Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 348 Jordan's Encounters

"Was he the most timid and least favored one among the first group?"

When faced with Roger's question, "The Magician" Fors gave the latter a conclusion that surprised him greatly.

Because of the sensitivity of her identity as an intelligence agent, she did not directly say Jordan's name when she spoke. Instead, she used a way of expressing it that only Roger could understand among everyone present.

"Jordan Phillips?"

Roger naturally understood who Fors was referring to and was immediately surprised.

This seemingly delinquent youth, who appears to have spent a long time in society and participated in many illegal activities, but is actually weak-willed and quite caring towards his friends, actually managed to successfully digest the "fallen angel" potion?
Roger's original intention in initiating the "Honest Demon" project was to explore a positive role-playing path through the "Abyss." Considering this background, the current incident mentioned by "The Magician"—Jordan Phillips absorbing the "Fallen Angel" potion—should also be considered a successful practice of positive role-playing.

After all, Roger didn't believe that the weak young man would become a true "cold-blooded person." Even if the potion's power had changed his mind, the misalignment between his inner nature and the potion's power shouldn't have allowed him to digest the potion in such a short time.

Not to mention, when Luna and Roger reached an agreement, they made it clear that this plan should not create any social security risks for Rune. After all, if they wanted a "demon" in the traditional sense, they could just go and grab one from the Blood Cult. Why go through all this trouble?
Therefore, Luna was able to give Jordan the potion because she realized that he had the potential to successfully digest the potion in a positive role-playing way, which is why she made such a decision.

"Do you know the inside story, Miss 'Magician'?"

Thinking of this, Roger asked rather eagerly.

"I don't know. I only learned about this from that young lady in your family. I don't even think she knows the details herself."

"The Magician" Fors spread his hands, making a gesture that said, "You know, that's the secret service."

“…Okay, I understand. Thank you, Miss Magician.”

Roger breathed a sigh of relief. He planned to go directly to Luna after the party and personally confirm the details with her.

"Gentlemen, I have some Sequence 5 extraordinary properties that I need to sell."

After seeing Roger "The Wheel of Fortune" and Fors "The Magician" finish their conversation, Mr. "The World" finally spoke.

“The extraordinary properties of Sequence 5…some?”

Upon hearing Mr. World's words, everyone present felt something was amiss.

Soon, the former announced the various extraordinary traits he had acquired, including "Chaos Mentor", "Shepherd" and "Druid".

This immediately silenced all the participants of the "Tarot Club" once again. They originally thought that only Mr. "Wheel of Fortune" could do something like wholesaling extraordinary attributes, but now it seems that Mr. "The World" is not far behind.

Although the latter obtained far fewer extraordinary traits than the former, the extraordinary traits of Sequence 5 represent the origin of a level second only to demigods. Therefore, when quality and quantity are balanced, the performance of the two can be said to be evenly matched.

Ultimately, "Justice" Audrey expressed her interest in purchasing the "Chaos Mentor" item's extraordinary properties, but said she needed to confirm with "The World" later.

As for the "Shepherd," Roger reserved him, while the "Druid" was reserved for Cattleya.

Roger knew that the extraordinary properties of the "Shepherd" item might come from Mr. A. Although it was of little use to him, Roger wanted to make some preparations in advance, considering that his subordinate Mr. P might be promoted to "Shepherd" in the future.

Besides, he has recently been struggling with whether or not to help Mr. C advance to become a "Black Knight," because Mr. C's "Shepherd" potion is not far from being fully digested, and within the "Aurora Society," Roger also needs more assistance from those loyal to his power.

On the other hand, unless Roger becomes a Sequence 3 Saint, he will be on par with Mr. C in terms of power, which is very disadvantageous for managing subordinates.

Therefore, he decided to put the matter aside for the time being, at least until he became a "Black Prophet" or was promoted to a Sequence 2 angel, so that he could help Mr. C be promoted to a saint without any obstacles.

In comparison, helping Mr. P get promoted seems much simpler; there's no need to consider so many details, just go for it.

"Do you have any leads regarding that drop of mythical creature's blood?"

At this moment, the "Hermit" lady looked at "The World" Gehrman Sparrow and asked a question.

"There is."

Mr. World's hoarse laughter rang out again:

"But that angel wants to know what reward you can offer?"

An angel? An angel under the command of Mr. Fool?
This term once again left the members of the "Tarot Club" in a daze. Although they had discussed high-level topics such as information about the "King of Angels" many times, this was probably the first time they had discussed transactions involving angels.

"...May I ask, which path did that angel take?"

