Lord: Sequence Master

Rosen finally picked up the extraordinary item dropped by Count Fritz, and to his delight, it yielded another surprise.

[Primal Matter · Destiny Pen: Extraordinary Item]

[Rank: Sequence 6]

[Properties: Any paper medium written on is treated as a Sequence 6 Fate Script]

[Primal Matter Ability 1: Fate Determination – Can assess basic fate information about the target]

[Primal Matter Ability 2: Fate Scenario – Can edit and modify small environmental settings]

[Primal Matter Ability 3: Fate Hunt – Can track people or objects written down by the pen]

[Primal Matter Ability 4: Fate Playwright – Can write small-scale stage plays into the fate script]

The Destiny Pen was essentially a weaker version of the powers granted by the Playwright Sequence. This showed the uniqueness of Primal Matter Gear, as such equipment was perfectly integrated with transcendental Primal Matter. Its abilities mirrored, in lesser form, the powers of the corresponding transcendent sequence.

While the best candidate for this item would be another Playwright, Rosen decided to keep it for his own use. As he advanced further in the Artist Sequence, he knew that different branches of the creative professions would eventually converge.

A Painter creates worlds and life through spiritual realm paintings.

A Director does so through films.

A Playwright does it through scripts.

A Novelist through novels.

Architects build structures, Singers create music, and Sculptors bring sculptures to life.

While these artistic professions may appear different on the surface, their core essence is always creation. Even the Noble, Scientist, and Gourmet sequences share this creative core. Humanity's advancement has always been tied to creation and evolution, making creativity the key to progress.

Since all these paths ultimately lead to the same destination, Rosen saw value in understanding other branches of the sequence early on. The Destiny Pen might also prove useful in certain situations.

After carefully storing the Destiny Pen, Rosen prepared to return to Adventure King City with his newfound rewards. His first task upon returning was to investigate Count Fritz.

Nobles rarely resorted to outright conflict with one another—not because of image concerns, but because noble families often had older and younger generations to consider. While a current count might only be a Sequence 7, the family's ancestors could easily be higher-sequence powerhouses.

Count Fritz was a Hereditary Count, meaning that for every generation of the Fritz family, at least one member had reached Sequence 7. This was similar to Susan's late husband's family, the Simmons family, which also held the title of Hereditary Count.

However, being a Hereditary Count didn't mean the family always had elders or young heirs to protect it. Death was ever-present in noble life. Once a current head reached Sequence 7, they were required to pass the title to their children. At that point, the former head would lose their hereditary title and become a Non-Hereditary Count.

If a noble sought further advancement, they had to earn military merits to elevate their rank. The simplest route was to gain a Non-Hereditary Marquis title, pushing the family further up the noble hierarchy. Achieving a Hereditary Marquis title significantly raised the family's status.

Many noble families began as Hereditary Barons 20,000 years ago and gradually climbed the ranks through consistent efforts and accumulated merits. The quickest way to gain such merits was by fighting in wars on the frontlines between humanity and other races. Nobles who reached Sequence 6 were required to serve in some form of military duty.

War meant facing death, and over time, some families, like the Simmons family, were wiped out entirely across generations.

Rosen suspected that the Fritz family had suffered a similar fate. If Count Fritz's father or grandfather were still alive, they should have offered some support. Yet, from what Rosen had observed of Fritz's Divine Territory, it lacked the resources and strength one would expect from a hereditary family.

Upon investigation, Rosen confirmed that the Fritz family had no surviving elders. However, Fritz had a nearly adult son preparing to inherit the title, meaning Fritz himself would soon be required to serve on the frontlines. This explained his desperate attempts to increase his strength by any means necessary.

At this moment, Fritz's son had no idea that his father was already dead. The best time to "eradicate the roots" was now. If Rosen waited until Fritz's son awakened his spirituality and inherited the title, dealing with him would become much more difficult.

