Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 373 The Plan to Transform the "Aurora Society"
"what?"

Upon hearing this, Bandit looked at Roger with curiosity.

“I think you can choose this ‘Manipulator’ extraordinary trait. I can go back and help you forge it into a sealing artifact.”

Roger smiled and said that he had already thought of all the key points.

First, Roger particularly wanted a high-sequence seal artifact of his own "audience" pathway, because this thing has a wide range of uses.

Especially now that he has many enemies and often faces situations where he has to fight against multiple opponents, compared to the relatively limited use of the "troublemaker" ability and the inherent limitations of the "singing" ability, the stealth and versatility of the "manipulator" extraordinary ability will undoubtedly make Roger's means of controlling the field much richer.

Since Klein already possesses a "Manipulator" seal artifact, he is unlikely to choose this extraordinary item. Therefore, the only competitor for Bandit will be Lindsay.

However, based on Roger's understanding of Lindsay's straightforward personality, he would most likely choose the seal item corresponding to the "Disaster Priest" extraordinary characteristic, so he was not worried that Lindsay would compete with Bandit for the "Manipulator" extraordinary characteristic.

What Roger was really worried about was that Bandit might impulsively choose the "Disaster Priest's" seal artifact, because this cat sometimes had a rather erratic mindset, and it was possible that it would start fantasizing about itself flying in the air, controlling lightning, tsunamis, and earthquakes—especially since this guy had clearly stared at the "Disaster Priest's" seal artifact a few more times just now, which made Roger even more worried.

Through the battle just now, Roger has discovered that Bandit's combat thinking is actually very meticulous. For it, the head-on style of a "Sailor" pathway extraordinary is not very suitable. In comparison, "Manipulator" is more in line with the cat's way of thinking.

Therefore, the "Manipulator" seal artifact Bandit could originally use it, and because of its relationship with Roger, the latter could also borrow it very easily, which was equivalent to killing two birds with one stone.

"..."

Bandit glanced at Roger, then at the "Disaster Priest" seal artifact, and sighed:

"I……"

But at that moment, Bandit suddenly heard Roger's voice, which only he could hear:
"Ten Sunia shrimp."

"..."

"Plus two mist sea bass."

"Ok."

Bandit immediately relented. The Sunia shrimp were large, plump, and full of roe, while the mist sea bass was an exceptionally delicious fish. This was an irresistible temptation for the kitten.

"That's a good kitten."

Roger was overjoyed. He smiled and stroked Bandit's chin twice before watching it put away the extraordinary feature.

"Mr. Moriarty, you choose first."

Lindsay glanced at Klein, who was adopting a humble stance at this moment because Roger was his superior and Mr. Moriarty was Roger's good friend, so it was important to show the necessary politeness.

"You're welcome, Lindsay."

Klein smiled and patted Lindsay on the shoulder. The two exchanged a few polite words before Klein, unable to resist Lindsay's enthusiasm, finally spoke up:
"Then I'll have to offend you."

After saying that, he looked at the extraordinary characteristics of the "puppet":
"I want this."

"Do you need me to help you create a sealing artifact?"

Roger blinked. He had just guessed that Klein would choose this extraordinary property, not for any other reason than that the "Puppet" seal was a perfect match for Klein, the "Trickster".

First, for someone with the high-sequence "Master of Mystic Puppet" ability, he can directly use his "Mystic Puppet" as a medium to release the "Source of Curse," thereby inflicting serious injury on the enemy at a relatively low cost.

Secondly, the ability to manipulate inanimate matter also greatly appealed to Klein, because it meant that there would be more conditions on the battlefield that he could use to his advantage, making his offensive and defensive methods more diverse. This coincided with the magician's combat philosophy of "not performing without preparation."

Klein even had a plan—when he no longer needed the sealed artifact, it could be resold to "Wraith" Sharon or Marich, who might become a "Wraith" in the future, when the conditions were right. The difficulty of cashing out was relatively low, and there was a clear buyer, which would undoubtedly be more beneficial to the "God of Poverty's" cash flow.

"Yes, how much will it cost?"

Klein raised an eyebrow and asked.

"You're being too polite. You came to help me fight, and I'm asking you for a fee? Do you even care about your brother?"

Roger waved his hand, and Klein breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this, then readily accepted.

"Then I'll take this one."

Lindsay breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that what Klein had his eye on was different from what he had his eye on. He decisively expressed his desire – after all, for someone who already possessed two attack methods, fire and frost, adding storms and tsunamis would undoubtedly make his magical abilities more comprehensive.

