Exchange of Information

At this, Klein finally let go of his habitual disguise for a moment and briefly recounted what he knew about Silver Eyes:

"Alright, I understand. Mr. Melvin, I once came into contact with a Sealed Artifact. When it was caught in a battle, I noticed that its eyes changed from black to silver... After the battle ended, my eyes also turned silver. Although they returned to their original color in less than five minutes, I'm still somewhat uneasy."

Listening to Klein's account, Aster's brows gradually furrowed. He touched his black wig and replied cautiously, "I'm not clear on what happened to that Sealed Artifact, and my knowledge makes it difficult to give a complete answer. I can only make a guess based on your description."

Aster naturally knew which Sealed Artifact it was. Judging by the timeline, the only Sealed Artifact Klein could have come into contact with at this point should be 2-049.

In the game's story, players needed this Sealed Artifact to find the boss named Ray Bieber.

During actual gameplay, players would obtain a small box. Opening it released 2-049, and following it would lead them to Ray Bieber.

Ray Bieber was the second boss of the 1.0 dungeon "Silent Warehouse in the Tingen Suburbs." After players found him, he would let out a furious roar and charge out of the warehouse to wreak havoc. This boss had not only a thick health bar but also extremely painful attacks. Fortunately, Ray Bieber was not a mechanic-based monster, but merely a stat-based one. As long as players dealt enough damage, defeating him was easy.

In sharp contrast was the dungeon's third boss, a Sequence 7 Magician of the Secret Order. That fellow was a purely mechanic-based monster, with numerous displacement skills and the ability to periodically reset his aggro. He could also create a large number of illusions and moved with great agility, giving the players—whose maximum level at the time was only twenty—a brutal beating.

Back then, Aster had run this dungeon countless times for the equipment dropped by its third boss. He had also personally used 2-049, so he remembered very clearly that the item had never once had silver eyes.

"Perhaps it's some kind of special... corruption. However, I think that's also the possibility we least need to worry about." Aster placed a hand against his chin. "If this really is corruption, you should go back and pray to your goddess. That ought to resolve the problem."

"I've already tried that method, but I didn't feel as if I had been purified." Klein shook his head and refuted him. That day, Miss Daly's first reaction had also been to tell him to pray to the goddess, but nothing had happened, and the purification ritual magic had been ineffective as well.

"That means it's either not corruption, or it's insignificant. Alternatively, it means your goddess has no way to deal with it either." Aster spread his hands. "Regardless of which possibility it is, it's not something a Sequence 9 like you can resolve. So I think you don't need to worry about it at this stage."

That was indeed what Aster thought. After all, he had been walking around with silver eyes for so long and was still alive and well, wasn't he? As for whether Klein would die because of it—Aster was still worrying about the True Creator's corruption himself. How could he have time to care about the safety of some supporting-character NPC?

"...Alright." Klein could tell that he probably wouldn't be able to obtain any valuable advice from Melvin, so he could only find another way through other channels.

"By the way, have you Nighthawks found Megose?" Aster asked again about the matter he was more concerned with.

He had witnessed the storyline in which the divine child was born in the game. That evil god's offspring had killed many civilians with nothing more than a cry from inside Megose's womb. If it were allowed to be born fully, Tingen City would inevitably be destroyed.

"Not yet, but we've already begun investigating." Klein's answer was more or less the same as Swain's, which left Aster somewhat disappointed.

"Then have your Nighthawks issued warrants for anyone else recently?" After a moment of silence, Aster asked. The Nighthawks' movements in the Beyonder world could also reflect many things, such as the progress of the game's main storyline.

"Yes. The captain has issued a warrant for the Instigator Tris, who caused the Alfalfa incident." Klein made no attempt to hide anything. Melvin only had to walk around the entrance of the police station twice to see Tris's wanted notice. "We've already used many methods to search for him, but all our mystical methods, including divination and ritual magic, have failed."

"Tris? The Instigator Tris?" On hearing the name, Aster finally raised his brows. "That name sounds somewhat familiar... Let me think."

Huh? Judging by Melvin's expression, could he know Tris? Klein's spirits lifted, and he actually began to look forward to the other man's answer.

Perhaps Klein himself hadn't realized it, but when he discovered that Melvin might know Tris, his first reaction wasn't to worry that the other man might be Tris's accomplice. Instead, he looked forward to receiving reliable information.

The Instigator... Sequence 8 of the Assassin pathway... All divination and prophecy have failed... Could it be...

