Chapter 91

“I’m back in the cellar again and still curious as ever!”

Lynn glanced at the containment rooms lining the path and turned to the woman in front of him, Ms. Milani. “By the way, I’ve always had a question.”

“What is it?”

“How do we get these contained objects back to the Imperial Capital?”

He was genuinely curious. After all, this place felt like a stronghold, yet from what he gathered, Augusta Manor had only pledged loyalty to Ivyst after she arrived in Orlen City.

He couldn’t help but wonder how this containment room had been constructed in such a short span of time.

“No need to worry.” Milani smiled gently upon hearing his inquiry. “Because this ‘cellar’ itself is already a contained object.”

“You’ll see it when we head back to the Imperial Capital in a few days.”

She left him hanging there.

Just then, a heart-wrenching scream suddenly echoed from one of the containment rooms beside Lynn.

The scream startled him, and he instinctively looked at Milani, only to find her completely composed.

“That’s a sealed item ‘3-0098’, known as the Torture Chair,” Milani continued, not breaking her stride. “It’s typically used for interrogating prisoners. Anyone who sits in it will experience endless agony and torment.”

“Many people go mad in just two or three seconds.” Milani added, almost casually.

“If you act up later, the princess might just make you give it a go.”

She hinted with a smirk.

Heh.

But upon reflecting, it would actually go quite well with his Thorn Crown. If only they could combine… Wait, I’m not some masochist, why am I even considering this?!

Lynn discreetly pinched himself.

Being the selfish person he was, there was no way he’d use the Thorn Crown for anyone else. After all, it really did hurt.

With a sigh, just as he was about to catch up with Milani, wild laughter erupted from the room with the Torture Chair.

“You, you’ve angered the great Goddess of Creation! Ignorant humans, in the not-so-distant future, she will descend upon the world with endless malice! At that time, this city and the entire Saint Roland Empire will face her wrath, and all will be drowned in the quagmire of death, filled with shrill and helpless wails! Hahaha!!”

But almost immediately, the cackling was cut off by a fresh, dreadful scream.

Crazy.

Lynn shook his head and continued on.

Before long, guided by Milani, they stopped at the entrance of a tiny containment room.

“We’re here.”

Milani opened the door for him.

Feeling slightly excited inside, Lynn stepped through.

A Level 1 Sealed Item, according to Milani, even Ivyst only had this one.

Going above that was Level 0, which held the potential to create a major ruckus in a country.

If left unchecked, it could someday drag the entire world into its terrifying characteristics and rules.

Even deities wouldn’t treat such a sealed item lightly.

Many of them were created personally by them and given to their followers.

In front of Lynn, he noticed a slightly dusty containment room with a small white card placed on a distant pedestal.

The card was palm-sized, somewhat resembling a playing card but without any numbers or suits.

Just then, Milani began explaining.

“This is the sealed item ‘1-0106’, known as the Card of Piness.” She gestured for Lynn to step inside. “Technically, it’s just one card from a deck.”

“Even so, it definitely earns its title as a Level 1 sealed item.”

“One card is that powerful? So if I collect all 54 cards, does that mean I get a Level 0 sealed item?” Lynn was surprised.

Milani nodded. “You’re right. According to legend, this deck hides a path to godhood.”

“Once someone collects them all, they can ascend to become a new deity.”

“Of course, that’s just a legend, and nobody has really been able to verify it.”

“This sealed item has been around for over a thousand years, and so far, no one has managed to collect even one kind of suit.”

She explained softly.

“But even leaving aside its magical lore, the sealed item itself is incredibly powerful.” She continued, “There are 54 cards total, each with different effects.”

“Some can turn into powerful extraordinary weapons, others can grant fearsome abilities, and some can even help you communicate seamlessly with deities, becoming their messenger.”

“However, which suit you get ultimately comes down to luck.”

“Luck?” Lynn felt puzzled.

“Exactly, or rather, it depends on your affinity with the card.” Milani affirmed, “Generally, the bigger the card drawn, the greater the enhancement it provides.”

“You can pick up that blank card and use your divine essence to connect with it, and then the corresponding card face will appear.”

Upon hearing that, Lynn nodded.

With her watching him, he slowly approached the card.

At that moment, he was still wearing the necklace Milani had given him, which enhanced his luck.

He hoped to draw a valuable card.

