Chapter 8: Adryan Gets 'Lucky'

The document was quite long, much longer than the red-haired man expected it to be. Easily 5 pages full of exclusively Grade 2 artefacts that the Church had under its control.

The redhead took his time as he read each page, his brain analysing each artefact and relating it to the abilities he knew and the paths they might belong to.

Thanks to his brain, it didn't take him long to finish reading the 5 pages and separate out the artifacts that caught his attention the most.

**

Sealed Artifact 2-30 Tear of the Dove.

It is an antique silver goblet filled with a clear, tear-like liquid that tastes both extremely salty and extremely sweet.

Power.

Anyone who drinks all the water will fall madly in love with the first person they see, the effect will be such that they will do anything that person says. After about 2 hours, the person will have such an orgasm that they will go into cardiac arrest and die.

Once the person who drank from the cup dies, the water in the cup will be filled as if it had never been drunk.

Negative effect.

The cup constantly tempts people nearby to drink it. If the person is very sexual, it will be almost impossible for them not to drink it.

**

**

Sealed Artefact 2-65 Feynapotter's Children's Stories

A small paperback book. The cover is an old yellow color with multiple worn parts. On the cover is a drawing of a boy riding a dragon. The drawing is crude but still understandable.

Power.

Once the book is opened, individuals can move through the dreams of any intelligent being within a 300-meter radius. Within the dreams, they are also able to alter people's dreams to act on what they dream. The effect is only temporary, and after 3 days, any change will disappear.

Negative effect.

If not sealed and left too long without being read, the book will move through dreams on its own. It will alter the dreams where it pass, and people whose dreams are altered will awaken in a regressed age state, acting like children or babies. One way to heal this is to bring the mind back to normal through hypnosis.

**

**

Artifact 2- 48 Blood Dagger

An S-curved dagger about 30 centimeters long, its blade is black in color and dripping with blood that never seems to end. Its handle is orange with fine slashes all over it.

Power.

Every time this dagger stabs something or someone, it will leave a mark on the spot. If the place is stabbed again or cut in the next 15 seconds, the damage done will be multiplied and depending on the strength of the attack, it is even capable of cutting a Sequence 5 Beyonder in half.

The blood it releases can also be used as oil. It is highly flammable and can burn for 20 hours at high temperatures with only 10 millimeters of it.

Negative Effect.

If the dripping blood is allowed to create a 6-inch puddle, the dagger will go into a frenzy and lose control. This is noticeable when the blade turns a fiery red like hot metal. 

Anyone touching the handle with the dagger in this state will lose all reason and enter a Berserk state. Killing and destroying everything in its path; the only way to stop it once that happens is to kill the person and feed their blood to the dagger.

**

**

Artifact 2- 58 Lullaby

An ordinary little music box. The only notable features are the strange symbols on its lid and the handle, which is silver in color rather than common gold.

Power.

When the music produced by this box is listened to. Everything related to mysticism is increased several times, the increase is such that a simple charm of light can become a blinding bomb that can blind normal people and leave with permament visual problems to Beyonders of Sequence 6.

Negative Effect.

Its chanting will strengthen the mysticism related to it and constantly attract monsters from the spirit world. If the user is not careful and is left to chant for too long, an extremely dangerous monster may appear.

**

**

Sealed Artifact 2- 98 Face Changing Mask

A simple expressionless mask that completely covers the face of the person wearing it. No matter the size or shape, the mask will always adjust to fit the wearer perfectly.

Power.

Once donned, the wearer can transform into a completely different person. Not only will their appearance change, but their smell and voice will also change perfectly to match the desire person or a new one.

Negative Effect.

Once the mask is put on and the wearer's appearance is changed, they will forget their previous appearance. If they were to remove the mask before changing back to their original appearance, their face would remain like this forever.

**

A huge smile formed on the face of the red-haired man who softly touched the name of Artifact 2-48. His eyes shone extremely happily.

