Lord: Sequence Master

"I killed a young dragon?"

Rosen stood beside the juvenile dragon, watching its body slowly rot into a pool of black blood. In less than half a day, this unknown dragon species had decayed almost entirely. Rosen activated his Nightmare Chains, pulling a small green bottle from the pool of blood.

The bottle, about the size of a snuff bottle, appeared to be made of transparent jade, faintly etched with runes. It seemed this object had sustained the dragon's body for 20,000 years, preventing it from fully decaying. Eagerly, Rosen used his spiritual senses to inspect the bottle, quickly discovering its nature.

It was a Dragon Blood Flask, a rare and miraculous treasure with no fixed grade. The flask could not only absorb and store dragon blood but also allow the user to fully control the dragon blood once it was released. The grade of the stored blood determined the flask's overall grade.

At first glance, the Dragon Blood Flask seemed like an ideal vessel for storing dragon blood. However, as Rosen pondered its possibilities, his excitement grew. If he captured a demigod dragon and continually drained its blood into the flask, then reinjected that blood back into the dragon, he could essentially control the entire blood supply of a demigod dragon.

Of course, this would only work if he could capture a dragon alive.

Satisfied, Rosen stored the Dragon Blood Flask and resumed searching for any other hidden treasures. After thoroughly exploring the cave, he found nothing else of value.

With no other options, Rosen returned to the fork in the tunnel and set his sights on his next target: the Sea Dragon Beast. Despite the "dragon" in its name, the Sea Dragon Beast was not a true dragon. It resembled a Mosasaurus, a prehistoric marine reptile that looked like a cross between a crocodile and a lizard, with paddle-like limbs adapted for swimming. The Sea Dragon Beast had an affinity for controlling water and could dominate weaker sea creatures.

Because its abilities mirrored those of a true sea dragon, it earned the name Sea Dragon Beast.

Less than an hour later, Rosen arrived at the underground lake where the Solar Jellyfish had resided for years. The lake spanned dozens of miles, with waterfalls continuously feeding the saltwater from the cave walls. In the center of the lake lay a small island, upon which basked the massive Sea Dragon Beast, over 300 meters long.

"Sunbathing?" Rosen muttered, glancing up at the cave ceiling where the corpse of a dead Solar Jellyfish hung.

Shaking his head, Rosen moved his Divine Domain to the shore. Spotting the Solar Jellyfish corpse, the Glorious Lighthouse could no longer contain itself. It transformed into its Solar Jellyfish form, using Light Elementalization to fly toward the island. As it descended, it unleashed a Solar Burst—a devastating ability that typically involved burning cells and converting them into destructive light elements. Now adapted for the Glorious Lighthouse, the Solar Burst burned spiritual crystals instead of cells, consuming at least 200,000 spiritual crystals per use.

When the blinding light and searing heat faded, the island was vaporized, but the Sea Dragon Beast had only lost a few scales.

"That's a Beast King. Run!" squeaked Gray Mouse in a panic, leaping around.

Rosen wanted to flee, but he couldn't abandon the Glorious Lighthouse to die. Yet staying to face the Beast King would lead to even greater losses.

Like humans, extraordinary creatures had hierarchies. Ordinary creatures could dominate others of their kind and were called Lords, while those that ruled over different species were known as Beast Kings.

Between ordinary extraordinary creatures and Lords were Elites or Leaders, but they lacked distinctive traits. For instance, creatures like Gray Ratmen Chiefs and Cave Demon Chiefs were considered Elites—stronger than ordinary creatures but not clearly Lords. These transitional beings didn't come with special markings and varied in strength.

Lord-level creatures were akin to humanity's Four Civilized Sequences. The Queen of the Ash Bees, for example, was a Lord-level creature. Beast Kings, on the other hand, were equivalent to humanity's Titled Lords, a rank reserved for demigods. Titled Lords wielded pseudo-divine authority through the faith of their subjects.

A Sequence 6 Beast King was terrifying, and defeating one required at least ten Sequence 6 Divine Domain Lords working together. Rosen had never encountered a Beast King before, and now he had to face one for the first time.

Just as he prepared to help the Glorious Lighthouse retreat, the Dragon Blood Flask in his chest began to react. Having refined a small amount of Dragon Blood Mushrooms, Rosen had stored a bit of dragon blood inside him. Though not particularly potent, the dragon blood had enhanced his vitality, and now, the Dragon Blood Flask was responding.

The Sea Dragon Beast wasn't a true dragon, so why was the flask reacting to its blood?

Summoning his Gluttony Familiar, Rosen had it spit out the Dragon Blood Flask. He realized that if the flask considered any creature with "dragon" in its name as a source of dragon blood, the Sea Dragon Beast's blood might be eligible.

Excited by the possibilities, Rosen deployed his Self-Portrait Clone, transforming it into the Feathered Serpent God. The serpent god soared into the air and dove toward the Sea Dragon Beast King.

While the Feathered Serpent God lacked many abilities, its Morning Star Authority allowed it to coil into a massive metallic star, over a hundred meters in diameter, and descend at hundreds of times the speed of sound like a Falling Star.

