Chapter 293: Derrick's Worry

The Fallen Creator? Derrick frowned immediately.

The residents of the City of Silver had always believed in the

"omnipotent and omniscient God, the Lord that created everything";

therefore, when he heard a similar name with the word "fallen" tagged to

it, he couldn't help but instinctively reject and feel uncomfortable

about the notion.

*Fallen Creator... That's the way Mr. Fool addresses the True Creator...

So that's the image of this evil god... But why would his statue and

temple appear within the City of Silver's exploration confines? That

place is suspected to be the Forsaken Land of God! Or perhaps, before it

was abandoned by the gods, there was already the faith of the True

Creator... Could the holy residence that the Aurora Order always talks

about be the Forsaken Land of God?* Many thoughts came to Alger,

but he couldn't make an accurate judgment because the history before the

Cataclysm had long evolved into myths and legends. It couldn't simply be

described as information shrouded in fog.

He thought for two seconds and deliberately said, "We have another name

for the Fallen Creator. It's the True Creator.

"The faction that believes in 'Him' is in control of the Beyonder

pathways such as the Secrets Suppliant, Listener, and Shadow Ascetic.

The subsequent Sequence includes the Shepherd you mentioned before."

Shepherd? The silent Derrick sat up straight, his eyes filled

with horror.

He wasn't unfamiliar with the Beyonder pathways which The Hanged Man had

referred to, other than some of the Sequences being described with

similar words in the City of Silver. For instance, The Whispered and

Listener.

*So that strange and evil statue represents the Secrets Suppliant

pathway... Elder Lovia is already a Shepherd... She's been acting more

and more strangely...* Derrick suddenly started to worry about

the six-member council's newly advanced elder and the safety of the City

of Silver.

In the past, when they explored the surrounding areas, the City of

Silver had found a few cities that were completely destroyed. In those

places, only a few pieces of rubble had been carved with words that

proved the existence of such a civilization.

These words were all variations of Dragonese, Jotun, and Elvish and most

of them repetitively described one kind of existence.

That existence was called: "Evil god!"

The residents of the City of Silver who was involved in the expedition

were guessing that those cities were destroyed by evil gods. So, after

finding out that Elder Lovia's pathway was probably controlled by an

evil god, how could Derrick not be shocked, worried, and terrified?

He returned to his taciturn state, disappointing Audrey who had been

waiting to hear more stories about the City of Silver.

After so many gatherings, after her purchase of the dragon race's

intelligence, her interest towards the City of Silver had grown even

more.

His reaction is a little different from what I expected...

Alger observed calmly for a while, but he failed to gain anything from

it.

For a moment, he couldn't find a point of entry into the conversation.

And if he asked directly, he suspected that The Sun would request

payment which wasn't an easy task for him since he was burdened with the

debt of two Beyonder ingredients.

It was at this moment that they simultaneously heard the sound of the

table being tapped gently.

Klein concealed his fatigue with the thick gray fog and said with a

chuckle, "Let's end today's gathering here."

"Your will is our will." Audrey immediately stood up and curtsied with

her illusory skirt. The Hanged Man, The Sun, and The World successively

replied with similar words.

Klein waved his hand and severed the connection, quietly watching the

blurry shadows of Miss Justice and the others disappear into thin air.

Then, he made his smurf, The World, disappear. Then, he picked up the

small badge which he had obtained from Lanevus and studied it.

"You can join if you have this item." Klein read the sentence on the

back of the badge but realized that it didn't undergo any changes.

He thought for a moment and carefully injected spirituality into it.

A layer of faint light bloomed and quickly condensed into a light beam,

shooting out of the gray fog.

However, it was repelled by the endless gray fog.

The beam of light suddenly dispersed, transforming into a palm-sized

piece of illusory goatskin parchment. On it was written in ancient

Feysac: "4 January 1350, 8 p.m. in Babur Valley."

*A simple communication device in the field of mysticism? It sends out

messages, requests synchronization, and gets the latest rendezvous time

and venue?* Klein recalled the scene he had just seen and made a

preliminary judgment on the use of the badge.

*1350, that's next year... The Babur Valley lies in the area before the

Tussock River enters Backlund... The time is precise, but the venue is

vague. It's a valley that's almost a hundred kilometers long... Perhaps,

this badge can be used as a location tool when one gets

there...* Klein turned the badge over and over, with interest,

trying to figure out the corresponding symbols, incantations, and

characteristics, to see if he could copy one himself.

Unfortunately, since he was no longer part of the Nighthawks, his

knowledge in mysticism was still at the same level as before. He had no

opportunities of improving it further.

Therefore, after studying it for a few minutes, he could only helplessly

give up.

As for the phrase "you can join if you have this item," Klein's plan was

to not consider it for the time being.