'Hahaha! Here you are!' 

Adryan was sure, the described abilities of the Artifact were the same as that of Reaper from Sequence 5!

That Artifact was almost certainly made with the same characteristics!!!

Controlling himself, the red-haired man didn't let his emotions get the better of him, but instead turned to the last part of the document where the formulas that controlled the Church were listed.

'Reader, Student of Ratiocination, Detective, Polymath...

'Hunter, Provoker, Pyromaniac...

'Mystery Prier, Melee Scholar, Warlock, Scrolls Professor...

'Sailor, Folk of Rage...

'Bard...'

A red eyebrow rose curiously.

''Why does the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom have so many Mystery Prier pathway formulas? It's the second most complete they have...' 

Noting this down to see later, Adryan noticed something that made him unable to help but let out a small chuckle.

'They cut off the Reader pathway before they hit Sequence 5. It seems that while they may be willing to give me the formula, they're not willing to give me that all-important stepping stone.'

'It's funny though. They only have up to Sequence 7 of the Hunter's Path... Mmm... Curious indeed...'

That aside, Adryan looked at the formulas available to him for a few moments and could only sigh in disappointment.

'Well, even for other Churches. The amount the Lizard displays are quite varied and decently complete.'

The red head didn't even have to consider it, his decision on the formulas he would choose were made in the blink of an eye so all that was left was the artifacts he would take.

'One is obvious: the Blood Dagger is a must for me to grab. So that leaves me with one free...'

'It is somewhat unfortunate that there are no artifacts with Hanged Man's characteristics or some that can help with the Blood Moon, but you can't have everything.' 

He would have to find another way to deal with the curse that Maric and Sharron suffered from. It wasn't a priority for now, but he had to keep an eye open.

'With getting the Blood Dagger, my suffering was completely worth it...'

Tap tap tap

His finger began to gently tap his knee, and his mind was torn between taking the artifact 2-30 or 2-65.

'Tear of the Dove, from the description of its powers and negative effects, must be an artifact made from the characteristics of a Sequence 6 Pleasure Witch. The ability to be practically a truth serum makes it very tempting to take as surely was the owner of the characteristics in life...'

The way to use it only said one needed to take it; it never said it had to be willingly or knowing what it was. Adryan could easily pour the tears into a drink or food and have his victim at his complete will.

'But 2-65 is more important... Its abilities are the same as the Dreamswalker from Sequence 5. Not only is its ability extremely useful, functioning almost like a Traveller, but the negative effects are extremely easy to control and avoid.

'That's not to mention how Jerry will be able to use the characteristics of that artifact in the future, and I'll only have to worry about the supplementary ingredients...'

Adryan taped his knee curiously, his brow slightly furrowed.

'Sleepless pathway? No, they're more about poetry, not chants... It can't be from the Mystery Prier Pathway either...' While the decision of which artifacts he was going to grab was already made, the red-haired man's mind couldn't help but wander back to artifact 2-58.

While it wasn't an artifact he had planned on picking from the start. The artifact's abilities confused him quite a bit.

'Bard? No, either; their songs are more like strength bonuses, not increasing mysticism and attracting monsters...'

No matter how much he thought about it, 2-58 Lullaby's abilities didn't fit into any of the paths he knew.

Tap tap tap...

His finger stopped tapping his knee, his eyes darkening slightly.

'It is an artifact of a path I do not know... It is another Pathway from outside...'

This was the second one he had encountered and he doubted it would be the last.

Another artifact that caught his attention was the Face Changer Mask. With his enhanced memory, he remembered that Mr. Azik mentioned this mask in the original story.

'Could this be the mask he lost along with Creeping Hunger?'

Jotting that down to review another day in his mental block that was only getting bigger and bigger, the red-haired man closed the documents in his hands.

Shaking his head, Adryan sighed tiredly and stood up from the couch.

"Have you finished filling in your new names?"

