "earth." This is a simplified constellation model that can provide an intuitive explanation of the properties of these celestial bodies.

In addition, “Page,” “Knight,” “Queen,” and “King” can represent four different auspicious and inauspicious phases: “harmony,” “penalty,” “arch,” and “opposition.” Specific situational analyses can be conducted based on the elements corresponding to these four cards.

However, James never had the opportunity to test his inventions because his mental state was not good afterward, and Roger, who was just an "apprentice" at the time, also did not have the opportunity to test them.

At this moment, Roger had become a "living horoscope," and the question Roger wanted to ask now also matched the applicable conditions of this new divination method that James had once mentioned, so he decided to give it a try and then compare and verify it.

If this method can be popularized, Roger can provide the people of the "Forsaken Land" with a new means of divination. This means of divination can be carried out by relying on the belief in the "living star chart," ignoring the fact that the starry sky has no mystical projection in the "Forsaken Land," and only requires sufficient knowledge of astrology.

Roger quickly went over his question in his mind, and then swiftly flicked eight cards from the deck.

These are the Five of Swords, Page of Swords, Ten of Swords, Knight of Pentacles, Two of Cups, Knight of Cups, Three of Wands, and King of Wands.

"Captain, how should this be interpreted?"

Lindsay knew a little about tarot card reading, but to be honest, this was the first time she'd ever seen such a strange way of drawing cards. "Do you know the general meaning of each celestial body in astrology?"

Roger looked at Lindsay's profile and asked.

"I have a general idea."

Linssaya nodded.

"Then you should know that Mars is associated with conflict."

Roger smiled and said:
"In this astrological method, the Five of Swords corresponds to Mars in an air sign, which is a detriment, representing long-term and persistent conflict and bloodshed.

"This Mars is conjunct Neptune, which is in the same house and corresponds to the Ten of Swords. This means that this situation has lasted for a very long time and involves higher-level supernatural factors."

"The Holy Grail Two represents the element of survival, which is related to water. However, this water source also traps the survivors, which may correspond to the human survivor group."

"The Three of Wands represents a stalemate, meaning that both sides are aware of each other and are hostile towards each other, but neither side can do anything about the other. The opposing aspect represented by the King of Wands can also illustrate this point."

"So, what does this mean?"

Linssaya seemed to understand but not quite, and asked with some confusion.

"You're stupid."

By this time, Bandit had realized what Roger meant. As the "Astrological Cat," it fully understood his meaning and began to interpret:

"This may indicate that a group of people are trapped by supernatural forces at the place where the groundwater flows out, and they are fighting against some creatures on the surface, with neither side able to defeat the other."

How can we tell which creatures are on the surface of the earth?

Linssaya still didn't quite understand.

"A sword, a sword is related to the wind and the sky, which points to an open, exposed area."

Roger then offered an explanation.

"I see."

Linssaya then roughly understood the meaning of "one person and one cat":
"If we just walk straight over there, won't we be wiped out by those supernatural forces that are hostile to humanity?"

“That’s very likely… In fact, I have a suspicion about the strangeness of this valley, but it needs to be verified before I can confirm it.”

Roger stroked his chin with his right hand, pondered for a moment, and then said:
"Linsea, you and Bandit come with me. Let's fly over to the other side of the valley and take a look."

"The rest of you stay here and stand by. Keep the defenses in place and don't let the campfire go out. We'll be back soon."

"Yes, Captain."

Linselia nodded, then immediately turned to make the arrangements. A little while later, she returned.
“I’m ready, Captain.”

Roger nodded, and using the "magnification" effect, he enveloped himself, Lindsay, and Bandit on his shoulder, and then flew up with them.

Roger flew very fast, constantly using the power of the "Living Star Chart" to perform rapid divination and confirm that he and his companions were not being watched by the supernatural forces hiding in the shadows.

Soon, as the landscape rapidly receded, Roger finally saw the end of the valley.

At the end of the valley was a range of undulating hills, and in the very center of these hills, Roger suddenly saw a huge city.

The city is very ancient, and its architectural style is similar to the Tertiary architecture Roger has seen along the way. However, due to long-term lightning strikes and weathering, the city is very dilapidated, and only its general outline can be seen.

However, Roger's heart skipped a beat when he saw the city, and Bandit and Lindsay also looked over nervously at the same time.

At this moment, whether it was a person or a cat, being so close, they all felt the oppressive feeling emanating from inside the city.

Roger thought for a moment, then used his "Shadow" authority to envelop the three of them, preventing them from being exposed by the lightning.

At the same time, Roger flew higher to avoid a possible sudden attack from the ground.

After making these preparations, Roger finally flew to the upper part of the human city and looked down.

"Fuck..."

Roger almost blurted out a single word of Mandarin.

The city was teeming with all sorts of twisted monsters and supernatural creatures. Their numbers were not just hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands, but hundreds of thousands.

These monsters filled the streets and tops of the huge city, and many were even fighting each other and eating each other.

Throughout the city, there was red, black, green, and even blue blood and various secretions everywhere, with countless dismembered limbs scattered among them.

In the area where monsters were most concentrated, Roger saw three unusual "creatures".

