Lord of the Mysteries

Walter came to the third story and rapped on the master bedroom’s door.

“Who is it?” Dwayne Dantès’s slightly weak and hoarse voice sounded.

Walter turned the doorknob, opening a tiny crack in the door.

“Sir, Bishop Elektra is here to visit you.

“Do you wish to meet him in the living room or activity room, or should he be invited directly to your bedroom?”

Usually, visitors weren’t permitted to enter the master’s bedroom. This was rather impolite, but visiting the sick was an exception.

After a brief silence, Dwayne Dantès replied, “Invite him into the bedroom.”

“Alright, sir.” As Walter gestured Richardson to urge a maid to prepare some tea, he walked down and invited Bishop Elektra of the Church of Evernight up.

Soon, Elektra entered the bedroom and saw Dwayne Dantès lying in bed, looking haggard.

“Richardson, get the bishop a seat,” the pale Dwayne Dantès said with a smile.

Richardson had already done so. He immediately moved a high-back chair to a spot near the bed.

However, Elektra took a few steps forward to observe the new tycoon in town and asked in concern, “Dwayne, how are you? Did you consult a physician?”

His spiritual perception wasn’t triggered, so he didn’t make any attempts. He was only visiting a pious believer out of concern.

Dwayne Dantès coughed lightly and smiled.

“I’m actually almost recovered. I believe I’ll be able to head over to church tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to listen to your preachings.”

“That’s good. I was wondering if I needed to pray to Goddess to bless you.” Elektra chuckled and took a step back before sitting on the chair which Richardson had brought for him.

At this moment, Dwayne Dantès glanced at the bishop and chuckled.

“Actually, I’ve always had a question. Are clergymen of the Church of the Goddess allowed to get married?”

Elektra, who was two years short of reaching forty, sighed and smiled.

“This question has actually troubled us for the longest time.

“In ancient times, the archbishops had engaged in intense debates about this on several theosophical meetings.

“One side believed that servants of the Goddess need to maintain their purity, be it men or women; otherwise it would be sacrilegious. The other side found words from the Goddess in The Revelation of Evernight and other books, believing that the Goddess encouraged marriage. ‘She’ encouraged equality between both sexes and for them to have normal contact. Hence, clergymen should be an example of this, and not be a negative example; by doing so, that would be the greatest respect towards the Goddess.

“In recent times, this question has basically been shelved. The Church doesn’t ban or encourage it. The only request is that married clergymen are not to let their families live in the cathedrals.”

Dwayne Dantès nodded slowly as he curled the corner of his lips.

“Your Excellency, do you have a wife?”

Although Bishop Elektra was thin and not very good-looking, he was pleasant to the eyes. He sighed and said, hardly hiding his smile, “Two years ago, I walked down the aisle under the Goddess’s watch. I happen to have a child this year.

“I originally imagined that I would remain single my entire life in order to serve Goddess, but…”

As he spoke, he gave a self-deprecating laugh and shook his head.

Without waiting for Dwayne Dantès to probe deeper, Elektra asked, “You seem to be single as well. Are you considering the problem of marriage?”

He seemed to imagine that Dwayne Dantès had such thoughts, and he directly asked, imagining that the answer was certain as he continued, “What kind of lady do you like? Perhaps I might be able to help introduce you to someone.”

Dwayne Dantès coughed lightly and said with a smile, “I often chose adventures to amass wealth in the past, so I wasn’t willing to get married, afraid I would drag her down. Heh, I like many types of women and am not picky.

“I like those older than me, one’s who can give me warmth and make me feel at ease…”

Before he finished, his valet, Richardson, wore a stunned expression. He hurriedly turned his head aside and lowered it. He felt his face burning for some baffling reason.

Dwayne Dantès didn’t seem to sense it as he continued, “I also like those younger than me, those who are pure and lively, making anyone who sees them feel as though it’s dawn because of the radiance they aren’t aware of…”

Bishop Elektra’s face suddenly froze as he raised his palm and clenched it into a fist as he held it to his mouth and coughed twice.

Yet, Dwayne Dantès didn’t stop. He shook his head and said with a sigh, “I also like those who were once in love or were married so that people wouldn’t dare approach due to their status, women who can only be viewed from afar. They are so charming that each action of theirs are so intoxicating and irresistible. I often dream…”

Butler Walter, who was standing nearby, trembled. He felt as though he had experienced a dream that he didn’t wish to wake up from despite opposing it greatly. He had no idea if it was a good or bad dream.

Dwayne Dantès was about to continue to describe further, but he stopped producing any sound after opening his mouth.

He then chuckled softly.

“That’s all very normal. When humans are at their limits and are under the influence of their senses, they often have some abnormal thoughts. As long as they’re repressed while acting in line with one’s will, it wouldn’t feel like torture. One would still be a husband, a good father, a good man.”

