Lord: Sequence Master

Rosen turned off the lagging Spirit Realm Dark Web and logged into the Main God Network through the Book of Secrets. The Main God Network was far more reliable, and as he knew, several of the individuals with great fortune there were actually Abyssal demons. By accessing this, he could better understand the situation on the 99th layer of the Abyss.

He also remembered that the Main God Temple housed an extraordinary artifact that could prove very useful in his current predicament. After activating the portal to the Main God Temple, Rosen went straight to find the item he had previously seen.

Soon, he stood before a corpse—this was the body of a Sequence 5 Abyssal Shapeshifter. Being displayed in the Main God Temple, the corpse was, of course, no ordinary one. It contained the bloodline of an Abyssal Lord-level Shapeshifter, although the Abyssal Lord from its lineage had long died. After a rare regression of the bloodline, comparable to a divine scion, the creature had been killed.

The body was perfectly preserved, with no lingering threats, as verified by the Main God Temple. Rosen purchased the corpse and immediately fed it to his Nightmare Slime. While devouring the body, he also used the Hand of Greed to steal two core abilities of the Shapeshifter.

With its Gluttony ability, the Nightmare Slime could naturally absorb traits from what it consumed, and given its adaptable form—along with its inherent demonic bloodline—it was easy for it to inherit some of the Shapeshifter's transformation talents. Combined with the stolen Sequence 5 skills of Disguise and Shapeshifting, the Nightmare Slime could now easily take the form of an Abyssal demon.

Rosen shared the creature's abilities, allowing his self-portrait doppelgänger to also master transformation and disguise. A few hours later, Rosen had fully transformed into an Abyssal humanoid.

The Abyss welcomed all outsiders, including humans. Abyssal humanoids were often created through demonic rituals, either by demons converting captives or by willing individuals seeking transformation. Some were even born as Abyssal humanoids. In total, there were only tens of thousands of them in the Abyss.

Despite their small numbers, Abyssal humanoids held a relatively high status—one of the Abyssal Lords ruling a layer of the Abyss was an Abyssal humanoid.

Rosen took on the form of an Abyssal humanoid and disguised himself as an Abyssal Hunter. While the Hunter's roots stemmed from the power of the God of Slaughter, rather than the God of Hunting like human hunters, their abilities were somewhat similar. The main difference was that Abyssal Hunters couldn't extract trophy orbs from their prey, instead relying on slaughter to please the Abyssal Will.

Abyssal humanoids resembled humans, except for their demon horns and tails. After completing his transformation, Rosen tested his Hunter Sequence skills. As long as he infused his Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, and Charm powers into his spiritual energy when using these skills, they would perfectly mimic the abilities of an Abyssal Hunter. Of course, if he encountered a demigod, they might notice that his skills lacked the essence of the God of Slaughter.

Thus, Rosen decided to act cautiously. His main self would stay hidden in the Book of Secrets, while his doppelgänger did the heavy lifting.

Using Void Stealth and Void Flicker, Rosen moved at high speeds, firing shots at his targets from a distance before quickly repositioning to kite them. This strategy fully utilized the long-range advantages of the Hunter Sequence. Most Sequence 6 Abyssal demons he encountered were helpless, unaware of their attacker until their demise.

Not all demons, however, were incapable of piercing his Void Stealth, but Rosen carefully selected prey with poor perception. In just half a day, he had already hunted dozens of Sequence 6 demons.

If he had been in the Scorching Shadow Duchy, it would have been impossible to find so many Sequence 6 targets. There, the competition for prey was fierce; finding and hunting targets was more difficult than the actual hunt itself.

As Rosen continued his spree, his intuition suddenly warned him to abandon his hunt for a magma serpent and flee immediately. He sped away, putting several dozen miles between himself and the area, but he could still hear angry roars in the distance.

Abyssal demons came in two types: those with true names and those without. Demons with true names were intelligent, while those without were often mindless. True names could be bestowed in two ways: either through direct recognition by the Abyssal Will or as a gift from a powerful demon. Once a demon obtained a true name, it would gradually develop higher intelligence.

All true-name demons, if powerful enough, would carve out a territory for themselves and become Abyssal Lords. These territories worked similarly to the divine domains of human demigods—the larger the territory, the stronger the Abyssal Will's favor. Abyssal Lords who ruled entire layers were known as Abyssal Kings. Everything within a lord's territory belonged to them.