The Sea Dragon Beast King sensed the impending danger and summoned water to form a defensive barrier. The collision between the star and the water created a massive shockwave, sending ripples across the lake. The Feathered Serpent God, unshaken, attacked the now-wounded beast, coiling around it and slowly shredding its scales.

While Rosen was pleased to see the Feathered Serpent God perform well, the Sea Dragon Beast King quickly retaliated. Its massive tail lashed out, initiating a Death Roll, a terrifying move that whipped the lake into a vortex. The sheer force of the spin left the Self-Portrait Clone dizzy and weakened.

As the Feathered Serpent God loosened its grip, the Sea Dragon Beast King drove them both into the water vortex it had created. The serpent's body was shredded as if caught in a grinder.

The Sea Dragon Beast King wasn't done. It bit down on the serpent's body, dragging it into the salt-laden water vortex for another round of the Death Roll. The Feathered Serpent God would be reduced to mush within moments.

But the serpent god had bought enough time. Rosen, now safely in the Glorious Lighthouse, transformed the building into its own Feathered Serpent God form, revealing the giant sniper barrel fused with the God-Slaying Crossbow.

A Space Element Four-Phase Bullet was rendered into existence through the Mind Canvas projection and loaded into the Artist's Clip. The God-Hunting Eye locked onto the Sea Dragon Beast King, waiting for the perfect shot.

When the Sea Dragon Beast King shredded the Feathered Serpent God into pieces, it found its mouth full of paint instead of flesh. As it paused, the God-Slaying Crossbow fired.

The bullet struck a wound on the Sea Dragon Beast King, unleashing the power of space-shattering fission and fusion. The bullet also carried Death Blow and Ash properties, with a trace of Holy Space Flame. It tore open a wound over three meters deep, but even that wasn't enough to reach the Sea Dragon Beast King's vital organs.

However, the bullet's casing split open, releasing the Dragon Blood Flask, which entered the beast through a ruptured blood vessel, heading straight for its heart.

Sensing the danger, the Sea Dragon Beast King roared, sending waves hundreds of meters high. Now enraged, the beast hunted for Rosen's Glorious Lighthouse with newfound ferocity.

But as time passed, the Sea Dragon Beast King grew weaker, its strength slowly drained by the Dragon Blood Flask lodged inside its heart. Realizing its imminent doom, the beast summoned smaller sea dragons, which tore open its windpipe and swam toward its heart in a final, desperate attempt to save itself.

In the end, the Sea Dragon Beast King tore apart its own heart, desperately grasping for the Dragon Blood Flask in an attempt to expel the foreign object from its body.

However, the Dragon Blood Flask had already taken control of a significant portion of the dragon blood within the Sea Dragon Beast King, and that very blood was now wreaking havoc on its organs. The damage was so severe that even the Beast King's extraordinary regenerative abilities couldn't prevent its life from slipping away.

For half a day, the Sea Dragon Beast King thrashed and howled in agony, but eventually, its strength waned, and it lost all ability to resist.

Only then did Rosen step out of the Mysterious Study Room, merging the God-Slaying Crossbow with the Glorious Lighthouse to unleash a barrage of eight consecutive shots.

The Space Element Four-Phase Bullets tore through the Beast King's tough scales and skull, ultimately piercing its brain with a final, lethal blow.

The moment the Sea Dragon Beast King died, its body began to dissolve, vanishing almost instantly.

Rosen eagerly retrieved the Dragon Blood Flask, which was now undergoing some form of evolution. He carefully stored the miraculous treasure and then took out three glowing orbs from his Scavenger Space.

Crushing the first orb, he obtained a Beast King Skill Crystal for the Sequence 6 Hunter Sequence. This skill allowed Sequence 6 hunters to intimidate and enslave extraordinary creatures of Lord-level or below.

Though it was a weaker version of the Beast King's ability to command extraordinary creatures, it still had its uses. While it couldn't match a true Beast King for now, with further upgrades, it had the potential to rival a real Beast King in the future.

Crushing the second orb, Rosen found a Transcendent Dagger, formed from one of the Sea Dragon Beast King's teeth, the only fang left intact after the creature shattered nearly all of its teeth during its death throes.

Despite being a Sequence 6 weapon, its attributes were impressive:

[Primordial Essence · Dragon Fang Dagger: Transcendent Item]

Grade: Sequence 6

Attributes: Grants the user complete invisibility in water, evading detection from any being below Sequence 3.

Primordial Essence Trait 1: Beast King's Bloodlust — The dagger drains blood to heal its user and enhances its own quality as more blood is absorbed.

Primordial Essence Trait 2: Sharpness — Effortlessly pierces through any defense of a Sequence 6 creature.

Primordial Essence Trait 3: Water Clone — Allows the user to create up to three water clones.

Rosen admired the Dragon Fang Dagger—it was an assassin's ideal weapon. While its invisibility only worked in water, there were plenty of aquatic environments in the human world. Moreover, the Beast King's Bloodlust trait meant the dagger could potentially evolve into a Sequence 3 transcendent item over time.