After a while, "The Hermit" Cattleya finally spoke and asked.

"monster."

Mr. World answered with a smile.

"monster……"

Cattleya couldn't help but feel excited, because she knew that for the advancement ceremony of "mystic", the blood of mythical creatures of the "monster" path was the best choice.

Because the mystical knowledge attached to the blood of angels in the realm of "fate" is very helpful for "mystics" when they are promoted to "master of prophecy". In other words, "mystics" who have deciphered the blood of mythical creatures in the realm of fate when they are promoted to sequence 4 have a better chance of being promoted to "master of prophecy".

"Let me think about it and I'll give you an answer at the next gathering."

"The Hermit" Cattleya struggled to suppress her excitement and answered.

"Ok."

Mr. World nodded, behaving very casually.

Afterwards, "Moon" Emlyn looked at "Sun" Derrick and asked him about information related to the extraordinary traits of "Crimson Scholar". The latter said that "Silver City" should have the corresponding trait, but it also has a strong mental pollution that needs to be removed.

This made "Moon" Emlyn conflicted once again. He couldn't help but glance at Roger, thinking of the demigod-level seal artifact that the latter had mentioned earlier, which could cleanse the mental pollution within extraordinary characteristics.

Emlyn wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt like his path to advancement was being ensnared by Roger. He had borrowed money from Roger to become a "Potion Professor," and had been making potions for Roger to pay off his debt and digest the potions in the meantime.

Emlyn had finally finished digesting the "Potion Professor's" potion and paid off his debt, thinking he was about to be free. However, he now faced the possibility of not only having to rent Roger's Sequence 4 seal that could cleanse mental pollution, but also having to pay a large sum of money to exchange the extraordinary characteristics of the artificial vampire he had mentioned from Mr. "Sun".

This made the vampire guy feel like he had fallen into a pig butchering scam, having just escaped one trap only to be plunged into another.

As the saying goes, Tarot cards can make money, and Tarot cards can spend it; don't even think about taking it home.

Roger, the "Wheel of Fortune," seemed to have seen through Emlyn, the "Moon," and he took the initiative to speak:

"The rent can be cheaper."

"Thanks... I haven't decided whether I want to rent it or not!"

Emlyn "Moon" initially wanted to express his gratitude subconsciously, but he quickly realized what he was doing and, as if in self-defense, loudly denied what Mr. "Wheel of Fortune" had said about what he was thinking.

"It's okay, we can offer a discount once you've made your decision."

Roger, the "Wheel of Fortune," winked at Emlyn.

“Mr. Moon, I will also try to help you negotiate a lower price for that special item.”

Hearing Little "Sun's" sincere tone, completely unaware that he and "Wheel of Fortune" Roger were working together to make Mr. "Moon" feel embarrassed, and seeing Emlyn "Moon's" uneasy subconscious movements, several members of the "Tarot Club" in the gray fog immediately began to try hard to suppress their laughter. Even "Fool" Klein began to use his "Clown" ability to control his facial muscles to prevent himself from accidentally laughing out loud.

Finally, Miss "Justice" very considerately changed the subject, asking:
“Mr. ‘World’, may I know where the extraordinary properties of that ‘Chaos Mentor’ come from? If it involves secrets, you may not tell me.”

She asked this question to persuade her father, Earl Hall, to make preparations, since extraordinary individuals using the "Black Emperor" pathway might have some connection to the royal family and the military, and certain troubles needed to be avoided in advance.

"It came from a curly-haired baboon."

Klein tried to suppress his laughter and spoke.

In the Kingdom of Rune, "Curly-haired Baboon" is a name often used to mock others, frequently associated with jokes about intelligence.

Klein's brother, Benson, was a big fan of the curly-haired baboon and loved to use baboon jokes to describe the rulers in the Loen government.

"..."

The atmosphere became more abstract. Miss Justice glanced at the uneasy Emlyn and once again steered the conversation away from the topic of the "Mind Dragon" worship custom.

This time she finally succeeded, and the discussion proceeded normally. Mr. Fool even took the opportunity to give the members of the Tarot Club some pointers on the issue of "anchors".

The gathering concluded with "The Sun" Derrick discussing his recent situation, and "The World" Gehrman Sparrow and "Justice" Miss discussing their changes in mental state.

After Miss Justice expressed her willingness to help Mr. World diagnose his mental health issues again, Mr. Fool finally announced the end of the gathering.

Amid the respectful response of the members of the "Tarot Club," Roger, the "Wheel of Fortune," returned to reality once again.

"……call."

Roger took a deep breath, stood up, and looked into the dark stone room.

