Lord: Sequence Master

"This should be safe now," Rosen muttered as he pulled a chair over to the window, sitting down to enjoy the sunlight.

After spending nine days in the dense forest, where even light required lamps, he hadn't seen the sun for days. By evening, with no sign of the Shadow Cats, Rosen realized he was truly out of danger.

If he felt adventurous, he could even hunt more extraordinary creatures. But after weighing the risks and rewards, he decided it was wiser to stay put and wait for a chance to leave.

The Black Shark would need to return to Blackstone Port, transport another batch of passengers, and only then return to open the Death Forest realm again. This cycle would take at least a month, during which Rosen couldn't leave the Mysterious Study Room or Masadora.

After a day spent painting spiritual artworks, Rosen decided it was time to relax. As evening fell, he returned to Rose Castle to unwind.

Two hours later, Rosen was enjoying snacks while soaking in the Beauty Hot Spring, with Stephanie giving him a shoulder massage.

"There seems to be a player in the city," Stephanie hesitated before mentioning.

"A player?" Rosen frowned.

"I'm not entirely sure," Stephanie explained. "Some of the human NPCs we've hired in the city reported that the leftover food from one of the restaurants was less than usual today. They suspect a player came to eat."

"That's quite possible," Rosen nodded.

In Masadora, aside from the Nian Beast NPCs, the human NPCs had to eat and drink. The game's GMs provided only a limited amount of Card Jenny for the NPCs—just enough for basic survival. After all, the Saw Realm had been integrated into Masadora, and these human NPCs were criminals. It was a mercy that they were even allowed to live, let alone be well-fed.

Each human NPC had its storyline and role to play, and if they failed to act out their part, they wouldn't even receive the minimum Card Jenny they needed to survive. Many of them were constantly looking for ways to make extra money or save wherever they could.

One common method was to scavenge discarded food from the Nian Beast NPC-run restaurants. These creatures didn't care about waste, and fresh supplies arrived daily from the farms outside the city. Anything left in the refrigerators would spoil, so the excess was tossed out.

Because many human NPCs relied on this free food, they knew exactly how much was discarded each day. If the amount suddenly dropped, it was a good sign that a player had shown up to eat.

As no one had spotted the player, it was likely that the individual had used Nen's abilities to avoid detection. Tomorrow, Rosen decided he would visit Masadora and investigate.

Though Rosen couldn't leave Masadora, players from the Greed Island game could come to him. He could trade rare spell cards to take designated cards from the player's card collection books, or he could offer deals in exchange for their help in acquiring cards scattered throughout the island.

This way, Rosen could gather more materials to transform into extraordinary items, many of which had tempting effects.

The next morning, Rosen skipped his usual hour-long workout and, before dawn, began wandering around Masadora. Floating beside him was the Godslayer Crossbow, with the Hunter's Eye on the crossbow constantly scanning everything around him, searching for any signs of a Nen user.

As he walked, Rosen's eyes drifted toward a magical clock tower in the distance.

"It'll be easier to search from higher up," he thought.

Soon after, he reached the top of the clock tower and released the Godslayer Crossbow, allowing it to scan the surroundings. Meanwhile, he set up his easel and began painting, never forgetting to accumulate spiritual experience for his Painter Sequence.

Hours passed until, by noon, the Hunter's Eye finally spotted something.

Through the shared vision, Rosen saw a middle-aged man in a hat enter a restaurant, faint gray Nen energy faintly surrounding his body.

"Target acquired."

Rosen immediately used Shadow Step, sliding down the back of the clock tower like he was skating on ice, moving swiftly through the shadows. Within less than a minute, Rosen had crossed several alleys and arrived outside the restaurant.

He entered quietly and spotted the player seated in a corner. Moving silently through the shadows, Rosen appeared across the table from the middle-aged man without making a sound. The man, who had been devouring roast meat, was startled when Rosen suddenly appeared before him, his pupils shrinking in shock as he vanished on the spot.

But in the very next instant, the man reappeared, seated across from Rosen again. This time, a Godslayer Crossbow hovered by his head, aiming directly at him.

No matter how hard the man tried to evade while using his invisibility ability, the crossbow's barrel followed him relentlessly.

"What's your name?" Rosen asked casually, waving the restaurant menu towards the cat-headed Nian Beast NPC waiter.

"Nurdin," the middle-aged man replied with a resigned expression.

"Someone's after you?" Rosen asked knowingly.

He had already deduced that Nurdin's Nen ability was invisibility.

This ability naturally made him excellent at survival, but it also meant his combat capabilities weren't particularly strong. In a foreign place like Masadora, it was clear that Nurdin's constant vigilance—even when eating—suggested he was being hunted.

"Yeah... I saw something I wasn't supposed to, and now I'm being chased all the way to Greed Island," Nurdin admitted after a brief hesitation.

He realized that the young man sitting across from him wasn't one of his pursuers and immediately thought this might be an opportunity. If he could enlist this person's help to get rid of his enemies, he wouldn't have to live in constant fear anymore.

"I'll help you deal with your trouble," Rosen said, laying out his terms, "but in return, you'll work for me from now on."

"That's fair!" Nurdin agreed without hesitation.

"Good. Now tell me everything," Rosen said, nodding with satisfaction.

Over the course of lunch, Nurdin explained the trouble he had gotten himself into.

Using his invisibility ability, Nurdin had become a notorious thief. But after pulling off many successful heists, he finally encountered his downfall. During one of his robberies, he witnessed a man feeding live humans to his hunting dogs. Worse, one of the man-eating hounds detected his presence and chased him relentlessly, nearly tearing him to pieces.

He had barely managed to escape to the nearby Hunter Guild Branch, where the hounds had been forced to retreat.

Angered by the near-death experience, Nurdin sent an anonymous letter to the Hunter Guild exposing the man's crimes.

That's when his real problems began. Shortly after, he found himself the target of a series of assassination attempts. If it weren't for his cunning and his powerful invisibility ability, he would have died long ago.

The worst part was that the assassins seemed to get better and better at finding him. Eventually, with no other options, Nurdin had learned about Greed Island, a game world that could physically transport Nen users inside. Desperate, he sought out a game console and entered the island.

But soon after, his pursuers followed him into the game, forcing Nurdin to stay hidden even here, too paranoid to show himself even for a simple meal.