---o---
Fu Zhu gripped [Yamato], eager to give it a try. He didn't know what kind of equipment would drop from the people, monsters, or Titans in this new map after they died, but he was already starting to look forward to it.
Seeing Fu Zhu's eager appearance, looking as if he wished to chop down a few people right immediately, Tiresias's face went pale, and she hurriedly reached out to stop him.
"No need! No need! You just need to help me get one thing, and then help me break through the blockade and jump off the cliff."
"Get something... jump off a cliff?"
Fu Zhu turned his head to look at her with confusion, frowning as he scrutinized Tiresias carefully.
Could it be that this Lady Saintess has been imprisoned for so long that she's become weary of this world?
"Tiresias, there's no need for that. Who made you suffer grievances? Just tell me directly. I'll go eliminate them all. I'll even scramble the eggs in their house to ensure I vent your anger for you."
Tiresias laughed despite herself and shook her head. Fu Zhu's words warmed her heart, but it hadn't come to that yet.
"It's nothing... Although it may sound absurd to you, this is what I must do. 'To be shattered into a thousand pieces, to wither in the soil of a foreign land'—this is my prophecy. Mr. Nameless, I have things I must do, so please, do as I say."
Fu Zhu furrowed his brows in lack of understanding, but he still chose to respect Tiresias's decision.
"Alright, since you put it that way... Tell me, where are we going?"
"This way."
.......
Tiresias led Fu Zhu back into the Temple of the Three Fates. The guards they encountered along the way were dispatched by Tiresias with a few casual excuses.
However, as soon as Tiresias sent them away, Fu Zhu immediately went up and found them, knocking them all unconscious. His control over his strength was extremely precise; these guards would likely sleep for a whole day and wake up with nothing but a sore neck. They would have no combat ability for a short time.
Tiresias watched Fu Zhu's actions. She had no complaints; Fu Zhu merely knocking them out was already very kind of him.
"You still haven't said what you want to take?"
Fu Zhu was quite curious about the item Tiresias wanted. What could make a Saintess go through such trouble to obtain?
"It is a Tinder. The Tinder of the [Gateway] Titan."
"Tinder?"
"Yes. A Tinder is a supreme treasure left behind after a Titan's death. By accepting it and completing its trial, one can become a Demigod and obtain the corresponding Titan's power."
As soon as Tiresias said this, Fu Zhu's interest was piqued.
Wait until Tiresias's matter is resolved, then go meet the other Titans. If there's a Titan whose attitude isn't correct, I might as well 'borrow' their Tinder to research.
With Fu Zhu's assistance along the way, Tiresias arrived in front of the Janusa Treasury with great ease.
Tiresias looked at the heavy door sealed by a mechanism in front of her. Just as she was calculating the time needed to solve the puzzle, Fu Zhu spoke up from the side.
"Need this door opened?"
Tiresias nodded.
"Yes. There is a mechanism on the door. I need to spend some time on it. If there are pursuing soldiers, could you help me stall for a bit..."
Before Tiresias could finish her sentence, Fu Zhu suddenly walked forward, pulled out a [Pickaxe], and struck the door. With just a few clangs of percussion, the massive treasury door was completely dismantled.
Tiresias looked at the suddenly wide-open treasury with a dazed expression, her neck turning mechanically to look at Fu Zhu.
Fu Zhu put away the pickaxe and made a graceful 'please' gesture.
"Obstacle cleared. Please, milady."
"You... are truly incredible."
Tiresias held it in for a long time, finally squeezing out that one sentence.
However, she quickly shook her head, tossing the confusion and shock to the back of her mind, and walked into the treasury. Fu Zhu followed her inside.
The interior of the treasury was extremely empty. It could be called a treasury, but in reality, it was as empty as its name suggested (Janusa/Empty). There was only a wooden box placed on a stone pedestal directly in front.
Fu Zhu glanced at the [Minimap] and knew that inside that wooden box lay the Tinder of the [Gateway] Titan.
"This treasury is a bit unworthy of its name."
Tiresias walked to the wooden box. While reaching out to open it, she explained to Fu Zhu.
"Because the most important treasure here is the Tinder."
Tiresias carefully took the Tinder out of the wooden box. Fu Zhu also leaned over curiously to take a look.
From the outside, the Tinder looked like a piece of dark blue ore carved into the shape of a water droplet. It was engraved with incomprehensible symbols, which likely represented the symbol of the [Gateway] Titan.
"Can I take a look?"
Tiresias nodded and handed the Tinder in her hand to Fu Zhu.
Fu Zhu took the Tinder and observed it carefully in his hand. Just as he was planning to use the [JEI Item Management Mod] to check it, a system notification that hadn't appeared in a long time popped up.
[Amphoreus Mod Construction in Progress...]
[Progress: 1%... 3%... 8.33333%]
What do you mean 'Mod Construction in Progress'?!
Fu Zhu looked at the unprecedented notification with some surprise. Was the System generating a brand-new Mod on its own?
But why? He had never encountered this situation before!
And why did the progress get stuck instantly after reaching 8.3333%?
Fu Zhu immediately thought of a possibility. If you divide 100 by 12, it is approximately 8.3333. This 'twelve' corresponded exactly to the Twelve Titans. Could it be that he needed to touch or absorb twelve Tinders to allow this Mod construction to complete?
Fu Zhu had a sudden impulse. He wanted to try absorbing the Tinder to become a so-called Demigod and see if it could speed up the progress. But considering that Tiresias needed this Tinder, he decided to return it to her.
Anyway, there are still eleven other Titans. If I can't find theirs, I'll just have to wrong the Titan of Years.
At the same time, Outside the Myth.
Lycus stood with his hands behind his back, watching the hero story he was directing through a massive silver screen. But at this moment, a notification sound from the [Scepter System] suddenly rang out.
[Data Error... Partial Authority has been Removed...]
"Hmm?"
Lycus walked over calmly and began to repair this error. In his long years, the System had experienced many errors, but they were never major issues.
However, this time, after Lycus tried dozens of methods but failed to migrate that partial authority limit back to his Administrator identity, he felt puzzled. It was only because of another prompt from the System:
[Operation Terminated. Insufficient Authority.]
Insufficient Authority? Me?
For the first time in these long years, Lycus felt confusion. He immediately searched extensively for the root of the problem.
Soon, he saw Fu Zhu standing beside Tiresias, and paused for a moment.
"Who?"
Lycus subconsciously wanted to use the [Scepter System] to pull up this person's data. However, the System's reply was only a cold, icy sentence:
[Insufficient Authority.]