After a few minutes, Dely Simonne and Leonard Mitchell, who had made a series of consecutive misjudgments, finally reached the top of the steep staircase. They descended layer by layer, moving slowly and carefully, ever on the alert, ready to engage at any moment. Yet, by the time they reached the bottom, they found no anomalies—no useful traces at all. Dely reached out again into the wind, bringing her hand to her ear and listening intently. A few seconds later, she glanced around and said, "There's the sound of gunfire. Weapons were left at the corner of the street ahead. That man—Enzo—was killed. He's dead." "Who did it?" Leonard asked, surprised. In his view, given the series of setbacks they'd just experienced, Enzo had effectively escaped pursuit, and thus it was unlikely that someone from the Rose Academy would have secretly monitored him and eliminated him, erasing all traces. Then, who killed this extraordinary one—suspected to be Sequence 6, possibly Sequence 5? After all, "Red Glove" had pre-arranged certain counter-divination maneuvers using the seal objects tonight, making it unlikely anyone could have anticipated the precise timing of their move—specifically, to await here and hunt down the fleeing Enzo. Daili shook her head. "The younger ones didn't notice. It must have been an extraordinary one exceptionally skilled in counter-divination... Perhaps even Enzo's enemy, someone who had planned this very move for tonight." She offered a concise speculation and then split off with Leonard to search the surrounding neighborhoods, looking for any overlooked clues. In the meantime, Leonard moved to a nearby street railing, lowering his voice. "Old man, have you noticed anything?" The Palis-Soloyasde within him responded after a few seconds. "You should have heard a sharp cry just now, and adjusted your tracking direction accordingly." "That was what Enzo emitted—he seemed to have seen something profoundly terrifying, something utterly incomprehensible that could directly harm and contaminate his spiritual essence." Leonard paused, his gaze slightly narrowed, and softly repeated: "Something profoundly terrifying, utterly incomprehensible..." He then had the secret envoy stand beside him, took a chair and sat down, studying him intently while sighing: "A remarkable one from the Monstrous Path, yet still not quite on par with Senior. He can't be concealed within the surface of coins, nor carried around with him—he must always stay close. From the perspective of the Monstrous Path, he isn't part of the core group within the Rose School, yet his rank is solid; he should be receiving a certain level of recognition. That means, if we don't have him disguised, it will be easy for the Rose School to notice me. On the other hand, perhaps we could use him as bait to lure in another 'Soul of Resentment'—then he would act alone while I remain hidden some 200 meters away, waiting for the prey to come in. No, that won't work. We can't let greed influence us. The Southern Continent is the heartland of the Rose School. Once our presence is exposed, given the Rose Tree's high regard for me, not only will the Saints come, but even the Angels might descend directly!" "Well, let's dress up this secret companion once again. As an 'Unseen One,' I'm quite good at this sort of thing..." "Then, I'll continue using esoteric methods to locate the next secret companion, while waiting for Daniz to complete his investigation and for Mr. Azk to come find me." Sequence 8 corresponds to "Machine." Exceptional individuals gain powerful computational abilities and precise control, with significant enhancements across all bodily attributes, making them natural talents in combat and marksmanship. They also develop the abilities of divination and counter-divination. Sequence 7 is known as the "Lucky One" or "Lucky Person." At this level, exceptional individuals frequently encounter events such as finding money while walking out the door, having outlines drawn around their bodies, rolling dice that match their expectations, or being the one that their favorite girl likes—yet these occurrences remain unpredictable and passive. The luck is not consistent, fluctuating in intensity, sometimes exceptionally strong and other times merely ordinary. As a result, it is difficult to rely on fully, and thus must be managed with moderation. Sequence 6 is the "Fate-Weaver." On one hand, extraordinary individuals are passively subjected to various misfortunes, yet these can be anticipated, prepared for, and mitigated or even eliminated through proactive measures. On the other hand, they can actively summon misfortunes of varying intensity, drawing their targets or adversaries into the fray, while themselves relying on their innate strengths in luck to avoid the majority of dangers and strike when the opportunity arises. In essence, they create environments where their own advantages are most fully realized. Of course, many "Fate-Weavers" also skillfully leverage the misfortunes they endure to harm their enemies. Furthermore, they