Chapter 255: Farewell

"Leaving Beckland?" Fo Ersi exclaimed with a surprised expression, looking at Lei Keton.

Lei Keton nodded lightly and said:

"Yes, I will wander on the sea for a while, gathering some traits and gold pounds, then head to the Southern Continent."

"How will you collect traits on the sea? And gold pounds—are you planning to salvage sunken ships?"

Ai Mulin, a bit bewildered, asked with a curious expression.

Father Wu Te La Fu Si Ji, who had once been a pirate at sea, quickly caught on; he fixed Lei Keton with a solemn gaze before saying:

"Many pirates are active on the sea, and the official forces of various nations have bounties on them. For pirate generals and kings, although each authority's bounty differs, they all reach tens of thousands of pounds, even hundreds of thousands of pounds."

"Pirates of that level are not only powerful themselves; they also have a strong backing force behind them."

Lei Keton nodded lightly; he could hear that Father Wu Te La Fu Si Ji's latter remark was a warning to himself.

"Running around outside, there's no point with dolls. There's no fun staying at home. Once I lift the psychological suggestion, I will stay holed up in my room for a week, not a month!"

Ai Mulin pursed his lips; as a homebody, he couldn't understand the other's habit of running around everywhere.

Father Wu Te La Fu Si Ji's expression unchanged, he looked at Ai Mulin and said:

"Actually you don't need to look for a way; after a while, the psychological suggestion will naturally lift, and you can freely choose whether to come to the church."

"The psychological suggestion I left is only to make you return to the church daily, hoping you can experience the preciousness of life and the joy of harvest in the process."

"So the only effect of that psychological suggestion is to make me return to the church?"

Ai Mulin's expression froze for a moment.

"Yes."

"Heh," Lei Keton, silently watching the scene from the side, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Ai Mulin turned toward the voice; his red eyes stared fixedly at Lei Keton, his lips opening and closing, he gritted his teeth and swallowed out:

"You knew it long ago?"

"Of course I do!" Lei Keton replied bluntly, nodding, and added at the end:

"If you are meticulous enough, or your attitude sufficiently resolute, you could have discovered it long ago."

"." He wanted to ask Lei Keton why he hadn't told him earlier; he almost would have been swayed and become a devout follower of Mother God, but he opened his mouth and said nothing.

No, no! My faith belongs to the Moon, belongs to the Ancestor!

Lei Keton turned his head and glanced at Fo Ersi, who was staring blankly while eating melon, thinking about how to turn Ai Mulin's deeds into another novel character in her writing.

"Then I'll take my leave now; may life be with you."

Lei Keton brushed past the still-torn Ai Mulin and the melon-eating Fo Ersi, wrapped his arms around himself in a hugging gesture, performed the Earth Church ritual bow to Father Wu Te La Fu Si Ji, and then left directly.

Above the gray mist, inside a magnificent ancient palace.

Lei Keton sat on his own high-backed chair, gazing toward the head of the bronze long table, where Ke Lai En sat, unshielded by gray mist.

The two exchanged glances, and Lei Keton spoke first, breaking the silence:

"Heh, only the two of us sitting here feels a bit unfamiliar."

"Me too," Ke Lai En nodded lightly.

Then he reached toward a cluttered pile shrouded by dense gray mist, and a strange crown covered in rust and blood automatically flew into his hand.

Holding the Conqueror's trait in his hand, Ke Lai En manipulated it to float before Lei Keton, then, curious, asked:

"What is this? Its rank is high, somewhat like a Level‑0 sealed object."

"An Extraordinary Trait of Sequence One."

Lei Keton's eyes were suffused with a pale blue glow; the Extraordinary Trait of Sequence One, only in places like above the gray mist, he dared to unleash for study.

"Warrior? Or Hunter?" Ke Lai En followed up, guessing based on the feeling the crown gave him.

"Hunter Path, Sequence One: Conqueror."

"This is the True Creator's preparation for Medici; that unlucky soul now remains only as a malevolent spirit, and Adam has already sent it away."

"This trait is temporarily unnecessary for Him, so He placed it here with you for safety; witch sect members won't divine its location. If you need it, you may use it, and through this gray mist you should be able to utilize it to some extent."

After a brief explanation of the trait's origin, Lei Keton focused his study; above the gray mist, he unabashedly employed the trait to wield various extraordinary abilities.

