Lord: Sequence Master

"I just need a Museum of History now…" Rosen muttered to himself as he stared into the mirror.

Technically, Sullay also had something akin to a Void Gallery, called a Museum of History. However, Sullay's version fell far short of Rosen's expectations—its quality was simply too low to match the potential of his Divine Avatar, a Sequence 1 Historian with immense foundations.

Especially after learning certain secrets from the Spiritual Realm Deep Web, Rosen realized the necessity of elevating his Divine Avatar's status.

In the beginning, Historians and Archaeologists belonged to the same sequence tree. Archaeology was merely a branch of History. But as time passed, Archaeology became independent, growing stronger until it eventually produced its own Sequence 0.

This Sequence 0 wasn't Chinon. Chinon was actually the second Sequence 0 of the Archaeologist Sequence.

The first Sequence 0 had been slain by the Sequence 0 of the Historian Sequence.

The incident caused an uproar at the time. On the surface, it seemed like the Historians were at fault. Yet somehow, the verdict declared the Archaeologist Sequence 0 guilty instead.

Then, something even stranger happened. Both the Historian and Archaeologist Sequence's first Sequence 0s vanished.

Not only did they disappear, but even their names and every trace of their existence were erased entirely.

Subsequent generations of Historians and Archaeologists had researched this event extensively.

One prevailing theory suggested that the Historian Sequence 0 had tried to create a Bronze-level Historical Sequence Tree, attempting to fully control the Law of History and ascend to a True God.

However, the Archaeologists had apparently retaliated by stealing part of the Law of History.

Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for the World Government to declare the killed party guilty.

Many Sequence 1 scholars speculated that the vanished Historian Sequence 0 had likely failed in their attempt to become a True God. The erasure of their existence was seen as a side effect of this failure. As a result, any future Historian seeking to ascend as a True God would need to eliminate the Archaeologist Sequence 0 to monopolize the Law of History.

Rosen had high hopes for his Divine Avatar. On top of that, he had an unresolvable grudge with Chinon.

Thus, Rosen was determined to solidify the foundation of his Divine Avatar further. Who knew—perhaps his Divine Avatar would someday step on Chinon to ascend as a True God. According to his understanding, the Divine Avatar of a Great True God operated at the True God level.

To lay this groundwork, Rosen decided his next stop would be Chaotic City.

Two days later, aboard the Abyssal, Captain Clement delivered Rosen to the Disorder Lighthouse.

The three dominant powers of the Chaotic Sea formed a triangular perimeter around the lighthouse, while Chaotic City was located within its interior. To enter Chaotic City, one had to traverse the Disorder Catacombs inside the lighthouse, eventually arriving at the chaotic metropolis, where entry was allowed but exit for one's true body was forbidden.

However, there was a loophole: Avatars had a small chance of exiting through the Disorder Catacombs.

Rosen arrived at the gate of the Disorder Lighthouse, pushed the door open, and saw a descending corridor.

Upon entering, the door behind him slammed shut, and the floor beneath his feet began glowing a grayish hue.

Light, of course, doesn't naturally appear gray. At most, it can illuminate objects that appear gray. Yet the glow from this corridor somehow gave the illusion that the light itself was gray.

The downward staircase seemed endless. Oddly, the stairs appeared to restrict movement speed, forcing Rosen to slow down to a crawl. Even breaking the sound barrier became impossible.

After what felt like hours of descent, the path split into two diverging staircases.

This marked the start of the Disorder Catacombs. Only one path led to Chaotic City, while the other would eventually force a dead-end retrace.

To make matters worse, even the correct path could inexplicably shift into the wrong one—and vice versa. Navigating the catacombs demanded either overwhelming power or sheer luck.

Without one or the other, many would end up wandering these stairs for eternity, leaving only their bones behind.

Rosen's pupils shifted into vertical dragon slits. Activating his Bronze Dragon bloodline, he enabled himself to perceive glimpses of the future.

Without hesitation, he stepped onto the right-hand staircase.

From that point onward, at every fork in the path, he instinctively chose the correct route.

Two months later, Rosen finally emerged from the last staircase into the light.

Beyond the catacomb's exit lay a vibrant, bustling city illuminated by dazzling lights.

