Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 340 The Mark of the "Chaotic Sea" (Thanks to Hong for the Qidian Coins reward)
After hearing Roger's words, Alexis's middle-aged head spoke first:
"First of all, one thing is clear: those who enter and exit the underground space of 'Midnight City' must be living humans, not supernatural beings."

"Yes, that's very important."

Bernadette nodded in agreement.

"Based on what we know about 'Midnight City' now, it should have maintained this state for thousands of years."

"The fact that the 'Underground Midnight City' has not been conquered in these thousand years is certainly not only because they have angelic power as their foundation, but also because the protective measures designed by the two angel kings are very solid."

"Often, precision means complexity, and complexity means vulnerabilities. For a defense system, the most reliable defense logic is an either-or exclusivity."

"And Elder Alexis's statement that only humans can enter should be a core condition."

"Ah."

Roger nodded, agreeing with the two ladies.

"I have another idea."

At this moment, Leomaster spoke up:

"Belief in my Lord should also be one of the conditions."

"Why did you say that?"

"Alicis's little head asked with some curiosity."

"Because according to Lord Roger, 'Midnight City' and 'Fog City' are both cities that were once watched by the 'Angel of Fate'."

"The angel king must have very high requirements for the purity of faith. At the same time, in order to prevent the riots of heretics within the 'Midnight City,' the defensive measures must include the exclusivity of these people, so as to achieve the purpose of banishing the heretics from the 'Underground Midnight City' if necessary and preventing them from returning."

Leomaster began to speak slowly.

"Very reasonable."

Roger nodded, keeping Leomaster's second point in mind.

You must be a believer in the “true Creator” and you must be human, both of which are easy to meet.

"There may be other factors as well."

The middle-aged female head of Alexis suddenly spoke:

"Perhaps there will be restrictions, requiring individuals to be extraordinary, and limiting the corresponding extraordinary pathways?"

"It's possible, but the question is, what are the avenues for recognition?"

Roger raised an eyebrow:

"At present, we can reasonably speculate that extraordinary individuals through the 'Secret Prayer' route are likely within the scope of permission, but other routes are not impossible."

"After all, there are two divine paths in the inheritance of 'Mist City', and 'Midnight City', as a city-state larger than 'Mist City', must have a similar situation."

"Information in this area is hard to predict... In fact, I think extraordinary pathways may be one of the screening criteria, but probably not the key factor."

"So, in your opinion, what are the more crucial elements?"

Alexis's middle-aged head spoke again.

“In fact, I have a guess… Elder Alexis, if this guess is true, perhaps only you and I meet the conditions for entering the ‘Underground Midnight City’.”

"What conditions?"

"Aryxes' aged head asked."

"I can't say right now, but I can say that it's related to the geographical location of 'Fog City'."

“There is something special about that place, and I also have the influence of that specialness.”

Roger shook his head, then mumbled an explanation.

In fact, the most important criterion for distinguishing people from "Midnight City" from outsiders, besides the three points mentioned earlier, should be related to the tributaries of the "Chaos Sea".

After all, according to Amon, "Fog City" and "Midnight City" are both human survivor city-states built on a tributary of the "Chaos Sea". In addition, the people of these two city-states worship the sun god of the Third Age, so it is very likely that they have some kind of mark related to the "Chaos Sea".

Given Ouroboros's sealing methods, this mark may not be a form of contamination, but rather an aura or a mystical connection. Considering that the people of Midnight City and the tributaries of the Chaos Sea were simultaneously sealed off, Ouroboros likely used the Chaos Sea as a key element in constructing this closed restriction.

This is why he said that it was very likely that only Alexis, the elder of the "New Fog City" and himself, would be able to enter the "Underground Midnight City".

Since Alexis is a long-time resident of "Fog City," she must have similar markings on her body. As for Roger, needless to say, he made a pact with Adam, used his identity as the "True Creator" and the God Child to connect with the mystical world of the "Chaos Sea," and even poisoned the "Chaos Sea."

Afterwards, the group discussed for a while and put forward some new conjectures, but none of them were convincing. Only the earliest ones seemed the most plausible.

"Then let's agree on this for now. Elder Alexis and I will probe our way in."

Roger nodded, then asked another question:
"The second question is, where is the entrance to the 'Underground Midnight City'?"

"Shouldn't it be at the entrance of that culvert?"

Young Alexis asked the question.

"Probably not."

Roger shook his head:

"Although we found the remains of the people of 'Midnight City' there, the fact that they had camped there indicates that it was quite a distance from the actual entrance and exit of the 'Underground Midnight City'."

