New Ability

Alright, I hope Justice and Hanged Man can help me find the relevant Beyonder materials soon... Aster felt a small surge of excitement, but without showing it, he opened his status panel.

He had a feeling that the greatest change had definitely occurred within the status panel.

Sure enough, Aster discovered that a brand-new buff had replaced the previous [Phoenix's Gaze] buff.

[Phoenix's Embrace]

[Rank]: ?

[Effect]: Gain the skill [Underworld Passage]

Priority +1 when intimidating undead

Priority +1 for all undead-related spells

An additional +1 judgment priority when attacking other Death Pathway Beyonders

Damage priority -1 when suffering undead-related, dream-related, or dusk-related attacks

Damage priority +0.5 when suffering purification-related, lightning-related, or life-related attacks

You will be detested by Feathered Serpents.

[Remarks]: Every gift comes with a price. And what have you paid?

"Good stuff!" Without even glancing at the remarks, Aster was stunned by the buff's power.

Undead-related Beyonder Ability priority +1, with an additional +1 judgment priority when attacking other Death Pathway Beyonders!

That meant that even if Aster faced a Sequence 5 Gatekeeper now, he could put up a sufficiently strong resistance!

As long as I don't run into a Demigod, I shouldn't be too afraid of high-ranking Beyonders from the same Pathway anymore... Aster thought happily.

Of course, if he encountered a Demigod, Aster would still have to kneel. That was because the term for a Demigod's judgment was Divinity Judgment. The buff did not mention the word divinity, which meant that this effect only worked below level 50.

The only thing that worried Aster somewhat was the line about being detested by Feathered Serpents.

If I remember correctly, Mr. Azik seems to be a Feathered Serpent... Damn, he won't end up disliking me, will he... Looks like I'll have to avoid meeting him as much as possible in the future. If I have any questions, I can just mention them in letters... Aster nervously rubbed his hands together and opened his skill list.

He was very curious about the ability called [Underworld Passage].

Skill Name: [Underworld Passage]

Skill Level: ?

Skill Type: Active/Channeled

Skill Attributes: Undead/Gate/Bestowal

Skill Effect: Gain the protection of the Phoenix Alidibus and enter the Underworld in the flesh.

Remarks: How did you obtain this skill? Are you related to the head of the planning team?

"Sounds amazing..."

Aster was eager to try [Underworld Passage], but remembering that he was still in a carriage, he could only give up.

Deciding to try the skill after returning to the inn, Aster slightly closed his eyes and began seriously reviewing yesterday's encounter.

The first question was why he had run into Megose and Mr. A, who were hiding in the East Borough.

Judging from what had happened yesterday, Aster could be certain that the reason Mr. A had delayed leaving was to protect the divine child in Megose's womb. That evil god called the True Creator wanted his offspring to be born in Tingen City!

This had been a speculation of his before, and now it had effectively been confirmed. Aster was not particularly surprised by it. What truly confused and angered him was why he had encountered Megose and the others.

So many official Beyonders had conducted a carpet search without finding them. Although that was partly because the official Beyonders had not yet searched the East Borough, why did he have to be the one who happened to run into them?

Thinking of Klein's previous warning to be wary of coincidences, if Aster still could not guess that the bastard behind the scenes who created coincidences was at work, then he had suffered for nothing all this time.

"Don't let me catch you, you little bastard..." Aster ground his teeth in anger.

Beyond his anger, Aster also became even more vigilant.

When investigating houses with red chimneys, he had actually been quite careful. The spirit bodies he released never returned to him at the same time, and he had made them wander as unconsciously as possible without appearing overly purposeful.

Even so, Aster had still been discovered by that person who created coincidences, and that person had quickly arranged a deadly situation for him.

If Alidibus had not acted to save him yesterday, Aster really would have died silently in the woods by the Tussock River.

"I'll have to make my future actions more covert..." Aster leaned forward slightly, interlacing his fingers. "And I need to warn Klein too. He probably hasn't begun investigating houses with Red Chimneys on a large scale yet, but I learned about being wary of coincidences around me from him. There's no guarantee that guy won't go after Klein..."

"But now that Alidibus is no longer my messenger, it won't be convenient to warn him..." Aster shook his head and looked at the increasingly close Evil Dragon Bar. "Once I get back, I'll contract a proper messenger again... With my current rank, finding a useful messenger will be as easy as pie."

After jumping down from the carriage, Aster still circled around to the bar's back entrance and entered the Evil Dragon Bar without drawing attention.