The first one is a mist in mid-air, within which a huge eye can be vaguely seen. This eye has long eyelashes and deep pupils, and it looks quite like the spirit messenger that the "Dark Saint" Kesma once used.

The eyes were cunning, like the unknown terror within a rift in the void, constantly looking around. Wherever it looked, it would cause a portion of the monsters in the corresponding area to disappear.

However, the monsters did not seem to feel fear; they were simply banished from time to time, and then new monsters would take their place.

Most people might not recognize this creature, but Roger knew it very well.

This is the "Mist Seeker," a creature similar to the "Hound of Fortune."

The crystal of the "Mist Seeker" is one of the main ingredients of the "Sequence 3" "Wanderer" potion from the "Gate" pathway. This creature can no longer be found outside the "Forsaken Lands," and Roger doesn't know why there is such a survivor inside the "Forsaken Lands."

The second strange creature was a huge, barely visible white wolf.

This giant wolf looked somewhat similar to the "Shadowless Demon Wolf" that Roger had once seen, only it was more imposing and of a higher status.

This appearance reminded Roger of the "Mist Wolf," one of the main ingredients in the potion recipes of the "Ancient Scholars," which was the misty heart of the "Mist Wolf."

The third strange creature was a large patch of white mist, with a huge black cloak fluttering around it even without wind.

Within that white mist, the faces of at least tens of thousands of people and various creatures emerged, all of them controlled by something deep within, their faces revealing expressions of fear and trembling.

The monster looked very familiar to Roger.

This was not only because it looked somewhat like the "Mist Stalker," but also because it reminded Roger of another extraordinary creature he had recently hunted.

"Dementor!"
However, compared to the Dementor Roger had hunted before, this Dementor was clearly larger and stronger, and the sense of oppression it exerted on Roger was close to that of an angel.

"A high-ranking Soul Reaper? Or the King of Soul Reapers?"

The immense pressure made Roger gasp; he couldn't believe that an angelic-level supernatural being could appear here.

Three types of high-ranking extraordinary beings from the "Mysterious Three Paths" have gathered here, leading a large number of lower-ranking creatures. They seem to have completely conquered the city and driven out the humans who once lived here, but they are unwilling to leave and seem to be searching for something.

Moreover, Roger could even vaguely see that many beings, including the three extraordinary creatures, had faint threads leading into the void, a scene very similar to the "Mirror God" that Roger had once seen.

Suddenly, all the faces inside what appeared to be a higher-ranking "Soul Reaper" turned to look at Roger's location.

In that instant, Roger lost control of his own mind.

The next second, a huge explosion came from inside Roger, completely waking him up.

"run!"

That was Roger's only thought after he came to his senses.

The amplified power descended upon Roger, and he shot out like a hypersonic missile toward the source of the attack!

He ran as fast as he could, ran desperately, ran for his life.

The last time Roger had run for his life like this was when he faced Mr. Azik's messenger in Tingen, but this time he didn't even have the thought of praying to "Angel of Time" Amon, because he had already seen that the area where he had just been and everything around him had disappeared.

There seemed to be a void that could devour everything, completely swallowing up the thick clouds and the surrounding air, even severing and disappearing the lightning that struck down from the sky.

Roger didn't rush back to the encampment of Linssaya's tactical squad, but instead shot directly towards "Fog City".

Roger put both Linssaya and Bandit into the "Old Days Box" at the same time. After landing in "Mist City", he rushed towards the "Church of Truth" without stopping.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the underground space. Roger circled around several corners and finally found Amon in front of a half-collapsed passageway.

"Boss, boss, boss!"

Roger, breathless, looked at Amon with a suspicious expression and tried his best to describe what he had just seen and heard.

"Uh."

Amon's expression also became quite interesting; he adjusted his monocle over his right eye:
"My first impression of you was right, you really are a real attention-grabber."

"What do you mean?"

Roger was a little taken aback and subconsciously asked a question in return.

“You’ve only been in the ‘Forsaken Land’ for a short time, and you’ve already found two of the most troublesome places.”

After saying that, Amon suddenly realized something:
"Could it be that Adam is guiding you?"

"Why are you guiding me? What was that city we just saw?"

Roger was puzzled; he couldn't understand why Adam would lead him to such a dangerous place and almost kill him.

"It's a long story."

Amon shook his head:

"It's good that you haven't been exposed to any pollution... Well, those things can't pollute you anyway."

These words made Roger even more suspicious, and he pressed for an answer:

“I suspect that those three extraordinary beings are all high-ranking beings related to the ‘Mysterious Three Paths’. I recognize one of them, the ‘Mist Watcher’, which is related to the ‘Gate’ pathway. What are the other two?”

"You're right."

Amon didn't try to annoy Roger; instead, he said solemnly:
"The other two are the 'Mist Wolf' and the 'King of Soul Reapers'."

"The latter is the source of one of the main ingredients for the 'Thief' pathway Sequence 2 potion."

Roger suddenly realized:

"Then why didn't you catch it? Was it too far away?"

"catch?"

Amon immediately scoffed:
"I'm trying to avoid that thing."

"why?"

Roger pressed on with his questions.

"Because it's dirty."

Amon looked up, and the monocle in front of his deep eyes reflected a faint firelight.

(End of this chapter)