Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 360 Dunn Smith Revisited

"Terrorist attack? Level 1 sealed artifact?"

Roger's words, "The Wheel of Fortune," surprised everyone in the Tarot Club.

"Mr. 'Wheel of Fortune,' was Intis involved in this?"

Alger, the "Hanged Man," was quick-witted. As the "political commissar" of the Tarot Society, he immediately sensed an unusual conspiracy.

Although Feneport is a neighboring country of the Kingdom of Loen, considering that Feneport City is the capital of the Kingdom of Feneport, launching a terrorist attack against the leaders of the Church of the True God in such a city is extremely heinous.

Moreover, the date of Ince's planned attack was the national day of the Kingdom of Fenneport. From a political perspective, this action was highly sensitive and could very well be interpreted as a hostile act by neighboring countries against the Kingdom of Fenneport.

Considering that the Kingdom of Rune had the upper hand in the previous war, the Rune people not only defeated Fusak, completely controlled the Intersea Sea and Sonia Island, and completely eliminated the military threat from the North, but also forced the Church of War to undergo a major reshuffle, and even the original capital of the Great Patriarch was forced to flee from Saint Milon and disappear.

Moreover, Intis originally wanted to get a share of the spoils in this war, but the demigod Radar Valentine of the Church of the Lord of Storms used the "Shepherd's Coffin" to kill all the extraordinary beings who secretly participated in the war in a way that was almost bloodless. This event directly led to the Kingdom of Rune taking actual control of the island of Sonia, and Intis completely lost its leading role in this war.

With their ally Fussac suffering repeated defeats, Intis ultimately had no choice but to withdraw from the war without declaring war in order to protect itself.

These achievements fully demonstrate the immense war potential that a top power like Rune on the northern continent can unleash when it is well-prepared and has sufficient intelligence.

Although Rune currently controls the sea power of the Western Sonia Sea together with the Kingdom of Feneport through diplomatic efforts and its own strength, on the other hand, although the Kingdom of Feneport and the Kingdom of Rune have always maintained friendly relations, it cannot be ruled out that some people within Rune may be suspicious of such a powerful neighbor due to geopolitical considerations.

Now, during the national day celebration of the Kingdom of Feneport, an attack has been openly launched against the head of the country's state religion. This could easily cause a rift in the relationship between the two countries. Even if the top leaders of both sides are well aware of the reasons behind it, it cannot be ruled out that the middle-level politicians will take the opportunity to make trouble and give Intis, which had just calmed down, another chance. They may try to use this incident to weaken the Kingdom of Rune's presence in the Sunia Sea once again.

Therefore, Alger's inference that Intis was involved is a completely logically consistent and natural deduction, not a result of conjecture.

"You are indeed a thoughtful and wise gentleman."

Roger, the "Wheel of Fortune," immediately praised Alger's insight:

"That's right, and that's why Ince Zangwell possesses a Sequence 4 sealed artifact. It was with this sealed artifact that he controlled a high-ranking member of the Church of the Earth Mother, and he wanted to use it as a wedge to leverage a series of conspiracies."

“I can make this clear beforehand: if anyone manages to kill Ince Zangwell, his ‘Night Watch’ extraordinary ability must remain on the scene, but you can take everything else from him, including that Sequence 4 sealed artifact.”

At this moment, the "Hermit" Cattleya suddenly spoke:
"This is not an easy matter... Mr. 'Wheel of Fate,' may I ask you a question? Is the leader of the 'Earth Mother Goddess' Church that Ince controlled, which you just mentioned, a 'Graceful One' or a 'Chosen One'?"

“They are ‘chosen by God’.”

Roger didn't hide anything and answered the question directly.

"What is a 'giver of God' and what is a 'favored one of God'?"

"Justice?" Audrey asked with some curiosity. Since becoming an Extraordinary, she had tried to gain some understanding of the official Extraordinary system of the Kingdom of Rune through various channels.