Lindsay had already thought it through—when he became a Sequence 3 Saint, he could be called something like "The Mage Who Masters the Four Elements," which sounded like a top-tier mage. At that time, he could ride the wind into the sky and then unleash fire, storms, lightning, and frost. Just thinking about that aura excited Lindsay.

In this way, everyone got what suited them. Afterwards, Roger found more than 40,000 pounds in cash and some precious metals that were easy to exchange for money in the three-story broken hotel. He divided these currency spoils equally among all the people who participated in the battle. Klein and Lindsay were all smiles.

"Okay, let's go."

Roger glanced again at the stone platform on the "Blackwing Reef," where there used to be an "Abyss" projection, but which was now empty. Then, he took Klein and Lindsay and returned to Port Pritz before dawn.

However, as soon as they landed, Lindsay immediately frowned.

"what happened?"

Roger noticed his unusual behavior and asked him a question.

“Captain, our battle just now attracted the attention of the military and the ‘Substitute Punishers.’ Several of my men have been arrested…”

Lindsay had become aware of these things through his occult connection with the tactical squad members scattered throughout Pulitzer Harbor, and he appeared extremely anxious at that moment.

Seeing Lindsay's incoherent state, Roger immediately waved his hand to signal him not to panic, and then, guided by Lindsay, went to Plantagenet Street.

At this moment, Goldfinch Street was under martial law. Roger subtly altered his appearance when no one was around and then pulled up the cordon.

This action immediately alerted all the soldiers. Some tried to stop Roger, and some even pointed their guns at him. However, Roger was not afraid of them at all and walked towards the highest-ranking officer among those investigating the scene.

"who are you?"

A major was present. Upon seeing Roger arrive, he immediately asked with an unfriendly expression.

Roger simply pulled out his major general's officer's ID and handed it to the other party for inspection.

The other party was initially dismissive, but upon recognizing Roger's officer's badge bearing the name "Quentin Zakaria" and the "MI8" markings, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat, stood at attention, and saluted.
"Hello, sir!"

This made him nervous. Although the Special Operations Division of MI8 was called MI8, officers above a certain level knew that it was just one of the most mysterious frontmen of MI9.

On the other hand, the so-called Special Operations Division is directly under the jurisdiction of the infamous female devil of MI9. Their power is unbelievable. As long as the royal family or the prime minister does not directly intervene, these devils have unlimited accountability over almost all regular military departments.

Therefore, this colonel was afraid that he might do something wrong and be targeted by MI9, and then be given a lifetime ban from the Special Operations Division.

All the soldiers who had been watching the spectacle saw their commander so tense and stood at attention, saluting Roger.

"Thank you for your hard work, everyone."

Roger didn't show any intention of making things difficult for them; instead, he said:
"All the cultists here have been wiped out by my men. The ones you arrested were members of MI9's special operations team."

"Of course, I understand your need to handle matters officially, so I will send a letter to your unit commander later to explain the situation."

"No, no need, sir!"

The major, who had calmed down somewhat, broke out in a cold sweat again and immediately shook his head.
“We are just conducting a routine inquiry. With your guarantee, we do not need to go through the arrest process.”

"Then trouble you."

Seeing that the other party was very self-aware, Roger didn't embarrass him any further and simply nodded.

He then stood there and waited, learning more about the situation from the major, before Lindsay and his men were brought over.

The men initially looked somewhat suspicious, but Lindsay immediately used her abilities to dispel their doubts.

So these people obediently followed Roger away, and only when they reached a secluded place did Roger change his appearance back.

"Let's go back first. We'll leave the rest to the official extraordinary individuals."

Roger nodded to everyone, then first sent Klein back to Berensport, and then took the rest of the people back to Backlund for a short rest. He also bought the Sonia shrimp and mist sea bass that he had promised to Bendit.

While everyone was relaxing, Roger glanced at his watch—it was four o'clock in the afternoon, and there was still some time before the "Hexing School" class started.

Roger then summoned Mr. C, who had returned to Backlund, to the Hexagonal Tower, where he met him in a room filled with books.

Upon seeing Roger, Mr. C immediately stepped forward and knelt down before him:
"Your Excellency, Saint of Dark Star, I am guilty!"

"What are you guilty of?"

Roger raised an eyebrow and asked, feigning ignorance.

"Due to my momentary negligence, Your Majesty was ambushed by Ms. D and her group. I deserve to die."

At this moment, Mr. C felt like he wanted to die. He never expected that just going to Tingen to help Mr. P get promoted would cause such a mess.