In the Abyss, only the Blood River territory remained unclaimed; the rest was divided among the many lords.

The demons Rosen had just hunted belonged to one such Abyssal Lord's territory—he had essentially been stealing from this lord. If he hadn't stopped when he did, the Abyssal Lord would have already caught up to him.

As the distant roars faded, Rosen realized he had made a mistake. If he had continued raiding every lord's territory in this manner, the local Abyssal Lords would have eventually set a trap for him. He wouldn't stand a chance then.

The proper approach would be to kill only a few demons in each territory before moving on—this way, the lords would suffer minimal losses and might grudgingly tolerate the theft.

Months passed, and Rosen had killed hundreds of Sequence 6 Abyssal demons. He avoided higher-ranked prey and stayed clear of the lower-ranked demons near the Blood River. Even gods who ventured too close to the Blood River would find their power suppressed to Sequence 7, making it a deathtrap for outsiders.

One day, after finishing off a flame demon, Rosen found a hidden spot and retreated into the Book of Secrets. His spiritual energy, now at 43 points, had grown considerably through relentless hunting. Although each kill provided only a slight boost, the cumulative effect resulted in terrifyingly rapid progress.

This was why so many extraordinary beings chose to fight on the frontlines—if they survived, their power would skyrocket. Of course, their enemies were not pushovers, and the frontlines were often meat grinders where lower-ranked beings served as cannon fodder.

Rosen, seated at the Main God Computer, retrieved the Fairy Dragon Pearl from his Miracle Pouch. Placing his hand on its surface, he entered the space inside the pearl.

Inside, the newborn Fairy Dragon had awakened after absorbing the ancestral memories embedded in its bloodline. Opening its eyes, the Fairy Dragon gazed affectionately at Rosen. As the owner of the Fairy Dragon Pearl, Rosen was naturally the dragon's master.

"Mommy!" The Fairy Dragon immediately transformed into a young girl with dragon horns, around sixteen years old, and leaped into Rosen's arms.

"Call me brother," Rosen said awkwardly, trying to adjust to the situation. Humans really were a species that valued appearances—if the Gray Mouse had been even a fraction as attractive as this, it wouldn't have met such a tragic fate. If the Storm Thunderbird could look like this, it wouldn't be stuck training in virtual realms all day.

"Brother! I can help you with so many things!" the Fairy Dragon girl, now called Little Dragon Girl, exclaimed, counting her abilities on her fingers.

She could gather rare materials from dragon graves, wield immense power over void and elemental domains, and most importantly, she possessed unique abilities as a miracle creature.

[Fairy Dragon: Miracle Creature]

[Level: Sequence 6]

[Divinity: 43]

[Talents: Elemental Authority, Void Authority, Primal Dream]

[Skills: All-Element Dragon Magic, Anti-Magic Orb, Mind Orb, Elemental Orb, Void Phase, Mind Teleportation, Dream Bind…]

[Miracle Traits: Fantasy Armament, One with the World, Eternal Immortality]

The Fairy Dragon's lower attribute limit was tied to Rosen's power, but its upper limit was capped at Sequence 3, due to the limitations of the Fairy Dragon Pearl itself. Exceeding this cap would not be easy.

Rosen carefully examined the dragon's abilities, focusing on three in particular. First was Primal Dream, a soul-rooted psychic dream realm with immense growth potential, capable of housing the spiritual essence of beings after death. If he could bind his domain's citizens to this dream, their spirits would automatically enter it upon death.

The second was the Anti-Magic Orb, which had incredibly powerful sealing capabilities.

Lastly, Fantasy Armament stood out as the most valuable ability. The Fairy Dragon could fuse with any extraordinary artifact or miracle treasure, temporarily amplifying its power to match her Sequence level. If she fused with the Magic Altar, a Sequence 8 miracle treasure, she could enhance it to Sequence 6, drastically boosting its effects.

When Rosen asked for the Fairy Dragon's true name, the long, complex name left him dizzy. "Let's keep it simple. From now on, you're Little Dragon Girl," Rosen decided, carrying her to the master bedroom of the Ashen Castle.

The innocent Little Dragon Girl had no idea that she was about to grow up overnight.