However, this was the first time she had heard the terms "divine grace recipient" and "divine favored one," which immediately piqued her curiosity again, and she couldn't help but inquire about them.

“This is a unique system of the Church of the Earth Mother, Miss Justice.”

The Hermit, Cattleya, explained:

“From a long time ago, the Church of the Earth Mother Goddess, for unknown reasons, set up its own hierarchy into two systems: ‘Graceful Ones’ and ‘Blessed Ones’.”

"As far as I know, all 'Graceful Ones' are extraordinary individuals who have mastered the pathways of 'Farmer' and 'Pharmacist,' while the pathway of 'Divine Favored Ones' is even more extensive."

“Any ‘giver of God’, even the apostle of the Church of the Mother Goddess, must have at least one ‘favored one of sufficient rank’ countersigned before making a decision or issuing a decree. Otherwise, all decrees can be considered invalid, and the Vatican’s execution process has the right to refuse to carry them out without being held accountable.”

Why is there such a strange system?

Miss Justice was puzzled. In her view, the head of a righteous church should be the most powerful person under the corresponding Sequence 0 deity, almost as the mouthpiece of the deity. The design of the 'Mother Earth Goddess' church seemed to have added decision-making links and self-restraint.

"I don't know either. Although there are many different opinions circulating in the extraordinary community, none of them are particularly convincing."

Just then, "The Fool" Klein suddenly connected many things in his mind.

Although Klein hadn't quite figured out the details, guided by his own spirituality, the "Fool" chuckled casually, drawing everyone's attention.

"moon……"

He murmured in a low voice, with an indifferent tone.

"moon?"

These two seemingly random words immediately drew the attention of everyone present. Roger, the "Wheel of Fortune," thought quickly before asking:
"Mr. Fool, I would like to ask if you are implying that this matter is related to the 'Primordial Moon'?"

Upon seeing Mr. Fool nod slightly, Mr. Wheel of Fortune immediately made a look of sudden realization, and then looked at the members of the Tarot Club who were looking at him with questioning eyes.

"Although I'm still not entirely clear on the details, I can still make some inferences based on Mr. 'Fool''s hints just now."

“I suspect that the reason why the Church of the Earth Mother has created two different rank systems, ‘Graceful Ones’ and ‘Blessed Ones’, is probably because the ‘Cultivator’ and ‘Pharmacist’ paths are more susceptible to the corruption of the ‘Primordial Moon’.”

"The pollution of the 'primordial moon'?"

"The Hermit" Cattleya immediately seemed to remember something and asked:

"Is it like the 'Crown of Creation' that 'Mist City' originally possessed?"

“Yes, you thought of the same thing as me, Lady ‘Hermit’.”

Roger smiled and looked at Cattleya. He understood that Klein had made this conjecture precisely because he knew about the "Crown of Creation" and combined it with his understanding of the various aspects of the "School of Life".

"But why were these two pathways contaminated by the 'primordial moon'?"

At this moment, Emlyn, the "Moon," finally couldn't hold back any longer and asked.

The main reason was that he himself was an extraordinary individual through the "Pharmacist" pathway. Even though this attribute was innate and fundamentally different from those artificial vampires, he still couldn't help but feel a strong sense of confusion upon hearing this.

"It could be due to mystical factors, or it could be because the Sequence 1 extraordinary properties of these two pathways were once acquired or contaminated by the 'Primordial Moon'."

Roger did not give a definite answer; he replied in a half-hearted tone.

"Mr. 'Wheel of Fortune,' are the 'Cultivator' and 'Pharmacist' pathways adjacent pathways?"

Just then, Mr. Hanged Man suddenly spoke up and asked a question.

"As far as I know, the probability is very high."

"what?"

Upon hearing Roger's answer, "The Moon" Emlyn immediately asked:

"Does that mean that extraordinary individuals with the 'Pharmacist' and 'Cultivator' pathways can switch between adjacent pathways at higher sequences?"

