Lord Of The Lost

William finally crushed the monster into oblivion.

Its vitality had been absurdly resilient, beyond anything William had encountered before. Even with his devastating strength and the skill [Harm], it took far more effort than he expected. Against a lesser foe like the scar-faced thief, three punches would've been enough to reduce him to pulp.

---

[Your talent "Killing to Prove Your Truth" takes effect.]

[Physical value +0.2, Mental value +0.01, Energy value +0.15]

[Your talent has absorbed a complete ￠℃￥ξωχ... extraordinary characteristic of flesh and blood.]

[Your talent has absorbed some mysterious knowledge.]

[Your talent has absorbed growth.]

[Growth: Your lifespan increases, and your life cycle becomes longer.]

---

William absorbed the benefits passively. [Growth], much like [Intuition], worked silently in the background, extending his vitality and sharpening his potential.

But something else disturbed him.

Fragments of 'mysterious knowledge' flooded his mind; alien concepts that flickered at the edge of understanding. He couldn't resist his curiosity and reached to explore them.

The moment he did, his thoughts froze. His mind became sluggish, as though trapped in a deep mire.

Suddenly, the demon wolf's premonition screamed inside him.

"Stop! You must not observe this!"

"Seal this knowledge immediately!"

"Until you reach a higher level, do not touch it!"

William's body stiffened, his pupils trembling violently. The warning was overwhelming. It took a long moment before he could pull himself back, gasping as though he'd surfaced from drowning.

"What… was that?" he murmured, shaken.

But he didn't linger on the thought. There were more pressing matters.

Turning toward the monster's remains, William noticed something strange—a bloodstained, torn page of a book lying amidst the carnage. The messy, crazed handwriting drew his attention.

He picked it up cautiously, frowning as he read:

---

[Fragment of Hope's Notebook]

'"He hoped that even if he became a monster, his research would endure through his notes. But when he truly became a monster, his notebook shattered into countless fragments and scattered across the world."'

---

William was stunned.

The monster's true form… was connected to a torn piece of research notes? It had once belonged to a master of dark magic.

As he continued to read, the chaotic writings revealed chilling truths:

---

'"My dedicated research has finally borne fruit."'

'"This flesh and blood originates from beyond our world, a mysterious realm far greater than magic itself."'

'"Based on this knowledge, the first extraordinary being could be classified as Sequence 9."'

'"The Church and the Kingdom likely discovered this sequence long ago, yet they've hidden it from everyone, forbidding any further research. How despicable!"'

'"One day, I'll reveal this path to the world!"'

'"But the path is horribly polluted, it emits whispers that corrupt any living being that approaches."'

'"Even purification rituals fail to cleanse its madness."'

'"Any lifeform bearing this extraordinary characteristic will experience rapid flesh distortion, lose control, and spread infection to others."'

'"Even those with extraordinary abilities from other paths are at risk; their characteristics can be parasitized and corrupted."'

'"We must construct an initial template for this path and create a special potion."'

'"Potions alone won't suffice. We need additional methods to suppress or avoid madness."'

'"I'll find a way; a pure, untainted path free from corruption!"'

---

William finished reading, his grip tightening on the page.

The implications were staggering. This wasn't just the ramblings of a madman, it was a glimpse into a horrifying truth. The so-called 'Sequence 9' and the infected flesh could upend everything, from kingdoms to the laws of nature itself.

But what disturbed him most was the tone of the writing. The researcher had been confident, determined; even hopeful. Yet, the path they sought had consumed them entirely, turning them into the very monster William had just killed.

"A correct path free of corruption…" William murmured. "It seems you never found it."

He tucked the fragment away, his mind heavy with unease. Whatever this "path" was, it wasn't over. The monster may be dead, but its legacy and its dangers, remained.

Though it was only a fragment, the torn page radiated a wealth of information.

Hope had used special magical words in his writing, and as William read, he could almost feel the emotions etched into the text; excitement, urgency, and a burning eagerness. Each word seemed alive, carrying the essence of the writer's desperate hope.

William's eyes lingered on the term "Sequence 9", and his thoughts deepened. He glanced at the [Sequence Game] panel, then scratched his face with a mix of intrigue and unease.

It felt as though he had stumbled upon something extraordinary, something far beyond his current understanding.

The concept described was simple yet profound: every transcendent being ascends through life's essence, rising to a higher order like climbing the tiers of a pyramid. Starting at the foundation, each step brings you closer to the peak.

Unfortunately, the fragment didn't contain any details about potion recipes or practical instructions. It was incomplete; just a glimpse of a larger, mysterious whole.

