Lord: Sequence Master

Rosen opened his right hand, and a palm-sized flaming skull appeared. He pressed it against his forehead, where it fused into his skull, becoming part of him.

Summoning his void gallery, he casually released the flaming skull, letting it meld into the void and disappear.

The void gallery, valued at ten million spiritual crystals, had remarkable abilities. It could fuse with Rosen's skull, enhancing his spiritual perception. It could also traverse the spirit world and integrate with his divine domain, amplifying their powers.

Rosen's body phased out of reality and entered his divine domain, where he fully released the void gallery.

Inside his divine domain, Rosen quickly assessed the void gallery's properties:

[Void Gallery: Supernatural Building]

Grade: Sequence 8

Defense Rating: Sequence 6

Durability Rating: Sequence 7

Offensive Rating: Sequence 8

Functional Structures: Void Studio, Void Safehouse, Gallery Maze

Extraordinary Traits: Bone Frames, Human-Skin Canvas, Blood Furnace

The defense rating applied to the safe house, capable of withstanding Sequence 6 attacks. The durability and offensive ratings referred to the gallery maze, which could endure damage from Sequence 7 entities and easily eliminate Sequence 8 enemies.

The extraordinary traits were where the void gallery truly shined.

Bone Frames and Human-Skin Canvas allowed the gallery to autonomously produce Sequence 8-level artistic tools. Using these would significantly enhance the power of spiritual paintings. The Blood Furnace linked the gallery to Rosen's supernatural bloodline, specifically tapping into the powers of his Nightmare Slime.

The blood furnace granted the void gallery the ability to phase and devour nightmares, mimicking the Nightmare Slime's gluttony talent, allowing the gallery to evolve through voracious consumption.

Rosen activated the blood furnace in private, letting his supernatural essence merge with the void gallery. The blood flames within the gallery turned dark red and grew more animated.

He then merged his divine brush with the gallery. Immediately, he felt a connection to the golden ancient tree of the Artist Sequence in the spirit world. A golden leaf fell from the tree, merging into the gallery, granting it the potential to evolve alongside Rosen as he advanced in his sequence.

Now, the void gallery had become an intimate extension of his thoughts and spiritual essence, more connected to him than ever before.

With the void gallery complete, Rosen's next priority was obtaining a void sketchbook. While the gallery was primarily for defense and traps, painters relied on their sketchbooks for combat.

Using leftover bones and human skin from the gallery's construction, Rosen commissioned a Sequence 7 art designer to craft a void sketchbook. For 100,000 spiritual crystals, the designer created a bone-covered sketchbook with human-skin pages.

[Void Sketchbook: Supernatural Object]

Grade: Sequence 8

Properties: Stores the painter's spiritual paintings for reuse.

Extraordinary Trait: Affinity Enhancement—its high compatibility with the void gallery enhances self-portraits.

Satisfied with the affinity enhancement, Rosen appreciated the sketchbook's boost to self-portraits, thanks to its shared materials with the gallery.

Now equipped with both the void gallery and void sketchbook, Rosen set his sights on mastering his final supernatural skill: the self-portrait.

Returning to his void gallery, he began preparing to paint.

In the studio, the walls automatically produced bone frames and human-skin canvases. Rosen drew out his divine pen and began filling the studio with conjured furniture, starting with a sofa. The items would last for several months due to the gallery's traits.

Once the studio was furnished, Rosen began the challenging task of painting his self-portrait.

He had spent twenty days studying a self-portrait skillbook, fully understanding the intricate process. Unlike ordinary paintings, a self-portrait had to exhibit permanent materialization, perfect realism, and spiritual projection.

Rosen transformed his divine pen into a charcoal pencil, infusing it with his own blood. He then began sketching his nude full-body portrait on a human-skin canvas.

After half a year, Rosen completed the front view, an intricately detailed charcoal drawing. But this was only half the work—when activated, the portrait revealed its back was still blank.

It took another three months to finish the back of the portrait.

With the charcoal drawing complete, Rosen moved on to the next phase: coloring. Using pigments worth 100,000 spiritual crystals, he spent another six months turning the black-and-white sketch into a lifelike, full-color image.

But the process wasn't over. The painted Rosen peeled off his skin, revealing a blank canvas beneath. Rosen now had to paint the muscles, blood vessels, bones, and internal organs, completing his replica both inside and out. This phase took an additional year.

With the interior and exterior of the self-portrait complete, only the final step remained: painting the memory and consciousness.

Rosen had an advantage with his Spiritual Canvas skill, allowing him to project and render his memories onto the portrait. But even with this shortcut, it took another six months to finish.

In total, it took Rosen two years and nine months to create his perfect self-portrait.

[Self-Portrait (No Level)]

Description: Perfectly replicates all supernatural powers of the painter at Sequence 8. The materialized self-portrait can regenerate from the canvas after being destroyed.

Most painters at Sequence 8 don't take nearly as long to paint a self-portrait, but Rosen had a unique goal. He intended to turn his self-portrait into a natural-born skill, meaning it would evolve alongside his sequence, eliminating the need to repaint it until he reached Sequence 3.

The more perfect the portrait, the greater its potential. For Rosen, the time investment was well worth the reward.

(End of Chapter)