Lord of the Mysteries

Afraid that Gehrman Sparrow would go back on his word, Anderson grabbed the five-soli note as scenes of ordinary beef sizzling over flames and alcohol beverages without any additional sedatives surfaced in his mind.

Well, well, well, this fellow actually accepted it. I was just saying it in passing in order to accentuate my persona, as well as to let him understand that it isn’t so easy to borrow money from me so as to prevent him from hunting pirates and returning to the Fog Sea after borrowing a huge sum of money… Klein mumbled inwardly.

To him, a Sequence 5 Hunter wouldn’t starve or have nowhere to stay when placed in a place with plenty of pirates, even if he didn’t have a single penny.

He indiscernibly shook his head and was about to leave the dock when he suddenly heard a boorish shout, “Gehrman!”

“…”

Upon hearing Frank Lee’s voice, Klein shuddered as he turned around, his nerves taut.

The first mate of the Future, the Poison Expert with a 7,000 pound bounty, stood by the shipboard and held his hands to his mouth. As though broadcasting his voice, he asked, “Where will you be most of the time? Where should I write letters to?

“I wish to share with you the latest results of my research.”

I don’t wish to know… This fellow probably doesn’t have many friends. And I dare to be one of the many people he thinks of as friends but doesn’t treat him as one… Yes, Admiral of Stars is still inclined towards Queen Mystic, and she lacks belonging to the Tarot Club. To openly develop a snitch at her side, no—a source of intelligence. It helps in my shock and awe tactic towards her, and it’s a kind of “Gehrman Sparrow” level punishment imposed on her… With this as a bedrock, it would be reasonable and natural for Mr. Fool to punish her… Klein’s thoughts raced as he took out a notepad and fountain pen used for divinations from his pocket.

He scribbled down the summoning ritual needed to summon his messenger, and he didn’t forget to include the additional requirement of a gold coin.

With a whoosh, Klein flicked his wrist, sending the note flying at Frank Lee like a dart, landing accurately in his hand.

“Excellent!” Frank Lee glanced at the information on the piece of paper and waved his hand in delight.

Klein didn’t delay any further as he picked up his leather suitcase, left the dock, and began searching for a hotel.

During this process, he was originally very adamant about objecting to Anderson’s request to stay in the same hotel, but on second thought, he agreed to it.

He was afraid that this fellow who was plagued with bad luck would get into trouble again, bringing about a disaster to the innocent guests and attendant; therefore, he decided to monitor him up close and decisively handle the problem if required.

After checking in, Anderson went into his room with his key.

Bang! He sat down on a reclining chair as though a heavy burden was released.

After leaving those dangerous waters, he finally felt like he was human again. He didn’t need to worry about suddenly dying.

After he laid there silently for a while, Anderson Hood slowly got up. He took out a flask that had an outer lining made of iron, flipped over a glass cup, and poured himself some hot water.

He believed that he should recollect himself and begin visiting the bars.

After drinking some alcohol and filling his stomach, he could seek out some sponsors!

After the hot water cooled a little, Anderson raised his cup and gulped it down comfortably.

Suddenly, he coughed intensely as his face turned a little purple.

Cough! Cough! Cough!

Anderson reached for his throat, but he didn’t seem capable of taking a single breath.

With a crashing sound, the glass cup fell to the floor from his hand, shattering across the ground.

Cough… Cough… Cough… Anderson’s coughing weakened as his face turned purple.

At that moment, his eyes seemed to produce a spark as the veins on the back of his hands squirmed like they were alive.

Bang!

Anderson fell to the ground, convulsing a little before becoming motionless. His breathing even seemed to come to a halt.

Seconds later, the corpse-like Anderson suddenly got up as he rubbed his face in fear.

“Damn it, I almost choked to death from drinking water…

“If that really happened, then I might be the hunter with the most laughable cause of death!

“Thankfully, thankfully, I bought this item at great cost before entering those waters. It finally came in handy today…”

As he spoke, Anderson took out a doll formed of straw, from a secret pocket in his vest. Ink was used to simply draw two eyes, a nose, and a mouth.

The doll’s surface had already been corroded as pitch-black liquid dripped down, drop after drop.

In about eight seconds, it was completely reduced to a liquid, turning into a stain on the floor.

“My bad luck hasn’t decreased at all, and it has even gotten worse… Man, Gehrman Sparrow once told me of a prophecy, saying that the most lethal danger often lies in day-to-day life.” Anderson paced about as he carefully avoided the glass fragments at his feet, afraid that it would cause him another death.

“No, I need to save myself! I need to save myself!” Anderson pulled open the door and carefully walked out.

He came straight to Klein’s room, reached out his finger, and rapped on the door.

Soon, the wooden door, which was neither too solid or hard, opened without a sound. Gehrman Sparrow, who had only taken off his coat, appeared before Anderson.

Anderson forced a smile and said, “Are you pleasantly surprised?”

