In the ancient palace above the fog.
Dark red starlight shot up, forming several figures.
Leonard did a casual glance, and his gaze suddenly froze on the silver-black jewelry box placed on the long mottled table.
If he recalled correctly, this was likely a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, the Box of the Great Old Ones that The World Klein Moretti had specially emphasized during the prior private gathering.
The Saint of Secrets was really in control of this Grade 0 Sealed Artifact? And he even used it? Yet, Ma'am Hermit and Miss Justice succeeded? Leonard's pupils dilated slightly as he nearly couldn't believe his eyes.
As an official Beyonder, a Red Glove captain of the Church of Evernight, he knew Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts very well. He knew that these items could easily destroy a city, causing people to suddenly die without putting up any resistance. When facing them, not only was contact with them impossible, but even understanding them was something that should be reduced if possible.
Leonard originally believed that Ma'am Hermit and Miss Justice would leave the battlefield according to the plan after encountering a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact. They would then think of a way to rescue Miss Magician. To his surprise, they had succeeded, and had even retrieved the Grade 0 Sealed Artifact!
Ma'am Hermit's Mystical Re-enactment has reached such a high level? Did the "Feast of Betrayal" she mentioned really make the Sealed Artifact rebel? Or could it be that Mr. Fool had provided some help? Leonard muttered silently as he glanced at The World Klein Moretti who was seated at the bottom end of the long bronze table. He discovered that his former colleague was rather calm.
Klein surveyed the area and said, "Congratulations, everyone. The hunt this time was very successful.
"All the spoils of war are here."
As he spoke, he raised his right hand, condensing various bits of mysterious knowledge into a pale white luster. He also included a small number of legends that came from the East, such as Peach Blossom Spring, and Lanke's Go Match. He wanted Ma'am Hermit to test if they were mystical or not, and whether there was any real source.
"Ma'am, this is your reward." The World Klein made the pale white light fly towards The Hermit Cattleya. Then, he pointed at the Box of the Great Old Ones, the Secrets Sorcerer's Beyonder characteristic, the Traveler's Luggage, Botis's eyeballs, nine Worms of Star, large amounts of gems and materials on the table. "In addition, you have the right to choose first."
After the battle at the demigod level with the Saint of Secrets, Cattleya finally found the bearing and confidence of a saint. She first received the pale white glow and closed her eyes to digest the mysterious knowledge contained within.
In the Second Epoch, the ancient gods believed that the original Creator, The Oldest One, left some objects behind. Perhaps it was a "kingdom" formed from a portion of "His" body or something that "He" created...
There are nine of these that contain the various sefirot. They are the Chaos Sea, Sefirah Castle, River of Eternal Darkness, Knowledge Moor, Tenebrous World, Brood Hive, Nation of Disorder, City of Calamity, and the Key of Light...
The ancient sun god came from a place known as Chernobyl...
The Marauder pathway's Sequence 0 is called Error...
Emperor Roselle's fairytales might have originated from something that happened before...
...
As the mysticism knowledge resonated in her, Cattleya couldn't help but open her eyes and look at The World Gehrman Sparrow.
There were too many things inside that shocked her, making her realize that she had opened the door to a whole new world!
I never thought of Mr. Fool's origins in the past. Now, I can vaguely grasp it... A thought flashed through Cattleya's mind as she had a guess.
She immediately controlled herself. She didn't want to think too much, nor did she dare to think too deeply about it.
She was afraid that she would come up with an answer that was enough to make her lose control.
This is one of the nine sefirot. Mr. Fool's goal is to gather all the sefirot and attempt to recover...
Raising her right hand, she nudged her heavy glasses on her nose bridge. Cattleya forced herself to focus her attention on the small "tales" and decided to return to the real world to completely digest the potion before she attempted to create magic with them, allowing her to draw on their power using Mystical Re-enactment.
Of course, she also believed that not every one of them would succeed. She believed that a portion of those stories were purely fabricated. After all, this was a gift from Mr. World. There was no guarantee that they would be effective. After all, out of the many fairytales and ancient legends that Emperor Roselle recounted to Queen Mystic back then, only a few of them truly produced magic.
She took a few seconds to compose herself and cast her gaze to the middle of the long mottled table, preparing to choose her spoil of war.
Without a doubt, the most eye-catching item was the Box of the Great Old Ones labeled "0-61." The silver-black jewelry box embedded with many gems completely overshadowed all the other items.
Cattleya wasn't too unfamiliar with Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts, because Queen Mystic had more than one. It was also because of this reason that the Queen's Element Dawn was able to compete with the ancient organization, Moses Ascetic Order, that had been born in the early Fourth Epoch.
The gap between an angel and a saint was not something the magic of a powerful fairy tale could make up for.
