Lord: Sequence Master

Rosen had long known that in order to advance his noble title, he needed to accumulate merits within the World Government. There were various ways to earn such merits.

The simplest method was hunting Ash Creatures, but the merit points gained from this were minimal.

A better method was invention. Any invention that strengthened human civilization could earn vast amounts of merit. Nobles who pursued the path of scientists found it easiest to advance their noble titles.

However, the most effective way to gain merit was through killing alien species or completing bounties issued by the World Government against these extraterrestrial threats. Many high-sequence nobles traveled to the borders of human territory to pursue resources and merits.

Rosen hadn't yet completed any alien species hunts, but he had unknowingly fulfilled one of the World Government's bounties by destroying the Sea God's Temple.

The World Government had issued a hidden bounty: destroying any remnants of the Sea Gods' influence, including their temples, would grant significant rewards. Thus, Rosen had earned a non-hereditary Count title, though Grey Mouse believed this reward was somewhat low.

While the temple within the Merman's Lament realm was only a spiritual reflection of a true demigod temple and not the real thing, the divine power within it paled in comparison to an actual demigod artifact. From Grey Mouse's perspective, the bounty should have been much higher—at least advancing Rosen's hereditary baron rank to a hereditary viscount.

However, Rosen understood that part of the divine essence from the temple had been absorbed by his Void Gallery, while the remainder was submitted to the Noble Sequence Tree. In this light, receiving the Count title was already a fair deal.

Though the title wasn't hereditary, it allowed Rosen to advance his Noble Sequence to Sequence 8.

Rosen's Noble Sequence had already reached perfection at Sequence 9, so advancing to Sequence 8 was a natural progression.

Tapping into his extraordinary essence, Rosen's spirituality merged with his inner world, instantly perceiving the Golden Noble Sequence Tree.

Previously, three golden leaves had granted him his noble rank. Now, it was time to advance his extraordinary essence and sequence level.

As one golden leaf detached from the tree and merged with his essence, Rosen could feel himself undergoing a comprehensive transformation. His blood became more vibrant with life, and the extraordinary bloodline tied to his Nightmare Slime was also enhanced. Though this hadn't yet reached a complete metamorphosis, further reinforcement would surely lead to a breakthrough.

Rosen's spiritual strength increased from 16 to 17 points, and he acquired a Sequence 8 profession authority.

Scholarly Knowledge: Noble Sequence 8 Profession Authority

Attribute: Nobles are expected to be scholarly, and they possess the ability to pass down their accumulated knowledge through their bloodline.

Rosen was initially confused by the nature of this authority but later consulted Grey Mouse, who revealed that this was an exceptional boon.

Not every noble sequence gained Scholarly Knowledge as a professional authority. This ability ensured that his descendants would be born with a natural inclination toward spiritual awakening. Additionally, his Nightmare Slime's extraordinary bloodline could be more easily passed down, allowing his heirs to inherit his skills and talents through their blood.

For Rosen himself, this authority provided three key benefits:

He could now merge his Hunter Sequence abilities into his bloodline, allowing his self-portrait to use not only his painting abilities but also his Hunter Sequence powers. His learning and comprehension abilities would greatly improve, making it easier to grasp advanced knowledge. He could now attempt to acquire some of the secondary skills from his Noble Sequence, many of which required the Scholarly Knowledge authority as a prerequisite.

Content with his newfound authority, Rosen realized he could immediately advance his Noble Sequence to Sequence 6, boosting his spiritual strength to 37 points. However, doing so would mean skipping over the valuable opportunities of mastering the six secondary skills from Sequences 8 and 7.

To unlock the full potential of his Noble Sequence, Rosen had always focused on mastering three secondary skills for each level. At Sequence 9, he had gained Glorious Secret Vault, Divine Beast Pen, and Void Scavenger, each one contributing to the creation of his Divine Territory, his Beast Pen, and his Scavenger Space.

With more divine power, Rosen could still create three more divine buildings.

Currently, his Divine Beast Pen was used to nurture pets and extraordinary creatures, while the Void Scavenger Space functioned as a vast storage space. His territory needed more than just a pen and warehouse, and Rosen considered the possibility of integrating the Void Gallery into his Divine Territory.

The Void Gallery could occupy one of his skill slots and merge with his Divine Territory. Such a combination of different sequence abilities would bring immense benefits to both the gallery and the territory. However, most Divine Lords waited until Sequence 6 to perform such integrations. While Rosen could do it now at Sequence 8, he decided to hold off for the time being, knowing he could still seek other valuable Sequence 8 territory buildings.

With the main god computer, Rosen had the ability to convert extraordinary sequence skills from other professions into Noble Sequence skills. The Void Scavenger ability had already been acquired this way.

And Rosen had no shortage of divine power. Grey Mouse had an extensive collection of demigod artifacts, each capable of yielding a significant amount of divine essence.

Though consuming such valuable resources was a bit wasteful, Rosen was confident that when he reached Sequence 4, obtaining more demigod artifacts would not be an issue.

With a clear path ahead, Rosen logged into the Blue Whale Guild City's marketplace.

Even in the prosperous Blue Whale Kingdom, skill crystals were rare. It wasn't that no one was willing to sell them; rather, they were purchased as soon as they were listed, as long as the price was reasonable. The few remaining skill crystals on the market were either overpriced or contained low-value abilities.

To obtain skill crystals, one had to either hunt in spiritual realms or issue bounties.

Rosen naturally preferred to hunt for the skills himself. This would also give him an opportunity to hone his multitasking—his true self could continue painting in the Void Gallery while his self-portrait went hunting in the spiritual realms.

Both painting and hunting extraordinary creatures could slightly enhance his spiritual strength, ultimately reducing the time it would take for him to reach Sequence 7.

Rosen returned to his Divine Beast Pen and began nurturing one of his Sequence 8 Slimes.

His current spiritual strength was 17 points, and he still needed to reach 24 points. Beyond painting and hunting, the Devour and Nightmare Feast abilities from the Nightmare Slime could also help increase his spiritual strength.

The Nightmare Feast ability was easily managed; Yorknew's residents provided ample nightmare material.

The real challenge lay in feeding the Devour ability. While slimes could eat almost anything, their progress depended on the nutritional value of what they consumed.

The Merman's Lament realm had been an ideal place for the slimes to feast, but there had been too many prying eyes to allow for a full banquet.

Therefore, the next spiritual realm Rosen entered would need to meet several criteria: it should have skill crystal drops, plenty of extraordinary resources to fuel the Devour ability, and most importantly, it should be remote and discreet.

(End of Chapter)