Lord: Sequence Master

Masadora, a small city, had now become the gathering place for all players on Greed Island. With the backing of the Shafik Consortium, Rosen had almost entirely monopolized the game's login devices, effectively placing over ninety percent of the players under the consortium's control. In this advantageous position, collecting Greed Island cards had become an effortless task for him.

Rosen flipped through his card collection book and selected a designated card: Pregnancy Stone (S-10). This card came in two varieties, male and female. If either version was kept on a person for one month, regardless of gender, the individual would become pregnant one week after completing the task. Rosen decided to convert this card into an extraordinary item, a process that consumed 900,000 spiritual crystals—a cost nearly as high as converting an Archangel's Breath.

The transformed properties of the Pregnancy Stone left him satisfied. Now, rather than causing pregnancy on its own, the stone required a man and woman to hold it while engaging in intimate activities once a day for a month. Afterward, within a week, the woman would be guaranteed to become pregnant. The child's gender remained random. Rosen recognized the immense value of this item, as the ability to conceive became more difficult for powerful individuals, especially after advancing beyond Sequence 7. For nobles who had reached Sequence 6 and lost previous children, this stone's worth was incalculable.

With three valuable items prepared for the upcoming noble trade fair, Rosen eagerly anticipated the event in two days.

...

The Duke of Scorpion's Mansion was the residence of one of the two hereditary dukes of the Dungeon Kingdom. Though the kingdom's dukes lacked the sheer power of grand dukes in a principality, being a duke in the Dungeon Kingdom still conferred the highest nobility.

Early in the morning, Rosen, holding his invitation, summoned his Sequence 7 alchemical mount—a dragon worth a staggering 5 million spiritual crystals. Though it was only a Sequence 7 creature, its luxurious decorations and functionality made it a prized possession. The dragon, over two zhang (about 6.6 meters) long, featured a crown atop its head, which served as a miniature alchemical castle. The interior was luxurious, ensuring the utmost comfort for noble travelers. On land, the alchemical dragon could transform into a chariot, while in the air, it flew at supersonic speeds. It could even traverse short distances through the Spirit Realm. Half of its value lay in its opulence, while the rest came from its genuine capabilities.

The dragon lowered its head, projecting a portal from its crown. Rosen stepped through the portal and found himself on the terrace of the miniature castle. The dragon's wings shifted into front wheels, and its hind legs formed the rear wheels. Now in chariot form, the alchemical dragon carried Rosen steadily toward the Duke's mansion.

Upon arrival, Rosen dismounted and stored the dragon. He presented his invitation to the mansion's servants, who escorted him to the castle's hall. Today, there was no grand ball or banquet, just simple refreshments for the guests. As nobles arrived, their number never exceeded fifty. Not all invited nobles had three rare items ready for trade, limiting attendance.

Display stands lined the sides of the hall, where nobles placed their items for trade. Rosen selected a spot, arranged his three items, and left detailed descriptions. He then grabbed a glass of wine and began inspecting the other items on display.

Several treasures immediately caught his eye. First, there was a Sequence 7 Skill Crystal. He had bought one before, but it had been mediocre and not a trap skill, so he had discarded it. This time, he found a rare trap skill: Time Trap Crafting. Though only at Sequence 7, it was priced at 30 million spiritual crystals. This price was reasonable, but most nobles weren't interested—time-based skills were notoriously difficult to master without considerable strength. Still, Rosen saw its potential for himself, given his exceptional learning abilities, the Feathered Serpent God's divine power, and his mastery of trap spaces.

Continuing his search, Rosen spotted a Sequence 6 Extraordinary Bullet Design. His current Sequence 9 Space-Piercing Bullets were becoming less effective, and this upgrade was tempting. Finally, he found two Soul Gems, classified as Sequence 8 divine items. Soul gems were invaluable for upgrading buildings within a Divine Domain. A single gem could instantly elevate a domain structure by one sequence level, making them perfect for enhancing Rosen's divine buildings.

Despite his excitement over these three items, Rosen knew his funds were limited. After browsing for a while, he negotiated with the marquis selling the Time Trap Crafting skill crystal, purchasing it for 26 million spiritual crystals. The Sequence 6 Extraordinary Bullet Design was exchanged for his Pregnancy Stone, and for the two Soul Gems, he traded Fallen Divine Blood and 1 million spiritual crystals.

The ease of these transactions was due to the rarity of both the Fallen Divine Blood and the Pregnancy Stone. Even if the buyers didn't need them immediately, they could easily resell the items at a profit. While Rosen was pleased with his trades, others had taken notice of his valuable goods, and many began eying his remaining item—the Ash Bee.

Though many were interested in the Ash Bee, most kept their distance, observing it from afar. The only person examining it closely was an elderly noble who looked surprisingly energetic. In the world of extraordinary sequences, most people preferred a youthful appearance until they reached a hundred years old. After that, men usually opted for a mature middle-aged look, projecting authority. No one chose an elderly appearance unless they were near the end of their life.

