Creations of Gray Angel

The card "Shadow Cloak" has four powerful effects: knockback, removal of negative status effects, invisibility, and blindness.

The five negative states of sealing, freezing, burning, binding, and petrification are derived from the most common restrictive negative states among the five attributes of light, water, fire, wind, and earth.

—Among them, the Law Spell used by Law Mage, such as "arrest" and "shackles," belong to the category of [binding], while "silence" and "stillness" belong to the category of [sealing].

This card's only weakness is that it cannot remove negative status effects like "Curse," which are primarily caused by Dark Attribute Mana, because shadows cannot dispel darkness. This is its biggest flaw.

Even so, it's still the best Phantom Demon Card in the "Moon" slot. Many Greater Phantom Demon Spell cards aren't necessarily as good as this one.

The "Moon" card originally had a lot of slots available, and the Phantom Demon Card that could be made were mostly geared towards secondary areas such as control removal, stealth, detection, prophecy, berserk mode, and illusion.

In this card slot, Shadow Fiend's "Shadow Cloak" is undoubtedly the most versatile card - unless the BOSS has special mechanics, or the equipment on its body is Shadow Fiend-specific so it must include Shadow Cellar, the Great Sin Scholar will default to including this card.

The Shadow Cloak is effective in virtually any situation.

In most cases, players are more concerned with "Should I use Shadow Cloak now or save it for later?" rather than "This card is useless." Because its tactical value is so high, misjudging the timing can easily lead to disastrous consequences.

However, in the current environment, Iver doesn't believe he can be subjected to too much control. His main enemy now is the Noble Red Society, primarily composed of those Path of Transcendence. And the Dark Attribute curse "Shadow Cloak" cannot be dispelled.

Its greatest significance lies in its invisibility and the subsequent Blinding Curse.

The most common invisibility ability comes from the Path of Adaptation, Path of Adaptation be free from curses—meaning that those who try to sweep Iver out of hiding have no chance of being wary of the Blinding Curse that follows when invisibility is broken.

Invisibility has a time limit, but a curse doesn't. Without breaking the curse or purifying it, it's perpetual; even breaking the curse takes time... enough time for Iver or Lily to launch a sneak attack.

The world is relatively peaceful at present, and the superhumans generally do not have the awareness that they must fight; their superhuman power is more like a simple pursuit.

Unlike players who equip themselves with a full set of crowd control immunity skills to roam the streets... most superhumans in this world do not possess this kind of "preparedness" tactical awareness.

Their countermeasures are generally only aimed at the most common enemies in the surrounding environment—for example, in Avalon, because the Path of Twilight is very rare, basically no one prepares anti-petrification measures, and many superhumans who have reached the Third Level or Fourth Level do not even know that the characteristics of the Path of Twilight are necromancy and petrification; the Path of Love is even rarer, so rare that you can't buy the Steel Mind Potion in the entire royal capital, Glass Island —charm, fear, berserk, sleep, and madness all belong to the domain of the Path of Love.

Because of the unique nature of the Path of Love, these status effects inflicted by the Path of Love are not considered negative, and even the Illumination Spell of the Dedication Path cannot dispel them. Without specific countermeasures, they are extremely difficult to counter.

To Iver's surprise, even after he finished tidying up his room and going out for breakfast, Lily still hadn't come to say hello.

"Could something have happened to her? Could she have collapsed from exhaustion while reading the Grimoire?" Iver was worried, so he immediately pushed the wheelchair over to her.

"Lily, are you alright? Lily..."

He was startled when he pushed open Lily's door—her room was covered with dense gray cobwebs.

But the spiderwebs seemed to be just an illusion... and when Iver looked closely, they vanished in the blink of an eye.

"Young Master."

Lily's voice, weak and weary, rang out softly, like that of someone who has just woken from a serious illness. "Should I help you bathe...? Did I oversleep? I'm sorry..."