He first fulfilled his promised deal by offering a sacrifice to Mr. Fool, and then once again pushed open the door and looked up at the bright and warm sun in the sky.

Roger walked upstairs, and when he reached the 25th floor, he saw through the window that Leomaster seemed to be speaking loudly to the elders of Midnight City, while Alexis next to him was smiling and nodding frequently.

What are you all talking about?

Roger pushed open the door and looked at everyone with a curious expression.

"His Excellency Leomaster was telling us about his ascetic experiences, and I must say, it was truly impressive."

Even Saint Andreid, a Sequence 3 level being, looked at Leomaster with admiration, seemingly agreeing with some of his ideas.

"Yes, Lord Leomaster is a diligent and ascetic monk."

Roger nodded, agreeing with Saint Andreid's statement.

"You flatter me, Roger."

Leomaster asked in a friendly tone, "What new instructions does my lord have?"

"My Lord's instructions?"

Elliott was taken aback by what he heard:
"Lord Roger, are you able to receive direct instructions from my lord?"

Upon hearing Elliott's words, Roger and Alexis both looked at him with strange expressions.

Roger found it strange because although the "True Creator" had been in poor condition recently, Elliot had been the "Black Knight" for a very long time. He shouldn't be unable to hear the "Hanged Man's" ramblings as a way to reach the true god even in the "Forsaken Land".

As for Alexis, she had been warned by the "Angel of Fate" Urolius not to directly use her "listening" ability to try to obtain the oracle of the "True Creator." At the time, she thought it was a precaution against the contamination of the "Crown of Creation," but now that she saw Elliot doing the same, she couldn't help but realize that the reason might not be as simple as she thought.

Roger nodded and spoke as he guessed the reason:
"Yes."

"There's nothing strange about that. In this operation, Lord Roger has already been appointed by me as the leader."

Leomaster's expression remained unchanged; he had no doubt about the truthfulness of Roger's words.

The fact that the latter had used his "listening" skills in front of him further convinced him of the other party's honesty.

"I see."

Elliot's expression remained somewhat strange, but he didn't say anything more, only nodding. "What are your instructions, my lord?"

At this moment, Saint Andreid and Greil also looked over curiously, and the former couldn't help but ask.

"Weren't you all curious about why I reminded the people of the 'Underground Midnight City' to avoid sun exposure?"

Roger raised his eyes and looked at the elders, including Saint Andreid.

"Yes, we really can't understand it."

Greer nodded in agreement with Roger’s words. After all, the sun faith conveyed by the “Pure White Angels” was a religious symbol that “Midnight City” had upheld for thousands of years, not to mention that the “Eye of Glory” had long brought light and heat to this city-state of human survivors.

While the angel Saint Vico of Sequence 2 was still alive, the power of the sun protected Midnight City. Even after His fall, His power continues to support the lives of the survivors, providing them with a safe living environment and clean food.

"This relates to what I just asked my Lord."

Roger sighed, and then said:

"My Lord has sent down a divine message, instructing me to tell you all something:"

"The 'pure white angel' has betrayed Him and is no longer an angel under my Lord's throne."

"What???"

Roger's words immediately caused a huge uproar among the elders of the "Underground Midnight City," and even Alexis and Leomaster's expressions became strange.

They suddenly understood why the scriptures they had read, which were related to the "true creator," rarely mentioned anything about "pure white angels."

They had heard about the eight archangel kings to some extent, and the scriptures discussed some of them relatively more, but very little about others.

For example, before arriving at the "Underground Midnight City," neither of them had ever heard of the name "Pure White Angel," so when they first arrived in the "Underground Midnight City" and heard the name, they felt somewhat unfamiliar with it.

“Lord Roger, even if you are my lord’s messenger, you need to provide evidence to support your claims.”

At this moment, Ikamia, the advisor to the council of elders, spoke up, her expression somewhat stiff.

"Yes, Mr. Roger, if I may be so bold, this is far too shocking for us."

Greer, who was standing to the side, also spoke up.

Roger glanced around at everyone, then looked at Saint Andreid, whose expression was somewhat strange:
"Your Excellency Saint Andreid, you know something, don't you?"

Saint Andreid was shaken upon hearing this. Even with the stable mind of the current lord of the "Underground Midnight City", there was a noticeable fluctuation.

This fluctuation stemmed from suspicion of some clue. At first, it was just a slight ripple, but as the old man pondered it repeatedly, the ripples in his heart were getting out of control and gradually turning into waves, or even raging storms.

