Alistair wasn't entirely without a way to learn about the religion. Rimono Momoki would certainly tell him everything she knew, but she might not be fully recovered yet. Even if he were to look for her, it would probably be tonight, but he already had plans for tonight, so the religion would have to wait until tomorrow.
Alistair stood up from the stone bench next to the track field, brushed off his pants, and decided to leave. He wanted to check the place where he had found Togo last time.
The wooden building had the appearance of a shrine and contained the Pheromone Tree artifact. Although he didn't know why it could only be seen with a special visual filter, that wasn't Alistair's main concern. He suddenly wondered how Togo had seen it. Did he use a specific artifact, or did he rely purely on instinct?
Furthermore, how did Togo know the Pheromone Tree was there? This artifact couldn't be seen with the naked eye under normal circumstances and didn't emit any scent.
Unlike the pheromone-like substance that existed somewhere between the real and the conceptual that Alistair's ability had been calibrated to emit after absorbing the artifact, the Pheromone Tree itself, as an artifact, had no such features. Its sole effect was to produce a fluid that caused forced estrus. The effect was so potent that a single drop of the pure essence could turn any chaste saint into a slutty little firecracker, maximizing the body's reproductive instincts.
Alistair walked, retracing the route he had taken days ago, following his memory.
The location wasn't far, just a bit secluded, situated within a cluster of unused buildings and obscured by several tall structures.
"No way, where is the building? My huge building, just vanished?!"
Alistair stared at the spot where the shrine-like wooden building should have been, completely bewildered. Now, there was just a patch of green grass, indistinguishable from the surrounding lawn. The previous shrine felt like a dream, existing only in his memory.
"That's wrong. I didn't misremember the appearance of those two buildings there. I should be right. Why is it gone?"
Alistair circled the grassy area where the "shrine" used to be a few times, then stood still, examining the two buildings in front of that spot. He found no difference from his memory, meaning his memory was correct. But where was the "shrine"?
Such a large building should have at least left a bare patch of land to confirm Alistair hadn't misremembered. Yet, this area was covered in grass and flowers, and it didn't look like they were temporarily transplanted. This bizarre discrepancy with his memory left Alistair's thoughts in disarray.
Alistair stood on the grass where the "shrine" should have been, crouched down, parted the grass, and looked at the soil. It was no different from the surrounding area. Could he have been mistaken about the previous events? But he had already absorbed the Pheromone Tree.
Alistair thought for a moment, activated his special vision, and examined the surrounding area and this spot. He immediately noticed a difference.
In his special vision, Alistair could only see unique energies, such as "Desire," which manifested as black gas—his primary source of self-improvement. He had also seen a blue "gas" before, whose nature he wasn't clear about. Now, he saw a new color of energy.
At the edges of where the "shrine" was, faint dark purple "gas" was drifting. If viewed from above, the dark purple "gas" would outline the four sides of a rectangle, which was the boundary of the "shrine." Although Alistair wasn't viewing it from above, he could deduce the general situation from the observations.
"This is absolutely ridiculous."
Alistair whispered, his eyes radiating a faint purple glow, with a subtle dark purple vertical slit faintly visible deep within his pupils. However, Alistair wasn't aware of this change, merely thinking he had activated an alternate vision mode.
This was a building that had vanished into thin air, and the ground looked as if it had always been a grassy patch, not one that had been pressed down. This definitely wasn't something normal forces could accomplish. Even if someone had used a construction team over the weekend to demolish the building, they couldn't have handled the aftermath so thoroughly; there would still be debris.
To completely dispose of the building in a short time, leaving almost no trace, only the use of an artifact could achieve this. This meant that during the weekend, someone used an artifact to eliminate this building.
But why? The building had been abandoned here for a long time. Why go to such lengths to remove or destroy it? When Alistair entered it, he didn't see much inside. Apart from some furniture where he found the Pheromone Tree in the side hall, there was nothing else—not even dust—let alone evidence of any activity.