"Yes, Captain." Sasha said holding up her document, Charlotte repeated the motion beside her.

"All ready here." Opera nodded, three documents in hand. Jerry and Serena looked both proud and melancholic about the name they had chosen.

"Ready on this side, Mr. Kenway." Xio said, and Fors beside her nodded.

His gaze moved to the cold duo, who merely nodded.

With nothing more to say or do, Adryan grabbed the tray bell and shook his wrist. A sweet, tinkling sound echoed through the room.

After a few seconds, the same older woman as before entered. Her gaze as always dull and disinterested.

The woman walked to stand in front of the red-haired man, "Have you chosen your payment yet?"

At the question, the redhead nodded. "The formulas for Warlock and Scrolls Professor, and Artifacts 2-48 and 2-65."

The old woman's face did not change. She just gave a slight nod, grabbed the documents, and left the room, but not before saying she would return soon.

...

Two hours later. 5:40 p.m. 

Adjusting the arm warmer along with the white glove, Adryan let out a small sigh as he ran a hand through his black hair.

Extending a hand with payment to the chauffeur, who left as soon as he received payment. The now black-haired man turned to look at the huge building behind him.

Looking up, he first noticed the vibrant colors of the building. The yellow combined with the sunset light to give it a beautiful orange colour, and the red tiles on the roof acted like clouds, further highlighting its beauty.

'It is impressive how some things can be repeated. Lenburg's style is very similar to Baroque but has some small differences if you know where to look... It's quite a beautiful style and not as depressing as Backlund's gothic.' 

Letting out a slight sigh, Adryan gripped the briefcase tightly in his left hand and walked through the large doors of the building.

A large hall greeted him, the domed ceiling painted with a man on horseback with blond hair and a neat beard while carrying a spear in his right hand. 

There was a decent amount of movement here, several large groups of people coming and going. They were all wearing similar clothes, a mixture of colorful tunics and shirts, a sort of modern Greek garb.

Adryan was wearing the same clothes. His white tunic shirt hugged his waist with a purple ribbon, and he wore a simple blue waistcoat with purple stitching depicting the symbol of the City's only religion. His trousers were soft charcoal black, and what remained the most were his combat boots.

His face had changed as well. No longer was his distinctive long red hair, but now it was a deep black combed back to show his forehead. His scarlet eyes were now as black as his hair, and his features looked more masculine compared to his previous face. 

He had high cheekbones, a strong chin, deep and expressive eyes, and a broad forehead. He was a young man entering his mid-20s. 

Walking to the table in the back, Adryan smiled elegantly at the female attendant." Excuse me, madam, I've come to collect my room keys."

The woman, who couldn't have been more than 30, nodded, picked up a thick hardback book, and opened it without looking at him: "Name and room number."

"Harvey Wayne, room 145." 

The woman just nodded and quickly moved her finger to the W section of the book, after a short search she found the name and room number.

Confirming the data, the woman turned around in her chair and expertly grabbed the room key and held it out to the man in front of her. Her hand froze as she finally got a good look at the man.

Adryan grabbed the key from the woman's hand with a flirtatious smile, making sure his fingers brushed against her skin, causing a visible chill to run through her.

Before she could react, he grabbed her hand and planted a soft kiss on it. Freezing the woman. Still with his lips on her hand, he opened one eye and smiled at her embarrassed face.

"Thanks for the help, Madam. Have a nice day~"

"Y-you too M-Mr. Wayne..." the older woman said with a whisper and a blush on her cheeks. 

Winking, Adryan turned around and walked with a leisurely pace to his new room.

"If you sleep with any woman, I swear I will rip that worm out and feed it to you." Flora said with enormous annoyance, her voice carrying great venom.

"Don't worry, Miss Worm. This piece of cake is yours alone," Adryan whispered with a chuckle.

"You'd better! I refuse to let my host be a street harlot; I am a lady bearing the proud name Jacob! Even you must not lower yourself to a nobody since you carry me!"