The next morning, Rosen held the tear-streaked girl in his arms, silently contemplating the powers he had just shared with her. Last night, he had successfully bonded with Little Dragon Girl using a divine beast seal and nightmare shackles, making her his fourth contracted pet.

Through this bond, Rosen gained access to all of her abilities, excluding the miracle traits, instantly making him a master of all-element dragon magic. However, there was no need to share everything. A Beast Hunter could bond with up to nine pets, but not all their abilities were worth sharing. The power of any shared skill would be weaker in his hands compared to the pet's. For instance, when Little Dragon Girl cast dragon magic, it had the power of Sequence 6, while Rosen could only manage Sequence 7 at best. After all, he lacked the dragon's physical structure and the deep mastery of its innate magic.

Though pet hunters seemed formidable on the surface, sharing abilities always came with drawbacks. Moreover, raising pets required vast resources, and even a Sequence 1 pet hunter would typically focus on a single pet, perhaps raising it to Sequence 2, while the others would stagnate around Sequence 3, as maintaining them all was unsustainable.

With Little Dragon Girl's abilities now in his arsenal, Rosen's efficiency in hunting Abyssal demons skyrocketed. By fusing Dragon King's Fury with her Fantasy Armament, his bullets now carried the power of dragon magic, including special anti-magic rounds. The targeted demons often died before they even had a chance to retaliate.

Rosen's killing spree continued until it inevitably drew attention. Although he limited himself to taking only a few demons from each territory, some Abyssal Lords who frequently interacted began to realize that their territories were all being poached. As word spread, Rosen eventually stumbled upon a Lord lying in wait for him.

Were it not for his premonition, he might have walked straight into a trap. Escaping would have been difficult, and if the Lords who had been robbed were alerted, he would be in serious trouble.

Knowing that pushing his luck any further would likely attract the attention of the Lords' demigod patrons, Rosen decided it was time to stop. With his spiritual energy at 45 points and thousands of loot orbs in his inventory, he turned his focus to finding a way home. He even tried using the Void Phase ability from the Fairy Dragon Pearl, but it couldn't transport him out of the Abyss.

After all, the pearl was still damaged and had only recovered to Sequence 6. Nevertheless, if he could reach the boundary between the Abyss and the human world, leaving wouldn't be a problem.

During his months of hunting, Rosen had also captured several Abyssal demons in secret. Now, over a hundred demons hung in his Void Prison, enduring brutal torture. Through them, Rosen learned that escaping from the 99th layer was relatively easy. The Abyss's 99th layer was the front line, the bridgehead connecting the Abyss to other worlds. All he needed to do was reach the Abyssal battlefield to cross back into the human world. For a demon to break through the layers of defenses and escape would be nearly impossible, but as a human, he could simply drop his disguise and walk across.

While Rosen celebrated his discovery, the World Government's Intelligence Bureau contacted him through the Spirit Realm Dark Web. Their agent, an undercover actor stationed in the 99th layer, had uncovered vital information. It turned out that the sequence 6s who had been transported with Rosen were not scattered randomly as he had thought, but had been captured by the Abyssal Lord of the 99th layer and imprisoned in his core domain.

Rosen had only escaped capture by sheer luck, likely due to his exceptional fortune. The captured sequence 6s were still alive but held captive for unknown reasons. The Intelligence Bureau didn't expect Rosen to mount a rescue—it would be impossible to save them under the nose of an Abyssal Lord. Instead, they wanted Rosen to deliver his Star Insignia to their agent. Once in possession of the insignia, the agent would approach the Abyssal Lord, and the World Government would send a true god to severely wound the Abyssal Lord and rescue the captured sequence 6s.

In exchange, Rosen would receive a substantial reward in merits.

Rosen was tempted at first—the World Government promised to replace his Star Insignia after the mission. However, he quickly sensed something was off. The World Government had deep resources and could infiltrate the core of an Abyssal Lord's territory, so why would they need him and his Star Insignia? If he hadn't been caught up in this by accident, what would their plan have been?

Rosen returned to the Book of Secrets and logged back into the Spirit Realm Dark Web. He ordered the Main God Computer to investigate the situation.