To become a truly powerful figure, one had to advance to Sequence 2 or possess a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact. It wasn't that Cattleya didn't have any desire for the Box of the Great Old Ones, but when she thought of the hint that The World Gehrman Sparrow had received from Mr. Fool, the terrifying negative effects, the third level's extreme danger, and most of the Beyonder powers that she couldn't control, she felt a sense of horror.
Although she had "Brief Luck," she still lacked the ability to seal the Box of the Great Old Ones so far.
After a series of intense struggles, The Hermit Cattleya pointed at the dreamy crystal and said, "I want the Secrets Sorcerer's Beyonder characteristic."
If they could find a suitable High-Sequence Artisan, it could be transformed into a rather good Sealed Artifact, one that had barely acceptable negative effects. Queen Mystic Bernadette happened to have the resources to do so, but the commission might not necessarily succeed.
In the end, even if there's only "Teleportation," that will be enough. However, it's obvious that a Secrets Sorcerer wouldn't only be able to grasp Teleportation... Even if the negative effects are excessive, I can get Queen Mystic to shatter and try again, or I could sell it to Miss Magician... Yes, she said that her teacher would prepare the ingredients for her... Following that, Cattleya nodded at The World Gehrman Sparrow to confirm her choice.
Choosing the Secrets Sorcerer's Beyonder characteristic? Upon hearing Ma'am Hermit's reply, a scene appeared in Klein's mind.
Wearing a purple-patterned black robe, the lady wearing a dark-colored hood relied on "Blink" to leave behind many doppelgangers. Then, they would all ignite a match at the same time.
...The Little Match Girl will turn into countless witches selling matchsticks... This is a horrifying fairytale... The World Klein couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth as he tersely acknowledged.
"Alright, it's your right."
He then cast his gaze at Miss Magician.
"It's your turn to choose."
"I-I didn't do anything..." Fors said guiltily.
Klein scoffed and said, "You successfully acted as bait."
"..." Fors didn't know what expression she should use to respond, but she heard Mr. Star seemingly laugh.
She slowly took a deep breath and cast her gaze at the spoils of war on the long bronze table.
Frankly speaking, she wanted to choose the Box of the Great Old Ones because it was an item that her teacher's family had snatched away.
She didn't want to use it herself; she wanted to return it to her teacher directly.
However, considering that she was only bait, Fors felt that she was not qualified to take an item of this level.
Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts were extremely rare, precious, and dangerous. She had already gained a deep impression of them with Mr. Star's introduction. She knew that the value of the Box of the Great Old Ones was definitely not something a saint's Beyonder characteristic could compare with.
With this in mind, she chose under The World Gehrman Sparrow's watch. Fors finally gave up the impulse and pointed at the pair of eyeballs.
"I'll take them."
She wanted to bring the pair of eyes to her teacher and tell him that Botis was dead. It was an end to all the hatred.
In addition to such a value of the item, Botis's eye could be made into a powerful hex item or be used as a medium for a curse. It was considered a pretty good item.
Klein nodded slightly and did not persuade her. He only pointed at the gems, materials, and the Worms of Star and said calmly, "You also paid the price of a Moon Paper Figurine, you can choose something to make up for it."
"Alright." Fors reflexively agreed.
As the Apprentice pathway needed gems for several charms and rituals and could still be appreciated normally, Fors took a portion of the gems and waited for the bestowment ceremony to obtain them.
With that, Klein shifted his gaze and said to Miss Judgment, "It's your turn."
Xio also knew that she had not contributed much, and she knew that she had no ability to withstand the negative effects of the Box of the Great Old Ones, so she didn't even take a look at 0-61 and pointed to the black pocket.
"I'll choose Traveler's Bag."
This way, she could carry heavy weapons with her and might even be able to pull out a cannon at a critical moment.
As for the problem of strengthening the hidden space after a period of time, she had also considered it. After all, she could still use it for about a year for the time being. In the future, she could rent a Sealed Artifact from Ma'am Hermit to maintain it. Furthermore, at that time, Fors might have already become a Secrets Sorcerer.
The World Klein nodded and looked at The Star Leonard.
"It's your turn."
Leonard did not stand on ceremony. He scanned the area and tapped a few times.
"Three Worms of Star, twenty gems, and those ingredients."
This feels like I'm paying "protection fees" to the official organizations... After lampooning his dear poet, Klein turned to Miss Justice and said, "The mission was very successful and I'm very satisfied. Although you have already received your payment, you can still choose a little more."
Audrey could decipher the sincerity of Mr. World's words. Without any excuses, she chose a Worm of Star and a third of the spiritual materials.
At this point, as the mission's commissioner, The World Gehrman Sparrow had obtained five Worms of Star, a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, a third of the spiritual materials, and nearly thirty high-quality gems.
He smiled and looked at Fors.
"Remember to tell your teacher about this. Just say that this is a gesture of my goodwill. And I want to make a deal with him."
