"The Saint of Secrets" Butis... Firth has recently undergone quite a few events, and may even have been noticed by the King of Angels, thus possessing a strong capacity for endurance. Yet at this moment, she showed no signs of disturbance, naturally drawing back her gaze without slowing her pace, and walked steadily toward the man in a black cloak across from her. A few steps later, they passed each other by. "...Is it simply the attraction between her extraordinary qualities that has led him to happen upon this place by chance? If he knew that the teacher was here, he would surely have directly 'teleported' after her—thankfully, the teacher has already boarded the carriage and left the inn..." Firth's heart settled back into its usual place, and the tension in her mind eased slightly. After taking a few more steps, she glanced up at the sky, as if checking whether it might rain. At that moment, a crow flew in from a distance, landed on a street tree, and faced directly toward the spot where Firth had just passed. Vorth didn't dwell further on the matter of the "Saint of Secrets," Butuys, and maintained his previous pace, leaving the street. Given that the Aurora Circle had not held gatherings in Bekland for a long time, and that its target was a half-god, Vorth had no immediate intention of avenging his teacher. Even aside from questions of combat capability, merely locating and identifying a "Seer" was already a formidable challenge. "...Perhaps I should wait until I become a 'Traveler,' and then, if I happen to meet Butuys by chance, I can assign the appropriate tasks to the 'World,' Mr. Germain Sparo. In the meantime, I'll focus on accumulating my earnings. One thing is certain now: the Aurora Circle has at least one Saint in Bekland. Hmm—though it's not impossible that Butuys, while traveling today, was inadvertently drawn off course by the attraction of his extraordinary nature and ended up in Bekland." Vorth naturally considered whether to seek assistance from the "World," Germain Sparo. As far as she knew, this man had personally slain at least two half-gods, and he had only become a half-god three months ago! Among the senior ranks of the Seven Great Divine Churches, there were barely a dozen true half-gods... According to the pace of the "World" gentleman, it would take no more than two years to clear out the strongest members of a single church. Of course, reality didn't follow this ideal model. Folshe, who had received a university education and once practiced as a surgeon, began to think more broadly and eventually stepped onto the street, boarding a hired carriage. At the same time, he had some questions to ask the "Hanged Man" and the "World," so he requested this private conversation. The "Sunrise Sword," the "Dusk Mask," the "Life Staff," and the "Falling Flute"—all items that excel equally in both their inherent powers and their negative impacts, requiring sealing—this clearly indicates that Silver City indeed has no exceptional individuals who have followed the "Craftsman" path. All its gains stem from naturally occurring gifts, even when divine sealing artifacts are available, which can alter their properties, they cannot effectively recombine or enhance them. While listening to the younger "Sun" describe these items, Caine mentally swiftly evaluated the advantages and disadvantages of various sealing artifacts. He immediately ruled out the "Dusk Mask," as the negative effects stemming from the previous chief's sealing were simply too severe. Although Kline could send the spectral duplicates to wear this mask and sever the auditory connection, thereby escaping the ceaseless shrieks and roars, and ensure that the spectral duplicates—being essentially his own possessions—would not become slaves to the Mask of Dusk, his own essence would still become one of the suddenly and unexpectedly passing members of the surrounding population. Subsequently, for the same reason, Kline abandoned the Fallen Flute. While this sealing object's foresight of danger indeed outshines the "Desire Apostles" within the "Crumbling Hunger," its negative effects are no less difficult to circumvent: if Kline's essence uses the flute, it will gradually grow cold, losing normal emotional responsiveness—a direct contradiction to his principle of balancing humanity against divinity. Conversely, if entrusted to the spectral duplicates, Kline's essence would endure the dreadful consequence of a significant decline in the surrounding beings' cognitive abilities, leading to increasing errors, thereby actively undermining the very core strength of the Seer's path. "Moreover, this flute will cause moral decay and rampant desires in the area. I certainly don't want the people of Berkland Street to become a carefree, morally lax crowd—then who knows, there might be a whole host of illegitimate children born. In that case, I'd only have to choose between the 'Sun-Silver Sword' and the 'Staff of Life'..." Klein murmured quietly, swiftly moving on to the binary decision: The figure of the head on the 'Sun-Silver Sword' possesses a living quality, which for Klein means it can be communicated with. As long as communication is established, many of the negative effects naturally diminish. Regarding the height limitation, he could simply focus on height rather than thickness—after all, for a performer with exceptional balance like the 