Only then did Iver notice that Lily was standing quietly in the corner, wearing the glasses Iver had given her.

It was as if she had been standing there from the very beginning, but he hadn't noticed her at first.

It was precisely because of the Path of Authority "Edict of Unseeable" attached to [Observer in the Shadows] that Iver did not notice her presence.

—Without a doubt, she has successfully embarked on the Path of Adaptation.

She floated over, making no sound at all... like a moth or a spider.

"I just came to check if things are going well on your end, and to see if you need my help."

Iver gently closed the door.

He glanced at it and spotted the gray, Grimoire lying quietly beside his pillow.

It has already handed over the knowledge it has stored to the reader, and at this moment it has temporarily lost its mysterious qualities and looks no different from an ordinary book.

What's its name?

"Iver asked," he said, as if he were asking about a pet, not a book.

"The Silken Grimoire," Lily explained.

She roughly relayed to Iver the secrets told in the book—a special kind of heritage contained within it.

Unlike the Shepherd's Secret Covenant, it does not contain lost heritage, but is closer to a way of using "summoning objects" or alien weapons.

Specifically, it refers to "spider silk".

"[Spider Silk] is a special life form created by Gray Angel. Its essence is a kind of gregarious illusion... It is not an individual, but a 'collective'. It has no body or physical entity, and its carrier is 'lies'. It did not sign a contract with me, but completed a 'symbiosis' with me... This is also a special way of existence that Path of Adaptation."

"...lie?"

Iver had no problem understanding the concept of symbiosis.

He murmured to himself, lost in thought, "Truly worthy of being a creation of the Gray Angel..."

Gray Angel is one of the nine Celestials who descended in the first round. His domain is "lies"—things that are neither black nor white, words that are neither evil nor good.

Lily also revealed the most important secret of the Silken Grimoire to Iver without reservation.

"The snake's hair, the cat's footsteps, the moth's cage, the centipede's noose..."

Iver muttered the metaphor, roughly guessing what it meant. "Snakes have no hair, cats have no footsteps, moths have no cages, and centipedes cannot be strangled—this represents four things that do not exist. In reality, it should refer to the apostles of the Lord of Scales and Feathers, and the Lord of Scales and Feathers's eight domains other than deception."

"The most powerful apostle of the Lord of Scales and Feathers, Akropolis, is metaphorically represented by a snake. In the Path of Adaptation, the snake simultaneously represents both poison and medicine."

"Cats represent camouflage and hunting, and Hunter who Path of Adaptation worship cats; moths represent disappearance and change, and are symbols worshipped by those who disguise themselves and assassins. Centipedes can adapt to various environments, escape various dangers, and burrow into various caves, so they are symbols of foresight and refuge."

"Besides that, the Lord of Scales and Feathers's domain also includes deception. This domain is very similar to Gray Angel's lies, which is probably why Gray Angel is so hostile to the Lord of Scales and Feathers..."

Of course, perhaps it wasn't hostility.

—It's also possible that Gray Angel actually meant, "Boss, don't you feel like you're missing an apostle? I seem like the perfect fit." That would actually be quite fitting.

Iver added in his mind.

The "Silken Grimoire" recounts sixty-seven secrets about "spider silk," forming a very complete lineage. It includes four mysterious arts: [Weaving Lies], [Silken Thread Perception], [Silken Thread Stealth], and [Thread Control]—enough to constitute a profession... However, this lineage predates the existence of professions, which is why Lily never acquired her own Extraordinary Profession.

But conversely, you could also say she's the pioneer of this profession. She could be called a "Spider Walker" or a "Silken Thread Envoy," whatever she prefers.

Lily has already mastered three of the abilities after just one night.

One method is to eliminate the sound of one's own footsteps, a technique known as "Silken Thread Stealth"; another is to sense "flying insects" that enter one's hunting range by spreading out a spider web. One can also conjure a tough and sharp thread as a weapon.