Rosen quickly recognized the old man as Faris Kuka, the only Sequence 5 Mechanical Inventor in the Dungeon Kingdom, a branch of the scientist profession and an upper sequence of alchemists. The Kuka family was known for its extraordinary mounts, and even the king would treat Faris with great respect.

"I'll take this," Faris said, handing Rosen a metal sphere. Upon examining it with his spiritual perception, Rosen realized it was a Sequence 6 Life Alchemy Core, an item that could upgrade his alchemical dragon from Sequence 7 to Sequence 6.

While the Life Alchemy Core was far more valuable than the Ash Bee, this was no ordinary transaction. Faris clearly recognized that the Ash Bee wasn't naturally occurring and was likely making a down payment for more in the future.

The rest of the trade fair passed uneventfully. Rosen observed the other nobles, gaining insights into their methods and practices. That evening, a ball was held—further reinforcing the nobles' love for such events. Initially, Rosen had thought these gatherings were purely for indulgence, but he later realized they also served as a form of cultivation and a way to filter out nobles who had become overly indulgent and lost their drive.

As the ball ended, Rosen politely declined invitations from several alluring noblewomen, aware that a special guest was coming to see him. Sure enough, not long after returning to his hotel, Faris paid him a quiet visit. Rosen didn't take this lightly. Even within the city, death was a possibility. To ensure his safety, he bound the entrance to his Bloodline Glory mystical realm to his hotel room door.

Inside the mystical realm, Rosen greeted Faris in the guest hall of his vampire castle. Faris seemed to sense something upon entering but determined that the Sequence 4 mystical realm painting wasn't enough to trap him. He relaxed.

After some warm tea, Faris got to the point. "I need a large number of Ash Bees," he said.

"I'd like to commission a set of extraordinary items for a hunter," Rosen replied after considering the request.

"That's simple," Faris responded, seemingly unfazed. However, when he saw the materials Rosen produced, his composure slipped for a moment. The corpse shell of a Sequence 3 Feathered Serpent God, its golden exterior gleaming—it was clear this was the remains of a divine descendant. Even without its original bloodline essence, it was a rare and valuable material. Faris, though tempted, managed to contain his greed.

After much thought, Faris finally spoke, "I need a big favor from you."

"Agreed!" Rosen responded without hesitation. The more favors one owes, the stronger their network becomes, he believed.

"You won't regret it. I'll give you a Sequence 3 extraordinary item as compensation," Faris said seriously, sealing the deal with a solemn promise.

With the Contract Spirit God as their witness, Rosen and Faris formally concluded their agreement.

Next, they began discussing what kind of extraordinary item they should craft from the remains of the Feathered Serpent God. Rosen initially suggested creating clothing to enhance his survival capabilities, but Faris firmly rejected the idea. His professional expertise convinced Rosen otherwise.

Despite the Feathered Serpent God's preserved remains, the material was severely damaged, and the god was not known for its exceptional physical defense. If they insisted on making armor, the best they could achieve would be a Sequence 4 extraordinary item.

After further discussion, Faris decided to forge the remains into a Mechanical Mount. This type of mount, often viewed as a pet mount for those in the Hunter Sequence, was exceedingly rare. A Sequence 3 mechanical mount would be unheard of in the Dungeon Kingdom.

Faris even planned to use some of his most treasured materials for the project, hoping that crafting the mount would help him break through to Sequence 4 as a Mechanical Inventor, thus extending his lifespan. However, the chances of success were less than 50%. If they failed, both Rosen and Faris would suffer significant losses, but success would be a win-win for both parties.

Rosen was willing to take the risk as long as the potential rewards were worth it.

After Faris left, Rosen hurried to his Divine Domain, eager to use the two Soul Gems to enhance the Divine Beast Pen and the Glorious Lighthouse. The Divine Beast Pen was crucial for nurturing extraordinary life forms, especially with its Divine Beast Seal, which was essential for taming pets.

Domain buildings generally performed two levels higher than their actual sequence. For example, the Sequence 9 Alchemical Castle could easily fend off Sequence 7 attacks, and the Sequence 9 Glorious Lighthouse could effortlessly eliminate Sequence 7 enemies. Similarly, the Divine Beast Pen allowed Rosen to control pets at Sequence 7 perfectly.

If Rosen didn't enhance the Divine Beast Pen soon, it would become difficult to fully control Gray Mouse once it reached Sequence 6.

Rosen chose to enhance the Glorious Lighthouse over the Alchemical Castle because he didn't need more defense for the time being.

Once he applied the soul gems, both buildings began to upgrade.

[Divine Beast Pen: Divine Structure]

[Level: Sequence 8]

[Attributes: Able to condense Divine Beast Seals, imprison, tame, and raise extraordinary life forms; capable of altering the internal space environment.]