“That’s very reasonable. When I’m incensed, I often have irrational thoughts, but few people will turn them into reality.” Bishop Elektra ingeniously changed the subject. As for Butler Walter and Valet Richardson, they revealed looks of contemplation.

The bishop didn’t stay long. After drinking a few sips of the marquis black tea that the maid delivered, he got up and bade farewell, leaving Dwayne Dantès’s residence.

The room quickly turned quiet as the window at the balcony silently opened. Klein, who had changed back into Dwayne Dantès, agilely leaped inside.

Thankfully, I returned in time. If I allowed Arrodes to continue speaking, Bishop Elektra would probably renounce a pious believer like me… Perhaps I’ll even discover Walter and Richardson hanging from their rooms tomorrow morning, and the streets would have rumors of Dwayne Dantès being a pervert… Klein looked at the fake Dwayne on the bed and sighed silently. That final response had been personally formulated by him, and he got Arrodes to read it.

Of course, this was his contingency plan for the worst possible scenario. He had believed that Arrodes wouldn’t have made the situation develop that far.

“Welcome back, Great Master.” The Dwayne Dantès in bed bowed and greeted. “Did your loyal and humble servant, Arrodes, do well?”

Hearing the mirror stammer the question, Klein sighed and said, “It’s still alright. You did pretty good.

“However, try not to agitate others when chatting.”

“I-I will take note!” The fake Dwayne Dantès rapidly vanished as a small mirror appeared on the pillow.

Above the mirror, silver light bloomed as words appeared:

“Thank you for your affirmation. I will continue following in your footsteps. I look forward to being of service to you the next time~”

After a goodbye expression was sketched out, the mirror returned to normal.

Klein went close to it and put away the mirror before entering the bathroom attached to the master bedroom. He took four steps counterclockwise and headed above the gray fog.

He wanted to complete the Grazing before Mr. X’s Spirit Body dispersed.

…

In the book world, inside a cave on a snow-laden mountain peak.

Klein looked at Mr. X’s corpse and carefully identified the head that had been pieced together from the fragments. He matched it with his memories of the target’s picture which Miss Magician had provided him.

It’s him… I hope I’ll obtain Traveling and Record. With them, I would make a killing with this operation. Otherwise, I’ll have to consider getting Miss Magician to pay more. The difficulty between hunting a Sequence 5 and that of facing a demigod are two completely different matters. As Klein thought, he reached out his left palm and spread open his fingers, aiming at the corpse whose spirituality hadn’t completely dispersed.

Creeping Hunger quickly transformed back into its original form, looking as though it was made of thin human skin, two eyes split open in the middle of its palm. Its pupils were bright red, as though they were dyed in blood.

Amidst a cold and eerie wind, Mr. X’s significantly dispersed Spirit Body and the resplendent Beyonder specks of light that resembled the Milky Way drilled into Creeping Hunger, fixing onto a blank finger.

Creeping Hunger first turned transparent as if it was a shadow of the spirit world before returning to normal.

Klein closed his eyes and sensed it as his brows gradually eased. A smile surfaced on his face.

His luck was pretty good this time because he had drawn one of the Beyonder powers he wanted the most: Traveler’s Door!

It could also be called Door of Teleportation, Teleportation, or Traveling. Its effect was to allow a person to traverse the spirit world while sensing the external world. Beyonders of different Sequences could endure Traveling for different periods of time due to the differences in their Spirit Body’s potency. This made the effects of spirit world traversal and the distance differ.

If it’s a Sequence 9 or 8, they wouldn’t be able to go beyond Backlund… With my present level, I wonder if I can directly head to the primitive island which Mr. Hanged Man provided. Hmm, if that doesn’t work, I can split it into a few trips… Klein thought as he smiled.

At this point, he realized that a Traveler’s strength in head-on combat was very powerful. This was because the difficulty in using short-distance Traveling was about the same as Flaming Jump. This also meant that a Traveler could keep phasing around a target, opening up and narrowing distances as they pleased. This would catch people by surprise while also preventing them from inflicting a successful blow.

Furthermore, if plenty of powers were Recorded and the vigilance that accompanies immediately departing once something felt amiss, Klein suspected that even with Lightning Storm and Hurricane, he had no way of restraining a Traveler in direct combat.

Indeed, a Marionettist should try to hide behind the shadows… As Klein thought poignantly, he cast his eyes on Mr. X’s corpse.

Creeping Hunger had also obtained another Beyonder power. It was Door Opening of the Apprentice Sequence. It was equivalent to a very weakened version of Traveling and was of little value.

Turning his gaze, Klein’s eye noticed the ruby ring on Mr. X’s hand.