Creak!

The door closed right in front of him.

“…”

He was first stunned before he muttered to himself with a stiff expression, “I should change the way I talk.”

Thump! Thump! Thump!

He knocked on Klein’s door again.

The door quickly opened as a revolver was pointed at him.

“Haha, I just wanted to ask if you know any Beyonders who can improve my luck?” Anderson raised his hands midway, wildly hinting for Gehrman Sparrow to provide him with the details of the powerhouse that informed him of the prophecy.

Too late. I’ve no idea where Queen Mystic is… Eh? She didn’t leave me a way to contact her? But since my messenger’s summoning ritual is known to Frank Lee, it also means Admiral of Stars knows of it. And that means Bernadette knows of it. Also, after returning to Backlund, I can seek out Miss Sharron’s help. Queen Mystic is in her circles, even though the frequency of her appearance isn’t high… Klein gave Anderson Hood a look of pity.

He wasn’t fond of this Strongest Hunter, often mocking him inwardly and expressing all kinds of nefarious thoughts towards him. After all, Anderson was partially responsible for him losing his cufflink; however, it was only limited to his thoughts. He had no intentions of actually putting it into practice. If Anderson truly sought his help, he similarly wouldn’t reject him.

Klein thought for a moment before saying, “I can help you ask, and I’ll give you the answer tomorrow morning.

“But I suspect you don’t have the means to pay me.”

“I’ll go make my rounds at the bars later! Furthermore, I have plenty of stashes in the Fog Sea,” Anderson replied without hesitation.

Klein nodded and as he closed the door, he said, “Meet you tomorrow morning. I hope you can survive until then.”

Creak!

The door was locked once again.

“Is that a curse, or was he wishing me luck?” Anderson whispered with a wry smile. “According to my experience, there probably wouldn’t be any accidents in the next two to three days.”

Inside the room, Klein returned to his desk.

On it was a letter that already had the introduction written, as well as an unfolded paper crane.

In regards to Anderson’s problem, Klein had already thought of a target to ask before he even agreed.

There was no doubt that to resolve the means of a Snake of Fate, questioning another Snake of Fate was the best solution!

He pondered over the space that was available after unfolding the paper crane and the questions he would like to ask before writing a draft in his mind. Finally, he raised his pencil and wrote:

“How should the bad luck curse from an Angel of Fate mural be removed?

“What’s the name of the Sequence 4 potion for the Seer pathway? Where can the formula and main ingredients be obtained?”

Putting down the pencil, Klein carefully scrutinized the questions before carefully folding the paper crane according to the folds and placing it in his wallet.

After doing all of this, he continued writing to Mr. Azik.

In the letter, Klein first mentioned that he received the help of Admiral of Stars in entering the dangerous easternmost front of the Sonia Sea; successfully completed the ritual; and, changing gears, he mentioned his encounter with Admiral Hell Ludwell’s inexplicable attack mid-journey and how he nearly suffered terrible losses.

While on this topic, he began describing the ring on Admiral Hell’s hand, which was suspected to be a relic from ancient Death. He asked very subtly if Mr. Azik had any recollection of it, or if he needed to obtain it to study it, so as to invoke more memories.

After mentioning this, Klein mentioned in a casual manner about the Artificial Death project by the Numinous Episcopate, as well as asking this big shot if it was feasible, or if there were any records that recorded the actual details.

Finally, he mentioned how he didn’t know the subsequent Sequences of his pathway, and he didn’t know how to obtain those opportunities. Klein began providing a description of the summary of things to take note of from traveling through those dangerous waters.

This was to provide Mr. Azik information so as to prevent him from suddenly wishing to seek out the remnant aura of ancient Death, without realizing the lurking dangers.

“… Rumor has it that those waters are filled with the ravings of the True Creator. The higher the Sequence, the clearer one will hear it, making it easier to be influenced and resulting in madness or a loss of control. This is demarcated by Sequence 4… But a small number of demigods have found the means to act freely there…” Klein wrote at the end of his letter.

After folding the paper, he picked up Azik’s copper whistle and summoned the huge skeleton messenger.

The messenger burrowed out from the ground and politely looked at Klein from a level height before opening his palm.

Not bad… Klein praised silently and handed the letter over.

Then, he brushed his teeth and took a bath before comfortably getting into bed.

After an unknown period of time, he found himself awake in a dream, and he saw the desolate plains and pitch-black steeple.

Familiarly walking into the depths of the steeple, Klein discovered Will Auceptin’s reply among the scattered tarot cards.

“Friendly reminder: The paper crane is about to tear!

“The bad luck curse brought about by the mural can be resolved by Ricciardo.

“High-Sequence formulas for the Seer pathway can only be obtained from the crazy Zaratul or the Hornacis mountain range. If you are the Blessed of the Evernight, treat it as though I didn’t say it.

“Sequence 4 of the Seer pathway is Arcane Sorcerer!”