"On the other hand, I found traces of human excrement in the water of that culvert. Although it is not certain, the smell may attract supernatural beings."

Even though there are almost no supernatural creatures roaming around because of the monsters that existed in 'Midnight City' before, we should still be prepared for the worst.

"If some kind of creature happens to follow the scent and ambushes the explorers sent out by the 'Underground Midnight City,' wouldn't they all be wiped out?"

"Makes sense."

The other three nodded in agreement with Roger's words.

"So, next, we need to find the exact entrance."

After a moment's thought, Roger decided that he needed to do this himself.

The reason is simple: due to the combined seal of Amon and Ullolius, ordinary divination and prophecy methods would certainly not be of much help in finding the "Underground Midnight City".

Unless Roger can find a medium of a higher status than either of them, it would be impossible. Fortunately, there is such a medium at present, which is a tributary of the "Chaos Sea".

Although it is only a tributary, its level still belongs to the level of "source matter" and is an existence that transcends the sequence pathway.

After a quick moment of thought, Roger called Jack over and then addressed the latter and Alexis:
"Gentlemen, I have a request."

"Could you please provide me with 10 milliliters of blood each?"

"blood?"

Jack asked curiously upon hearing this:
"That's possible, but could I know what you intend to do with it?"

"Is such that."

Roger began:

“Previously, Linssaya and her tactical squad found some severed limbs of ‘Midnight City’ personnel. I suspect that both ‘Mist City’ and ‘Midnight City’ personnel possess something special, so I would like to ask you two for some blood to see if we can find any similarities.”

"I see."

Jack and Alexis both understood, they nodded, and then their flesh and blood began to change rapidly.

Jack's was from the neck, and Alexis's was from the index finger, where the flesh and blood were writhing rapidly, forming a thin, needle-like structure.

Roger, who was also a "Rose Bishop," understood that this was a special "blood donation" method unique to "Rose Bishops." So he immediately took out two test tubes and had the two men aim their "syringes" at the mouth of the test tubes.

Blood flowed out rapidly, and when it had collected about 10 milliliters, Roger signaled to the two to retract their flesh and blood.

"Please wait a moment, I'll be right back."

As he spoke, Roger's figure disappeared into the streets of Midnight City.

Roger went straight back to the Star Lord, greeted the crew members who remained, and then went back to the captain's cabin.

He lit the gas lamp, then held the two test tubes in his hands, sat down at the table, and closed his eyes.

A moment later, Roger opened his eyes again. At this moment, he was on the stone platform in the center of the "Primal Core".

He placed the two test tubes on his workbench and then took out several severed limbs left behind by the people of "Midnight City" that he had collected earlier.

The next second, Roger activated "Secret Insight" by taking advantage of the enhanced effect of the "Original Core" on the "Judgment Star" pathway.

A deep blackness appeared in his blue eyes, and as Roger's pupils flickered rapidly, he suddenly grasped some element.

It was a special color, seemingly summed up in a simple way, yet it seemed to contain all colors and all possibilities.

The next second, a corresponding color appeared in a certain area of ​​the spiritual sky of the "Original Dynamic Core" that corresponds to the "Starry Sky".

The color was extremely subtle, only a tiny bit, yet it was still clearly visible.

"Success."

Roger let out a breath, feeling somewhat relieved.

As he expected, the rich colors should symbolize the "Chaotic Sea," because the people of both "Mist City" and "Midnight City" were somewhat imbued with the aura of the "Chaotic Sea," which may be the underlying factor in their belief in the sun god of the Third Age, and also the core reason why Urelius chose them to develop their belief in the "True Creator."

There is a very hidden logic here, which is that the fall of the sun god in the third era is directly related to the spiritual imprint of the "Primordial God" hidden in the "Chaos Sea". Because Grisha could not resist that power, it led to the establishment of the "Redemption Rose" and His death.

Ouroles likely intended to utilize the beliefs of humans influenced by the tributaries of the "Chaos Sea," directing some of the deities associated with the "Chaos Sea" toward the "True Creator." This would create a transitional space for spiritual imprinting, attempting to reduce the corrosive influence of the "Primordial God's" will contained within the "Chaos Sea."

Clearly, this attempt was unsuccessful; otherwise, Adam wouldn't have sought an alliance with Roger in the first place.

But this is of great help to Roger right now.

Although from many perspectives, the "starry sky" itself is part of matter, part of the "real" layer, and not part of the astral plane.

However, this is only from the perspective of existence. In the entire universe, the astral realm, reality, and the spirit realm are three different dimensions, independent of each other, and possess different characteristics.