However, feeling that this dagger alone wasn't sufficient as the final reward from a Beast King, Rosen crushed the third and final orb.

In his hand appeared a ring. Using his spiritual senses, Rosen examined its properties:

[Remnant Ring of the Sea God: Miraculous Item]

Grade: Sequence 3

Attributes: Grants divine control over water and wind elements.

Divine Authority 1: Faith — Absorbs the faith of marine creatures.

Divine Authority 2: Dominion — Commands marine creatures.

Divine Authority 3: Navigation — Grants mastery over navigation-related skills.

Divine Authority 4: Storms — Bestows authority over storms.

True Divine Authority 5: Sea God — Partial control over the ocean, granting sea-related divine powers.

Miraculous Trait: Sea Burial — A unique and immensely powerful oceanic ability.

"Another miraculous item," Rosen murmured, barely resisting the urge to wear the Sea God's Remnant Ring immediately.

From his knowledge, this ring was likely a fragment of an actual Sea God's ring. Even as a fragment, it had reached Sequence 3 quality and possessed several terrifying divine authorities.

The Sea Dragon Beast had likely evolved into a Sequence 6 Beast King after acquiring this Sea God's Remnant Ring—normally, only demigod-level creatures had the potential to become Beast Kings.

For now, Rosen decided to keep the ring as a trump card. Without mastery over divine powers, he couldn't properly wield such a relic.

"Divine powers, huh?" A thought struck Rosen, and he transformed into the Feathered Serpent God. Channeling his divine power into the Sea God's Remnant Ring, the ring slid onto the backward-slanting horn at the center of his head.

In that instant, Rosen felt as though the entire underground lake was under his control, as if it had become an extension of his Divine Domain.

He quickly accessed the Divine Beast Pen where his sea creatures, including the Bladefin Sharkmice, resided. Rosen's divine power flowed into this oceanic space, merging with the extraordinary sea creatures inside.

He immediately sensed a steady stream of faith converging towards him, faith he could now use to activate the divine authorities of the Sea God's Remnant Ring.

Notably, the Sea Burial miraculous trait didn't require any faith to activate. Rosen decided to test it, targeting a Sequence 8 sea rat. Instantly, the surrounding seawater came alive, dragging the sea rat to the ocean floor. The rat decayed, dissolving into the water, which became enriched and beneficial to the creatures living in it.

The Sea Burial trait could create a phenomenon akin to a whale fall, where the death of a sea creature nourished the ecosystem. Though it consumed divine power, Rosen's Feathered Serpent God form had 36 points of divine power, allowing him to use Sea Burial on beings with up to 36 spiritual strength—no higher than Sequence 3.

Even with these restrictions, Sea Burial proved to be a miraculous ability worthy of its name.

Reverting from his Feathered Serpent God form, the Sea God's Remnant Ring fell dormant.

For now, the Sea God's Remnant Ring was the most powerful trump card Rosen possessed, second only to the Mysterious Study Room.

Though satisfied with his gains, Rosen couldn't shake a slight sense of unease. First the Dragon Blood Flask, now the Sea God's Remnant Ring.

The Dragon Blood Flask had been crucial in defeating the Sea Dragon Beast King—without it, Rosen wouldn't have stood a chance against the Beast King, nor would he have obtained the miraculous ring.

His luck seemed almost too good to be true.

But after some thought, Rosen dismissed the unease. Compared to legendary figures who found Sequence 0 artifacts by mere chance, finding a Sequence 3 item wasn't too extreme.

Rosen also understood that, while good fortune could present opportunities, lacking strength would turn those opportunities into disasters.

Summoning his Alchemical Dragon, Rosen flew back to the Spirit World, preparing to explore the oceanic depths. However, just as he was ready to embark on a new adventure, a Spirit World Messenger arrived, bringing unexpected news.

Marquis Farris had crafted Rosen's demigod-level transcendent artifact, which had been close to failure, but suddenly succeeded—coincidentally around the same time Rosen had donned the Sea God's Remnant Ring.

Could this miraculous ring have enhanced the powers of the Feathered Serpent God, indirectly influencing the outcome of the artifact's creation?

Rosen wasn't sure, but it seemed possible that fate was at play.

Everyone knew that the Four Great Civilizations Sequence Trees represented the collective fate of humanity. Could miraculous items influence fate as well?

Rosen remembered a book he had once read about a hero whose luck improved after acquiring a miraculous artifact, eventually leading to even greater opportunities. Though the author was unknown, the idea that miraculous items could boost fate seemed more plausible now.

Regardless, Rosen remained cautious. While luck might open doors, it was strength that ensured success.

Returning to Adventure King City, Rosen contacted Marquis Farris through a crystal ball. Soon, the Feathered Serpent God figurine, representing his new mechanical mount, arrived through a spatial vortex.

But something felt amiss—why hadn't Farris come in person?

As Rosen examined the tiny words engraved on the figurine's wings, his suspicions deepened.

(End of Chapter)