Determined, William reached into [Rashomon] and pulled out an extraordinary characteristic, a pulsating, solidified heart of flesh and blood. It throbbed with unnatural vitality, its rhythm steady yet unnerving.

William's talent, [Killing to Prove the Way], allowed him to purify polluted extraordinary traits, stripping them down to their purest form. Hope had also found a way to extract pure extraordinary characteristics, but his method came with a terrifying consequence: any lifeform compatible with the 'path of flesh and blood' would inevitably spiral into madness.

The process was complex. For instance, a thief's transformation into a supernatural being required a complete set of thief-specific extraordinary traits, as well as knowledge of the thief's path.

Extraordinary characteristics served as the foundation, accumulated before a being could "change jobs." The knowledge of the thief's path was an empirical guide, what thieves could and could not do, honed through trial, error, and often bloodshed.

In essence, the thief's path was a well-trodden road, built on the sacrifices of those who had come before.

But the path of flesh and blood was entirely uncharted.

There was no template, no accumulated knowledge, no summarized experience. Walking this path was akin to creating an extraordinary path from scratch, a daunting task requiring not only knowledge but also the fortitude to face unknown consequences.

Even William, with all his strength, couldn't step into the realm of flesh and blood transcendence.

The advantage of this path was its adaptability; the extraordinary characteristics of flesh and blood were compatible with any lifeform.

The disadvantage? Madness.

Every transcendent on this path, without exception, succumbed to insanity.

William's gaze shifted back to [Rashomon], his frown deepening. He noticed faint wear and tear along its surface, subtle cracks forming on the rare artifact.

Its durability was decreasing.

He sighed. Even a powerful item like [Rashomon] wasn't impervious to the strain of battle and use. The path ahead was only growing more treacherous, and the tools he relied on were beginning to show their limits.

Rashomon was beginning to show its limits.

The failure to seal the monster earlier had taken its toll, but that wasn't the only issue. Constant use had chipped away at its durability. Even rare items weren't immune to wear and tear; the more they were used, the closer they came to breaking down.

William frowned. He'd need to find a way to suppress his talent and ease the burden on Rashomon. For now, though, the artifact could hold out for a while longer.

Shifting his focus, William looked again at the torn page in his hand.

Hope's research notes chronicled a fervent pursuit of forbidden knowledge, each word brimming with excitement and desperation. But that same obsession had led to ruin. When Hope transformed into a monster, the notebook; his life's work, shattered into fragments.

These fragments, tainted by the forbidden powers Hope had uncovered, began to grow flesh and blood, taking on a distorted version of his form. What remained of Hope was a maddened, disoriented echo of the person he once was, fragmented both physically and mentally.

The realization struck William: the Hope he encountered in Shadow Castle was likely another manifestation from the notebook.

"Did the Death Knight in the Knight's Land kill Hope in Shadow Castle?" William mused. "Is that why fragments like this one emerged outside the Black Forest?"

It seemed these fragments were connected, each piece of the notebook carrying a trace of empathy or shared memory. When one "Hope" died, another seemed to awaken somewhere else.

This raised an unsettling question: if he killed this monster, would another Hope-like fragment emerge from the Black Forest?

One thing was certain; these "Hopes" were incredibly dangerous.

The only reason William had managed to defeat this one so easily was because it was too large, its strength diffused across its bloated form. While its sheer size made it intimidating, it was ultimately a slow-moving target, lacking the focus to wield its power effectively.

But what if it had been more compact? Condensed, like the monstrous transformation of Little Bob? Its speed and strength would have been far more devastating, turning the battle into a near-impossible struggle.

"What a headache," William muttered to himself, gazing at the fragment in his hand.

Had Hope ever found the right path? William didn't know.

But one thing was clear: collecting the remaining fragments was essential. Beyond their potential value, these pages seemed tied to the changes happening in the Black Forest.

Perhaps the fragment Little Bob had taken was one of these pages as well.

With this thought, William made his way back to Border Town.

There, he found Metatron and the Forum Master, who had just returned from cleaning up the battlefield.

When William explained everything; the fragmented pages, the concept of "Sequence 9," and their possible connection to the sequence game, the two listened in stunned silence.

"It makes sense," Metatron finally said. "This term 'sequence'… it could be the foundation of everything we've been experiencing."

The Forum Master nodded gravely. "To become a Sequence 9… it means choosing a path and stepping into transcendence. This changes everything."

William's thoughts turned once more to the fragments. If the sequences were tied to the notebook's knowledge, collecting those pages might be the key to understanding and surviving, the challenges to come.