Chapter 248: Boss!

Chapter 248 Boss!

"Stupid dog, how many things did you actually do for the God of Order?"

"Woof, woof."

Alfred translated: "Ranyedal says his relationship with the God of Order was purely transactional. He would help the God of Order with certain matters, and the God of Order would grant him rewards in return..."

Purr opened her mouth and asked, "Then would you ever refuse a demand from the God of Order?"

"Woof."

"Generally not."

Purr blinked and said, "Then aren't you just like a dog kept by the God of Order?"

"..." Kevin.

It wasn't just Kevin who lost his voice; everyone present, including Purr herself after uttering those words, suddenly fell into silence. The cat's eyes involuntarily glanced toward Karen.

In short, the entire bedroom suddenly grew quiet.

It was Karen who broke the silence, saying, "In that era, in front of the God of Order, who didn't live like a dog?"

Kevin immediately nodded, then sidled over to rest his chin upon Karen's knee, and Karen reached out to stroke his bald head.

Purr also immediately diverted the topic, saying, "No wonder you were sealed away. Those who act as white gloves usually don't end up well; they're bound to be discarded after use."

Kevin let out two soft whines, offering no rebuttal to Purr's remark.

"So, where exactly is the specific location of the Gods' Burial Cemetery?" Karen asked.

"Karen, are you really going to that place?" Purr expressed her surprise. "That place is perilous. Even the God of Light went there three times, and the God of Order chose to seal and exile it."

Karen shook his head and said, "The treasure map itself possesses immense value as well."

"You are absolutely right. Just like how your captain swindles others, if you have an exact address in hand, you can swindle people much better."

"Woof, woof."

"Ranyedal says he helped the God of Order set up arrangements there. Ultimately, that cemetery was exiled into the Void Countercurrent by the God of Order, but he possesses the coordinates."

"Coordinates of the Void Countercurrent?"

"Woof, woof."

"Ranyedal says it was a contingency he deliberately left behind back then, planting certain measures within the cemetery so he could determine the current coordinates through resonance."

Purr immediately remarked, "Heh, keeping a contingency even while serving as a dog. If you didn't die, who else would?"

"..." Kevin.

Karen spoke up, "So, can those coordinates be sensed right now?"

"Woof."

"Another layer of the seal must be undone before the sensing arrangement can be deployed."

"Hahaha." Purr burst into laughter. "So it was waiting here, waiting right here! This stupid dog's setup was leading up to this all along!"

"Woof."

"Those coordinates only recognize his aura; no one else can do it on his behalf."

"Very well, I believe you. However, I have no confidence in undoing the second layer of the seal right now. This is not just a matter of strength, but also a matter of understanding magical formations. Let us wait for the future; when the time is ripe, I will undo the second layer for you. In any case, the exact location of that cemetery is not important right now."

Kevin looked at Karen, revealing a naive and honest smile, as if telling Karen that he trusted Karen's reasoning completely.

"Woof."

"He says if the young master goes to that cemetery, he can awaken..."

Alfred stopped halfway through his translation and glared at Kevin: "You've crossed the line."

Kevin immediately lowered his head, no longer barking wildly.

Karen asked, "Kevin, do you know what exactly happened in the Gods' Burial Cemetery back then?"

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

"He says he doesn't know. He was only setting up arrangements on the periphery and never ventured deep inside. But even on the periphery, he could hear the roars from the depths of the cemetery."

"Woof! Woof!"

"He has also never seen the true form of the God of Order; the God of Order always transacted with him through divine will."

Purr smiled and said, "At least you can see Karen now."

Karen could not help but recall what he had witnessed through Kevin's memory window; when Ranyedal slew the God of the Sea, only the Throne of Order appeared from above to aid in the suppression, while the God of Order himself was nowhere to be seen.

Therefore, Kevin had not lied.

This also verified another matter. When he was undergoing purification back then, it had drawn forth the auras of Light and Order, which caused the dog at that time to foam at the mouth from sheer terror. Clearly, even during his peak era, he remained utterly insignificant before the God of Light and the God of Order.

Even gods were divided into hierarchies!

But regardless, for an ordinary youth who emerged from an isolated island to stand at the height of a "god," Ranyedal was indisputably a favored child of heaven.

Karen decided to bring an end to this topic. After all, the tales of mythology were far too distant from them; even if an indirect eyewitness stood right before them, those matters were not something he could touch upon for the time being.

"Alfred, how are things progressing with the coffins?"

"Old Saman's coffin has already been delivered to the Allen Manor. The people there are already undertaking the modification of the performance hall and the replication of the coffin. Mr. Anderson has assured me that everything will be conducted in absolute secrecy. Once the second coffin is crafted, your subordinate will personally head to the Allen Manor to manage the subsequent matters."

