Lord: Sequence Master

Ashen Sea, Redstone City, on the eastern coast of the Duchy of Blazing Shadows.

The Ashen Sea stretched along the eastern coast of Redstone City, within the Duchy of Blazing Shadows. Rosen stood by the floor-to-ceiling window on the villa's second floor, sipping a steaming cup of coffee while gazing at the gray, snowstorm-swept landscape.

Two days had passed since Rosen first woke in the villa. Upon regaining consciousness, Rosen had found himself lying in a cold basement corner, clad in pajamas. In front of him was a mysterious magic circle, flashing constantly with gold and silver lightning. Suspended within the lightning was the corpse of a boy, an exact reflection of Rosen in his youth—a sight that had startled him greatly.

Before Rosen could react, the boy's body dissolved into gold and silver lightning, surging into his own. Rosen not only inherited the boy's failing spiritual energy, the result of a botched profession change but also absorbed 18 years of his memories. The outcome? He had reverted to his 18-year-old self and had successfully awakened supernatural abilities, with one foot already in the realm of the extraordinary.

But that wasn't all—Rosen had also brought with him a "golden finger" from his past life. Before his crossing, he was a small-time manga artist, earning a living by drawing various types of comics. A wealthy fan of Hunter x Hunter, impressed by his drawing skills, had personally invited him to the fan's villa. After hours of commiserating over the series' unfinished state, the fan became convinced he would never see Hunter x Hunter completed in his lifetime. The fan then offered Rosen free lodging, food, and payment to stay and produce a fan-made continuation of the series—a far better deal than drawing his usual comics. Rosen accepted the offer and spent half a month immersed in manga, anime, and research within the fan's luxurious study.

In the end, not only had Rosen transmigrated, but he had also brought the fan's luxurious study with him. Now, that study resided deep within his soul. After a nine-second loading time, Rosen could physically enter the study, capable of bringing objects from the outside world into it, though nothing inside— not even a single piece of paper—could be removed. To this day, he still doesn't fully understand the true function of his "golden finger."

Rosen put down his warm cup of coffee and left the cozy bedroom, descending into the cold, silent basement. In the two days since his arrival, he had successfully integrated young Rosen's memories. This young man not only looked exactly like him but also shared the same name—Rosen.

The young Rosen came from a noble family. Although the family retained the hereditary title of Baron, its decline and the early death of his parents had left him without support. Relying on his noble status and inherited wealth, young Rosen lived off wealthy patrons, a role in which he had proved remarkably adept. In less than two years, he had gathered all the resources necessary to perform the awakening ritual for supernatural powers.

By all accounts, the awakening should have been successful, yet young Rosen failed at the final step. Rosen had wondered if his transmigration had caused the failure, but later dismissed that theory, instead suspecting that the materials purchased for the ritual were faulty. Someone had wanted young Rosen to fail—someone had wanted him dead during the awakening. The list of possible culprits was long. While living off others had its rewards, it also made him enemies. Even though young Rosen had carefully targeted strong women with weak husbands, some jealous spouses were not entirely oblivious. Though no one openly harmed him, many secretly wished him gone.

Upon reaching the basement, Rosen pressed his hand against the wall, and after nine seconds, a door materialized. He pushed it open and stepped into the study. Once it closed behind him, the door in the basement wall vanished. Whatever else this "golden finger" could do, it at least functioned as a safe house.

With young Rosen's memories fully integrated, Rosen no longer felt like a stranger in this new world. The Duchy of Scorching Shadows was part of the World Government, a lower-middle tier member among the thousands of nations at its peak. Still, the Duchy remained vast, roughly comparable to half the size of China from his past life.

This world has witnessed the rise of countless brilliant civilizations over millennia. Twenty thousand years ago, powerful human nations waged war against the gods. After slaying five deities, they united to form the World Government. From that point onward, human civilization transitioned from the Age of Gods to the Golden Age. The World Government abolished all previous supernatural paths and established nine new sequences capable of leading mortals to godhood. Thus, the golden era of human civilization began.

These nine supernatural sequences are Nobles, Artists, Scientists, Gourmets, Wizards, Knights, Hunters, Assassins, and Doctors. Among them, the Nobles sequence ranks first, undeniably the most powerful among human supernatural paths. This is because the Noble's sequence represents human bloodline inheritance, the glory of human civilization, and supreme authority. The intertwining of bloodline, glory, and authority forms the Noble's sequence, granting the nobility extraordinary powers.

Although young Rosen was a hereditary Baron, he remained at the lowest tier of nobility. Even if he successfully awakened the spiritual powers of the Nobles sequence, advancing beyond that point would prove exceedingly difficult. Among the nine sequences, the Nobles sequence was acknowledged as both the easiest and the hardest to progress through.

Fortunately, even the lowest-tier Noble could pursue a secondary profession within one of the other sequences. As for ordinary individuals who are not nobles, they could only change professions to one of the five remaining supernatural sequences, excluding Nobles, Artists, Scientists, and Gourmets. Only nobles had access to the exclusive sequences tied to human civilization, while ordinary individuals were restricted to the other paths.

For ordinary individuals to catch up with nobles, they would need to attain nobility later in life and gain access to the Nobles sequence. However, by then, they would no longer qualify for the Artist, Scientist, or Gourmet sequences. With equivalent qualifications and levels, the four supernatural sequences exclusive to nobles far surpassed the five originating from the gods.

