On an obscure island at the junction of the Polar Sea and the Misty Sea.
Former Princess of Balam, Bruna, sat on a rock, idly watching Bernadette and Isabella as they studied a stone stele nearby. She asked weakly, "It's been several days now. Have you figured it out yet?"
Roselle literally wrote the rules on the back of the stele... she muttered under her breath.
Of course, she understood the need for caution. Otherwise, they wouldn't have invited a Seer and a Prophet Master to explore with them.
"It's mostly confirmed that this was Roselle's later arrangement. But whether it connects to the hidden tomb of the Black Emperor Solomon… that remains unknown. Though, even if Solomon built it, I doubt it's where he hid his tomb," said Isabella, the former Grand Princess of Lenburg, turning to Bruna.
"I've already sent a messenger to inquire with Nast. We should receive a response soon," Bernadette stated calmly.
"Is this ruin really that dangerous?" Bruna frowned. After a moment of hesitation, she asked, "Is the danger from the ruin itself or from Roselle's arrangements?"
"From what I've foreseen… both! Or rather, Roselle's arrangements seem to have utilized something within the ruin that doesn't belong to our world," Isabella said grimly.
"Something that doesn't belong to our world… What do you mean?" Bruna asked in confusion.
"As far as I know, Solomon's Black Emperor was close to a Blood Clan Duke… The things I foresaw might be objects or creatures that duke 'summoned' from the starry sky," Isabella explained after some deliberation, acting out of a Reader's habit—even though she didn't particularly like Bruna.
The Blood Clan were naturally Beyonders of the Moon pathway, and those at Sequence 3, the Blood Clan Marquises, were also called Summoning Masters.
A Summoning Master's abilities typically involved forming contracts with spirit world creatures, but unpredictable mutations sometimes occurred, bringing forth strange beings or items that had no connection to the spirit world or any prior contracts. These anomalies were said to originate from the boundless, dark cosmos.
Such mutations had both good and bad outcomes. Some Summoning Masters perished because of them, while others obtained extraordinary powers or items beyond the Twenty-Two Sequences.
And a Blood Clan Duke was undoubtedly far stronger than a Marquis. Whatever they summoned was bound to be extremely dangerous.
Bruna recalled the relevant information on the Blood Clan and nodded thoughtfully.
Meanwhile, Bernadette's deep-set eyes returned to normal. Shaking her head, she spoke gently, "Father used different Blasphemy Card decks to divide the ruin into separate areas. He likely intended to seal away dangerous objects or creatures… Some decks correspond to relatively safer areas.
"For example, the Sun, Wheel of Fortune, and Death deck."
Isabella nodded and added, "That matches what I foresaw…
"The most dangerous area we can currently access corresponds to the Judgment, The Bound, and The Hermit deck."
"No, to be precise, the Judgment and The Bound cards, combined with any other card, make the area extremely dangerous! The only somewhat safer combination is with the Sun card," Bernadette corrected, clearly surpassing Isabella in her ability to peer into fate.
"Do the pathways corresponding to Judgment and The Bound have any particular significance?" Bruna asked, puzzled.
Bernadette hesitated for a moment before gently shaking her head. "I'm not entirely sure either."
Just as Bruna was about to press further, both she and Isabella sensed something at the same time and turned to look beside Bernadette.
The next moment, a letter bearing the seal of "Count White Maple" landed in Bernadette's hand.
She opened it, glanced through it, and smoothly changed the topic. "We can now confirm that this place is indeed connected to Solomon's ruin… But Nast isn't sure what's inside either. He only knows that after his father and my father retrieved something from there, they both died not long after…
"Since we've confirmed it, let's officially begin the exploration… Hmm, we'll start with the safest set first."
Bruna and Isabella exchanged glances before quickly looking away. After briefly considering and preparing their respective "emergency" measures, they joined Bernadette in picking up a Blasphemy Card each and placing them in the three empty slots on the stele.
With a flash of light, the three figures vanished from the stone stele.
…
In Bayam, Ebner returned to his estate and glanced at the clock. He saw that it was just past ten, still quite a while before lunch.
"But from my perception, it felt like a long time had passed… After all, solving those giants' and half-giants' problems took who knows how long…"
Reflecting on it, Ebner couldn't help but feel like Lü Sheng in A Dream of Golden Millet, where he had experienced a long time in a dream, only to wake up and find that the millet porridge wasn't even cooked yet…
No, given this world's setting, A Dream of Golden Millet might have actually happened…
Did Lü Sheng encounter a Dream Weaver back then?
Could a Mysticologist use Mystic Reappearance to extract power from that legend and develop corresponding magic or sorcery…?
As his thoughts wandered, Ebner boarded the carriage arranged by Helene. The coachman's slightly puzzled gaze lingered on him as he instructed the carriage to head toward the alley across from the Red Theater.
Over half an hour later, Ebner stepped off the carriage alone. Remembering the coachman's earlier look, he hesitated for a moment before using Psychological Invisibility. Only then did he slip through the alley and enter the courtyard outside the folk herbal medicine shop.
As soon as he stepped inside, he saw a sharp-faced, monkey-like man attempting to lay his hands on Budi. However, the indigenous girl showed no fear at all and lashed out with a whip, striking him directly.
The man's skin instantly split open from the blow, yet he let out an oddly ecstatic moan, his face flushing red.
At the same time, his body convulsed unnaturally as he collapsed to the ground.
Budi, unfazed, skillfully pulled out some medicinal powder, sprinkled it on his wound, then grabbed him and tossed him out of the courtyard.
"Good job, Budi. That's how it should be done." A hidden owl suddenly emerged, clutching a coin pouch in its beak, which it dropped into Budi's hands. She counted the coins and then shouted toward the shop, "Mr. Darkwill, it's only ten pence this time. Another loss."
"Another broke idiot coming here for kicks!" Darkwill grumbled as he walked out of the house. Just as he was about to say more, he spotted Ebner materializing nearby and swallowed his words, instead asking in surprise, "Detective, when did you get here?"
Recalling the scene he had just witnessed, Ebner's lips twitched. He had already recognized the whip in Budi's hands as the Whip of Ecstasy he had custom-made for Darkwill… Connecting the item's ability with what had just happened, he couldn't help but ask, "So, you've turned the whip I gave you into a new business venture?
"Are you competing with the Red Theater across the alley now?"