Chapter 357: Joy

Chapter 357: Joy

Sealed Artifact 2-111, the Arodes Mirror, possesses unique qualities that even a 0-level Sealed Artifact lacks, capable of retrieving most secrets through the Spirit Realm.

It was born from the Primordial Sea, a symbol of omniscience, under the domain of the Primordial God, left behind as a contingency to counter the Mysterious Lord, another pillar.

Besides its mischievous tendency to reveal the inquirer’s private information, causing social death, the Arodes Mirror is generally very useful.

As Ikanser posed his question, the surrounding darkness suddenly turned hazy, and the silver surface of the mirror rippled with waves of light, as if searching for answers or seeking feedback.

The light on the mirror flickered repeatedly, but no images appeared, only a chaotic dance of light points, providing no information.

Ikanser, encountering this for the first time, looked shocked, surprised that there was something the Arodes Mirror couldn’t answer. Suddenly, the mirror began to emit a series of dark, pulsating lights, and the entire frame started to tremble violently.

Crack—

A sharp cracking sound echoed, and a crack appeared on the Arodes Mirror, almost splitting it in half, looking quite pitiful.

"By the Steam, what question did you make me ask!"

Ikanser nearly jumped, his heart racing. This was his Sealed Artifact, and if something went wrong, he would be in serious trouble!

His colleagues were also stunned, at a loss for what to do.

At that moment, the mirror surface, as if trying to save face, flashed with countless symbols, as if performing an exhaustive search, and finally managed to squeeze out two words, possibly correct or possibly not.

"Last One"

Seeing that the mirror wasn’t completely damaged, Ikanser let out a sigh of relief.

Last One? What Last One, whose Last One?

Before he could react, the dimming mirror surface presented several lines of blood-red text, so intense they seemed about to overflow.

"According to the principle of reciprocity, it’s my turn to ask a question."

"If you answer incorrectly or lie, you will be punished."

Ikanser’s face stiffened as he read the message, inwardly cursing his luck.

The good news was that the mirror wasn’t completely broken, but the bad news was that the mirror wasn’t completely broken.

Having been reduced to this state, the already mischievous and petty mirror would likely ask a question that would cause social death. Ikanser took a deep breath, bracing himself mentally to face the question.

His colleague gently patted his shoulder in consolation, then looked at the mirror with keen interest.

After all, every time someone used the Arodes Mirror, it was a moment of internal celebration for the Mechanical Heart. Who didn’t love a good spectacle?

The blood-red text appeared line by line, the large characters almost filling the entire mirror surface, as if to ensure no one could miss it.

"Do you wish to spend a night of passion with Benoit Gustave, to be humiliated and tortured, but due to the vast difference in power, can only fantasize about it under the covers?"

At the bottom, two options appeared: "Yes" or "No."

Silence.

A silence so profound it seemed time had frozen.

When the question was posed with such detail and clarity, the answer became irrelevant. Admitting it was wrong, and denying it was useless. An incorrect answer would result in punishment, and refusing to answer would be seen as a cover-up.

Benoit Gustave, a high-ranking member of the Steam Church, a Sequence 2 Angel, and the son of the Emperor of Rossel, was handsome but cold, his divinity overwhelming his humanity.

Ikanser’s face, which had been serious, turned a sickly shade of purple, then a deathly pale, as if he was about to suffer a cerebral hemorrhage and collapse on the spot.

He turned to his colleague, who had already backed away, looking at him with a mix of shock, amazement, and disbelief.

Some people are alive, but he was already dead.

His life was over.

Ikanser’s face was ashen, his lips moving, "No."

A bolt of lightning struck from the sky, the smell of burnt flesh filling the air as Ikanser fell to the ground, a tear sliding down his cheek.

He might as well be dead.

...

On the other side, Luke, who had successfully ascended to become the Joyful Witch, glanced in the direction of Saint Hillan Cathedral, deep in thought.

"Is it that lickspittle mirror?"

A mirror created by the Omniscient One, capable of receiving feedback from the Spirit Realm, could likely uncover something even from a true deity.

Unfortunately, Luke represented the "unknown unknown", which even the original creator couldn’t decipher. The Arodes Mirror, even at its best, could only receive a single piece of information.