Taking a deep breath, he picked up the thin card from the pedestal.

The moment he touched the card, it felt smooth, just like an ordinary playing card.

Just as he was about to activate the divine essence, he suddenly heard a subtle voice near his ear.

“M-Master? Is that you?” Huh?

For a moment, he hesitated, thinking he was hearing things.

But the next second, the voice returned, “From you, I can smell a whiff of ‘Fate’s Prisoner,’ I…”

“Sorry. My current state is poor, and I might fall asleep soon, so please activate this card quickly.”

“This is the last help I can offer you.”

Is this card talking?!

Lynn’s mind was racing.

He subtly flicked a glance at Milani, who appeared entirely unfazed and surely hadn’t heard the same voice.

From her explanations, it seemed other card holders likely wouldn’t hear such voices.

And “Fate’s Prisoner”? That was the third time in a month he’d encountered that title in Orlen City.

The first was when he first activated Liars’ Devourer and encountered that bizarre, terrifying being.

The second was what the Deadly Magic Doll had said to him.

And now this, it looked like he had some strange connection with this deity not mentioned in the original work.

That wasn’t a good sign.

Lynn’s expression hardened.

However, the next second, he triggered his divine essence and, at a hidden angle from Milani, made his fingertips glow red.

As a faint wave of extraordinary power surged, numbers and patterns slowly appeared on the card’s blank surface.

Staring at the symbols, Lynn fell silent.

“So, what number and suit did you draw?”

Milani curiously tiptoed to see the card in his hand.

Lynn turned around silently, showing her the card face.

Milani stared at the image and text for a few seconds before her face fell with disappointment: “The 2 of Spades? I didn’t expect the lowest card, what a shame.”

Shaking her head, she lamented over Lynn missing an opportunity.

Did you see a 2 of Spades? Hearing Milani’s words, Lynn froze, disbelief in his eyes.

He rubbed his eyes and looked down again.

What he saw was still a crying clown image.

But I clearly saw a joker on my side!

With strong confusion, Lynn furrowed his brow deeply.

He thought about voicing his question but, after a moment’s hesitation, chose to remain silent.

If this was indeed a joker card, then according to Milani, it was undoubtedly a powerful weapon.

If hidden away, the benefits would far outweigh any gains from exposing it.

After all, Lynn had already decided to become a master of dodging trouble.

The more hidden cards he had, the better his chances of escaping Ivyst’s side and succeeding in future revenge plans.

With that in mind, he swallowed back his words.

“Let’s try it out, see what kind of weapon this card can manifest, or what extraordinary ability it grants you.”

Milani, noticing his demeanor, thought he was upset, and offered some consolation.

Lynn nodded.

One minute later, his expression suddenly stiffened.

“Insufficient divine essence to activate.”

“Uh-oh.”

After saying goodbye to Milani, Lynn left the cellar.

He walked through Augusta Manor, deep in thought, ignoring the greetings from the maids.

After trying to activate the clown card resulted in no response, he pondered over it.

His divine essence had reached the first stage limit; in terms of both quantity and quality, he believed no one could compare to him at this moment, aside from the original protagonist.

Could it be that he needed to reach the second or third stage before he could use it?

He couldn’t help but sigh.

But this wasn’t the time to think about such things.

What lay ahead was the most important matter.

He needed to complete the Sorceress of the End’s trial and delight Ivyst at this moment.

This trial felt somewhat urgent.

After all, according to Witch Miss, he needed to leave her a precious memory before Ivyst completed her temporary mission.

Only then could he spark her once-in-a-lifetime moment of leniency and arrange for him to return early to the Imperial Capital.

In other words, there was barely a day left.

This could be the closest he’d ever been to freedom.

Once back in the Imperial Capital, he could take advantage of the time before Ivyst returned from her task to find a chance to remove the Thorn Mark she had left on his chest, all while leveraging his foresight of the plot to get cozy with a few powerful allies.

As for how to please her…

Thinking back to the first time he met Witch Miss, sitting quietly on the stairs with a book in her arms, he shook his head.

She had suggested he figure it out himself, but she had practically hinted at everything beforehand.

Witch Miss was definitely tsundere.

With that thought, Lynn reached the door of the princess’ study, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open forcefully.

“Would you go on a date with me, Miss Ivyst!”