'Clown,' this wouldn't impede his performance at all. As for the 'Staff of Life,' it may induce bodily anomalies in the holder, which can be circumvented by handing it over to the Secret Companion. Once organs are missing or surplus, the 'Ring of Blood' can then be used to restore them. Furthermore, the area around the staff thrives with vitality, fostering abundant growth of flora and fauna—this impact is far from detrimental." Since neither of the two seal objects posed particularly significant drawbacks, the focus shifted to their respective functions. "Dawn Silver Sword" clearly originates from the "Warrior" path's "Hunter" archetype, excelling in both offense and defense, capable of concealing malice and particularly effective against demons. "Life Staff," on the other hand, specializes in generating and inducing distortions, making it notably more arcane and unusual. After a few seconds of contemplation, when "Sun" Driek asked for the answer, "The Fool" Caine spoke slowly and steadily, as if discussing a matter of ordinary importance: "The staff, then." He ultimately decided on the "Life Staff!" While both the "Dawn Silver Sword" and the "Life Staff" have their strengths and are not easily comparable, Caine's final choice rested on a less common rationale: the "Life Staff," with its inherently arcane nature, truly merits the description of "mysterious" and effectively supports his role as a "Mystic Magician," enhancing his ability to digest potions efficiently. "Yes, Sir 'The Fool'!" "The Sun" Driek responded with evident delight. This meant that, once the rites of sacrifice and bestowal were completed, he would receive the cross from the Creator. With this confirmed, his gaze turned to the figure at the very base of the bronze long table: "Sir 'The World,' do you require, in addition to the complete brain of a mature Mind Dragon, any higher-tier elixir recipes from the 'The Cultivator' path?" Since Driek had learned of the secret passage of the 'Giants' Court' from Sir 'The World,' he knew that his inquiry must be directed to him, not to Sir 'The Fool.' Of course, in Driek's view, Sir 'The World' was a devoted follower of Sir 'The Fool,' and thus his response carried, to some extent, the meaning of Sir 'The Fool' himself. The higher-tier elixir recipes from the 'The Cultivator' path... Sir 'The Fool' Kline, seated at the head of the bronze long table, immediately felt a headache come on, plunged into intense internal deliberation. He likely understands the reasoning behind the senior "Hunter" from Silver City. This seasoned "Hunter" seeks to uncover a bright future through exploration of the "Giants' Court," yet remains cautiously optimistic, not overly ambitious, and prepared to continue steadfastly in the darkness. Thus, his proposal of the "Farmer" potion formula primarily hinges on whether the "Fool" holds the appropriate authority—or whether certain powers under His patronage have a need for it. Should such a need be realized, it would significantly improve Silver City's survival prospects. As for Caine, Frank Lee has recently written that his research is only a step away from success; once he becomes a "Druid," he should be able to achieve it. This has left Caine hesitating about whether to encourage and push him forward. …yet had no idea what the future might hold… For now, let’s focus on the immediate situation. A remarkable individual at Sequence 5—someone without even a hint of divinity—wouldn’t be able to cause anything serious. Moreover, the “Hermit” lady is already half-divine; overseeing Frank isn’t a major challenge. After pondering for a moment, Caine allowed the “World,” Germaine Sparrow, to speak: “Sequence 5.” “What if there’s something even higher?” “The Sun,” Deric asked. …Caine felt as though he were being seriously tested. After a quiet pause, he replied: “If you’d like, we can make it happen…” “Very well.” “The Sun,” Deric didn’t press further, but turned instead to the person beside him. “The ‘Hangman,’ I find this situation rather odd. Why did the Head simply bring up the matter of the higher-sequence elixirs from the ‘Plowman’ path all of a sudden?” The "Hangings" Alje glanced at "The World" Germain Sparo and said: "This should be your chief's试探—seeing whether they can bring about changes in the environment around Silver City. I remember you once mentioned that you only knew of a 'Goddess of Harvest' as the queen of the King of the Giants, and according to the bloodline records, that 'Goddess of Harvest' was named Omibela—Silver City originally worshipped her. I had always been certain only that the name Omibela was authentic, and had no preference for any other version. Now, however, your chief has suddenly presented you with a higher-tier elixir formula from the 'Farmer's Path'—a path you previously were unaware of. This makes me suspect that the version of the 'Moon' is correct. It suggests that Silver City, for some reason, has deliberately concealed the fact that they once worshipped the Goddess of Harvest, even going so far as to avoid mentioning her true name. There must be something significant hidden here. "A not-so-small secret..." Derek thought seriously, yet couldn't quite recall what could possibly be secret. Fortunately, it wasn't something particularly important, so he soon concluded their private conversation and returned to Silver City, preparing to exchange the seals.