This is the "spider silk" manifested by Lily, composed of Lily's lies.

The more solid the lie, the stronger the thread; the sharper the lie, the sharper the thread... It cannot be poisoned or enchanted, but it will not harm itself, and it will not run out; it can be dissipated at any time.

She is still figuring out how to develop this ability.

The dense spider silk that Iver saw when he entered wasn't an illusion. It was Lily constantly drawing silk, researching her newly acquired ability. When Iver entered, Lily had just figured out how to use the silk. With a single thought, the spider silk that filled the entire room vanished instantly, as if it were a mirage.

She'll most likely never become an assassin. But thankfully, she still has stealth abilities... so the rare equipment Iver prepared for her can still be used.

So Iver gave Lily [Sneaker in the Shadows] as a celebration of her successful entry into the extraordinary world.

Lily had seen this back brace before—she noticed it when she was helping Iver sort through the personal belongings left behind in his room by the Assassin Miss, and even washed it clean at Iver's instruction.

But she never expected that this was the gift that Iver had mentioned giving her...

However, Lily accepted it solemnly and put it on immediately. After all, this was something that Iver had specifically emphasized—a very precious item. And after putting it on, she immediately sensed that her "Silken Thread Stealth" ability had become smoother.

Previously, Iver's wheelchair being able to drive itself was just a joke.

But now that Lily is pushing Iver's wheelchair from behind, it's really hard for her to notice that someone is behind Iver. If Lily doesn't speak, ordinary people wouldn't even notice her presence.

With Lily's protection, Iver no longer needed to wear the asbestos collar even when going out to Lloyd District's. Furthermore, if someone were to attempt to ambush Iver, Lily could immediately sense the danger—essentially acting as an external hostility alert and a mobile, invisible sniper.

This True Sight is actually quite powerful! And it's likely much more powerful than Iver without any equipment... With two core purple-grade items for her class, Lily's fully analyzed sneak attack might even pose a direct threat to Hai Na. Furthermore, her perception range is far more reliable than Hai Na's.

Now her personal maid has become her personal bodyguard. Iver no longer needs to drag someone along whenever she wants to go out.

Moreover, there are advantages to taking Lily out with him—he can use Shadowfiend if he encounters danger. This is something he can't do when he's out with Sherlock or Hai Na.

Because Lily knows about the Shadow Fiend's existence and will keep it a secret for Iver. All that's needed is for Iver to clean up the evidence.

Even if she weren't a maid or bodyguard, she would undoubtedly be a very reliable teammate.

With Lily's talent, she might actually be able to catch up with her first advancement ceremony...

So this time, Iver didn't call Hai Na for protection; instead, he took Lily out the door.

Following the address given by the old elven steward, they went to the house of Bishop Mathers, which was "Mrs. Mina's Fortune Teller Shop".

Sherlock is currently recuperating there, while Iver, who made the news, must find a way to explain to Bishop Mathers how he was able to activate the holy sword sealed within the key...

One lie requires a hundred lies to cover it up, and Bishop Mathers can also sense Iver's energy level on the Dedication Path... He is now at the Second Level.

Therefore, Iver decided to stop acting altogether. There was no need to hide his talent, or rather, hiding it was pointless anyway. Once the holy sword, which required thirty-three points of mana to conjure, appeared, Bishop Mathers understood everything.

Therefore, Iver decided to preemptively confront them. Not only with Bishop Mathers, but also with Sherlock.

"Yes, I advanced to the next level as soon as I got back that day and succeeded. And I'm going to advance to the Third Level next month."

Iver planned to say that when the time came.

In this way, Sherlock will most likely be able to guess who the "Fox" is.

—What if Sherlock and Isabel both knew they were the "Fox," but each believed the other didn't...

What kind of amazing reactions will they have during the advancement ceremony?

Iver felt like he might have some bad intentions.

An update of nearly 8,000 words, meow~