When he reached the hidden door of the Evil Dragon Bar, the two Beyonders guarding it had already remembered him and let him through directly.

"Hm?" Swain had been reading some document in his office when he saw Aster push the door open and walk in.

"What news did you tell me yesterday?" Swain struck first.

"My messenger should have already told you that Megose and Mr. A appeared in the East Borough." Aster was fairly familiar with the Mandated Punishers' procedures.

"Whew, so it really was you. How are your injuries? You seem to have recovered well?" Swain let out a breath of relief. As he examined Aster's current appearance, he asked with concern, "I went to the East Borough yesterday and couldn't find you. I thought some official Beyonder had captured you while you were badly injured."

"I didn't run into any official Beyonders, but Mr. A nearly killed me." Shrugging as if it were nothing, Aster suddenly felt a little moved. Swain had retired long ago; there had been no need for him to go to the East Borough yesterday.

It's nice to have someone care about you... Aster subconsciously smoothed his hair.

"And what's going on with your eye?" Swain moved closer to Aster and only then noticed that the color of his right eye was somewhat off.

My eye?

Aster froze slightly, then answered casually, "That's the price of escaping with my life."

He had not looked in a mirror since yesterday, so he had not known until Swain mentioned it that his eye seemed to have undergone some kind of mutation.

However, he did not show his surprise and instead changed the subject. "Speaking of which, how are Megose and the others?"

"Unfortunately, they still got away." Swain sighed. "By the time the Mandated Punishers team arrived, Megose had already disappeared. Our people searched the East Borough several times but still couldn't find her. However, the Machinery Hivemind team that received our notice managed to block Mr. A in the dock district."

"Mr. A didn't die either?" Aster frowned and pressed further.

"I don't like boasting about an enemy's strength, but there is no doubt that Mr. A is terrifyingly powerful." Swain sounded rather emotional. "Not long after the battle began, the Nighthawks team arrived as well. Facing several official Beyonders carrying powerful Sealed Artifacts, Mr. A actually withstood their attacks and broke out of the encirclement. Of course, he was seriously injured too."

"We've already notified the Beyonder teams in Backlund about this. I guess he probably won't remain in Tingen City." Swain concluded.

"Let's hope so." Aster's expression remained somewhat gloomy. For Mr. A, a Sequence 6 Rose Bishop, what others considered serious injuries could only be considered light injuries. He was not as optimistic as Swain.

Let's assume Mr. A is still in Tingen City for now... I just don't know whether Megose is still here... Aster gently turned the ring on his finger, his gaze cold.

He would not give up on tracking down the mastermind behind those coincidences.

Aster's greatest flaw was that he was stubborn as hell.

You want me to lie low? Then I'll investigate anyway! Using these methods against me only proves that my actions can threaten you!

Of course, his actions had to be even more covert. At the very least, he needed to pretend to be recovering from his injuries on the surface and numb that sinister bastard's vigilance... Aster swung an arm. "I'll hide out and recover from my injuries for a while, so Mr. A doesn't find me."

"Alright. Be careful." Swain glanced at Aster's right eye again. "If Mr. A finds you, don't fight him. Find a way to escape, and send the information to us like you did this time."

"Ha, thanks for the concern." Aster laughed, turned to leave, hesitated at the door for several seconds, and finally said softly:

"Watch out for coincidences around you."

"Coincidences?" Swain was utterly confused, then heard Aster continue, "If you feel like too many coincidences have been happening around you, write to me... Mm, I've changed messengers. In a while, I'll send you the summoning incantation for my new messenger."

He hoped Swain could help him gather information on the mastermind's movements, but he did not want Swain involved in investigating anything related to the Red Chimneys.

He had merely gotten started and had not even investigated a large area before suffering such a blow. If Swain, an elderly Sequence 8, investigated as well, he would surely die.

Aster still had some affection for this mentor of his from the game and did not want him to die an untimely death.

"Alright, I understand." Swain nodded readily.

Watching Aster's back disappear through the doorway, Swain rubbed his reddened nose and muttered in confusion, "Why does it feel like this guy's temperament has become even gloomier..."

After returning to his lodgings, Aster tossed his still-stained coat onto the floor and quickly walked into the washroom to look in the mirror.

"Eh... Why has my right eye become this color..." Aster pulled at his eyelid and carefully examined his right eye, but after looking for a long time, he could not make heads or tails of it. He then tried the several Beyonder Abilities that required his eyes, but there were no changes. It was as though his right eye had simply changed color.