"There is no rush

Cullen followed Dincom into the front hall, where Pick stood spinning slowly in circles on the spot, completely absorbed in himself, a bottle of soda clutched in his hand.

"Pi—"

Cullen cut off Dincom’s shout, choosing to step forward himself.

Catching sight of Cullen, Pick offered a faint smile. Though it was clearly a bottle of soda he held, he looked for all the world as if he were thoroughly drunk.

"Boss... morning..."

"Go sit in my study."

"You tell me to go to the study and I just go? Where’s my pride in that?" Pick chuckled as he spoke.

Cullen frowned slightly. Did others always lapse into this sort of drunken stupor before their Divine Enlightenment?

He certainly hadn't. At the time, he had simply sat down on the steps and the Enlightenment had begun. But Cullen knew well enough that his own experience was an anomaly, entirely unsuited for generalization.

Cullen’s face darkened.

"To my study. Now."

"Fine, I'm going, I'm going... Why so fierce? You're scaring me."

Even in his "drunken" state, the habitual fear he held for Cullen remained starkly evident.

Clutching his soda bottle, Pick tottered unsteadily toward Cullen's study. Seeing this, Dincom immediately rushed forward to support him.

Alfred approached just then. A careful look at Pick was all it took for him to realize what was unfolding. He promptly walked over to Miss Dai Shan, gesturing that she should take the two girls back to their room to continue their lessons.

Without a word of inquiry, Dai Shan immediately helped Dora and Doreen pack up their drawing materials and retreated to their room.

"Young Master, shall we arrange it in the study?" Alfred inquired.

"Yes."

"Should I go prepare things first?"

"No need, just proceed as usual. It is merely a Divine Enlightenment."

By the time Cullen stepped into the study, Pick was already slumped in a chair. He was guzzling the soda, taking a massive gulp before wiping his mouth with his sleeve. Letting out a long, heavy sigh, he wailed:

"My life is so bitter!"

Cullen took his seat behind the desk. Alfred brought over a glass of ice water and set it before him.

As Dincom made to leave the room, Cullen glanced at him. Alfred stepped in, blocking Dincom's path and gesturing for him to remain in the study to "observe."

Just then, the inner door of the study was pushed open, and Purr trotted in riding atop Kevin. While a Divine Enlightenment was usually nothing spectacular to look at, they were clearly highly intrigued by one taking place right before Cullen.

Cullen raised his glass and took a sip of water.

Seated in the chair, Pick continued his rambling, delirious antics, but gradually, he began to quiet down, looking as though he were about to drift off to sleep.

It was about to begin.

Cullen leaned back into his chair, crossing his hands before him as he watched Pick with a calm gaze.

After about three minutes, Pick’s body suddenly stiffened, and his entire aura instantly froze.

At the exact same moment, Cullen raised his head to look at the study ceiling. He sensed someone observing him from up there. It was Pick.

During Divine Enlightenment, there was always a brief window of "observation," a period where the God assisted you in reperceiving and observing the world. Since Cullen was sitting right in front of Pick, and happened to be Pick's boss, Cullen became the object of his observation.

Yet this sensation came as swiftly as it went. Generally speaking, the longer this "observation window" lasted during Enlightenment, the more beneficial it was for one's future development; it was also a measure of a person's latent talent.

Back then, Cullen had utterly astounded Mr. Bede precisely because his own observation phase had lasted for an incredibly long time.

But Pick’s window was far too short.

Was that it?

Instinctively, Cullen reached out his hand, wanting to give him a pull. He didn't actually know how to offer such assistance, nor had he ever heard of external force being applied during the Divine Enlightenment stage.

But Pick was his clerk, after all, and would be his subordinate in the days to come. For one of his own, Cullen naturally wanted to help him scoop up as many benefits as possible.

A black chain materialized from beneath Cullen's feet. In an instant, it scaled the desk, reared upward, and flew forward at an angle. Midair, it split into two distinct lengths. One segment shot upward, coiling into the empty air—though to everyone else in the study besides Cullen, what it was binding remained entirely invisible. The other segment wrapped itself directly around Pick's body as he sat in the chair.

The "observation" time, which had been on the verge of ending, was abruptly frozen in place.

It was as if a door falling from above had been forcefully held up by Cullen's bare hands.

Cullen himself hadn't anticipated this outcome. The chain he was capable of summoning seemed, from the very beginning, to possess an inherent ability to act upon the hidden side of physical reality.

It could not be used for concrete physical attacks, yet the effects it could produce were far more miraculous than any direct strike.