While nobles weren't protected outside the city, killing one came with consequences. Unless Rosen died, he would eventually face retribution from the Sequence 6 Noble Punishment Orders. Since retribution was inevitable, Rosen decided he might as well finish the job completely.

Rosen took out the Destiny Pen and wrote the name Dorji Fritz, the only son of Count Fritz, on a sheet of Human Skin Paper.

Fate Hunt activated, revealing Dorji Fritz's exact location. Then, Fate Playwright triggered, influencing Dorji's actions. While on a fishing trip with friends, Dorji was buried alive in a cave collapse, with all of his extraordinary items conveniently failing to activate.

Not long after Dorji's death, investigators from the Underground Kingdom arrived to investigate. After a brief inquiry, they left without making a fuss, sending a clear, unspoken message.

The deaths of Count Fritz, his son, and his wife weren't of concern. Some distant branch of the Fritz family would inherit the title, and those lucky individuals might even be grateful to Rosen. Cases like Rosen's own Howard family, where he was the sole surviving heir, were exceedingly rare.

The investigators' visit was merely a reminder not to overstep. While killing Fritz was acceptable, attacking other nobles in the future without restraint would provoke rejection—or worse—by the Underground Kingdom's nobility.

Rosen understood these unspoken rules. For now, he planned to focus on clearing dungeons and avoid causing further trouble. Though killing Fritz had brought significant rewards, it had also slightly lowered Rosen's spiritual limit. Repeating such actions too often might lead to his own downfall.

To challenge Sequence 6 Nobles in the future, Rosen needed to fully master all his Sequence 7 powers first.

After stabilizing his spirituality over the next few days, Rosen focused on refining two divine buildings: the Ashen Hive (a Sequence 9 structure) and the Demon Nest (a Sequence 7 structure).

Advancing further in the Noble Sequence would require upgrading these divine buildings. Rosen didn't plan on hiring an Architect, as revealing the extent of his divine structures might tempt even an architect to rob him.

Instead, Rosen decided to hunt specific creatures in the Spiritual Realm and use the Soul Gems they dropped to enhance his divine buildings.

Before diving deeper into the Spiritual Realm, however, Rosen aimed to perfect his inherited skills from both the Painter and Hunter sequences. He still needed to master one final Trap Skill from the Hunter Sequence.

With a few more dungeon expeditions, Rosen was confident he would obtain a suitable trap skill.

Rosen had no choice but to seek assistance from high-sequence painters to advance in the Painter Sequence.

Good dungeons required waiting in long lines, and finding a skilled private art tutor demanded even more patience. Painters often disappeared for months, or even years, lost in the Void Gallery or traveling the world to gather inspiration, with no fixed residence. Of course, idle painters were available, but none possessed the advanced skills Rosen needed.

Left with no other option, he posted a bounty at the Hunter's Guild. If any transcendent beings from other nations could provide valuable information, he wouldn't hesitate to offer a generous reward.

One morning, a pair of young siblings came to visit him.

In the hotel lounge, Rosen observed the nervous brother and sister sitting across from him. Both had awakened their spirituality—the elder brother was a sculptor, and the younger sister was a rare Starry Mage.

Given their talents, they shouldn't have appeared so timid, unless their lives had been especially difficult—perhaps no better than Rosen's own before his rise.

"Are you here regarding the bounty?" Rosen asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes!" Bal Boro nodded nervously. "We come from a hereditary noble family, but by my generation, we've completely fallen. However, one of our ancestors was a Sequence 6 painter, and they once mastered two of the skills on your reward list."

"Is there a legacy painting left behind?" Rosen's eyes lit up with anticipation.

"There is, but it's dangerous," Bal responded cautiously.

"How many spiritual crystals do you need? If it's reasonable, we can head to the Hunter's Guild to sign a contract," Rosen offered directly, unfazed by the mention of danger.

"We don't want spiritual crystals. We want to go inside with you and retrieve the relics our ancestor left behind," Bal replied firmly.

Rosen paused, realizing they wanted him as their bodyguard. It was inconvenient, but not unmanageable.