can generate "spiritual storms," leveraging their superior spiritual resonance to directly impact their opponents' mental and psychic states, inducing dizziness or mental disorientation. Should an enemy fall into such a state, they will be prone to errors, allowing the misfortunes to compound and escalate until ultimately consuming them. By the time they reach Sequence 5—"The Winners"—exceptional individuals begin to exert a certain degree of control over their luck. They can draw upon their own self-discipline to accumulate substantial reserves of fortune, dramatically overcoming critical crises at pivotal moments. They also experience rare, fortuitous events in their everyday lives—such as unexpectedly inheriting a fortune due to someone else's oversight, or gaining the admiration of an outstanding partner simply because of an odd, somewhat comical trait like an unusual gait. They may also see their adversaries stumble due to sheer stupidity—such as getting lost or making incorrect judgments. At this level, exceptional individuals on the "Fate" path develop highly refined intuitive insights, achieving expert status in both divination and counter-divination. Additionally, they can exert limited influence to bring misfortune upon their rivals, making their targets relatively less fortunate. "The extraordinary beings on the 'Monster' path truly go to extremes—aside from spiritual and fate-related abilities, they possess almost no other extraordinary talents. Even their physical conditioning and computational skills are limited to the 'Machine' level, with very little room for further development. This is precisely the image I have always envisioned of a classic priestly figure—lacking in offensive or defensive capabilities, surviving solely through intuition, instinct, and divine favor. If there is any calamity, then Klein will have to face it periodically. "Compared to Senior, the secret figure, Senio, this one is far better. Humans, after all, always learn to value and regret things only after they've lost them." Klein chuckled, shaking his head, drawing upon the characteristics of the "Monster" path and thinking of several effective strategies to counter the lower-sequence extraordinary beings among them: First, he would make them suddenly witness him directly, causing them to suffer mental "baptisms" and physical harm from gazing upon the gray mist or other visuals, ultimately leading to their loss of control. Second, he would throw out special objects, compelling the "monsters" who see what they shouldn't see or hear what they shouldn't hear to undergo trials—here, Klein had a blood crystal originating from a high-ranking demon that could serve this purpose, known as the "Whisperer's breath." Third, he would lure them to inflict misfortunes upon him, then feign misfortune himself, seizing the opportunity to launch a counteroffensive. As his thoughts raced, Caine asked the automaton to reach into its pocket and retrieve items. It produced 35 pounds, 10 shillings, 7 pence in cash, along with a leather folder. The folder was embroidered with a flower on the outside and a name on the inside, clearly handcrafted. "Enzo... whether or not that's your actual name, from now on you're Enzo." Caine glanced at the automaton standing to the side, then his gaze settled on the platinum ring set with a green gemstone worn on the automaton's right hand. Through divination, he learned the ring was named "Lunara," with a singular effect—treating various, less severe illnesses and injuries. Its downside was minimal, merely attracting mosquitoes. "Good thing it's not me wearing it... Hmm. It seems that extraordinary individuals from the 'Monstrous' path rarely wear magical items. Even when they do, they usually have only one or two, of lower-tier significance. This appears to be fate's requirement." Klein withdrew his gaze thoughtfully, turning his attention to the secret figure Enzo who was gazing at the wall. A growing impulse surged within him: he wanted to use this "monstrous" figure as a conduit, through Enzo's eyes, to see himself—specifically, to discover what unique qualities Enzo perceived in him. Would this be extremely dangerous, even if he himself could see it? Perhaps. But previously, in Tinggen, Ademissor had directly gazed at him without reaching Sequence 9, and all he experienced was blood flowing from his eyes and a period of pain. Though he had made significant progress now, Enzo’s reaction upon seeing him wasn’t immediate collapse—rather, it resembled the way he had reacted when encountering the "Despair Muse" Panatia in part of her mythical creature form. Could he make a divination atop the gray mist? Unlikely—since it would involve the mist itself, the outcome would inevitably be disrupted. Instead, perhaps he should attempt a divination within the real world, relying solely on his own innate abilities. Klein casually pulled out a coin and let it skip and tumble between his fingers. After a while, the gold coin tinkled and bounced, then settled once more into the palm of Caine.