Fortunately, it seems the saint is alright; otherwise, his fate would have been extremely tragic.

"How is P?"

Roger didn't respond, but instead asked another question.

This implies that Roger has not forgiven Mr. C. After all, Ms. D's problem was indeed caused by Mr. C's negligence. He failed to manage his subordinates and allowed his family's location to be leaked, which forced him to turn against the other two saints of the "Aurora Society" ahead of time.

On the other hand, Arexos' first attack was extremely dangerous. If he hadn't reacted quickly and notified Cecilia and the others to come out and hold off the other three divine messengers, creating a favorable fighting environment for himself, who knows what might have happened.

"Reporting to the Holy One, P has been promoted to 'Shepherd'."

"Everything is proceeding according to your instructions."

Upon hearing this, Roger nodded and said:
"Do you know that the 'Shadow Saint' has targeted me and launched an attack?"

These words completely terrified Mr. C, who was already feeling uneasy; he immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
"Your Holiness, please punish your subordinate!"

Even if I kill you, what good will it do?

Roger shook his head, and after a long while, he spoke to Mr. C, who was at a loss for what to do:
“I have eliminated the ‘Saint of Shadow’ and the ‘Saint of Calamity’.”

"what?"

Mr. C's initial feelings of shame and terror dissipated considerably, replaced by extreme astonishment.

What's going on? It's gone just like that?
Just as Mr. C was wondering what to say, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

As Roger finished speaking, Ms. D walked in from outside.

She glanced at Mr. C with some surprise, then knelt directly in front of Roger:

"Your subordinate pays respects to the Holy One."

"very good."

Roger nodded:

"Since we're on the topic, I'll let you know as well."

Ms. D looked up, somewhat puzzled, upon hearing this, and then heard Roger say:

"The Saint of Shadows and the Saint of Calamity are dead."

Seeing that Ms. D was even more surprised than Mr. C, Roger continued:

"The 'Black Saint' was trapped in an illusion at the easternmost point of the Sunia Sea. I have now found and rescued him, and he is assisting me in exploring the 'Forsaken Land'."

"'The land forsaken by God,' the holy place of my Lord?"

Ms. D was stunned for a long time. She knew about Leomaster's "pilgrimage" but had not received any further news.

Hearing Roger's words, she finally understood some of the reason. "Yes, our Lord has set out necessary tests for us."

Roger didn't say much, simply glossing over the matter.

The reason he mentioned the "Black Saint" was because Leomaster was the most prestigious and respected of the original five saints of the Aurora Society. As long as he stood with Roger, it would be a kind of endorsement, making it easier for Roger to continue to integrate the resources of the Aurora Society.

"Praise be to my Lord."

Upon hearing Roger's words, Mr. C and Ms. D dared not ask any further questions. They spoke with a mixture of excitement and fear.

"Praise be to my Lord."

Roger nodded in agreement, then looked at the two people in front of him:
"I have a very important task for you two."

"Under the guidance of our Lord's divine decree, we have eliminated some dissident forces within the 'Aurora Society.' This was an opportunity for rebirth, but also a painful lesson. Currently, our organization continues to replenish its ranks with fresh blood."

"I need you to develop new members of the middle order to become messengers of God—both loyalty and obedience to my Lord are indispensable."

“In this regard, C has already achieved some results. Mr. P, whom he has trained, has now become a 'shepherd' of Sequence 5. Based on his experience, D, you can also consider whether there are any outstanding young people you know at the grassroots level who you can train.”

After Roger finished speaking, he paused, then added:
"One month later, I will assess your work progress. Those who excel in both the quantity and quality of the divine messengers will be able to atone for their mistakes."

In fact, Roger wanted to select one of the two men in front of him to train as the new Saint, but considering Mr. C's mistake and Ms. D's previous service under Arexus and her subsequent transfer to his side, he could not allow them to get such an opportunity so easily.

So right now, he's saying he'll make amends by putting enough pressure on the two of them and then see what they do.

Then Roger can smoothly propose the opportunity to advance to Sequence 4 and give them a new task. In this way, the responsibilities that should be investigated have been investigated, and those that should be rewarded will also be rewarded.

In fact, Roger originally intended to promote Mr. C to Sequence 4, but unfortunately, Mr. C mishandled his work and caused a serious accident, so Roger could only put some pressure on him and observe the results.

If he ultimately performs better than Ms. D, Roger might consider giving him another chance; if he still doesn't perform as well as Ms. D, Roger will reassess the matter.