Aster's brainstorming came to an end. Meeting Klein's somewhat expectant gaze, he suddenly felt like laughing.

"Er, let me think... You know which Pathway the Instigator belongs to, right?" Aster coughed twice. He believed he had already guessed the crux of the matter.

"Sequence 9, Assassin." Klein had read the relevant records stored behind Chanis Gate, so he answered without the slightest difficulty.

The corners of Aster's mouth lifted slightly before he forcibly pressed them back down. "Then do you know what the Sequence 7 of the Assassin Pathway is called?"

"I don't." Klein already had some guesses. The abilities possessed by Sequence 7 of the Assassin Pathway were most likely the reason they had been unable to divine Tris's whereabouts.

"Sequence 7 of the Assassin Pathway is called Witch." Watching Klein's shocked expression with satisfaction, Aster continued, "After a woman advances to Witch, both her appearance and charm will improve. After a man advances to Witch, his sex will be forcibly transformed into female."

"After a male Instigator advances to Witch, his mystical identity will also undergo a transformation. That's why your divination targeting Tris failed outright." Aster took a pocket watch from his pocket and glanced at it. Watching Klein's expression gradually turn blank with satisfaction, he continued, "In your investigation, you can pay attention to women who resemble Tris. Actually, forget that. You can simply give this information to your captain. He'll know how to investigate and find him more easily."

"So that's how it is... Thank you, Mr. Melvin." Klein quickly regained his composure and thanked Aster calmly. Looking at the young man, Aster suddenly felt a mischievous impulse. He stood up, leaned toward Klein's ear, and whispered, "Actually... as far as I know, there's another Pathway that also turns people into women at a certain stage."

"Which Pathway?" Klein first leaned back, then asked with undisguised curiosity.

"Seer."

"Ah?"

Klein's pupils shook violently.

With a wicked smile, Aster left the Yellow Crystal Divination Room. He pressed down on his black wig and headed downstairs.

"Tris... This name really does feel familiar... Could I have beaten him up in the game..." Aster adjusted the position of his wig and pondered the somewhat familiar name. "He must be an NPC from the Demoness Pathway. He might even be a boss, but where have I heard of him..."

As for the issue with 2-049, Aster naturally couldn't truly pretend not to know about it. However, that Sealed Artifact should have already returned to Backlund, and he had no idea how long it would be before he could come into contact with it again. It would be better to pay close attention to Klein, who had also developed the silver-eye mutation. If something happened to him, Aster could use it as a reference.

With a faint look of worry on his face, Klein walked out of the Yellow Crystal Divination Room. His reaction speed and ability to make connections were quite strong. It didn't take him long to realize that Melvin had most likely been fooling him.

After all, the Roselle's Diary he had collected at the Tarot Club mentioned that Zaratul was a Demigod of the Seer Pathway—and was definitely a man. This effectively disproved Melvin's claim.

But Klein was still somewhat worried. What if Zaratul hasn't reached the Sequence where he'll become a woman? What if Zaratul really does become a woman later on?

Recalling the line he had seen in Roselle's Diary—"Zaratul tastes pretty good"—Klein felt a chill run through his groin.

No, let's look on the bright side. Perhaps I won't even reach the level where I'll change sex... But if there's a possibility of returning to Earth in the future, and the price is changing sex, what should I do... Klein shook his head and dragged his wandering thoughts back.

In any case, even if changing sex was part of the process, it would definitely happen only after becoming a Demigod. There were very few people in the world who could become Demigods, and Klein wasn't blindly confident in himself.

Looking around at the few members in the activity room, Klein casually asked, "There seem to be far fewer people coming to the Divination Club recently."

Angelica at the front desk heard Klein's question and answered gently, "That's because Mr. Hainas Vincent went to Backlund to give divination lectures. Without his classes, many members have reduced the number of times they come to the club."

Didn't Hainas Vincent just return from Backlund? How did he go there again so soon?

Klein was somewhat puzzled, but he didn't think too much about it. He was more puzzled by Melvin's back as he left just now.

For a moment, he had suddenly felt that Melvin looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere else. Yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember where, and even his spirituality had given him no hint.

Strange... Could I have seen him before?

Klein instinctively felt puzzled, but he couldn't figure out the reason.

"The Sacred Numbers Church... This should be the place." After glancing at the sky, Aster jumped down from the hired carriage and knocked on the door of a detached house northwest of the Sacred Numbers Church without hesitation.