LOTM: I Married the Queen of Mystery

**Chapter 3: Extraordinary Scholar Odysseus**

After hearing Odysseus's question, the chestnut-haired Bernadette looked at him coldly and said nothing. The two were covered by illusory feathers again.

When they reappeared, they were already on Henry Street, on the rooftop opposite Gall's Herbal Medicine Store.

Odysseus sat on the ground for more than ten minutes before the feeling of motion sickness finally subsided.

Bernadette, who had been standing by, suddenly said, "Get up and look for yourself."

Odysseus then noticed that the surroundings around him and Bernadette had become illusory again, as if they were about to disappear from this world.

He stood up and saw two masked men in black clothing quickly approaching the herbal medicine shop, with light streaming through the window.

They first ensured that no one was around before pushing the door open. Upon seeing that no one was in the herbal medicine shop, they paused for a second or two before immediately turning around and leaving.

At this moment, Bernadette had two pea seeds in her hand. She threw them casually, and the two peas immediately sprouted and grew vines after landing on the street, entangling the two men in black, who were clearly not thieves.

Bernadette did not kill them. Instead, she pointed her index finger at the ground, and a pair of red high heels instantly appeared on their feet.

The two men were trapped in the vines, dancing with fear on their faces.

Yet, they seemed to have forgotten to scream and could only express their fear through their expressions.

This reminded Odysseus of the fairy tale "The Red Shoes." Although he had only read it once, he remembered the pair of red dancing shoes that made anyone unable to control themselves and dance non-stop once they put them on.

After the two danced for more than half a minute, the fear on their faces evaporated along with the red dancing shoes. Then the vines loosened; they took off their hats, bowed in the direction of Bernadette, and quickly left, disappearing into the night.

Odysseus was stunned. It was obvious that what had left were two pairs of red dancing shoes and their followers: two men in black.

Where did he think the two men went? Who did they meet? Bernadette could see it all.

Then he thought of the actions of the two men in black just now: "I don't recall having any enemies recently."

Since coming to this world, Odysseus had kept a relatively low profile. While developing his own gray industry, he had used his abilities and connections to recruit a small gang, using that gang as a cover for everything.

"You haven't made enemies with anyone." Bernadette took out the small wooden box containing the extraordinary weapon again: "But you have something that excites them."

Only one weapon had been made, and those who had seen it had been burned to ashes. Odysseus was silent for a while before saying, "Peter is dead."

"Yes, that's right," Bernadette confirmed. "He died at the hands of a crazy extraordinary person, and the weapon you invented couldn't save him.

"It just so happened that a member of a mysterious organization passed by and saw the weapon in Peter's hand. After Pete died, that member took the weapon.

"Upon learning that it came from you, several local members of this organization intend to send someone to take you away and further inquire about the weapon's source."

The so-called "mysterious organization" actually referred to the "Moss Ascetic Order" in Backlund. Bernadette had long been watching the member who had picked up the weapon. Just as she was about to close the net, she encountered the weapon in Peter's possession, prompting her to come here first, intending to take Odysseus away and ask for the truth.

As for witnessing Klein stealing the bookmark, that was an emergency situation that arose purely by coincidence.

Odysseus said sincerely, "I did acquire that weapon from the Church of Steam..."

Odysseus suddenly felt a weight increase on his face and saw his nose grow longer at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Bernadette smiled at him: "Lying, is this how you treat your savior?"

Thinking of the "Mysterious Queen" who had manipulated him like a puppet, Odysseus suddenly realized: "As long as I lie, my nose will grow longer?"

Bernadette did not respond directly, but merely said, "I want to see if your nose can reach the other side of the Tussock River."

Odysseus felt a bit helpless: "Let's go to the store and talk; I will tell you the origin of this weapon."

After that, his nose returned to its normal length.

Odysseus knew very well that in the mysterious world, concealing the truth when facing such a significant figure would only worsen matters, so he prepared to explain the weapon's origin.

The "Mysterious Queen" nodded with satisfaction: "Okay."

The two returned to Gall's Herbal Medicine Store, and Odysseus closed the door again: "Would you like something to drink?"

"No."

So Odysseus poured himself a glass of wine, took a sip, and then walked behind the counter.

They were just like before: one inside the counter and one outside.

"I think you should be very clear about the function of the magic circle." While explaining, Odysseus took out a piece of paper, drew a large circle on it using a compass, then drew two isosceles triangles, one positive and one negative, with the center of the circle as the nucleus, and finally drew a smaller circle within.

This was a classic "hexagram" formation diagram. By filling in different symbols in the gaps of the diagram, various formations with different functions could be created.

For example, some could increase the success rate of low-level witchcraft, enhance or stabilize spirituality to a limited extent for a short period, or simply serve as decorative designs in the extraordinary world. Even some occult enthusiasts used them.

However, due to their limited effectiveness, they were mostly utilized by Low-Sequence Extraordinary Personnel, particularly those not skilled in frontal combat.

Very advanced magic arrays do possess functions such as sealing and defense, but require high-sequence beings to provide power support or extraordinary characteristics to bolster them.

For most extraordinary individuals, magic arrays are relatively useless.

While skillfully filling in the mystical symbols in the array diagram, Odysseus continued, "I have discovered in recent years that the greatest use of the array is not in how many extraordinary effects it has, but that it can provide a channel for spirituality to extend outward within a certain range.

"For instance, if I inject spirituality here, the output spirituality will enter the center of the 'hexagram' without loss.

"If one of the extraordinary materials required for the promotion of 'arsonist,' the 'gland of the fire salamander,' is placed in the center of the array, a large fire will definitely ignite there, with a certain probability of producing a fireball.

"But if the blood of the fire salamander is used..."

Odysseus took out a small glass bottle from the cupboard, which contained half a bottle of bright red blood. This was the blood of the fire salamander, a spiritual material of Sequence 7, and it was exceedingly valuable.

He dripped a few drops of blood into the center of the magic circle and continued to inject spirituality into it.

Huh~

A small, stable flame ignited in the center of the magic circle.

Odysseus explained, "This is a high-level spiritual material with fire attributes, so it can ignite flames under the influence of spirituality."

Bernadette understood, and she pointed at the wooden box: "This weapon actually possesses an exquisite magic circle inside?"

"Yes," Odysseus confirmed.

Bernadette asked again, "Do you know what that weapon means?"

Odysseus was slightly stunned: "What does it mean?"

Bernadette said seriously, "All Sequence 9 can use 'Fireball.'"

Although it is a lower-tier version of "Fireball," she has seen the breakthrough research results that lay behind it.

(End of this chapter)