"That's right."

Roger nodded slightly, then added with a smile:
“Mr. Moon, in fact, long before you joined the Tarot Society, we had discussed the issue of gender transformation that occurs in certain divine pathways at higher sequences... and the 'Pharmacist' pathway is one of them.”

"What? Gender transition?"

Emlyn, nicknamed "Moon," was startled. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but at that moment, he felt a faint phantom pain in a certain part of the vampire's body.

"Yes, you didn't know?"

Roger smiled again at Emlyn the Moon. He didn't know why, but he just really enjoyed teasing Emlyn. Every time he saw this vampire scratching his head, he felt that the other was very cute.

"I don't know, can you tell me?"

Emlyn, the "Moon," panicked completely and asked hurriedly.

"Okay, I'll tell you."

Roger shrugged and spread his hands:

"Sequence 1 of the 'Pharmacist' pathway, 'Beauty Goddess,' will forcibly transform male extraordinary individuals into women."

"A similar situation occurs in Sequence 2 'Wasteland Matriarch' of the 'Cultivator' pathway, in which the Extraordinary also changes from male to female."

"what?"

At that moment, Emlyn, the "Moon," felt as if his worldview was about to collapse.

At this moment, some long-standing doubts seemed to have been vaguely answered in his mind, but Emlyn dared not think about it in detail, and could only stare blankly at Roger.

This information also caught the attention of both the "Hermit" lady and the "Magician" lady. After a moment's thought, the latter tentatively asked:

"Mr. 'Wheel of Fortune,' may I ask, does this kind of gender switching you mentioned only occur in the current sequence, or does it continue into subsequent sequences?"

"The situation is different for different sequences."

Roger looked at "The Magician" Fors and answered:
"For the 'Assassin' and 'Hunter' paths, they each correspond to a specific gender. Once a gender change occurs in a specific sequence, the gender characteristics of that sequence will be maintained in subsequent paths."

"For example, I currently have a Sequence 5 'Pain Witch' under my command. She is preparing to jump to the 'Hunter' pathway Sequence 4 'Iron Knight' and become a man again. However, if she wants to advance her sequence after that, she can become a woman by advancing to the 'Assassin' pathway Sequence 3, and then become a man again by advancing to the 'Hunter' pathway Sequence 2."

"However, the transition between the 'Cultivator' and 'Pharmacist' pathways is different. If a male 'Pharmacist' of Sequence 2 advances through the Sequence 1 Extraordinary trait of the 'Cultivator' pathway, he can retain his gender, which is the only way to avoid becoming female."

"Of course, the prerequisite is that the extraordinary properties of this sequence 1 are clean and do not contain the extraordinary properties of sequence 9 to sequence 2; otherwise, the gender conversion will still occur."

Emlyn, the "Moon," breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this. Although he felt that he had virtually no chance of becoming an angel in his lifetime, figuring out the issue still made him feel somewhat relieved.

This knowledge also fascinated the other members of the "Tarot Club," especially "The Hermit" Cattleya, who felt that her knowledge of mysticism had increased significantly.

"Mr. 'Wheel of Fortune,' is there anything else you would like to add regarding the commission you just mentioned from Ince Zangwell?"

At this moment, Mr. "World," who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke in a hoarse voice.

"There is one more thing, that is, the 'Chosen One' controlled by Ince is an 'Undead' of the 'Corpse Collector' pathway Sequence 4."

"On the other hand, the Sequence 3 sealed artifact that Ince Zangwell wanted to steal corresponds to the 'Dread Bishop' extraordinary trait, and it is most likely sealed in the Church of Life, which is adjacent to the city hall of Fenneport."

Roger knew that Klein intended to take on the job, so he gave him a couple of hints before speaking:

"I don't know about the others, but this definitely requires some prior investigation."

"This information is enough for me."

Mr. World took a deep breath. For an excellent detective like him, knowing the target of the investigation and the strength and background of the person being investigated was enough to figure out a lot of things.