Above, a purple moon hung in the sky. Upon closer inspection, Rosen realized it wasn't a moon but the Divine Kingdom of a True God.

Looking around, he finally understood why the entirely stairway-built Disorder Catacombs were called "catacombs" despite the name suggesting underground chambers.

Chaotic City itself was situated in a space enclosed by four massive walls, resembling an enormous underground vault.

However, this "vault" stretched across an expanse of 10,000 square kilometers, containing not only the city but also sprawling landscapes of mountains and rivers.

Due to concerns about the God-Hunting Magic Eye alerting a True God, Rosen hadn't investigated much about Chaotic City beforehand.

He only knew there were two safe zones within Chaotic City:

The Inner City

All Roads

Beyond these areas, no part of Chaotic City adhered to any rules.

Rosen attempted a Void Blink, only to find that it teleported him no farther than 66 meters.

Even his spiritual senses were limited to a range of 66 meters around him.

After conducting further tests, he discovered that all supernatural abilities in Chaotic City would dissipate immediately if they extended beyond his spiritual range. This meant that the radius of his abilities was directly tied to his spiritual strength, measured in meters per spiritual point (up to a factor of ten).

In normal circumstances, the range of supernatural abilities is determined by one's spiritual strength multiplied by one meter. When a domain is deployed, the range increases to spiritual strength multiplied by ten meters. However, if a Divine Domain is activated, the area within the domain becomes free from all restrictions.

It was no wonder the area, spanning 10,000 square kilometers, could accommodate so many demigods. Without such restrictions, even two random demigods could easily reduce the mountains and rivers in this underground sanctuary to rubble.

Although teleportation abilities were limited, powers directly affecting one's body were not restricted.

Rosen activated the Lightwalker ability from his Holy Lion Coat, transforming into light and crossing thousands of kilometers in an instant. He arrived at the only entrance and exit of Chaotic City.

Next to the road stood a bulletin board with a brief introduction to Chaotic City:

First, fighting was prohibited in the inner city and on the roads. Fighting was allowed in the outer city but required paying a special penalty. Outside Chaotic City—beyond the roads—there was no law or order. All land was unclaimed, free for anyone to occupy with their own strength.

Second, the bulletin outlined the six main factions in Chaotic City:

The Three CorporationsPirate FactionsExiled PrisonersLocal Residents of Chaotic City

The strongest faction was the Three Corporations, each boasting Sequence 1 powerhouses. Pirates and prisoners were led by Sequence 2 elites, while the strongest locals reached only Sequence 3. However, locals were far from being pushovers—they were descendants of members from the other factions who had been born and raised in Chaotic City.

The bulletin board also displayed a simple map, marking the locations of each faction's inner-city headquarters.

As Rosen walked through the streets and stepped into the rolling black mist that surrounded Chaotic City, he finally began to grasp just how chaotic this place truly was.

On the side of the road, he passed a restaurant where live human limbs were hanging from meat hooks, screaming incessantly.

It was clear that this restaurant's menu consisted of human flesh, and shockingly, the place was bustling with diners.

Not far away, Rosen spotted an artist from a Void Gallery. The artist summoned a subject, skinned them alive, dissected their body, and rearranged the dismembered parts into a grotesque painting on the ground.

Elsewhere, a large number of men and women were openly engaging in carnal acts on the streets and rooftops.

The entire Chaotic City exuded an overwhelming aura of negativity and madness.

More accurately, it seemed as though Chaotic City amplified the insanity hidden deep within every person's heart.

After crossing the outer city, which stretched a radius of over ten kilometers, Rosen entered the inner city.

Compared to the outer city, the inner city was significantly more orderly.

At the very least, no one was dismembering others on the roadside, stripping naked, or eating humans in public.

However, this did not mean the inner city was entirely civilized. Order here was superficial. The restaurants along the streets catered to indulgence in exotic delicacies and fine wine. Gambling establishments of all kinds dotted the area in abundance.

Rosen quickly found the only hotel in Chaotic City. After checking in, he logged onto the local internet in his guest room.

The network here was extremely primitive, akin to the basic internet back on Blue Star. It wasn't even a virtual reality system, just an old-school online network.

The nostalgia was striking, but the abundance of information online helped Rosen gain a deeper understanding of Chaotic City.

For any location to thrive, it must possess either abundant resources or profitable industries.