This is both a clear system of rewards and punishments, and it also aims to ensure that they make outstanding contributions to the "Aurora Society" as a whole. Only by passing Roger's test can they ultimately have the opportunity to be promoted to Sequence 4.

"Your will is our will."

Upon hearing the two divine messengers' response, Roger waved his hand, signaling them to step back.

Once the room was quiet again, Roger crossed his arms, closed his eyes to rest in the chair, and began to think about the next steps.

Right now, he has two important things to do: one is to fully digest the "Living Star Chart" potion, and the other is to prepare for the "Black Prophet" ascension ceremony.

In recent days, there has been a significant surge in the number of prayers and the number of people from "Silver City" addressed to "Star Orbit Tuners." Roger has also set up an automatic response mechanism in advance, and if nothing unexpected happens, their dependence on him will become more and more pronounced, and their faith will become stronger and stronger.

As for "New Fog City" and "Underground Midnight City," needless to say, both of these city-states currently worship Roger, the "true creator," and his followers.

Currently, Roger only needs to seize control of the "Aurora Society" and then deeply bind himself to the "First Creator." In this way, he will have enough "anchors" to confuse others, and then he can use the fabricated false "Lord of the Stars" status to completely digest the "Living Star Chart" potion.

After that, the two extraordinary items promised by the Steam Church will be completed. Roger can then decide whether to trade with Amon or Pales for a "Time Worm" and then head to the Boötes Hollow to complete the Sequence 3 ascension ritual.

"Class is about to start..."

Roger glanced at his pocket watch; it was already 6 o'clock, almost time for Master Qiu's class.

"Oh no, I forgot to help Master Qiu answer those questions!"

Roger suddenly remembered that he hadn't done his homework. He slapped his forehead, took out a pen and paper from the "Original Dynamic Core," and began to do calculations using the "Living Star Chart" ability.

"I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die... Time is so tight!"

As Roger wrote, he glanced at his watch. Suddenly, he felt as if he had returned to his high school days in his previous life. Back then, he seemed to often frantically finish his homework before class. He never expected to come back to this place again.

Fortunately, Roger could simply copy the answers to Master Qiu's questions by looking at the internal astrological chart of the "living astrolabe" and simulate anything that was uncertain. The only time-consuming part was that he needed to write out the calculation process.

Finally, just before 7 o'clock, Roger successfully completed the calculation and breathed a sigh of relief.

"The 'Aurora Society's' saint is actually doing his homework in his office. Who would believe that?"

He shook his head self-deprecatingly, then packed his things, put on his cloak, and used his "traveler" ability to head to the vicinity of the Madison family's mansion.

On his way to the main gate, Roger bumped into Regulus, Sirius, and Royce, three classmates. They all greeted Roger warmly, and he responded in kind. The group then chatted as they walked.

“I said, last night I went through that damn knowledge-sharing again.”

As they walked, Sirius suddenly spoke, his voice sounding rather weary:
“You may not understand that kind of pain... It can suddenly appear at any time, regardless of the occasion.”

"Whether you're taking a hot shower, using the toilet, sleeping, or on a date with a lady... just when you're completely relaxed, those damn voices will relentlessly invade your brain and almost drive you to a mental breakdown."

"You mean 'knowledge chasing people'? You probably experience that a few times a month."

Roger raised an eyebrow and took over the conversation.

"'Knowledge follows people'?"

Sirius frowned:

"This term sounds familiar; I think I heard my grandfather say it... But normally, my elders would call it 'knowledge transmission'."

"In terms of frequency... it varies at different times. Generally speaking, since the beginning of summer this year, the number of times this kind of 'knowledge indoctrination' has increased to about 4 to 5 times a month."

"But according to my father, this is still within the normal range."

"I see."

Roger nodded slightly, and then he tried to speak:
"By the way, did you learn anything related to the 'He Xing' prayer in Master Qiu's class?"

"Pray to 'He Xing'?"

Upon hearing this, all three young men showed expressions of confusion.

"I've always wanted to ask, what exactly is 'He Xing'?"

Regulus frowned and asked:

"To be honest, Master Qiu never seems to have told us anything about Hexing."

“Once, Sirius couldn’t help but ask Master Qiu, but was told that ‘He Xing’ was just an abstract symbol, a mark of a school of thought, and had no special meaning.”

Upon hearing this, Roger suddenly stopped in his tracks:

"Did he really say that?"

To be honest, Regulus's answer was completely beyond Roger's expectations.

"Yes, what's the problem?"