Since the Main God Computer had advanced to Sequence 6 with him, it now had the ability to hack into networks, though this consumed a significant amount of power. Typically, Rosen didn't have the spiritual energy needed to activate this ability. However, by activating his Golden Divinity and boosting his spiritual energy to Sequence 4 with the Star Insignia, he was able to temporarily raise the power of the Golden Divinity to Sequence 3.

The process only lasted for nine seconds before the boost ended, but it was enough. The Main God Computer's infiltration revealed the truth.

The Intelligence Bureau agent already had an artifact similar to the Star Insignia, but he was unwilling to use it, as he had another mission to complete and didn't want to waste the World Government's opportunity to strike at the Abyssal Lord. Seeing Rosen, a convenient scapegoat, he had tried to exploit the situation. The promised reward was real, but the agent had concealed critical details. Even if Rosen deactivated the Star Insignia's bond, it would still retain traces of his spiritual energy. The Abyssal Lord, once attacked by the World Government, would track Rosen down using those remnants.

In other words, Rosen would be left alone to face the wrath of an Abyssal Lord.

Rosen's expression darkened—he realized he had nearly been used and discarded. But simply refusing the offer wasn't enough. He didn't want to let the agent get away with it so easily.

After some thought, he purchased a treasure from the Main God Temple that could completely erase his spiritual signature from the Star Insignia. Though the insignia itself was a Sequence 0 artifact, its projection had a much lower level, making the cleansing process feasible. However, Rosen had no intention of letting the agent's scheme go unpunished.

The Spirit Realm Dark Web stored the spiritual signatures of all its users, allowing the World Government to access many secrets and exert control behind the scenes. But Rosen's Main God Computer allowed him to use the Dark Web without leaving any spiritual trace. During his earlier hacking session, Rosen had also captured the spiritual signature of the demigod from the Intelligence Bureau who had tried to set him up.

By embedding this signature into the Star Insignia, Rosen could redirect the Abyssal Lord's fury towards the agent. If the agent survived, it would be a testament to his abilities.

Before cleansing his spiritual signature from the insignia, Rosen logged into the Dark Web one last time to renegotiate the terms of the deal. He demanded an additional reward: access to the Miracle Treasury to exchange for a Sequence 6 treasure.

The request was quickly approved, though it was clear that the demigod in charge was displeased. Soon enough, he would learn the consequences of his greed.

Once Rosen had replaced the signature in the Star Insignia, he stowed it away and made his way towards the Abyss's core on the 99th layer.

The Abyss was vast—riding his mechanical mount would take years to traverse it. The fastest way was through the Abyssal Portals located in the cities of Abyssal Lords.

Only Abyssal Lords of demigod level and above were qualified to establish cities within their domains, making them centers of power for surrounding territories. As Rosen arrived in his first Abyssal city, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. But seeing the bustling marketplace filled with rare resources, his nerves quickly turned to excitement.

Many items here were cheap, but in the human world, their prices would multiply several times over. No wonder figures like Badu had been tempted to deal with Abyssal demons.

Though Rosen was eager to buy in bulk, his Sequence 6 status marked him as an easy target. Moreover, most of his spiritual crystals came from the human world and lacked the Abyssal aura. While a small amount could be explained as war spoils from the frontlines, if he spent too much, his story wouldn't hold up.

"A fresh face…"

Several demons exchanged glances, discreetly watching Rosen. His sixth sense picked up their faint gazes. In the Abyss, order existed, but chaos and slaughter were the true rulers. It was no surprise he had been targeted, but once he left through the portal, they wouldn't be able to follow.

After making some small purchases, including Abyssal plants for paper production and skins and scales from various Abyssal creatures to upgrade his Void Sketchbook, Rosen also bought a detailed map.

With his shopping complete, Rosen approached the Abyssal Portal and paid the fee for a transfer.

After traveling through multiple cities, Rosen finally reached his destination within half a day—the Abyssal core city, Phantom City, the stronghold of the Sequence 0 Abyssal Lord, Phantom Demon.

In Phantom City, Rosen found an inn run by a Succubus and took the opportunity to enjoy her services. At the same time, he gathered information and made a calculated decision not to deliver the Star Insignia just yet.

He had learned that Phantom City had many valuable treasures. If he left now, he'd be missing out on significant rewards. After all, the trip here had cost him a great deal. Not leaving with a profit would feel like a loss.

(End of Chapter)