The mountains and rivers outside Chaotic City concealed vast reservoirs of special steam deep underground. Digging wells and extracting steam could easily yield a variety of these unique resources.

A small fraction of the steam ended up in the hands of the major factions in the Chaotic Sea, but the vast majority flowed to the World Government.

This seemingly endless supply of special steam fulfilled the city's basic resource needs.

However, such resources alone would only attract Sequence 3 individuals down on their luck.

The real treasure of Chaotic City was its currency system—Chaos Coins, available in three denominations:

Chaos Copper CoinsChaos Silver CoinsChaos Gold Coins

These coins had unlimited purchasing power.

There were rumors of a Sequence 1 individual amassing enough Chaos Gold Coins to purchase an alien Sequence 0 as their personal plaything for an entire year.

Another tale spoke of someone using Chaos Gold Coins to buy the assassination of a World Government Noble Council member.

The Noble Council was one of the three highest governing bodies of the World Government. Most council members were Sequence 0 powerhouses.

The assassination caused a political earthquake, yet the buyer of the assassination remained untouched, freely roaming Chaotic City to this day.

In summary, Chaos Coins were officially recognized as a currency that could purchase anything beneath a True God in the main world.

However, earning Chaos Coins was no easy feat.

The currency could only be acquired by engaging in various absurd and chaotic activities.

The greater the chaos one created, the more Chaos Coins would condense around them. Once the chaos reached a certain threshold, coins would materialize out of thin air in one's vicinity.

"That True God in the sky… do they thrive on chaos?" Rosen murmured, deep in thought.

After further searching online, he found the target of his visit.

Luke Cruz, a Sequence 3 Architect who also happened to be a Sequence 3 Artistic Designer.

A dual-Gold Sequence holder, which made Luke even more exceptional than Rosen's own secondary specialization in the Hunter Sequence.

Luke Cruz was a man with two souls in one body, constantly at odds with one another. While this granted him two Gold Sequences, it also resulted in a constant struggle for control between the two personalities.

Eventually, an accident occurred, fusing the two souls into one. This fusion created a new Luke Cruz, but at the cost of his sanity—he went completely mad.

Unexpectedly, his madness only enhanced his talents. Luke Cruz went on to design and construct extraordinary supernatural buildings that even the World Government could not tolerate.

Ultimately, he was exiled to the Chaotic Sea, where he now thrived in Chaotic City.

Today, hiring Luke Cruz to design a supernatural structure required at least Chaos Silver Coins.

If the client wished to dictate specific design requirements rather than allowing Luke to work freely, they would need to prepare Chaos Gold Coins in advance.

Currently, Rosen didn't even have a single Chaos Copper Coin, so approaching Luke now would only be an exercise in humiliation.

Rosen needed to find a way to make money—and fast.

Traditional methods of earning income were far too slow.

He turned his attention to data transfer, a capability that made him an unrivaled thief.

By carefully avoiding the God-Hunting Magic Eye's detection, Rosen planned to monitor the supernatural beings in the outer city.

Whenever Chaos Coins materialized around someone, he would steal them instantly by transmitting the coins to himself.

Using this method, Rosen was confident he could quickly amass a substantial fortune.

In the outer city, an assassin gnawing on a human arm saw a Chaos Copper Coin materialize beside him, only to frown in dissatisfaction.

Just as he reached out to collect it, the coin vanished into thin air.

This wasn't an isolated incident—almost all Chaos Coins in the outer city were stolen the moment they appeared.

Rosen's actions had caused unprecedented chaos throughout the outer city.

As coins floated in front of him—Chaos Gold Coins, no less—it became clear: by creating chaos in the outer city, he could also generate Chaos Currency for himself.

Rosen casually pocketed a pile of Chaos Gold Coins. Far from stopping, he intensified his theft.

Delegating the task to his Self-Portrait Clone, Rosen left his hotel to pay Luke Cruz a visit.

At the edge of the inner city stood a 1,000-meter-tall obelisk.

The base featured a grand entrance that faced the main street, with a coin slot embedded in the door.

Only those who deposited a Chaos Silver Coin could gain entry.

After inserting the coin, the sealed door swung open for Rosen.

Stepping inside, he was immediately teleported to Luke Cruz's workshop.

