Lord: Sequence Master

Rosen pocketed his newly acquired card currency and hurried to the department store, buying up all the card packs for the day.

Even then, it didn't cost him much. At this rate, he could clean out the department store's inventory for at least a year.

He summoned his card collection book and started opening packs, filling the free card slots at the back. He quickly discarded the spell cards that only affected players, leaving them in a pile.

In the end, he picked out three spell cards that were most valuable to him: Retry, Drift, and Copy.

Retry allowed him to form a shield of Nen and fly quickly to a designated location.

Drift would teleport him randomly to a nearby city.

Copy could duplicate any designated card numbered 1 to 99.

Without hesitation, Rosen used Copy to duplicate the Beauty Hot Spring (card #004). He stored the copy in one of the designated card slots, planning to materialize the original card at Rose Castle. After all, he was already treating Rose Castle as his residence in Masadora.

Though he was a man, he didn't mind enjoying a relaxing hot spring to keep his skin in good condition.

Rosen was also curious about how a card like Beauty Hot Spring, with such special effects, worked in Greed Island. He wondered just how far the game's Nen abilities could go and how they could create such incredible results.

He glanced at the Retry and Drift cards and saw the familiar interface of the Main God Computer appear in his mind.

To convert Retry into a supernatural item would cost a whopping 1,000 units of spiritual energy. Drift was a bit cheaper, costing only 500 units.

There was no real choice to make—Rosen immediately opted to materialize Drift into a supernatural item.

Golden lightning flashed in his hand as the Drift spell card glowed, breaking its connection to Greed Island. The Nen energy that maintained the card was replaced by his spiritual energy.

With a satisfied smile, Rosen returned to Rose Castle, materialized the Beauty Hot Spring, and spent several hours soaking with Stephanie.

Later, as he admired his now even smoother skin, Rosen reluctantly left the hot spring and returned to the Mysterious Study Room.

After checking to ensure no one was around outside, he left the Secretary Room and activated the Drift card.

The card dissolved into glowing particles, and powerful waves of spiritual energy enveloped Rosen, propelling him through the sky toward the nearest city. Initially, Rosen had planned to conserve his spiritual energy by taking a train, only using the card if he couldn't escape by conventional means.

In the end, though, he couldn't resist. He was tired of hiding in Redstone City, constantly on the run.

Next time I return to Redstone, the roles of cat and mouse will surely be reversed, he thought.

Sitting in the protective Nen shield, Rosen gazed out through the transparent barrier at the ash swirling in the sky. Leaving Redstone City this way was a bit risky since he had to fly directly through the Ash Plains rather than teleporting directly to a nearby city.

If he encountered a powerful ash-mutated creature, he could very well be shot down mid-flight.

Were it not for the Mysterious Study Room as a fallback, he would've chosen the train without a doubt.

Although he worried about tempting fate, the journey passed without incident. The Nen shield's Invisibility feature rendered him nearly undetectable, and his swift speed ensured he outran anything he couldn't hide from.

In less than a minute, Rosen arrived at an island city under the cover of night.

As he observed the port and its ships, he immediately recognized the city as Blackstone Port.

The connection between Redstone City and Blackstone Port was obvious from their names alone. Years ago, Redstone had been a major producer of Crimson Shadow Ore, but it lacked a deep-water port. So, they built Blackstone Port, located just a few dozen miles away, to export the ore to neighboring nations.

However, as Crimson Shadow Ore deposits dwindled and Redstone City declined, Blackstone Port had thrived and even outpaced its former mother city.

This was the fate of many mining cities. Many former nobles of Redstone City had since relocated to Blackstone Port.

Despite the proximity, Rosen wasn't worried about Redstone Viscount extending his influence here.

Blackstone Port, though prosperous, was also rife with chaos. Without the steady flow of ore exports, the city had shifted into a trade hub, but not of legitimate goods—90% of the port's commerce now came from pirates.

This port had become a haven for pirates to offload their plunder. Ironically, this made Blackstone Port safer than Redstone City.

Pirates would often disguise themselves to spend their ill-gotten wealth in the city. If even the local nobility couldn't guarantee their safety, how could they hope to profit?

So, even if a pirate spat in a viscount's face, the nobles of Blackstone Port would never allow that viscount to retaliate within the city.

Individual interests could never outweigh collective interests—unless an individual was stronger than the collective, of course.

Rosen made his way toward the port, knowing it would be the least troublesome way to enter the city.

Despite the late hour, the port was brightly lit. The area was full of taverns and inns, bustling with pirates who had just sold their spoils. Most pirates, after offloading their goods, would spend the night eating and drinking heavily. Every night, drunk pirates could be seen tussling with each other and even diving into the sea to settle disputes.

As long as the brawls didn't happen within the city limits, the Blackstone Port Security Office would turn a blind eye.

Rumor had it that settling disputes at sea was a rite of passage for men of the ocean, leading to nightly crowds of spectators eager to watch the scuffles, especially in warmer months.

As Rosen reached the port, he arrived just in time to witness two pirate crews leap into the sea, fists flying.

He had to admit, these pirates were quite capable. Though most hadn't awakened any supernatural powers, it was clear they had used various means to enhance their bodies. After watching for a while, Rosen made his way to the largest tavern nearby.

Although he had heard tales of Blackstone Port, he wanted to get a true feel for the place.

After ordering a few drinks and chatting with the locals, he headed upstairs to a private room. At the door, he hung both a red and blue sign.

The blue sign indicated he was there to drink and eat. The red sign was for the "red house" services.

When both signs were hung together, it meant he was there to gather information.

The men and women serving the tavern doubled as informants. In addition to catering to the patrons' physical needs, their main source of income came from overheard conversations and the exchange of information.

Before long, a server approached Rosen with a thick notebook, placing it on the table.

As Rosen flipped through it, he saw that the tavern's owner had compiled information from various sources, organizing it by key topics.

To get information, all he had to do was note the number of the desired information and pay the corresponding price.

If the information he wanted wasn't listed, he could leave a deposit. The tavern would notify him when they had what he needed. If no information was found by the deadline, he'd get half his deposit back.

(End of Chapter)