Lord of Mysteries: Starting As A Reader

Inside the folklore herbal shop in the alley across from Red Theater, Ebner and Helene had just stepped in when they saw a native girl sitting in the courtyard, engrossed in a thick, open book. A plump owl perched on her shoulder, appearing just as focused.

The girl was Budi, the same one Ebner had once "persuaded" into coming here for treatment—the same Budi from the original novel, the one whom Klein had buried, with a tombstone inscription that simply read: "She was a person."

Now, Budi still looked frail, but the pus-filled sores that had once marred her face and body had completely vanished, leaving only faint scars.

Ebner activated Spirit Vision for a quick scan and confirmed that, aside from mild malnutrition, the girl was otherwise in good health.

"Darkwill may seem unreliable, but as an Apothecary, he's definitely competent." Ebner gave an inward nod of approval before withdrawing his gaze and heading directly into the shop.

Behind him, Helene lingered, eyeing the owl a few more times.

She had already noticed that the book in the girl's hands was The Revelations of the Night—a complex theological text. There was no way this native girl, who clearly had no formal education, could understand it…

That left two possibilities:

She was just pretending to read.She was merely holding the book while the owl was the real reader.

As Helene pondered this, Ebner rapped his fingers firmly on the counter, jolting the half-asleep Darkwill awake.

It was only a little after 2 PM, still early in the day, so business was slow.

—After all, the men who came to buy "mummy powder" tonics usually showed up around dusk, or even later.

"Detective? Damn, you startled me." Darkwill straightened in his seat, then, recognizing the visitor, stretched lazily and said,

"You look exhausted," Ebner remarked, observing the dull hue of Darkwill's aura. It wasn't unhealthy, just the typical signs of fatigue.

The chubby apothecary flashed a sleazy grin and said, "Had a wild night at Red Theater yesterday… You know how it is."

As he spoke, he even wriggled his nearly invisible waist for emphasis.

Lies.

Ebner wasn't a Spectator, but he could simulate Mind Reading—and Darkwill's ridiculous gestures were clearly a distraction.

He didn't press the issue, though. Instead, he moved on and placed a whip on the counter. "Here's the mystical item you requested."

The moment the dark brown whip, about 1.5 meters long, landed on the counter, Darkwill's eyes lit up. He picked it up eagerly, twirled it around, then asked, "What's it do?"

At the same time, the owl in the courtyard perked up.

Ebner smirked and explained,

"I call it the Whip of Ecstasy.

"You just tested it—it's light as a feather, nearly weightless. But when it strikes a target, it applies a random 'curse', effectively weakening the victim's stamina and mobility.

"Additionally, it's extremely tough and has excellent armor-piercing capabilities. It can shatter standard iron armor in one strike—which is about the same level of penetration as a flintlock rifle."

"Then why not just use a gun?" Darkwill quipped, but his tone betrayed his satisfaction.

After all, the Dragonblood Five-Colored Flower he had traded for this whip, though difficult to cultivate, was only worth around 100-200 pounds. This was a great bargain for him.

"But… why is it called the Whip of Ecstasy?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "What's so 'ecstatic' about it? Does whipping someone with it make them feel good?"

As he spoke, his gaze drifted past the open doorway—toward the owl in the courtyard.

The owl immediately turned away, pretending to focus intently on the book in Budi's hands.

However, its trembling talons betrayed its unease.

"Mr. Harry… Darkwill is a good man. He won't hit you…" Budi whispered comfortingly to the owl.

The owl glanced at her, thinking:

Little girl, you don't understand. That bastard has wanted to hit me for a long time…

No. I need to learn some self-defense skills.

Meanwhile, Ebner hesitated for a moment before answering Darkwill's question.

"When the whip strikes an enemy, there's a 10% chance it will induce… intense pleasure."

He paused awkwardly, then added, "I… uh… assume that counts as a curse."

Ebner did not personally test the probability of the whip's effect—his Pure White Eye had simply analyzed it.