The walls were plastered with countless design blueprints, while the center of the room displayed miniature supernatural buildings meticulously arranged on a sand table.

"Pick something off the shelf if you see something you like. Custom designs cost extra," Luke Cruz said, without even looking up from his sketching.

"I need a custom-designed, specialized History Museum…"

Rosen tossed a Chaos Gold Coin into the air, letting it spin lazily as he spoke.

"What kind of special?" Luke Cruz asked, finally stopping his work to turn and look at Rosen.

"I want it to be compatible with an Archaeological Museum," Rosen explained in detail. "The museum must be intangible—built entirely of formless matter. It must be capable of sealing historical relics and perfectly integrate with time and space authority. In short, I need a Sequence 3-level History Museum."

"Quite the request. That's a challenge for me…" Luke Cruz said thoughtfully. After a moment, he added, "Give me three years to complete the blueprints. You'll need to pay 100 Chaos Gold Coins upfront for the design fee. When it's time to construct it, you'll need another 1,000 Chaos Gold Coins."

"Deal."

Rosen immediately handed over nearly all the Chaos Gold Coins he had just collected.

Three years was no short time, and Rosen had no intention of staying in Chaotic City that long.

His plan was simple: accumulate enough Chaos Gold Coins, then quietly leave Chaotic City using data transfer.

However, after only a few days of stealing Chaos Coins in the outer city with his God-Hunting Magic Eye, trouble finally came knocking.

Rosen was the only new arrival to Chaotic City in recent days.

The moment he appeared, chaos erupted in the outer city—a coincidence too glaring to ignore.

To the city's powerful elites, suspicion alone was enough to act.

One morning, as Rosen was preparing to leave his hotel, he noticed several warning letters pinned to his door.

The warnings came from the six major factions and all carried the same message: Stop stealing Chaos Currency in the outer city.

In truth, Rosen had already planned to stop.

Over the past two days, the amount of Chaos Currency he could steal had dwindled significantly.

The reason was simple: the outer city's residents were growing increasingly reluctant to cause chaos.

Initially, they had caused chaos to earn Chaos Coins, only to watch the coins vanish into thin air.

After just a few days, the outer city—ironically—began showing signs of returning to order.

Now that Rosen had earned enough Chaos Coins, he was ready to leave.

However, since he was already here, he decided to collect some local "specialties" before departing.

Chaotic City had numerous types of special steam, many of which couldn't be found even in the Chaotic Sea.

These rare steams weren't available for external sale, traded only internally using Chaos Currency.

Their value was self-evident.

With so many Copper Coins and Silver Coins in hand, it would be a waste to let them sit idle.

Just as Rosen stepped out of his hotel, he was abruptly teleported far away from Chaotic City.

He immediately realized what had happened—someone had exploited the loopholes in the city's safe zones.

While the inner city was a designated safe zone, Chaos Currency could override it.

When safe zone rules clashed with the power of Chaos Currency, the latter always took precedence.

Clearly, someone had used Chaos Currency to forcefully teleport him out of the city.

Looking around, Rosen found himself surrounded by two Sequence 2s and one Sequence 3.

The three attackers wasted no time on words and immediately struck.

One of the Sequence 2s, a Doctor, activated a domain ability that enveloped the area.

The second Sequence 2, a Gourmet, transformed into an unknown, octopus-like creature the size of a human head. It teleported to Rosen's position, its tentacles writhing toward his neck.

But the next instant, Rosen vanished.

He reappeared at the entrance of his hotel.

This was thanks to Historical Anchor, a skill that allowed him to lock onto a specific moment in time and rewind himself to a previous state.

While the chaotic environment of Chaotic City interfered with Seventh Sense and its danger detection capabilities, it couldn't override the temporal anchors that updated every second.

Without the ability to fully restrict time, no one could permanently remove him from the inner city.

"It seems I won't need to leave Chaotic City to find things to do," Rosen muttered with a cold smile as he headed for the Chaos Store in the inner city.

On his way, he was teleported to the outer city twice more.

But this time, he was prepared. Each time, before his attackers even caught sight of him, Rosen reversed his temporal state and returned to the inner city.

As he stepped into the Chaos Store, his three would-be ambushers stormed in after him, their faces etched with frustration and anger.

(End of Chapter)