Inside Kabas Town’s only tavern, the expedition’s "patron," Wallace, gave a brief summary of the day’s findings before declaring free time. He stressed, however, that everyone must return before the sky turned completely dark. With that, he entered the tavern’s sole private room—purchased for one gold pound from the innkeeper’s son by sheer force of wealth. Once the room was sealed with spirituality, the young man brushed a hand over his face—revealing his true features... Ebner’s face! After "teleporting" to Kabas Town, Ebner had quickly noticed that Wallace carried the taint of a high-level existence, making him a potential vessel for that being’s descent. So, with little hesitation, Ebner had "invited" Mr. Wallace into his "Alvin Abraham’s Riddle Labyrinth," leaving him trapped there. By now, Ebner was sure the labyrinth was crafted from an extraterrestrial Beyonder characteristic, its level equal to that of angels. Even the Dragon of Imagination himself would find it difficult to escape a pathway he was unfamiliar with—let alone a mere "container." "Still, the Dragon of Imagination placed Elizabeth and Dast into this expedition deliberately... probably to use them as hostages against Klein. "But he doesn’t understand humanity... or Klein. "’The Fool’ isn’t someone who caves under threats. He may cower at times, but if you dare use his friends, you’d best be prepared for his retaliation! "Ankewelt is being far too clever for his own good..." With a sigh, Ebner summoned his "Magic Mirror," letting it spy on the rest of the team with its devilish powers. "This team’s makeup is complicated... Outwardly, the highest Sequence was Wallace, a Hypnotist... "But one of his own attendants is actually a Sequence 5 Mentor of Disorder—probably a family bodyguard. Wallace likely doesn’t even know it. "And Professor Mosal is no ordinary man either, but a true Archaeologist, with strong artifacts surely in hand. "The rest? Only Dast Goodrian and Stephen Humphreys merit suspicion—likely the Dragon’s hidden pawns." The mirror’s feedback confirmed most hearts could be read—even Elizabeth’s hidden flicker of unusual feeling. Only Stephen Humphreys’s mind was veiled in fog, resisting prying. That "cannot be spied upon" was itself revealing. "So even within this team, there are layers. Wallace is the obvious piece, a decoy. Stephen Humphreys must be the true fallback. "What should I do? Drag Stephen into the labyrinth as well? "Hmm... My intuition says that won’t work. Worse, it might give him room to act freely, sabotaging Yaloran’s concealment and drawing the Hidden Sage’s attention..." Ebner shut the Pure White Eye and used his own ability to perform a prophecy. —He already knew from earlier fate simulations that using the Wheel of Fortune’s uniqueness here risked attracting Ouroboros, the Angel of Fate. The revelation made Ebner’s eyes shine. "Yes. My enemy is the Dragon’s pawn, strong and unpredictable. I may not be able to stop him... "But if I can’t stop him, I can make him fail! "With enough bad luck, even near-certain mechanical surgery can fail. How much more fragile is his attempt to break Yaloran’s concealment?" Brightened by this thought, Ebner opened the Pure White Eye and invoked a Mimicry ability originally belonging to the Seer pathway, transforming into the incomplete mythic form of the Monster pathway—a giant serpent! In that serpentine form, he clearly sensed the presence of the God of Luck—something absent when he had mimicked the Worm of Star. Ebner guessed it was because Alvin was hidden within the Goddess’s Nation of Evernight, veiled away. That was why nothing had been felt before. But now, with that presence clear, he could also draw on something beyond "luck"—"misfortune"! Silently, the Misfortune Mage’s power settled upon Stephen Humphreys, who was busy chatting up Dast. The thirty-something gentleman in a gray tailcoat, fastidious about his appearance, first felt unease. Then, as some children ran by, muddy water splashed from a puddle—staining his clothes. Losing control of his temper, Stephen raged at the children. Watching, Dast frowned. This display of poor manners disgusted him. He even noted the man’s perfume smelled wrong—not masculine, but the female "Confusion." Whatever thought of befriending Stephen faded. After two short exchanges, he excused himself and went to Elizabeth. Stephen, meanwhile, was frustrated. He had found an ideal target, and had hoped to slowly draw him in... Yes, Stephen’s orientation was unconventional—he preferred the weaker role. Through the Magic Mirror, Ebner nodded in satisfaction. With such "misfortune," whatever Stephen attempted tonight was doomed to fail. As time trickled on, the sun sank. From Ebner’s window, he watched rooftops shift from orange-red, to pale red, to blue... until, after a fleeting burst of brightness, they dimmed into shadow. Ebner was about to summon the team in the tavern hall when the black gemstone at his chest—the Goddess’s gift—glimmered faintly. It whispered to him: he could draw freely on the nightmare covering the town, stepping into the deepest layers of concealment. Sudden realization struck: "So that day, the Goddess’s gift wasn’t only for the Afternoon Town trip... "She foresaw I would meet Yaloran—and gave me the most convenient means. "No wonder I had that premonition that asking the Goddess’s help here was most likely to succeed. "No wonder my prophecy showed ’misfortune’... "It wasn’t just about the Misfortune Mage’s powers—it also pointed to the Empress of Misfortune herself! "And Yaloran’s ritual ’Mystery Reenactment—The Vanished Nation of Evernight’ already borrowed Her concealment... Plus, the true reason the Nation vanished is surely at the level of gods and Kings of Angels. Yet Yaloran knows it... "I thought it was because my past self told her... but perhaps not. "Yaloran may have a tacit understanding with the Goddess! "Vera said she must have left herself a backup plan... Maybe that backup is far greater than I imagined." The source of this content ɪs 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮※𝓷𝓮𝓽 (End of this Chapter)