[Divine Trait: Beast Combat—Extraordinary life forms raised in the pen can fight each other for growth and evolution.]

Rosen hadn't yet fully understood the new trait when Gray Mouse began commanding the Blade Shark Mice to fight to the death. In mere moments, the sea-space within the pen was stained with blood. Hundreds of Blade Shark Mice fought, leaving only a few dozen survivors, who were poised to evolve to Sequence 7.

Rosen then ordered the slimes to fight each other. Some grew stronger, but not all. The slimes in the Divine Beast Pen came from two sources. The first type was slimes he had purchased, which reproduced by self-division. However, these slimes showed no signs of improvement no matter how much they fought. The second type was produced by the Slime Nest, a domain building that created Sequence 9 slimes.

The Slime Nest, being a domain building, occupied one of Rosen's Lord Skill Slots. All divine structures received the lord's abilities as blessings. For instance, Rosen could use the Alchemical Castle to activate Shadow Stealth or the Glorious Lighthouse to unleash Death Strike.

Rosen infused the Gluttony talent into the Slime Nest, granting each slime produced a weakened version of the Gluttony ability. Over the years, these slimes had grown to Sequence 8 through constant devouring. After another round of bloody battles, the surviving slime troops had mostly advanced to Sequence 7. Though many were lost, quality had improved at the cost of quantity.

Next, Rosen approached the Glorious Lighthouse, which had also undergone significant enhancement.

Previously, as a Sequence 9 structure, the Glorious Lighthouse had no attributes of its own, being a product of Mechanical Spirit Transformation. However, after being upgraded to Sequence 8, it had gained new abilities.

[Glorious Lighthouse: Divine Structure]

[Level: Sequence 8]

[Attributes: Light]

[Skills: Glorious Beam, Glorious Shine, Glorious Barrier]

[Divine Trait: Mechanical Life—Able to fuse the soul of an extraordinary life form to obtain complete life.]

[Mythical Trait: Spirit Realm Anchor—Can establish two space coordinates in the Spirit Realm for the Divine Domain.]

Previously, the lighthouse had only gained mechanical life through Mechanical Spirit Transformation, which granted it a body but not a soul. Now, Rosen needed to capture the soul of an extraordinary life form and fuse it with the lighthouse, allowing it to become a complete life form with increased strength.

The Spirit Realm Anchor was an unexpected but exciting trait. Rosen realized that the lighthouse wasn't a magic tower as he had thought, but rather, it served as a navigation tool for his Divine Domain.

A noble's Divine Domain existed both in the Sea of Consciousness and the Spirit Realm, overlapping in a spiritual state. When a noble's real body entered the Spirit Realm, their Divine Domain would anchor at two points: one slow-moving coordinate where the domain originally existed and one fast-moving coordinate anchored to the noble, allowing for rapid movement within the Spirit Realm.

With the Spirit Realm Anchor, Rosen could now establish two additional coordinates, dramatically increasing the mobility of his Divine Domain. This ability was highly coveted by Divine Domain lords.

Rosen quickly envisioned its potential uses. By setting an anchor in the Spirit Realm of the Dungeon Kingdom and another near Blue Whale City, he could travel freely between the two kingdoms without relying on supernatural vehicles. This was a somewhat wasteful use of the ability, but until he discovered a resource-rich area like a mineral vein, it would serve him well.

After setting his anchor in the Dungeon Kingdom's Spirit Realm, Rosen entered the Void Gallery from his Divine Domain. The Sequence 6 Extraordinary Bullet Design he had obtained would directly impact the damage output of his God-Slaying Crossbow. He spent hours studying the bullet design carefully.

The Elemental Four-Phase Bullet was far more complex than Rosen had anticipated. It resembled the three-phase bullet technology from his previous world, where energy release involved fission and fusion.

However, instead of uranium, the Elemental Four-Phase Bullet used extraordinary elements like metal, wood, water, fire, earth, light, and darkness. These fusions didn't cause material destruction but instead unleashed unique effects. For instance, a Fire Elemental Four-Phase Bullet could reach temperatures of several thousand degrees Celsius, incinerating targets, while an Ice Elemental Four-Phase Bullet could freeze entire buildings.

The Elemental Four-Phase Bullet was among the top Sequence 6 bullets, though its high production costs prevented it from becoming widely available.

Rosen knew that while creating these bullets was time-consuming, he had a personal method to reduce the burden. By using his Mind Canvas for mental projection and rendering, he could generate the bullets quickly, though at a cost to his spiritual energy. Thanks to Gluttony, he could rapidly replenish this energy by consuming resources.

Excited by the potential, Rosen expanded his Mind Canvas and began painting the different elemental variants of the Elemental Four-Phase Bullet. With thirteen elements to work on, it would take him at least a hundred days to complete the task.

(End of Chapter)