However, from a symbolic perspective, for any planet, its surface and various biospheres can be seen as the real world, while the astral radiation of the biosphere, the projection of the underworld and even the spirit world can be considered as the spirit world in a broad sense, and the starry sky itself can correspond to the astral plane. The fact that high-ranking individuals through the "audience" pathway can enter the ocean of the collective unconscious, and that "God" himself has the function of the "sun," can also illustrate this point from another angle.

On one hand, it is reality, and on the other hand, it is symbolism. Due to the different perspectives, the concept of "astral realm" also has two dimensions: existence and symbolism.

The reason why the "Star of Judgment" pathway is adjacent to the "Five Paths of Omniscience and Omnipotence" is because its authority in the cosmos symbolically overlaps with the power of the "Lord of the Stars." Roger took advantage of this to project the information of the "Chaos Sea" onto the "Primal Core."

Roger can find corresponding clues in any area he has explored in the "Forsaken Lands" by using things related to the "Chaos Sea".

However, this method is very limited and cannot pinpoint the true nature of the "Chaos Sea" or its full state of existence in the "Forsaken Land". At present, Roger can only see the colorful glow corresponding to the "Chaos Sea" below "Midnight City" and "Mist City".

He also learned exactly where the entrance to "Midnight City" was.

Roger glanced at the Yog Sothoth seal and the "Guidance of Amra" in the center of the "Primal Core" and then closed his eyes again.

As a feeling of weightlessness washed over him, Roger once again felt himself sitting in the captain's cabin of the "Star Lord".

Immediately, he arrived at his supply ship, took some supplies, and was about to leave when the "Rat of De La Hoya" once again leaped out of the darkness.

"A letter from a university professor."

"You didn't give anyone a nickname this time."

Roger knew that "the Rat of De La Hoya" referred to Bentley Morris, and he chuckled in surprise.

Roger then opened the letter Bentley Morris had sent him and began to read it:

"Your Excellency Abraham:"

"Your letter has been received. I have relayed your request to the church and received the book list and quote from Remburg today (see appendix)."

"I hope your exploration in the 'Forsaken Land' goes well. Please let me know if there is anything we can do to help you."

"Bentley Morris".

"You're quite polite."

Roger smiled and then looked at the appendix. It was a long list of hundreds of academic works of various kinds, and Morris thoughtfully prepared two or three sets of each book, and more than five sets of language reference books, so that the "readers" of "New Fog City" could compare and contrast them.

Regarding the price, the Church of Knowledge quoted 3000 gold pounds, which is extremely reasonable considering that books, especially academic books, are generally exorbitantly expensive in the Northern Continent.

However, in any case, seemingly to avoid making Roger feel uncomfortable, the price was still within the normal range, or rather, similar to a wholesale price.

Roger nodded slightly, inwardly praising the Knowledge Church's expertise and efficiency in providing books, and then wrote a reply to Maurice.

In the letter, Roger agreed to the deal and attached a check with his own signature, then instructed Bentley Morris to deliver the books directly to the "Flaming Dragon" bar in Pulitzer Harbor.

Then Roger took out five nuts from his person.

Those were the remaining nuts from the planet Butak in Roger's hand. He bent down and handed the nuts to the cute half-mouse, half-rabbit creature, then patted its head.

"Not polite."

The "Rat of De La Hoya" bared its large teeth, looking very dissatisfied.

"Don't be angry, this is the alien nut I promised your superior."

Roger smiled and lowered his hand:

"Please give them to it for me, and then remind it not to forget our agreement."

Roger was referring to the suggestion that the "De La Hoya Giant Rat" had made last time, which suggested using nuts from the planet Butak to try and open a path to the stars.

He had always been somewhat skeptical about this, but he was also very much looking forward to it.

If the "De La Hoya Giant Rat" project succeeds, Roger will have a virtually safe path to the stars that he can take at any time.

As long as he can find the corresponding nut, he can open up a path to the corresponding world and greatly avoid the possibility of encountering the dangers lurking in the starry sky caused by long-term wandering, which will be a great convenience.

"Ok."

The De La Hoya Rat nodded, because of its own nature, it made no difference whether it kept the nut or gave it to the De La Hoya Giant Rat.

In any case, everything serves the purpose of the top-level angel-level being expanding its territory in the spirit world. The little mouse has no objection to this. All it wants is to rest, because Roger has been sending letters quite frequently lately, which has made it rather tired.

"This time I asked it for help; next time I'll bring you something nice."