When Luke first awakened, the initial identity verification from the Primordial Creator in the Spirit Realm was likely deduced through a combination of guesswork and luck, and it might even draw the attention of the original being, leading to some form of punishment.

I hope that interesting mirror is still okay.

Luke opened the wardrobe, took out a new mirror to replace the old one, and handed the Witch hairpin to Xiu. As a result, there were now many more mirrors in the house, in various styles.

He glanced sideways, his breath catching slightly.

The mirror reflected a young woman wearing a loose men’s shirt and trousers, revealing a snow-white neck, a high nose bridge, and lips as delicate as petals. Her skin was so fine it seemed to glow, with a slight pearlescent sheen, and her long black hair cascaded like a waterfall.

Barkeland’s Diamond Rank just dropped a notch.

“Not bad at all.”

Luke rubbed his chin, feeling that if he were any more charming, he might even want to do something to himself.

His charm hadn’t actually increased; it was already stacked very high by the various Lukes, surpassing the upper limit that the Joyful Witch could enhance. He just usually restrained it. The feeling of increased charm came from the change in gender, which added a different kind of beauty, and the Extraordinary Trait causing slight fluctuations in control.

The Joyful Witch instinctively emits charm continuously and must consciously control it to keep it in check.

Without looking at his female form any longer, Luke closed his eyes, and his body began to change again. Within a few breaths, the delicate, flower-like female body transformed back into his strong, rugged male form.

After a moment of feeling the change with his eyes closed, a look of regret appeared on his face. In his male form, most of the Joyful Witch’s abilities were unusable, leaving only the Black Flame and a few minor Black Magic spells.

This wasn’t too bad, as the Extraordinary Trait before Sequence 4 didn’t offer much help anyway. The key issue was that the Extraordinary Trait couldn’t be fully absorbed immediately.

The experiences of the other Lukes didn’t count, either because “experiences” weren’t within the shared range or because he wasn’t the original.

If he considered only his time in this world, which was less than a month, the quality of his joyful experiences and partners wasn’t particularly high, given that he had only one low-Sequence partner, Xiu.

Luke estimated that if he did nothing, it would take about two months to digest the Extraordinary Trait. If he acted, the time would be shortened based on the number of joyful experiences, the quality of the partner, and the depth of their mutual immersion.

“Not too bad, and the digestion process is enjoyable. Besides, finding the Extraordinary Trait for Sequence 4 will take time anyway.”

Luke consoled himself and then began to think about the high-Sequence female parahumans in Barkeland. He remembered that Duchess Joanna of the Royal Family seemed to be a Saint on the Arbiter pathway.

There was also Bernadette Gustave, the eldest daughter of the Emperor of Rossel, known as the “Mystic Queen” with the nickname “Yellow Peipei,” who had sought advancement after foreseeing a disaster and moved from the Five Seas to Barkeland.

Hmm, none of them seem easy to approach.

Saints and Angels, especially those beyond the Demigod stage, are particularly detached and can maintain their humanity only with the help of their believers’ “anchors.” They generally have little desire for romantic or sexual relationships, except for Witches on the Witch pathway, who are often conflicted about such matters.

Saying something like, “You don’t want your father to continue suffering from the pollution of the Fallen Mother Goddess, do you?” is too low and takes advantage of someone’s vulnerability, which Luke doesn’t enjoy.

If Bernadette were to actively seek a deal with him, he wouldn’t refuse, but he wouldn’t actively scheme for it.

“Sigh, let’s just go with the flow.”

After some thought, Luke temporarily abandoned the idea of pursuing high-Sequence female partners for joyful digestion. He lay back on the bed to meditate, calming the surging Spiritual Energy and the fluctuating charm from his recent advancement.

Knock, knock, knock!

After an indeterminate amount of time, the door was knocked on.

Fols, feeling lazy and lethargic, walked in. Xiu’s efforts to digest the Magic Potion finally made her realize the urgency of the situation, and she had asked Luke for help.

In recent days, the slacker writer hadn’t gone out to “gather inspiration” anymore. Besides writing, he had been following Luke to learn mysticism to help digest the Apprentice Magic Potion.