"Extreme… ecstasy?" Darkwill froze for a moment, then his expression turned ambiguous. He wiggled his eyebrows and asked, "You mean that kind of ecstasy?"

"More or less… I crafted this weapon using the hide of a 'Lust Banshee' that I bought at a Beyonder gathering, so the 'ecstasy' effect should be exactly what you're thinking of…" Ebner paused, then added with deliberate concern, "But trust me, it's not a pleasant experience. Don't go whipping yourself and get addicted…"

Darkwill's chubby face twitched, as if Ebner had hit a nerve. He quickly changed the subject, asking stiffly, "Since it's made from ordinary materials taken from an Extraordinary creature… how long will it remain effective?"

"One year." Ebner held up a single finger, then continued, "Also, it doesn't have any major negative side effects. It has just one weakness… fire!

"If it gets burned, it will lose all its mystical properties for at least a week."

Darkwill nodded and put the whip away. Then, without further ado, he motioned for Ebner to follow him and pushed open the door to the back room.

Ebner left Helene outside, instructing her to keep an eye on Budi and the owl, then followed Darkwill inside to a cultivation room, where the roof had been modified to regulate sunlight and temperature as needed.

The chubby apothecary strode over to a shelf, pointed at a small, newly sprouted plant, and said, "This is the 'Dragonblood Five-Colored Flower' you wanted. But it still needs at least two more weeks before it blooms."

Ebner had already expected this. After all, Darkwill had told him in advance when they first agreed on the trade. So, after a brief moment of thought, he figured out why Darkwill had really brought him here and said,

"If there's something you need, just say it. I won't tell anyone… We're friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah… friends." Darkwill sighed in reluctant admission, then explained, "I just don't want Budi getting too involved in my personal matters…"

After that, he finally got to the real reason he had called Ebner over.

"Actually, I wanted to hear your professional opinion as a great detective."

"What's the issue?" Ebner had some suspicions, but he kept a neutral expression.

Darkwill hesitated, then asked, choosing his words carefully,

"If… and I mean if… you had an appointment with someone, but they never showed up… yet you know they should have arrived—where would you start looking? And how would you track them down?"

Just ask where your teacher is already…

Ebner rolled his eyes internally but kept a straight face.

He had already guessed that Darkwill's exhaustion earlier was because he had spent half the night trying to find his teacher.

Outwardly, though, Ebner pretended not to notice anything suspicious and simply analyzed the problem.

"In that case, you have two main options:

"First, you could use mysticism to perform a divination…

"Second, you could leverage the authorities to help find them."

"Divination is useless in this case…" Darkwill shook his head, then paused, thinking. A moment later, he asked, "How would I get the authorities to help me?"

"Simple," Ebner said with a completely straight face.

"Just disguise yourself as them and commit a crime."

Darkwill stared at him, utterly dumbfounded.

How the hell is a humble apothecary like me supposed to pull that off?!

"Any… other methods?" he asked dejectedly after a long silence.

"Of course," Ebner replied casually. "You could also just hire someone to find them for you."

For example, a certain future lunatic adventurer…

In reality, Ebner already knew where Darkwill's teacher was.

But… that situation involved a Uniqueness.

He didn't want to get involved. Unlike The Fool, he didn't have the ability to intimidate a Uniqueness into compliance. If he meddled recklessly, he might end up dragging himself down along with Darkwill.

"I guess I have no other choice…" Darkwill sighed heavily, then led the way back to the front counter.

Unexpected Visitor

As soon as they returned, they saw a young man with blue hair hesitantly stepping through the shop's entrance.

He was handsome and refined, exuding a noble aura—none other than Tran, from Gwen's ship.

However, Tran's gaze didn't immediately land on Ebner.

Instead, he was focused on Helene, who stood by the door.

The young man hesitated, as if mustering the courage to speak to the cold, beautiful woman—but before he could say anything, a teasing voice interrupted him:

"Kid, you need to pace yourself…"

"You're way too young to be running yourself this ragged."

Tran's face instantly turned beet red.

(End of Chapter)