Roger noticed the expression on "The Rat of De La Hoya's" face and immediately made a promise.

"That's good. Don't forget."

The De La Hoya Rat's spherical tail twitched, seemingly impressed by Roger's plan and feeling somewhat pleased.

"rest assured."

Roger nodded.

The "Rat of De La Hoya" nodded slightly, then turned and leaped into the darkness.

Roger let out a long breath, and his body erupted with azure light once more as he vanished into the spirit world.

A moment later, he reappeared in "Midnight City".

As soon as Roger landed, he saw a member of the joint exploration team talking to Bernadette, while Zeus stood next to them looking anxious.

Upon seeing Roger appear, Zeus immediately rushed over.

"what happened?"

Roger was puzzled because he saw excitement written all over Zeus's face.

"Captain, we've discovered a treasure vault in Midnight City!"

"Treasure house?"

Roger was slightly taken aback upon hearing Zeus's words.

"Yes."

Zeus whispered:
"There are lots of good stuff inside. I was just wondering when you would come back, so that our teammates wouldn't steal all the good stuff. And here you are."

"You guy."

Roger laughed:

"Don't worry, let's go take a look together."

He glanced at Bernadette and Leomaster, who sat nearby meditating with an air of calm composure, and then asked:
"Where are Lady Alexis and Jack?"

"Captain, it seems they found a church and went inside to investigate."

Roger nodded. This was indeed in line with the personalities of Alexis and Jack. They were both devout believers in the "True Creator," and seeing a church in another city would naturally pique their interest, perhaps even leading them to go in and offer prayers.

"Then take me and Lady Bernadette down to have a look."

"Yes!"

With Roger as his pillar of support, Zeus was no longer anxious, immediately stood at attention, and answered loudly.

Led by Zeus and the other member of the joint exploration team, Roger and Bernadette then headed down a staircase leading into the city.

The road was not short and led all the way to the lowest level of "Midnight City". After walking for more than ten minutes, they finally saw a large number of people gathered in front of a circular stone archway.

There was a small crack in front of the stone archway, through which Roger could vaguely see the firelight and hear shouts and conversations.

"Captain, this is the treasure vault."

Zeus first gave Roger a report, and then shouted loudly:
"The 'King of the Galaxy' and the 'Mysterious Queen' have arrived!"

This was a declaration of sovereignty, and sure enough, as soon as the words were uttered, those who were originally inside the vault withdrew, lined up on both sides, and greeted Roger and Bernadette.

"They were quite well-behaved; they didn't take anything."

Roger scanned the people in the room; his "Secret Insight" gave him a clear understanding of their current situation.

Within the "Star Fleet," it was common knowledge that everyone would share in the rewards from exploring treasure vaults, so Roger was not surprised that his men were able to remain restrained.

On the other hand, Bernadette clearly had her own way of managing her fleet. Whether it was based on personal charisma, power suppression, or management system, it was indeed a rare thing to keep such a large force from stealing or cheating.

Of course, it's also possible that both sides were keeping an eye on each other, and under such mutual supervision, no one took the treasure without permission.

As Roger pondered this, he and Bernadette walked into the vault together.

As soon as Roger entered, he saw several lanterns placed on both sides of the corridor. These were obviously placed there by Zeus and the others for lighting. Roger told Zeus and the others to wait outside, while he gestured "please" to Bernadette.

"Lady first."

he said with a smile.

Bernadette paused for a moment, then suddenly spoke:
"I have to say, you look a bit like my father in certain situations."

In certain states, is Emperor Roselle in a state of... flirting with girls?

Roger remained calm and showed no embarrassment. Bernadette stared at him for two seconds, but after noticing anything, she walked into the corridor.

Roger followed, and the two of them walked through the corridor and pushed open a heavy bronze door that was half-open at the back. By the light of two lanterns inside, they could see the contents of the treasure vault.

Just as Roger had predicted, the treasure vault contained almost nothing of value to ordinary people from outside civilizations. Instead, it was filled with bottles and jars containing various specimens, extraordinary materials, and weapons.

For the human survivor city-states of the "Forsaken Land," anything that is not conducive to survival is a burden, especially valuable items like gold and silver that are worth a fortune in the outside world, which are almost useless here.

One very important reason is that their monetary attributes were greatly weakened. Take "Silver City" as an example: the distribution of almost all important resources follows a strict rationing system, allocated according to indicators such as the number of people and contributions.

Even if there are some substitute currencies, what they can buy is definitely not anything particularly important. In comparison, potion recipes, extraordinary properties, potion materials, and sealed items are the hard currency within the "Forsaken Land".