*If I can become a Faceless by the end of this year, then I can head

there in disguise. Otherwise, forget it...* Klein silently said

to himself, then he turned his attention to the matter of advancing to

Magician.

*The true root and juice of the Mist Treant is likely "in the bag" with

The Sun... If my luck isn't too bad, I should be able to get the spinal

fluid of a Dark Patterned Black Panther this week. Sequence 7, a

Mid-Sequence. I can already see and touch it... Hmm... How should a

Magician act?* As he thought about it, Klein began to consider

specific issues.

Due to his experiences before and after his death and resurrection, he

instantly comprehended the true essence of Clown. Therefore, in this

month or so, he only needed constant acting in his daily life to

gradually digest it. He didn't need to make further summaries and adjust

it according to the feedback. After killing Lanevus and attaining his

initial revenge, the Clown potion was completely digested the moment he

was laughing amid tears.

This wasn't the same as the process in which Klein first digested the

Seer potion. It was considered a special case, and now he had to return

to such a situation with the Magician's acting.

*The true essence of Magician, to pass off the illusory with the

genuine? Hmm, according to what Zaratul said in the Emperor's diary,

although the main focus of this pathway isn't fate, a portion of it

still belongs to it. So, there must be something corresponding to it?

For example, it might seem that fate can be changed to a certain extent,

but in the end, it turns out to all be an illusion. It's just a magic

trick that fools you?* Klein rubbed his temples, then wrapped

his remnant spirituality around himself and descended into the gray fog.

St. George's Borough, in a two-bedroom apartment.

"Fortunately, I prepared another place like this. Otherwise, I wouldn't

even know where to hide." Fors stared into the mirror and removed her

dropping hair.

"That's right..." Xio replied weakly, lying in bed.

"I just read in the newspaper that Lanevus is dead, but this matter

involves godhood, so it won't end so soon. We have to hide for a while.

Uh, no, it's you who's going to hide, not me. I'm an upright clinical

doctor, the author of a bestseller!" Fors looked at herself in the

mirror and began putting on simple make-up.

Xio couldn't provide a rebuttal as she slowly sat up and said,

"Thankfully I was sufficiently clever and possess rich experience. When

I got someone to make the report, I didn't directly say that it involved

the godhood of the True Creator. I only described it as seemingly very

dangerous and that the target had experienced huge changes like he was

praying to evil gods. If not, I wouldn't even dare to stay in Backlund.

To be embroiled in high-level battles sure is troublesome and dangerous.

I don't want to take on any more of Miss Audrey's missions again!"

"Really?" Fors asked without looking back.

"Uh..." Xio fell silent for a few seconds and said, "Actually, there was

no need for us to mention the godhood. Since Miss Audrey was able to

discover this on her side, the Church of the Goddess would definitely be

capable of doing so... They've most likely killed 'Giant,' right?"

"I can't be sure," Fors replied without mincing her words.

Xio froze, then let out a long, slow sigh.

Fors stopped what she was doing, turned her head to look at her, and

said, "This mission was basically completed by you, so I won't be

sharing the payment with you. There's a total of 200 pounds, so with the

70 pounds you've saved up, even if you deduct the expenses, you should

be close to obtaining the first Beyonder ingredient for the Sheriff

potion!"

"But I wouldn't be able to receive the 100 pounds from the police so

quickly." Xio pursed her lips.

This wasn't to say that the police wasn't willing to give the bounty

money, but that she couldn't take it directly. She had to go through the

friend who had helped her deliver the clues---that was the official

bounty recipient.

Since she believed that this matter would definitely cause a huge

ruckus, she didn't have the guts to find her friend any time soon.

As for whether that friend would usurp the bounty, she was quite

confident. The other party had helped too many shady bounty hunters

before. It was fine to take a commission, but if he dared to directly

usurp all of the bounty money, he would've already died in some unknown

dark alley.

"But it will ultimately belong to you." Fors paused for two seconds and

seriously asked, "When you've collected enough money, will you contact

the masked guy and work for him so that you can purchase the

corresponding ingredients from him?"

"No, unless I can't get it anywhere else and that there's no hope." Xio

gave her answer.

In Empress Borough, the opulent villa of Earl Hall.

Audrey was still reminiscing over today's gathering when she suddenly

saw her personal maid, Annie, coming over with a piece of paper.

"Miss, here's your telegram." Annie smiled and said, "It's from the east

coast of Balam."

Alfred's? Audrey happily received it and read it carefully.

"Dear sister, the Rainbow Salamander that you asked for has arrived at

Pritz Harbor last night. My orders are to deliver it to your manor in

the suburbs."

*Arrived last night? Then it'll be delivered to my manor as early as

today and by the latest, tomorrow...* Audrey tilted her head to

the side and looked at Susie, who was fighting with her snacks. With a

shallow smile, she said, "Susie, the gift I prepared for you is almost

here."

"Woof?" Susie looked at her mistress in confusion.