Lord of Mysteries: Starting As A Reader

Seeing Lady Closfia, Ebner wasn't entirely surprised—he had expected her presence. However, he still felt a bit taken aback, followed by a surge of delight.

The surprise came from the fact that his Pure White Eye truly held a high level of authority. Even a demigod-level Psychology Invisibility couldn't escape his sight.

The delight was because he had found a solution for his Sequence 5 advancement ritual.

To successfully become a Mysticism Magister, he had to consume the potion under the gaze of an adult Mind Dragon or while being "soothed," "intimidated," and "suggested" by a Beyonder of the Spectator pathway at least at the level of a Dreamwalker.

An adult Mind Dragon was far beyond his reach, but a high-sequence Spectator pathway Beyonder… well, there just happened to be one standing before him.

On the other side, Closfia, realizing Ebner had noticed her, no longer maintained her concealment. She lifted Psychology Invisibility and said meaningfully, "You truly are unique… No wonder the Mother Goddess favors you."

She wasn't just referring to his ability to see through her invisibility—she had noticed from their first meeting that she could barely read any information from his surface thoughts.

His mental island was extraordinarily peculiar.

However, she dared not probe further. Firstly, as someone favored by the Mother Goddess, Ebner wasn't someone she could recklessly invade with a Virtual Personality. Secondly, her spirituality instinctively warned her that doing so would bring great danger—even with a Virtual Personality as a shield, it wouldn't help. It was as if something terrifying lay hidden deep within his mind.

Ebner had no idea what Closfia was actually thinking. He simply assumed she was referring to his ability to detect her, so he smiled and changed the topic. "Miss Closfia, long time no see… I happened to have something I wanted to ask you about, and I never expected to run into you here. Truly, the Mother Goddess is watching over me."

As he spoke, he even made the Earth Mother Church's holy symbol over his chest.

"You certainly know how to please people." Closfia chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand. Then, pointing at the two unconscious figures on the ground, she said, "This isn't the place to talk. Let's deal with them first, then we can chat."

At that moment, Dunn had already gathered "sufficient" evidence, quickly "printing" it onto pre-prepared paper. He then raised his hand, about to end the lives of the man and woman.

But before striking, he paused, turned his head, and asked in his deep, steady voice, "Do you have any questions for them?"

Hearing this, Ebner thought for a moment, then nodded. He walked over to Paki, the Astrologer from the Theosophy Order, activated Pure White Eye, and used a secret technique he had developed—combining Analysis and Spirit Channeling—to directly question her spirit:

"What do you know about the giant-blooded noble whose castle was destroyed by a 'calamity'?"

Paki, her face blank and her mind forcibly opened, answered in a dull monotone:

"According to my research, his family's noble title was granted by the Black Emperor. They were true descendants of giants… At their peak, one of them even reached demigod.

"When the Feysac Empire was founded, they did not officially recognize his family's title. However, for the sake of stability, they tacitly acknowledged the mountain north of Indo as his family's fief.

"In the late Fourth Epoch, this giant noble organized an expedition under the pretext of searching for the remains of his ancestors. But he never returned.

"A year after his departure, a massive calamity struck the mountain north of Indo, utterly destroying it… And according to my research, the hot spring in that area only appeared after the disaster."

Ebner narrowed his eyes slightly.

"What exactly was that calamity?"

"I don't know… All available records only vaguely describe a disaster occurring, but none provide any details."

"Why are you so certain that the giant noble's legacy is still near the hot spring inn?"

"Because one of his family's artifacts has never resurfaced…"

"What artifact?"

"A… a… key…"

Because spirit channeling a living person inflicted severe damage to the soul, Paki could barely form coherent sentences by this point.

But even so, the information she revealed had already confirmed Ebner's guess.

The Key to the Giant King's Court? But wasn't that already found by Edwina? She retrieved it from the very sunken ship that had forced me to retreat back then…

So, piecing everything together—the giant-blooded noble, granted a title by the Black Emperor, once carried the "Key" and set sail, intending to return to the Giant King's Court.

So, to sum it up—one generation of this giant-blooded noble family, granted their title by the Black Emperor, once set sail with the "Key," attempting to return to the Giant King's Court.

But for some unknown reason, their ship sank into an underwater cave beneath a small island…

At the end of the Fourth Epoch, a new head of this noble family—whether to recover his ancestors' remains and treasures or to seek the characteristics needed for further advancement—also set sail. He found the sunken ship, only to ultimately fall victim to the magical traps aboard.

After his death, his Beyonder characteristic condensed into the Sword of Dawn, which eventually fell into Ebner's hands when he traveled with Miss Gwen, who possessed the giant's notes.

And not long after, his entire family perished as well…

It sounded like a tragedy, but perhaps… the "Key to the Giant King's Court" wasn't meant to resurface in that era. Maybe it didn't align with someone's planned "era of progression"?

While Ebner was lost in these thoughts, Dunn had already "helped" the two people on the ground "end their suffering." Then, he took out an intricately designed lace fan and gently fanned their corpses.

This piqued Ebner's curiosity. Is fanning a corpse part of the ritual? That's… odd. What kind of "character setting" has Lady Closfia given Dunn?

Dunn, noticing Ebner's gaze, his gray eyes flickering slightly, calmly explained, "This is a trophy. It accelerates the extraction of Beyonder characteristics."

...

I see… But, Captain Dunn, you really don't need to explain everything to me…

Ebner opened his mouth, about to make a remark, when Dunn spoke again.

"However, it has a very obvious side effect. After using it, a random 'desire' will be indulged. If one cannot exercise 'restraint' through willpower, they might end up controlled by that desire and do something they regret… Of course, this effect only lasts for two hours. If the desire isn't too extreme, it can be ignored… Like right now."

"So… your current desire is to 'confess'?" Ebner asked thoughtfully.

"More precisely, to 'explain'—to tell others everything I know… Fortunately, there's no outsider here. Otherwise, I'd have to suppress it… and that would leave me unable to act." Dunn closed the lace fan and took out two iron boxes, waiting for the characteristics to fully extract.

He really doesn't consider me an outsider, huh… Well, that makes sense. When I 'revived' him, I witnessed the deepest secrets within his mind. There's no need to hide anything from me.

As for Lady Closfia? Dunn probably never thought he could keep his thoughts hidden from a demigod of the Spectator pathway in the first place.

Ebner had initially considered teasing Dunn by asking about Lady Daly, forcing him to "indulge" in his repressed emotions for once…

But in the end, he decided against it. Though they were familiar with each other, their friendship hadn't reached the level where he could joke about such things. If it were Klein or Leonard, that would be a different story… preferably with Lady Daly present.

About half a minute later, the two Beyonder characteristics fully formed, and Dunn collected them.

Ebner glanced at the "Astrologer" characteristic, briefly considering asking about its price on Fors's behalf. But just as Closfia had said, this wasn't the right place for such discussions, so he decided to wait.

With everything done, the three of them left the bar using their respective means, without any need for coordination.

...

An hour later, the official Beyonders of the Demon Hunter squad entered the third-floor office of the bar and found the "evidence" Dunn had deliberately left behind.

"A 'Nightmare' ability, clear-cut evidence, silent execution…"

"This definitely looks like the work of Loen's so-called 'Iron Man'!"

(End of Chapter)