Roger and Bernadette exchanged a glance, each picked up a lantern, and began to stroll through the treasure vault.

"Hmm? This is interesting."

As Roger walked along, he suddenly spotted a strange, semi-transparent crystal lamp with a handle on top and a hexagonal lampshade at the bottom.

This looks like a tool that "Midnight City" used for lighting. The fact that this thing is in this vault means that it was used to light up the vault in the past, or it is some kind of sealed artifact.

Roger picked up the hexagonal, semi-transparent crystal chandelier and fiddled with it, but couldn't find a window where he could light it.

After a moment's thought, he infused it with his spirituality.

Suddenly, the lamp emitted a bright light, which immediately illuminated an area of ​​about 3 meters around Roger.

Roger could clearly feel that the damp and cold environment in the treasure vault had immediately improved a lot, the surrounding air had become warm and pleasant, and Roger even felt like he wanted to stretch.

“A sealed artifact from the ‘Sun’ pathway? A ‘Light Prayer’?”

Roger quickly confirmed his guess with his "secret insight".

This is indeed a Sequence 8 “Singer” pathway seal, whose main functions include dispelling darkness, blessing living creatures in the vicinity, and killing and purifying some evil and undead creatures. It is quite effective against opponents of Sequence 7 or lower.

As for the side effects of this sealed artifact, they are not very strong. Simply put, the longer the holder holds it, the more they want to praise the sun and eventually become a fanatical follower of the "sun".

This is particularly evident in low-sequence extraordinary individuals, but less so in mid-sequence extraordinary individuals.

As for someone like Roger, who possesses divinity, this side effect is almost negligible.

"In any case, it's a good lighting tool."

As long as spiritual energy is inputted, it can provide illumination for a long time and also kill various evil spirits. This is indeed a rare and precious thing in the "Forsaken Land".

Roger put the hexagonal lamp down and then walked forward.

"This...is a planetarium?"

Roger's eyes lit up. On the right side of the corridor, he saw a large planetarium that was almost half a person tall, with some kind of transmission device inside and some very realistic spherical stars on top.

Unfortunately, the planetarium is not working, even with Roger's spiritual input.

On the other hand, this thing still retains some offensive capabilities such as "Starlight Cage", but the power is not very strong. It seems that its ability is mainly focused on displaying celestial phenomena.

"It looks like a seal corresponding to the 'astrologer'... but this thing, like the 'True Star Chart,' should have stopped functioning after the starry sky of the 'Forsaken Land' was obscured."

Roger was somewhat surprised. He had to admit that the sealed artifacts corresponding to "astrologers" were indeed not very common in the "Forsaken Land." The main reason was that star charts were almost useless, and if it came to attack capabilities, there were many things stronger than them.

Roger's discovery of this not-so-small but not very useful sealed artifact in the treasure vault of Midnight City once again confirms his idea that Midnight City was likely the capital of a country or one of its top cities in the past, otherwise it would not have been able to preserve such a rich heritage.

Because celestial phenomena and calendars are related to civilization, "Midnight City" clearly has great pride in its civilization's heritage and past glory; otherwise, it wouldn't place these things in such a prominent position and clearly attach great importance to them.

"Keep this for now, it might come in handy later."

Roger pondered for a moment, then placed the object into the "Original Motion Core" and picked up a pendant from the side.

The pendant features a very beautiful and large opal, surrounded by openwork carvings in platinum and gold, giving it a very elegant and luxurious appearance.

Roger's heart stirred, and he infused the opal with his spirituality once more, causing it to emit a pure white light.

The intensity of this light would change depending on how much spiritual energy he infused into it. Roger poured his spiritual energy into it to the maximum in one go, and suddenly, Roger could see a large area more than ten meters in front of him.

After making this attempt, Roger looked at a certain open area next to him.

Suddenly, golden, illusory flames burst forth in that area, radiating the vast, pervasive aura of the sun. They appeared quite dense and quickly strung together.

Even Roger, the user of the opal pendant, could feel the intense heat and destructive power emanating from it. He quickly extinguished the flames and put the opal pendant back.

But after walking a few more steps, Roger found another monocle.

"These glasses look a bit like Amon's monocle..."

Roger smiled slightly, but did not rush to put it on. Instead, he used "Secret Insight" to quickly confirm the origin of the thing, and then looked up in a daze.

What is the seal corresponding to the "notary"?
"Seriously, why are there so many sealed artifacts of the 'Sun' pathway in this treasure vault?"

(End of this chapter)