Alistair walked along the edges where the dark purple "gas" emanated. He felt no physical sensation and couldn't actively absorb the "gas," so he sighed and retraced his steps.
Swish...
Alistair walked along, resting one hand against a wall. He slid his hand along the wall as he moved, and after only a few steps, he passed the building in front of the "shrine." Alistair naturally lowered his hand.
"Ugh, that's dirty. As expected, this empty building has been here for so long without visitors and is covered in dust. It's truly filthy."
Alistair rubbed his fingers. The hand he had slid along the wall was now completely covered in dust, forming a thin gray film on his palm and fingers. It was filthy, and he decided to wash his hands at the sink as soon as he got back.
Alistair shook his hand, knowing it wouldn't help much, but still trying to shake off some of the dust.
Hmm? Wait a minute. Dust?
A sudden thought flashed through Alistair's mind, something he had just considered, but he couldn't quite grasp it now.
Dust... dust... That's right. These buildings had been empty for so long they were practically abandoned and should have been covered in dust. But when he went inside, he didn't recall touching any dust. He had even been surprised that Togo had kept the place so clean. Now, thinking carefully, how could Togo have possibly cleaned the entire place to be spotless?
Even if there were stringent requirements, Togo likely wouldn't have made the entire building spotless. At most, he would have cleaned the necessary areas to a reasonable standard. As long as it didn't affect his own needs, he wouldn't demand too much cleanliness.
Therefore, the fact that the "shrine" itself was virtually spotless was the biggest anomaly. Alistair's mind at the time was too preoccupied with tracing the source of Togo's drug ingredients to notice this subtle detail, or perhaps he did notice but didn't take it seriously.
If Alistair took a more extreme view, the "shrine" itself might have been an artifact, and the Pheromone Tree was just bait. Like certain plants or animals that emit a sweet scent as a lure, attracting prey, trapping it, and then digesting it.
Thinking back, Alistair had absorbed the Pheromone Tree because of an inexplicable surge of appetite that made him spontaneously pluck it from the table and devour it. The texture was quite pleasant, offering a sweet crunch similar to a papaya, rather than the woody texture its appearance suggested.
But if this were true, and Alistair ate the [Lure], he should have been trapped. Yet, Alistair left smoothly afterward without any hindrance.
For the artifact to remain passive while its Pheromone Tree was being consumed, there was only one possibility: the artifact had a master. Under the master's control, all these actions took place, and after Alistair ate the Pheromone Tree, the master took the opportunity to retrieve the artifact.
But what was the goal? This made no sense at all. They couldn't have placed it there just to provide Alistair with an "upgrade item," could they? Furthermore, even the [Lure] could be considered an independent artifact with considerable power. How potent must the ability of the main artifact, the "shrine," or whatever formed it, be?
Alistair didn't dare to speculate too much about this. Currently, the strength of the superhuman abilities he could find online, as well as the strength of his own abilities, wasn't exceptionally high. Aside from the super-dimensional power of Time Stop, the upper limits of his other abilities were relatively clear.
The Ox Talisman grants superhuman strength, but it doesn't strengthen his physical attributes; it amplifies the effect of the strength he exerts, giving the appearance of massive power. In other words, the Ox Talisman is a power amplifier. The same amount of physical strength, channeled through different outputs of the Talisman's energy, can achieve varying effects. It is a simple yet very practical ability.
The Horse Talisman is Alistair's main source of sustainability, though its exact criteria are unclear to him.
The rest of his abilities are mainly for daily assistance, offering no significant combat advantage besides Time Stop.
The Pheromone Tree's ability is primarily focused on temptation and inciting specific emotions, making it a very fitting lure. So, the main artifact, acting as the hunter, would likely have abilities like "Digestion" or "Imprisonment." And these were precisely the kinds of powers Alistair had few counters for, unless the Horse Talisman decided to grant him immunity.