Rosen cleared his mind and immediately sensed his soul, perceiving a golden flame within it. Over the past two days, due to the fusion of memories, his soul had been unstable. The golden flame of spirituality, born within him, had also been extremely violent, making it impossible to control. However, half an hour ago, when young Rosen's memories fully merged, the spiritual flame finally stabilized.

Extraordinary spirituality originates from the souls and consciousness of intelligent beings. Through the awakening ritual, humans communicate with the spiritual world, and through this connection, they link to human civilization. This fusion of soul and self-awareness with the power of human civilization allows each individual to awaken a unique and extraordinary spirituality.

At this stage, Rosen's spirituality was still an illusion, far from manifesting into a physical form. The appearance of this spiritual illusion determines an individual's innate talents and inclinations. The most common spiritual illusions are based on the five elements: gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. Fire is most suitable for Artists and Gourmets, metal for Scientists and Knights, water for Wizards and Doctors, wood for Hunters and Assassins, while earth has no specific inclinations or standout talents.

Rosen's spiritual illusion took the form of fire, meaning the most suitable roles for him would be as an Artist or a Gourmet. He focused on the spiritual illusion and instantly used his spirituality to enter the legendary spiritual realm. The spiritual realm is said to be the source of all supernaturals and the origin of all disasters. No one knows its exact location, but all awakened individuals can sense it through their spirituality. Some even say that high-level extraordinary individuals can physically enter the spiritual realm.

As Rosen's consciousness followed his spirituality into the spiritual realm, his projected form appeared within a sea of golden flames. In the distance, towering above the horizon, stood a colossal golden tree, connecting heaven and earth, its height seemingly immeasurable. Almost instinctively, some basic information flooded into Rosen's mind.

The golden giant tree was known by many names: the Golden Ancient Tree, the Tree of Civilization, and the Tree of Sequences—all referring to the same entity. This tree is the source of all noble supernatural sequences, constructed by the World Government using the power of human civilization through unknown means.

The number of branches on the Golden Ancient Tree corresponds to the number of noble families within the World Government's human civilization. The number of leaves on each branch represents the number of living members in that noble family. Almost instinctively, Rosen's attention locked onto a tender branch corresponding to his hereditary Baron title. There were only two leaves on the branch. As he pondered whether young Rosen had any living relatives, both leaves flashed with golden light and merged into his spirituality.

Bloodline Glory: Noble Sequence 9 Class Power

Attribute: Bloodline Glory grants human spirituality a higher growth potential, allowing noble bloodlines to control the three major civilization sequences and enjoy the appropriate honor and rights of their noble rank in any country under the World Government.

Rosen quickly sensed the changes within his spirituality and familiarized himself with the effects of Bloodline Glory. The phrase "higher growth potential" refers to the fact that after awakening through the ritual, the initial value of all human spiritualities starts at 1 point. When this value reaches 10 points, an individual reaches the peak of Sequence 9 in their supernatural path. At 11 points, they can move into Sequence 8. However, Bloodline Glory raises this upper limit for nobles, allowing Sequence 9 spirituality to extend to 11 points, one point higher than the standard sequences.

The benefits of Bloodline Glory become even more pronounced as one advances. This foundational power is why all noble families prioritize the awakening of their bloodline. Higher noble titles provide additional powers related to strength, but none are as crucial to the lifelong growth of a supernatural individual as Bloodline Glory. For this reason, countless ordinary individuals aspire to become nobles.

"But something seems off about my Bloodline Glory," Rosen thought. Carefully sensing the changes in his spirituality, he felt both surprised and puzzled. Normally, Bloodline Glory only increases the upper limit by 1 point, but his seemed to increase by 2 points. Recalling the moment when the two leaves flashed simultaneously, he began to form a reasonable hypothesis.

Could it be that one leaf represented himself, while the other belonged to young Rosen? Perhaps his ability to awaken spirituality had something to do with his soul bringing the mystical library during the transmigration. The library may have absorbed the failed and dissipating spirituality of young Rosen, allowing him to manifest his own spirituality. Perhaps the Golden Ancient Tree regarded him as two individuals, granting him a double share of Bloodline Glory.

The noble supernatural sequence contains only this one power—Bloodline Glory—and no additional abilities. Satisfied with this discovery, Rosen controlled his spirituality to exit the spiritual realm. After returning to the mystical library, he re-entered the spiritual realm to explore further.

This time, what appeared before him was not just the Golden Ancient Tree. Standing side by side with the golden tree were three other golden trees and five silver trees, corresponding to the remaining eight supernatural sequences. The three golden sequences—Nobles, Artists, and Scientists—were inherently stronger than the five silver sequences at the same level and growth rate.

As Rosen observed the mystical trees, he became aware of the hierarchy between the sequences. The golden sequences, representing human civilization, were far superior to the silver sequences inherited from the gods. This structure highlighted the power and privilege that noble families held in society.

He directed his attention back to his own spirituality. Now that his Bloodline Glory had enhanced his potential, the road ahead seemed brighter, though still filled with uncertainty. His journey through the noble supernatural sequence was only just beginning, and the mysteries surrounding his transmigration, the mystical library, and his connection to young Rosen remained unsolved.