Lord: Sequence Master

"This is just an ordinary storybook no matter how I look at it!" Rosen muttered, frustrated after skimming the book from cover to cover. Despite his efforts, he found nothing unusual about The Machado Pirate Chronicles. Of course, if there was truly a hidden secret within the book, it wouldn't be something easily discovered by a casual read.

It was also possible that there was no secret at all. Maybe young Rosen's father had simply enjoyed the story.

Still curious, Rosen decided to search through the rest of the Howard family's collection, hoping to find another clue. In the meantime, he kept himself busy using his Mind's Canvas to illustrate scenes from the book mentally, using it as practice to refine both his artistic skills and his imagination.

Two days later, Rosen came across a family genealogy book, a comprehensive record of the Howard lineage. The book documented every member of the family, from their founding ancestors up to the birth of young Rosen. Each entry featured a detailed biography along with a vivid portrait.

As Rosen flipped through the entries, he noticed something odd—an unusual gap in the record. The fifth-generation Lord Howard's name was missing entirely.

This fifth-generation lord, like young Rosen's father, had belonged to the artist sequence, specifically as a novelist. The only identifier left behind was a pen name, and as Rosen's eyes widened in realization, he noticed it matched the author of The Machado Pirate Chronicles

Could it be that young Rosen's father left the Howard family crest in the book as a tribute to his ancestor?

Rosen initially dismissed the idea of a deeper secret. The book could have been a family favorite, but something about the coincidence nagged at him.

As he continued reading the biography, more doubts crept in. The decline of the Howard family had started with this fifth-generation lord, who had reached Sequence 7—a significant achievement, second only to the family's founder. Yet instead of flourishing, the family began to fall into decline during his tenure.

Rosen read on, discovering that the sixth-generation lord had frequently criticized his father. It turned out that the fifth-generation Lord Howard had been murdered.

The sixth-generation lord's notes suggested that the fifth-generation lord had made enemies by writing about the secrets of other nobles in his novels, hoping to boost sales. The sixth-generation lord suspected that these enemies had exacted revenge on his father.

Before his death, the fifth-generation lord had requested that his name be erased from the family records.

"I'm sure of it now—there's definitely a secret hidden in this book," Rosen thought, picking up The Machado Pirate Chronicles once again.

The story followed Machado, a young boy from a small fishing village that had been raided by pirates, leaving him orphaned. He eventually joined a pirate crew, rising through the ranks to become a pirate captain after awakening his spiritual energy as a Sequence 9 pirate.

Though his adventures were thrilling, Machado's life took a tragic turn when his ship was destroyed during a raid. Wounded and with his career in shambles, he returned to his home village to die.

The story was popular for its exciting pirate escapades, but if there was a hidden message, Rosen couldn't see it.

He flipped through the pages again, noting signs of wear and tear that indicated young Rosen's father had read it many times. If a seasoned novelist needed multiple readings to uncover a secret, it would likely be beyond Rosen's current abilities to find it easily.

He sighed, setting the book aside for the time being.

Several days passed, and Rosen stumbled across another book in the family library. This one, published during the lifetime of the fifth-generation Lord Howard, was worn and filled with the strange annotations of that same lord.

The notes weren't kind. The fifth-generation lord had been a talented but arrogant man, heavily criticizing the book's predictability. He wrote that a truly great novel should hide its secrets so cleverly that no reader could easily uncover them.

Intrigued, Rosen picked up The Machado Pirate Chronicles again, comparing it with the notes from the other book.

But even with this newfound context, he still found nothing.

After hours of effort, Rosen decided to shelf the mystery temporarily. While he had inherited young Rosen's memories, he felt no emotional attachment to his parents and didn't see the need to uncover the truth about their disappearance immediately. His focus remained on strengthening himself, though he made a mental note to revisit the mystery when his skills had improved.

As the days passed, Rosen continued to read, refining his Mind's Canvas as he mentally illustrated the books. His efforts to enhance both his painting technique and spiritual growth led to steady progress, and two months later, his spiritual energy quietly increased to 10 points.

One day, Rosen stopped by the Artist Guild's front desk to chat with the receptionist while waiting for a delivery. The package finally arrived—a discreet, brown parcel containing two extraordinary items. One was an alchemical tool designed to be implanted in a person's brain, giving Rosen complete control over their life and death.

This particular item wasn't sold legally and had to be obtained through the black market. Rosen had waited a full month for his middleman to acquire it.

Returning to his pseudo-spiritual realm, Rosen immediately headed to the dungeon in Rose Castle located in Masadora.

There, the two prisoners, Nurdin and Hubert, had been languishing for months. Both had gone from enemies to reluctant companions, bonded by their shared confinement.

When they saw Rosen enter the dungeon, both men stiffened in fear, knowing something was about to happen.

Without a word, Rosen pulled out a syringe and handed it through the slot in the door.

"Inject this into your carotid artery," Rosen commanded coldly.

Nurdin's voice trembled as he nervously asked, "Isn't there another way?"

Rosen said nothing and instead pushed the barrel of his Godslayer Crossbow through the slot, aiming it directly at Nurdin's head.

Realizing they had no choice, Nurdin took the syringe and used a mirror to carefully inject it into his carotid artery. The alchemical chip dissolved into his bloodstream, making its way to his brain.

Hubert, too, reluctantly injected the chip.

Only after the procedure was complete did Rosen relax. He unlocked the door, finally allowing Nurdin and Hubert to leave the dungeon and see the light of day once again.

(End of Chapter)