“Mr. ‘Wheel of Fortune’, I would like to accept this commission and hope that you will keep your word.”

"Of course."

Roger, the "Wheel of Fortune," breathed a slight sigh of relief upon seeing Klein accept the mission, but outwardly smiled casually:

"Then I will await your good news, Mr. 'World'."

"no problem."

Mr. World nodded slightly. The conversation left everyone present somewhat dazed. They wondered when the "Tarot Club" had developed to the point where it could decide the life or death of a demigod simply through a casual chat, seemingly without any regard for the feelings of the person being assassinated.

Ince was about to die. Did Ince himself know that?

"However, if it's Mr. 'World' and Mr. 'Wheel of Fortune,' then that would be normal..."

Miss Justice couldn't help but think this, and then she heard Mr. World say:
"There's one more thing. I'd like to borrow a demigod-level sealing artifact from you. Do you have any recommendations?"
"The price is negotiable, but it would be great if you could give me a discount."

"Of course, I don't need that sword for the time being. If possible, I'm willing to consider something else."

"A demigod-level sealed artifact..."

Roger lowered his head in thought, quickly reviewing the sealed artifacts he possessed in his mind before saying: "Wheel of Fortune."
"Besides what you just mentioned, I currently have three sealed items available for rent."

"They correspond to the 'Prophet' extraordinary trait of Sequence 2 in the 'Monster' pathway, the 'Fallen Earl' and 'Lawyer Mage' extraordinary traits of Sequence 4 in the 'Lawyer' and 'Sheriff' pathways, and the 'Puppet' extraordinary trait of Sequence 4 in the 'Prisoner' pathway."

"Of course, you may not be able to use the first sealed item normally for the time being, so we will only talk about the second and third items."

"The second sealed item, while possessing two Sequence 4 extraordinary abilities, doesn't have a significantly increased number of abilities. I will charge you an additional 50% on top of the rental fee for the previous sword... As for the third item, the price will remain the same as that sword."

Roger then briefly introduced the characteristics and abilities of the two sealed artifacts, avoiding the sensitive parts. Afterwards, "The World" answered:
"I need to think about it."

"can."

Roger, the "Wheel of Fortune," nodded slightly.
"You can contact me anytime after you make your decision, and we can conduct the transaction under the witness of Mr. 'Fool'."

"No problem, I'll decide as soon as possible."

"The World" Gehrman Sparrow readily agreed.

The meeting then continued, and at this point, Derrick, who had clearly suppressed his urge to speak for a long time, finally spoke:

“Mr. ‘Wheel of Fortune’, I have something to tell you.”

"Oh? Please?"

"Wheel of Fortune," Roger said with a smile, looking at Derrick and speaking in an encouraging tone.

"In the past two days, some of the higher-ranking exploration teams in 'Silver City' seem to have started to receive a new instruction: during battle, the team leader can whisper a specific prayer, accompanied by music with mystical effects to aid in combat."

"Although the authority to chant is still limited to the team leader and the content of the chant is kept secret, I tried to read the team leader's lip movements during an exploration yesterday, and I found that it was very similar to the text you wrote in the 'True Star Map' earlier."

"May I say it, Mr. Wheel of Fortune?"

Upon hearing Derrick's tentative question, Roger shook his head slightly:
"Not for now."

Seeing "The Sun" Derrick nod seriously, the "Wheel of Fortune" continued:
"It seems that the 'Council of Six' gradually lowered their guard after studying the 'True Star Map'."

"If nothing unexpected happens, you will soon receive information about astronomy and calendar... or rather, the release of this information will be carried out in an orderly manner, but most people should know about it in the near future."

Listening to Roger and Derrick's discussion, "The Hanged Man" Alger once again began to think quickly in his mind.