Under Bal's anxious gaze, Rosen eventually nodded in agreement.

After hours of discussion, Rosen learned the truth about the legacy painting left behind by Bal's ancestor. Typically, a family with a Sequence 6 painter should not have fallen so low. Painters of that level could amass great wealth, and a legacy spiritual painting wouldn't normally pose much danger.

As it turned out, the ancestor in question wasn't a direct forebear but a great-uncle. This Sequence 6 painter had been a rare, unmarried noble, leaving no heirs, and the title passed to his nephew. Because there was little emotional connection between them, the great-uncle left behind only one ordinary spiritual painting before disappearing.

That painting should have sustained the family for generations. However, Bal's father was a wastrel who squandered the family's spiritual legacy. By the time Bal and his sister awakened their spirituality, there was no money left to support their growth.

It was then that Bal discovered a hidden spiritual painting left by their ancestor—a highly valuable legacy. However, the painting had serious problems and had been sealed away within the family's heirloom.

Under the witness of the Contracted Spirit God, Rosen and Bal signed a contract. Rosen finally saw the painting in question—an extraordinarily unique engraved painting.

The engraving's framework had been crafted by a Sequence 6 sculptor, and the coloring was completed by a Sequence 6 painter.

When Rosen used his spirituality to make contact with the engraved painting, he immediately understood why it had been sealed. Unsurprisingly, Bal's ancestor—the Sequence 6 painter—had died inside the painting.

This painting was, in essence, the painter's tomb.

"Digging up an ancestor's grave... quite the filial act," Rosen mused, grasping the true danger of the painting. It was filled with hazards: a Void Gallery, possibly lingering spiritual artworks, and even the dreaded Self-Portrait.

One wrong move, and even Rosen could end up in dire straits.

Two days later, fully prepared, Rosen, Bal, and his sister Nia gathered at the hotel, ready to enter the engraved painting's spiritual realm.

Bal cut his wrist, drawing a drop of his extraordinary blood and smearing it onto the engraved painting.

Inside the painting, a mummy-like figure seated on a throne suddenly opened its eyes and gazed out. It extended its hand, grabbing Bal and pulling him into the painting.

Rosen and Nia, holding onto Bal's shoulders, were dragged into the painting as well, disappearing from the room.

Blinding sunlight and scorching winds greeted them.

Prepared to defend against an attack from the mummy, Rosen instead found himself surrounded by endless rolling sand dunes.

However, a few miles ahead, they could see an oasis spanning several miles.

Rosen looked up at the sky and immediately projected his Mind Canvas, releasing eagles from his paintings to soar thousands of feet into the air.

Some eagles flew toward the oasis, while others scouted the boundaries of the spiritual realm.

Through the shared vision of the eagles, Rosen quickly assessed the situation within the spiritual realm.

The realm stretched for dozens of miles, most of it barren desert with no apparent anomalies.

However, the oasis stood out, filled with palaces, lush trees, and a network of waterways connecting four palaces.

At the far end of the oasis, nestled against a mountain, stood a colossal pyramid towering higher than the mountain itself.

Though invisible from outside the oasis, once within its bounds, the pyramid dominated the landscape.

Judging by the scale of the buildings, the oasis resembled a pharaoh's palace.

Just as Rosen was about to paint camels to traverse the desert, he heard something and turned his attention to the sand beneath their feet.

Something was moving underground—a large number of creatures were burrowing toward them.

Rosen dispersed a layer of Spatial Mist, letting it seep into the sand below.

Soon, several mummified figures emerged into the mist, disoriented by the spatial distortion. They wandered aimlessly at the edge of the mist, circling in confusion.

Rosen brought one mummy closer, and Bal, eager to prove himself, stepped forward to deal with it.

It was merely a Sequence 9 mummy, and Bal dispatched it with ease.

Using his knowledge as a sculptor, he even dissected and examined the decapitated mummy on the spot.

(End of Chapter)