Seeing that Saint Andreid remained silent, Roger shook his head and spoke:

"Have you ever thought about this question: why did the 'Pure White Angels' who once protected 'Midnight City' disappear without a word or any divine decree when the city fell into darkness?"
"He did not even respond to any prayers, and given the situation in the 'Midnight City' at that time, there was no evidence to prove that He had fallen."

"On the contrary, it was only after that that the other two angel kings under my throne, the 'Angel of Fate' and the 'Angel of Time', stepped forward and protected 'Midnight City' on the eve of its fall. The 'Pure White Angel' never appeared or interfered in this process."

"Aren't I right about these facts?"

Roger dared to say this because he came prepared, since "Midnight City" has an angel-level sealed artifact from the "Sun" pathway, which means that at least one Sequence 2 angel once followed "Pure White Angel" Osekus.

For these high-ranking followers, they would certainly not be unaware if their peer, the King of Angels, were to fall.

However, after Roger's conversation with Elliott, he confirmed that there was not a single word about this in the historical records of Midnight City—at least for many people in Midnight City, even the elders, they still believed that the "Pure White Angel" was still alive, but for some unknown reason, she had abandoned Midnight City.

Therefore, there is only one answer.

Roger shook his head:

"That is, the 'Pure White Angel' has met its end along with the other Angel Kings for some reason, and that reason is betrayal."

"Even because of His betrayal, my Lord was in a disadvantageous position for a considerable period of time."

“If you do not believe what I am saying, I can accept the notarization of the ‘Eye of Glory’ again… I even have more direct evidence, but if you even glance at that evidence, it would be blasphemy against my Lord. I will never show it to you unless absolutely necessary.”

"..."

Saint Andreid remained silent for a long time after hearing Roger's words, and finally sighed.

"To be honest, Mr. Roger, my teacher Saint Vico said something similar when he was still alive."

Saint Andreid spoke slowly, his voice slightly hoarse:

"He said... 'Pure White Angels' may have already abandoned 'Midnight City' and see us as a burden."

"And judging from the attitudes of the 'Angel of Fate' and the 'Angel of Time', He believed that the 'Pure White Angel' might have gone astray from the two angel kings, though He didn't say much more at the time."

"Shortly after saying this, the teacher's injuries began to deteriorate rapidly and he eventually passed away, so I never had the chance to verify what happened afterward."

"Your Excellency Saint Andreid, why wouldn't I know these things?"

At this moment, Ikamia, whose face was filled with extreme confusion, suddenly spoke up. She had never heard her great-grandfather mention these things before.

"Perhaps it's out of the care of an elder for a younger generation. After all, these things, once thought about in detail, can lead to desperate speculations. Even when speaking to me, an old man who has been with Him for many years, His narration was very restrained."

Saint Andreid shook his head. He no longer had the robust physique that Roger had when he first met him. Instead, he slumped into his chair, looking like a hunched old man.

Upon hearing Saint Andreid's words, Greer and Ikamia's expressions turned extremely grim, and they both fell into a daze for a moment.

Roger secretly breathed a sigh of relief; he hadn't expected Saint Andreid to take the initiative to tell these stories.

Roger had originally made thorough preparations to use the "reappearance" ability of "Amra's guidance" to show the "Banquet of Betrayal" mural to everyone present, and had even thought of a whole set of words to explain the current state of the sun god in the Third Age, but now it seems that there is no need to bother.

"...Then, Mr. Roger, in your opinion, what path should 'Midnight City' take in the future?"

After a long time, Saint Andre finally managed to sit up and ask Roger.

His words carried a hint of weariness, as if for many years this saint had been avoiding certain speculations that were detrimental to "Midnight City," but now those avoidances had been ruthlessly torn apart by Roger, and in the end he could only face the fact that he had dreamed of countless times but dared not confirm.

"First, as I said, only increase the illumination of the 'Eye of Glory' when necessary. I will cooperate with you to set up sunshades in the central square to prevent ordinary people who are outdoors from receiving excessive sunlight, so as to protect the health of the people of 'Midnight City' as much as possible."

"Secondly, I suggest shifting the original focus of faith on the 'pure white angel' to the image of the 'sun,' because our Lord is originally the Lord of the stars and possesses the power of the solar realm. This would allow our Lord to receive a more focused faith, which would be very beneficial to Him."

"Third, as I said before, 'Midnight City' needs to accept and learn about astrology and astronomy. I will provide you with a special celestial globe that can display real constellations, and I will also help you master the corresponding knowledge... This is a basic condition for 'Midnight City' to leave the darkness and go to the world of light."