"Mr. 'Sun' just said that 'Silver City' now needs to chant a certain preface before singing the mystical song? And judging from Mr. 'Wheel of Fortune''s attitude, this preface seems to be some kind of taboo?"
"And this prefix is ​​written on the back of the 'True Star Chart'... Does this mean that those occult songs and knowledge related to astronomy and calendar systems come from the same source?"

Thinking of this, Alger the Hanged Man's gaze drifted toward Mr. Fool, but he stopped halfway there, staring intently at the sleeve of Miss Justice opposite him, pretending to be deep in thought.

Audrey noticed this reaction and, although she guessed what Alger, the "Hanged Man," was thinking, she did not press him further.

In fact, after Audrey provided two psychological consultations for "The World" Gehrman Sparrow recently, she has come to realize that the true nature of this "Fool" is actually that of a kind and gentle person. His violent and calm exterior is just a protective color, like layers of curtains that conceal his true self in a depth that is imperceptible to ordinary people.

The deity who favors such a gentleman is most likely a gentle and righteous god. This aligns with the fact that Mr. Fool has been secretly plotting and scheming with the help of Mr. World and Mr. Wheel of Fortune. Therefore, Audrey's initial curiosity about Mr. Fool has gradually transformed into genuine trust and affection.

“Yes, Mr. ‘Wheel of Fortune’, I am very much looking forward to that moment.”

After a pause, "The Sun" Derrick asked again:
Will you and your friends encounter 'Silver City' in real life?

"meeting."

Roger, the "Wheel of Fortune," nodded without hesitation:

"It's just that the timing isn't quite right yet, but I believe that day will eventually come."

“Silver City now has many more options than before… We can work together, believe me, Silver City is no longer as isolated and helpless as it used to be.”

Roger's words had two meanings. First, Derrick had confirmed that there were other human survivor city-states in the "Forsaken Land." Second, he knew that Mr. Fool and Mr. Wheel of Fortune were indeed making efforts. Therefore, no matter what, even if the road to light for "Silver City" was destined to be bumpy, this human survivor city-state would definitely move steadily toward freedom and stability.

“I understand, Mr. Wheel of Fortune.”

"The Sun" Derrick nodded solemnly, clenching his fists as if he had been encouraged like never before.

"Mr. World, has the angel answered my question from earlier?"

At this moment, "The Hermit" Gadriya looked at "The World" Gehrman Sparrow, referring to the question related to the drop of mythical creature's blood.

"The angel said there was no problem, but it depends on what price you are willing to pay."

Mr. World was prepared for this moment, and he asked.

"An opportunity to view the 'Wheel of Fortune' card, or a way to briefly restore one's power during a period of weakness."

"You can pass this message on to that angel and see which one He is more interested in."

It was clear that Cattleya had been prepared. Without a doubt, the "Wheel of Fortune" card was part of the legacy of Emperor Rosell and also part of the legacy of the "Mysterious Queen" Bernadette. As for the method of briefly restoring her strength during her weak period, it was most likely derived from Bernadette's deduction of Will Unsett's identity based on the extraordinary angelic-level characteristics of the "Wheel of Fortune" she possessed.

"I understand."

Mr. World nodded slightly. He wasn't quite sure if Will had mastered the godhood ritual of his own path sequence 0, so he needed to communicate with him to confirm which reward to choose.

"So, what do you need?"

"The Hermit," Cattleya pressed.

"I will let you know before the transaction is completed."

“The World,” Gehrman Sparrow replied.

After the "hermit" lady confirmed that there was no problem, "Moon" Emlyn looked at Roger again:
“Mr. ‘Wheel of Fortune’, I would like to purchase from you the potion recipe for Sequence 5 of the ‘Pharmacist’ pathway.”

"can."

Roger nodded slightly:

"Its name is 'Crimson Scholar,' £5000, no bargaining."

"£5000... Sold!"

Emlyn "Moon" didn't hesitate at all. The price was cheaper than he had expected, so he didn't even think about "maybe he could haggle over the price."

