"The Paragon card… Old Huang actually left it here!"
Ebner stared for a while at the card surface, where lines of text appeared and vanished as though in an automatically played slideshow. After memorizing all the formulas, he shifted his gaze to the pair of rotating gears on another altar.
"That's actually an item condensed from the Beyonder characteristic of Sequence 2's 'Knowledge Magister'!
"So that's it… This ritual was essentially set up to control those six mechanical lions in the previous room… just like how higher Sequence Beyonders of the Savant pathway could command their mechanical bodies.
"So that robot formed by six lions might well have a power cap at the angel level…
"Good thing I didn't fight it!
"Good thing its two earlier attacks were only warnings!"
At this thought, Ebner couldn't help feeling a bit of lingering fear. He wasn't worried for himself—after all, he bore the "Blessing of the Goddess of Beauty" upon his forehead. Even an angel-level strike might not necessarily kill him.
But Edwina would have stood no chance under such attacks! Good thing Old Huang wasn't completely mad back then!
Of course, before coming here I not only divined for myself, but also asked Little Snake Will… If it had truly been that dangerous, I probably wouldn't have brought Edwina along.
Turning these thoughts over, Ebner didn't destroy the ritual. He simply took the Blasphemy Card and the "Knowledge Magister" characteristic. Before he fully "analyzed" the structure of the ritual, he dared not act rashly, lest he provoke those six mechanical lions again.
What's more, his own body of the "God of Luck" lay "slumbering" here. It wasn't something he could take away in a short while. Having angel-level guardians watching over it gave him peace of mind.
At his side, Edwina had also memorized the contents on the Blasphemy Card. She felt delighted to once again witness such a treasure, but the pirate admiral soon calmed her emotions, showing no intention of seizing the card or the characteristic.
After glancing around, she pointed to both sides of the staircase and said thoughtfully,
"This place looks rather empty… Besides those crystals and gemstones, Elven ruins usually contain many highly artistic pieces.
"For example, at both sides of this staircase, I think there ought to have been thick, tall columns. The columns should be carved with a series of symbols and emblems that project majesty, grandeur, and submission, as well as strange patterns with little meaning yet special effects…
"That would fit more with Elven customs…
"Of course, this is only my personal experience and opinion, it may not be accurate."
Ebner followed her finger and saw that the area around the stairs was indeed quite empty, as though something had originally been designed there.
He knew himself well: if conditions didn't allow, he could accept it. But if they did, he was actually someone who enjoyed life.
If this truly were his palace, he would surely have decorated it with care, making it luxurious and magnificent.
"So… where's the original decoration? Those mysterious-effect columns Edwina mentioned?
"Could it be that Old Huang carted them all off?
"But what would he even do with them? Wait… Don't tell me he used them to decorate his own nine tombs?
"Right, even the gate of that tomb he built in the dream was stolen! At the time I even said that after becoming a demigod, I should go check out the abandoned ancient castle in the middle of Delaire Forest, southeast of Backlund, where the 'Sea of Chaos' was sealed… Hmm, I'll go when I find the time… Ever since becoming a demigod, I've been constantly busy, schedule packed tight.
"Back to the question—if it really was Old Huang who stole all the 'building materials' from my tomb to use in his, then what gave him the confidence to write in that dream that 'no one should think about stealing valuable things from his tomb'?
"Should I say it's just like him, that shameless 'porter' Old Huang? Not only plagiarizing in science and art, but even hauling off construction materials…"
"Truly shameless!"
After griping a few lines in his heart, Ebner didn't care too much. After all, what Old Huang left behind here was far more valuable—he was not at a loss.
He only prayed silently that Old Huang hadn't gone too far and dismantled the so-called passage leading near the "Giant's Court."
"Maybe that 'God of Luck' practiced frugality…" Though he had plenty of complaints about Old Huang, Ebner still defended his image before Edwina.
"I checked some records in Lenburg's great library before coming here… In one of Hermes' journals it was written that the 'God of Luck' loved luxury, and demanded 'beauty' in creatures, items, and even architecture." Edwina shook her head in thought. "I suspect it was Emperor Roselle who, for some reason, destroyed the decorations here!
"Also, the earlier rooms were just as empty. Their decorations may well have been destroyed by him too."
Reasonable, logical… Old Huang, I tried, but here we've got a 'Reader' who's good at deduction.
While grumbling inwardly, Ebner nodded in agreement with Edwina's speculation. Then, half-embracing her, he carefully led her up the stairs, finally arriving before the high-backed chair of the "God of Luck."
Though a bit uneasy at being held, Edwina didn't resist. This ruin was riddled with danger, and Ebner was only doing it to protect her better.
As he drew close to the seated "God of Luck" in the pose of "The Thinker," Ebner, who had his "Pure White Eye" open, easily sensed that his own body's condition was nearly the same as "Alvin Abraham" in the Nation of the Evernight—dead, yet not completely, with faint traces of spirit lingering.
And those traces of spirit blended harmoniously with his own current spirit, as though they were one.
He even felt that if he used the secret art that once controlled Owen, consuming another "miracle," he could directly make this "God of Luck" into his own avatar, without needing spiritual synchronization.
But Ebner resisted the temptation. That secret art he had been refining with many versions of himself was still incomplete, with significant flaws. Sacrificing the bone dragon and testing with Owen had been fine, but this was his true body—he had to be cautious.
Moreover, Ebner had roughly guessed why the Evernight Goddess had once required him to leave behind a "miracle."
Because this "miracle" was most likely reserved for Alvin.
Once his secret art was perfected, fixing all its flaws, Alvin could truly "revive" and leap in Sequence straight to "Miracle Invoker."
By then, "miracles" would no longer be rare. He could let more of "himself" become… not avatars, but truly himself!
Once they revived, he would surely obtain their corresponding memories, cleverly "skirting" the contamination of the "Unknown Land"…
Perhaps this was the scheme of the "me" throughout the ages?
But why exactly had they chosen this path?
(End of Chapter)