At this moment, there were two Picks in the study.

One sat in the chair, while the other floated in the air.

Meanwhile, a dull numbness began to creep through Cullen's own body. Maintaining this state was clearly no small burden for him. Fortunately, he could still hold out for now.

Dincom watched the scene in utter shock. He truly had no idea that a Divine Enlightenment could ever feature such a spectacle.

Standing beside him, Alfred whispered in a low voice, "To be able to work under the Young Master is the greatest fortune of your life. I hope you know to cherish it."

"Yes, I know," Dincom replied, nodding immediately.

"You are smarter than Pick, yet he achieved Enlightenment before you. Sometimes, that extra bit of cleverness can actually ruin you."

"Thank you for the warning, Mr. Alfred. Pray tell, what should I do?"

"Piety."

"My piety to the God of Order..."

"The one who can change your fate, who is changing your fate, and who has already changed your fate, is not the distant God of Order."

"This..."

Dincom looked toward Cullen, who sat behind the desk.

"Don't misunderstand, I am not asking you to change your faith. I am telling you to see him more clearly, and to stand firmer by him."

"Yes, I understand."

"I hope you truly do."

Over on their side, Purr and Kevin were also communicating about the situation, though their exchange was far more concise:

"Meow."

"Woof."

"Meow."

"Woof."

The aching soreness grew heavier. Feeling he had held the line long enough to help, Cullen decided it was time to let go.

He signaled for his chain to release.

Instantly, the "Pick" above—whom only Cullen could perceive—was violently snapped back into his body. Yet the other chain remained tightly bound around Pick.

Cullen sensed an echo of consciousness being transmitted right before his eyes. He knew that he only needed to take a proactive step forward to see something.

Without hesitation, Karen chose to enter.

Outside, Karen remained seated in his chair, but within his field of vision, he appeared above a farmstead.

In the fields below, a boy lay in the wheat, a naive smile on his face; this was Peak in his childhood.

Around his neck hung a necklace adorned with a black lightning bolt accessory, looking at a glance like cheap plastic, utterly unrelated to any holy artifact.

Karen noticed that, at this moment, Peak was staring right at him.

Or rather, looking toward what lay behind him.

Karen turned his head and found that although the sun behind him still radiated light, its surface had been steeped in black—a highly illogical image, abstract to a total mess, yet explainable because many believers would worship the deity they believed in as the sun above their heads.

A message entered Karen's mind.

A voice both unfamiliar and familiar.

The reason for its unfamiliarity was that with this kind of voice, even if you heard it countless times, you could never remember it, never develop a sense of familiarity.

The reason for its familiarity was that Karen's past experiences allowed him to remember this sensation.

[Order is what I have ordained, and what you must obey.]

This was the divine revelation Karen had received for the first time before; though it had met with his own negation, the words of a divine revelation could sometimes reveal the height of a person's future achievements, acting like a primary assessment.

Peak did not receive such a high-level revelation; his revelation was intercepted by Karen first, and it was:

[Follow the rules of Order.]

This was likely the God of Order's positioning of Peak; Karen's line was the ordainer, while Peak's line was the follower, and between the ordainer and the follower, there inevitably lay a massive chasm.

Divine revelation was not judged based on the personal likes or dislikes of the God of Order; he was like an emotionless existence, merely responding mechanically to all requests from his believers.

Karen lowered his head once more, looking down at Peak lying below, and asked:

"Do you know who I am?"

Peak spoke: "The supreme God of Order, my faith!"

"Do you know who I am?"

"The all-seeing God of Order, the ruler of Order!"

Karen felt that the hypothesis Alfred had once made with him seemed about to fail; though he could do quite a lot in this process, he could not truly join the final link.

Once cognition in this link failed to succeed, then everything he had done would amount to nothing more than purely helping Peak improve his future development potential.

However, Karen understood the key to success in this link; to increase the success rate, it was best to constantly exert influence and give teachings to a person before their purification, and then proceed from divine servant to divine revelation; in this way, the success rate could be vastly improved.

In essence, this was a competition.

The rules of Order were always there, attracting countless believers to advance along this path.

The God of Order had long since enacted a "blinding" during the process of divine revelation; Karen's own revelation process had broken free from his blinding, and what he was trying to do now was to guide the person before him toward his own side at the very same intersection.

Therefore, it was not that Karen was undermining the God of Order's foundation, but rather that Karen was competing with the God of Order.

Peak was the first person Karen had attempted to guide, but now it appeared it was going to fail.

However,

Karen still decided to try one last time,

He spoke:

"Do you know who I am?

Your salary, starting next month, will be quintupled!"

"Great God of Or... Great Boss!"