"In addition, I suggest that from now on, 'Midnight City' and 'New Fog City' can strengthen exchanges. I will borrow a group of extraordinary individuals who are good at knowledge from 'New Fog City' to help the extraordinary individuals in 'Midnight City' with infrastructure upgrades and master astrological knowledge—in the latter aspect, 'New Fog City' is ahead of you."

Seeing that the time was ripe, Roger unleashed all three of his prepared moves.

Especially the last point, there are many advantages to doing this. Roger wants to see if the "readers" of "New Fog City" can discover any way to remove the pollution they carry from the sunlight of "Midnight City". It also saves him the trouble of personally teaching the people of "Midnight City" about astrology. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

For the human surviving city-states in the "Forsaken Land," each has its own strengths, but they lack the opportunity to unite. From this perspective, 1+1 is definitely greater than 2.

"Yes, Your Excellency Roger, we are willing to follow your arrangements."

Saint Andreid nodded. His condition had finally improved somewhat. It must be said that this city lord had considerable mental resilience. Although he had suffered a huge blow earlier, there was another path to choose from now on, and he immediately expressed his willingness to try it.

"But I implore you to give our people some time to change their minds and accept new things, otherwise I fear their spirits will collapse."

"of course."

Roger nodded slightly; he had no objection to this matter.

Next, Roger temporarily left. He first sent Alexis back to the surface so that she and Jack could discuss the subsequent cooperation plan and work plan between the two city-states. Leomaster, on the other hand, was temporarily left in the 'Underground Midnight City' to represent his side and communicate with Saint Andreid and others about the next arrangements.

Another reason for doing this was that Roger realized from Elliott's previous words and actions that there seemed to be something special about the "Underground Midnight City," and that anyone who stayed there for more than a period of time could not directly contact the "True Creator" through "listening."

Despite everything that has happened, Roger no longer believes that Leomaster will try to use his "listening" ability, but having this extra layer of insurance is still a good thing.

After doing all this, Roger took Bendit with him and then used the Traveler's ability to leave the Forsaken Land and arrive in Bayam.

He found a clean restroom in a restaurant, then summoned the "Rat of De La Hoya" to confirm Luna's location with it. He then used the "Traveler's" ability once again to travel to a small town called Melland in East Chestershire.

In the basement of an abandoned hospital, Roger found Luna Augustus, who was talking with several of her men.

"You guys go ahead with your work, my friend and I have something to talk about."

Luna, dressed in a light blue trench coat and wearing an elegant lady's soft hat, was not surprised to see Roger. She gave some instructions for her subordinates to leave, and then, with a smile, took Bandit off Roger's shoulder.

"You've gotten fatter again, little kitty."

She touched Bandit's forehead to his:
"Speaking of which, you should be an adult by now, it's time to find a girlfriend."

"girlfriend?"

Bandit looked at Luna with some suspicion:
"If a Sequence 5 cat like me gets a girlfriend, will we have Sequence 9 kittens?"

"Cough cough."

Roger quickly interrupted the strange conversation with a cough, then looked at Luna:
"I heard that Jordan Phillips successfully digested the Sequence 8 'Fallen Angel' potion?"

"Yes, to be honest, that surprised me."

Luna nodded:

"Because Jordan performed well in the operation against Fursack and fully absorbed the 'Criminal' potion in the sabotage work, and he recently completed a full intelligence personnel training, I sent him to the vicinity of Trier to do surveillance work on Intis."

"However, less than a week after he arrived, his contact was bribed by the Intis and exposed. They arrested Jordan, tortured him, and interrogated him about who his superior was."

"But what these Intis agents didn't know was that some of them were my men... According to my men, Jordan was tortured for three whole days without uttering a single valuable clue."

"This piqued my interest in him... After discussing it with Cecilia, we concluded that although directly rescuing Jordan would be quite difficult, if he could become a 'fallen angel,' there would be some hope of escaping... After all, the vast majority of the guards in that confinement facility were low-ranking extraordinary beings or even ordinary soldiers."

"In the end, my people reached a secret agreement with him. We informed him of the risks of taking the 'Fallen Angel' potion, but he still agreed to take it in order to gain greater power and kill those who tortured and humiliated him."

After listening to Luna's words, Roger tried to deduce:
"So Jordan, who was eventually promoted to Sequence 8, successfully escaped and, during his revenge, successfully absorbed a portion of the 'Fallen Angel' potion due to his ruthless actions?"

"Correct."

Luna nodded.

"This is normal development, but it doesn't answer my question."

Roger shook his head:

"You know, what I really want to know is, what exactly is different about Jordan compared to those previous 'fallen angels'?"

(End of this chapter)