In an instant, flames, lightning, and frost erupted over the gray‑mist‑covered area, and the magnificent ancient palace was quickly reduced to a wreck.

After studying for a while, estimating that Ke Lai En's spiritual support was nearing its limit, Lei Keton's pale blue glow faded, and he placed the odd crown on the bronze long table.

Ke Lai En waved his hand, and the battered palace instantly restored to its original state.

Lei Keton turned to Ke Lai En, voiced his confusion about the Sage Trait on his body, and then, very seriously, asked:

"Do you think there's any problem with my condition? Or do you have any speculation?"

Lei Keton looked at Ke Lai En expectantly, hoping that, under the Fate Beacon of the Source Fortress, Ke Lai En could offer some suggestions or viewpoints.

"." Ke Lai En fell silent, unsure how to answer such a question when he hadn't even figured out his own issues.

After a moment of contemplation, Ke Lai En chose his words and said:

"Hmm, perhaps, as you think, that Sage Trait truly belongs to you; now it's merely re‑merging with you."

"Or, just as I can freely employ the Diviner Path's Secret Pair Master Trait here, your own peculiarity lets you easily dominate the Seeker of Secrets Path trait."

"Easily dominate the Seeker of Secrets Path trait," Lei Keton murmured softly, feeling this latter guess was a bit more likely.

"But doesn't that imply that, like the Hidden Sage, I am polluted and controlled by the Knowledge Wilderness? Perhaps I should find an item of the Seeker of Secrets Path to test."

Having settled on an idea in his mind, he then asked:

"Then do you think I look like a human?"

"Huh?" Ke Lai En was a bit stunned by the question; he thought his little companion might need Miss Justice's therapy. No, Miss Justice is still a mind‑reader, still a long way from becoming a psychologist.

Though he inwardly cursed the other, Ke Lai En still chose his words carefully and said:

"Although I don't fully agree with some of your views, if you're asking about humanity, you certainly possess it, and I think you maintain it well enough."

Lei Keton nodded lightly, no longer dwelling on the topic, and said:

I've foreseen some future; your brother and sister are coming to Backlund. Do you want to go see them?

When?

Klein stared for a moment, then asked.

Rekton, after a moment of recollection, said:

Soon, January 3rd, by steam train.

Klein took a deep breath, leaned back against the chair, not knowing what he was thinking; after a second or two, he pressed his lips together and said:

I understand, thank you!

After a moment of silence, the two realized they had nothing more to say, and Klein ended their meeting.

Crimson light surged like a tide; Rekton's mind flickered for an instant, and when he came to, he found himself back in his study.

The next moment, the sound of the downstairs door being knocked came to his ears.

Rekton turned his head that way; a purple hue flashed in his eyes, his sight piercing through the layers of obstruction, and he saw Destiny knocking at the door.

He then slightly raised his right hand, made a grasping motion in midair, turned his wrist, and pulled back, as if opening a door.

A wisp of azure light like water rippled across, and a 'door' connecting to the downstairs door was opened.

The next moment, Destiny walked through from the other side of the 'door,' his face bearing a faint smile, looking in good spirits.

Destiny nodded slightly and then chuckled:

"Fate tells me that now is a suitable time for visits and farewells; I will set out to trace the whereabouts of the Prophet's characteristic."

Rekton nodded without surprise, somewhat curious, and asked:

"Where is that Prophet's characteristic? In what form does it exist?"

"I know there are only two instances of the Prophet's characteristic with a known location: one is in the Eternal Blazing Sun Church, numbered 0-24, called the Disaster Painting Scroll, extremely dangerous, with almost no chance of obtaining it."

"The other drifts upon the sea in the form of a ghost ship; its appearances cannot be predicted, and even its existence is known to few; it bears an unremarkable name, the Casino of Fate, and that is my goal."

Destiny recounted this as if from memory, his tone almost flat, seeming not to mind the obstacles and difficulties he would encounter.

"Casino of Fate—does it depend on which side Fate favors more? With good luck, one becomes a Prophet and departs; with bad luck, the ship's prize pool accumulates another round."

"I should be leaving."

"Although I haven't received any revelation from Fate, I intuitively feel we will meet again, upon the vast sea."

Destiny spoke in a god‑like manner, then turned and left.

(End of chapter)