Regulus looked even more puzzled when he saw Roger stop.

"...No, it's nothing."

Roger shook his head, then said as he walked:
"'Hertzian star' was a special astronomical phenomenon that appeared earlier this year, when a fleeting red star appeared near Mars. The 'Hertzian star school' was established because its founders believed that 'Hertzian star' could bring knowledge and protection."

"Knowledge and refuge?"

Sirius listened with some curiosity:
"Are there really any benefits in this regard?"

For someone like him who is a "secret seeker," the need for knowledge is not very urgent. Instead, he hopes to find a sanctuary that can protect him from the "knowledge chasing after people" problem.

"As far as I know, there should be."

Roger smiled and nodded:

"If you wish, you can try to pray to 'He Xing'... but it's best not to do so until you figure out 'He Xing's' true name."

"The honorific name of 'He Xing'?"

Sirius pressed on, asking:

"What's that like?"

"I'm not too sure either, but I can try to find out. If I can find out, I can tell you."

Roger shrugged and replied.

"Then please."

"no problem."

Unlike Regulus and Royce, who were just listening to the excitement, Sirius was very serious. He seemed to be genuinely looking forward to Roger bringing him knowledge about "Hellstar" as soon as possible.

In fact, Roger could have simply told Sirius, who had recently become a Sequence 9 Beyonder, the honorific name "He Xing," but that would undoubtedly have been a frivolous act.

In the ancient Chinese I Ching and Bagua culture, there is a saying: "It is not I who seek the ignorant, but the ignorant who seek me. The first divination is auspicious, but repeated divinations are disrespectful, and disrespect will not be answered."

To put it in plain language that Sirius and others could understand, the essence of divination is not that gods are asking people for help, but that people are asking gods for help, so gods must also maintain sufficient composure.

If the other party is asking sincerely, you can answer them once. However, if they ask repeatedly, it is considered blasphemy and you should not continue to answer.

Similarly, the "Hexing School" was originally a secret organization, and only those who had passed the Level 5 Council test and reached at least Level 3 were qualified to know about the knowledge related to "Hexing". If Sirius, as a Level 2 apprentice, were to obtain the name of a god too easily, it would undoubtedly make the image of "Hexing" appear less solemn and serious.

Like the "Magician" and the "Hermit" who suffered greatly from the ravings of the mythical creatures at the top of their respective paths, they finally "risked" uttering the name of the "Fool" when they could no longer bear it, and were thus protected.

Even those who believe in the true God cannot easily obtain the God's protection—everything comes at a price, and no one is exempt.

Therefore, Roger also planned to let Sirius experience some hardships first—only in this way would he know how precious the protection of the gods was, and only then could Roger feel at ease supporting him to a higher level of the "Hercules School".

As they talked, they finally arrived at Master Qiu's classroom. After finding their seats and putting their things down, the Polk sisters came over and chatted with Regulus and the others.

Roger exchanged a few pleasantries with them, then began to walk around the classroom, greeting other students in an attempt to get to know more people and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the class.

"But then again, something's a bit strange..."

Roger frowned. It was already 7:26, nearly half an hour past the time Master Qiu had scheduled for the lesson.

The last time he attended a class taught by Master Qiu, the master arrived right on time, claiming he had overslept. This time, however, things were even more absurd—it's normal for students to be late, but it's unusual for a teacher to be late.

"Speaking of which, Regulus."

Roger circled around and returned to Regulus's side:

"Does Master Qiu always have a habit of being late?"

"Not really."

Regulus shook his head:

“In the past, although he wasn’t exactly early, he would usually arrive 5 to 10 minutes early. But recently he’s been frequently late. To be honest, if it weren’t for the fact that the tuition for the ‘Hexing School’ isn’t too high, I estimate that many people would complain about him because of this.”

Just as Regulus was complaining, the classroom door was finally opened with a "bang," and Master Qiu, covered in sweat and clearly very anxious, finally arrived late.

"Sorry, students, I missed two subway trains during the evening rush hour."

Just like last time, Master Qiu apologized to everyone immediately, and then asked Roger to come to the podium again to collect the newly printed teaching materials and distribute them to everyone.

As Roger approached Master Qiu, he couldn't help but glance at him with his "Secret Insight".

Sure enough, he confirmed that Master Qiu had been lying.

"I feel like his mental state has deteriorated again... No, I need to give him Emlyn's medicine after class later and ask him what's been going on lately."

While pondering the matter, Roger calmly accepted the teaching materials and began distributing them as he had done before.

(End of this chapter)