He then looked at "The Sun" Derrick:

"I also need a Sequence 5 artificial vampire with extraordinary traits. I wonder if you can trade for it? What would be the price?"

"can."

Without hesitation, "The Sun" Derrick:

"I need the potion recipe for Sequence 5 of the 'Sun' pathway."

This stumped "The Moon" Emlyn. He glanced around at everyone in the "Tarot Club," and then heard "The World" speak again in his deep, husky voice:
“I have the recipe for the ‘Priest of Light’ potion, 5000 pounds.”

"can."

Emlyn felt a pang of pain in his heart. He even had the illusion that Mr. Fool's two followers had conspired to exploit him, but this thought did not last a second before he forgot about it.

Fortunately, Emlyn has saved up a lot of money while making medicine for Roger, and has also received a lot of funds from his elders, which is why he is able to afford such a huge expense.

"I have an investigation to commission."

Seeing that everyone's transaction was complete, "Justice" Audrey spoke up:

"Recently, two cases of nobles and dignitaries being framed and attacked have occurred in Backlund... and behind both incidents is a wealthy businessman named Dawn Dantes, who has only recently arrived in Backlund but has immediately donated more than 10,000 pounds of shares to the Church of the Night in an attempt to establish a scholarship fund for the poor."

“I would like to hire someone to investigate him. The initial investigation fee is £500. If there is any danger that increases the difficulty, I will increase the reward.”

Just then, “The World” Gehrman Sparrow slightly raised his hand, which caught the attention of “Justice” Audrey.

"Mr. World, would you like to take on this task?"

After Audrey finished asking her question, she was surprised to see "The World" shake its head.

The gentleman then said:
"Dawn Dantes is an identity."

“My partner and I share this identity, and I sometimes impersonate him.”

Upon hearing this, "Magician" Fors was struck dumb:
"Is that poor, wealthy businessman with kidney or prostate problems Mr. 'World' Gehrman Sparrow?"

At this moment, Fors felt extremely fortunate that she hadn't blurted out all the dirt she knew when "Miss Justice" mentioned the wealthy businessman. Otherwise, it was possible that Gehrman would come down to her and make her experience the fear that those pirate captains had felt.

Especially when she saw Mr. "World" glance at her with what seemed like a very cold look, Forl felt an even stronger urge to disappear into the ground.

At this moment, Fors suddenly felt incredibly fortunate to be favored by Mr. "Wheel of Fortune," which gave her an unprecedented sense of security.

"Will Mr. 'Wheel of Fortune' save me? He definitely will, won't he?"

After hearing Mr. World's words, Miss Justice was momentarily dazed, but she quickly came to her senses and temporarily ended the topic.

Afterwards, everyone chatted casually and made some small transactions. Finally, Mr. Fool announced the end of the meeting, allowing all the participants to return to reality.

The next three days passed uneventfully. Roger stayed in the "Forsaken Land" and continued his work. During this time, Mr. "World" contacted him once through Mr. "Fool" and expressed his willingness to rent the Sequence 4 sealed artifact, "Concerto of Light and Shadow." Roger naturally agreed and completed the transaction according to the previously agreed-upon deal, handing over the sealed artifact.

Thursday night arrived quickly, and Roger, disguised as a merchant, appeared in Fenneport City, the capital of the Kingdom of Fenneport, with his tabby cat Bandit. Although he did not intend to interfere with Klein's promotion ceremony, he still wanted to come and see the excitement.

After all, Roger was very curious about the extent to which Klein was capable without Adam's help, and how he intended to get rid of Ince Zangwell.

At this very moment, he was standing in the city square in the center of Fenneport, where the facilities and decorations for the celebration the next day had been set up, and the rehearsal work had just been completed.

Just then, Roger suddenly noticed that across the city square, there seemed to be someone he knew who was looking around casually with his back to him, pretending to be a passerby.

“Dunne Smith…”

Roger realized what was happening and, without making a sound, shoved the peeking Bandit into his briefcase.

(End of this chapter)