Fols entered the room and was momentarily stunned, taking a moment to react.

“Are you a bit different today?”

Her gaze was involuntarily drawn to Luke, focusing on his lips and Adam’s apple, his broad chest that rose and fell with his breathing, and the lean waist and the area below his pants.

Luke felt that the wild man today seemed a bit more seductive than usual.

Rising from his seat, Luke glanced at her and asked, "What's different?"

Fols, feeling guilty, avoided the question and pulled a chair to sit down.

"Let's start today's lesson. I feel like the magic potion is almost digested."

Luke hummed and nodded gently, "Today, we'll discuss the knowledge of adjacent pathways."

"Among the twenty-two divine pathways, except for the 'Monster' pathway, all other pathways have adjacent pathways to some extent. Adjacent pathways can be switched without losing control like when taking a non-adjacent pathway's magic potion. However, the risk is still higher than taking a potion of the same Sequence."

In his deep, rich voice, precious mystical knowledge was casually imparted. Fols focused, feeling her horizons broaden with the vast knowledge, as if the ocean of mysticism was opening up to her.

Halfway through the lesson, Fols suddenly saw specks of stars, and a series of crackling sounds echoed in her ears. She closed her eyes, savoring the sensation.

Luke paused his lecture, waiting quietly for her to stabilize her spiritual energy.

"Is this the feeling of complete digestion?"

Fols felt the mental fog lifting, her entire body becoming lighter, and her mood improving. No wonder those who didn't fully digest the magic potion advanced so slowly and faced the risk of losing control. The difference was significant.

"Congratulations, you can now prepare the Sequence 8 'Trickster' magic potion and prepare for your advancement."

"I owe this to you. The knowledge you imparted is invaluable, and many low-Sequence, no, even mid-Sequence, extraordinary individuals don't know these things."

Fols's eyes were complex, her emotions swirling.

"Even a novice like me knows that this knowledge is priceless."

"Knowledge is the most precious and the cheapest thing. Precious in its utility, cheap in its spread."

Luke chuckled softly, "It's just a small effort, don't worry about it."

Fols stared at Luke for a few seconds, then got up from her chair. She walked to the door but didn't leave, instead locking it and turning to look at Luke with a direct, seductive gaze, her voice trembling slightly.

"Perhaps, I can show my gratitude in another way."

Fols's eyes glistened, "I read the book you mentioned."

"You mean 'The Dog Chasing Monks'?"

Luke's lips curved slightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, just watching Fols quietly.

Fols felt a bit annoyed. She might not be a monk, but the man in front of her was definitely a dog.

She tentatively approached, lightly kissing his lips. Emboldened by his lack of resistance, she pushed him gently and straddled him, her actions becoming more daring.

She bit his Adam's apple, her tone tinged with resentment, "You must have been thinking about this all along, right?"

"Didn't you read Trier's famous novel? Why are you still so timid?"

Luke sighed, taking the initiative, admiring Fols's flushed cheeks and her more statuesque, well-proportioned, and feminine figure compared to Xiu.

Theory and practice are two different things, after all.

"Um..."

Luke caressed Fols's smooth skin, his Adam's apple moving slightly. The contrast between her petite, adorable form and her more statuesque, alluring presence was quite nice, but he found the latter more appealing.

...

Tinggen City, Dock Area.

A ship docked, and a nimble figure leaped from the side of the ship, landing with exceptional grace. Despite the height of several dozen meters, he was unharmed, and the slight sound was drowned out by the waves.

Tris had a faint smile on his lips, his body blending into the shadows, easily evading the dock workers' scrutiny as he moved through the alleyways.

"The Seducer's magic potion is digested, my mission is complete, and I can now advance to Sequence 7."

Tris looked toward the light at the end of the alley, his eyes filled with ambition and excitement. Suddenly, his steps halted, and an invisible force trapped his legs, making him feel as if he were sinking into quicksand.

A figure blocked his path, standing in front of the light at the end of the alley.

The newcomer had short, golden-brown hair, and his dark green eyes were like a moonless night's lake. He held a violin case in his hand.

High Executor Nocturne, Cresta, looked at Tris with a cold, emotionless tone.

"Sorry, but you won't have the chance to play your part anymore."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end