Lord of Mysteries: Starting As A Reader

Xio had gone out early in the morning to buy a local Balam-style breakfast from a nearby restaurant. She seemed to be in a good mood, humming a tune as she made her way back to the rented inn.

However, the moment she stepped into her room, something felt off. Although this wasn't her "jurisdiction," her Arbiter pathway abilities, which granted extraordinary insight, allowed her to sense subtle irregularities.

"Who's there?" she asked warily.

Her words had just left her lips when Ebner emerged from the shadows. Recognizing him, Xio exhaled in relief.

After shutting the door and using her spirituality to seal the room, she cast him a sideways glance, expressing her annoyance at being startled. Then she asked, "How did you find out I was staying here?"

"You need to trust a detective's expertise. Some traces don't fade overnight," Ebner replied with a pause, before adding with a smile, "And as expected, basic stealth and shadow concealment aren't enough to completely evade an Arbiter's senses at close range."

"I'm already a Judge," Xio corrected him proudly, puffing out her chest. Then, reflecting on what she had sensed, she added, "Actually, I didn't notice your presence directly. I've just become familiar with this room after staying the night, so it wasn't hard to detect something unusual."

Ebner nodded thoughtfully, unsurprised by Xio's recent promotion. Given the dangers of her current mission, it made sense for her to boost her strength by advancing as soon as possible.

Seeing that Ebner had also brought breakfast, Xio placed it together with her own on the table. Picking up a piece of lamb rib coated with chili sauce, she took a bite and asked while chewing, "Why didn't you use Psychological Invisibility just now?"

"Psychological Invisibility can fool even Arbiter pathway demigods—I've confirmed this before. However, precisely because of the Arbiter pathway's sensory blind spots in this area, I suspect the military must have developed countermeasures specifically targeting psychological concealment.

"Instead, they're more likely to overlook something they consider their specialty," Ebner explained, biting into a piece of Balam-style flatbread. He avoided the meat, partly because Xio enjoyed it more and partly because he preferred lighter breakfasts.

When Ebner mentioned Psychological Invisibility fooling Arbiter demigods, he was naturally referring to Admiral Amelius Levitt, who had appeared in the fifth layer of the Dream Labyrinth Tower. At least under conditions where Amelius wasn't being particularly vigilant, and Ebner remained perfectly still, it had worked.

"Even so, you'll have to keep some distance," Xio said after some thought, setting down her lamb rib. "While my escort team doesn't have any overt demigods, I can't be sure there aren't hidden powerhouses following us.

"Also, I have a feeling Princess Vera isn't as simple as she seems. Don't underestimate her just because she's only Sequence 5."

"It's not surprising for a royal princess to carry powerful mystical items," Ebner replied reassuringly. He then pulled out a finely crafted silver card from his pocket and handed it to Xio. Smiling, he said, "That's why I came to find you—to give you this card. With it, I can use the Dream Labyrinth and my Bryan Reversal Descent technique to locate you from hundreds of kilometers away."

"Doctor Strange..." Xio examined the card and immediately recognized the figure depicted on it. Suddenly, everything made sense. "So the strange events in Gulain City over the past two days were your doing?"

"There were also people taking advantage of my name to scam and seduce others… I dealt with them last night," Ebner said, his tone growing colder.

When he first learned that imposters were exploiting his name in the Southern Continent, Ebner had been both amused and exasperated. He didn't mind those merely pretending to be him for flair; after all, the Nighthawks or Mandated Punishers would undoubtedly have a "chat" with such individuals eventually.

But those who used his identity to deceive and exploit others were intolerable. Not only did they tarnish Doctor Strange's reputation, but they crossed Ebner's moral boundaries. As a result, he had intentionally dragged those imposters into his dream world the previous night and "rewarded" them by overloading their minds with excessive knowledge.

Doctor Strange's help came through knowledge, and so did his retribution.

By now, the fraudsters were either insane or reduced to drooling fools.

Xio showed no sympathy for the scammers and instead clapped her hands in delight. She was, however, astonished by Ebner's ability to creatively use the Dream Labyrinth Tower's authority.

It's not just the Dream Labyrinth Tower's authority at play. It also involves the principles of the red star above the gray fog, the White Eye's added weight, the tacit approval of the God of Knowledge, and—of course—a bit of my own brilliance. That's what makes Doctor Strange's methods appear so enigmatic, even godlike.

As Ebner silently reveled in his cleverness, Xio picked up the newspaper he had brought and glanced at the front page headline. She exclaimed in surprise, "Lieutenant Colonel Hall defeats Intis Colonial Army...

"Miss Audrey's last name is 'Hall.' Could this lieutenant colonel be a member of the Earl of East Chester's family?"

This must be Alfred's crowning moment of glory, Ebner thought slyly. When he gets back to the Northern Continent, he'll probably lose to his sister's dog in a fight… While entertaining this amusing thought, he replied casually, "This lieutenant colonel is Miss Audrey's second brother, and like her, he's a Beyonder of the Arbiter pathway. He's probably a Sequence 7 'Interrogator' at the moment."

In the original story, Alfred had already advanced to "Disciplinary Paladin" by the time he returned to the Northern Continent, but that was over a year later. It was impossible for him to have reached that level now.

"You seem to know Miss Audrey's family quite well," Xio remarked, casting a sidelong glance at Ebner before picking up another lamb rib slathered in chili sauce and tearing into it with her teeth.

...

In a military camp on the outskirts of the Pas River Valley, a man in a crisp military uniform sat at his desk, writing a report. His golden hair was swept back at an angle, his azure eyes as clear as a lake beneath a sunny sky. Tall and well-proportioned, he exuded an unshakable air of authority with every movement, a natural charisma that made him seem commanding even without soldiers flanking him.

Just then, a dark-haired, brown-eyed man in his late twenties entered the tent, holding a newspaper in one hand. "Alfred, you're famous!" he exclaimed.

Alfred glanced up, shook his head regretfully, and said, "I'm afraid we'll soon have to leave the special operations unit."

"Why?" the dark-haired man asked curiously, stepping further into the tent.

"Because as long as I remain in this unit, it will lose its anonymity. The enemy will no longer overlook us, and many of our surprise tactics will become impossible to execute. For a special operations force, fame itself marks failure." Alfred put down his pen and sighed.

"Is that an insight you came up with?" the brown-eyed man asked, casting a glance at the resignation letter lying on Alfred's desk.

"No... It's a suggestion written to the military by a knight named Gawain. He has a deeper understanding of special operations than someone like me, who's merely a frontline commander. Truly a knight of remarkable experience. Haha, it's said that one of his apprentices had a lot of creative ideas, many of which proved highly effective in practice." Alfred spoke with genuine respect for the knight named Gawain.

"So there are still knights from the old era who haven't been completely outpaced," the dark-haired man said with a click of his tongue. "It seems their military theories still hold some value. But why didn't they recruit his apprentice into the army?"

"I heard that apprentice died in battle while defending his hometown… The enemy was some mysterious organization," Alfred replied with a hint of regret. "Otherwise, I'd have used all my connections to bring him under my command and nurture him."

"What a pity," the brown-eyed man lamented before changing the subject. "Alfred, I came here today with some good news."

"Don't keep me in suspense, Pagni," Alfred said, shooting his friend a glance.

The man named Pagni pulled an iron box from his pocket, grinning. "Your luck is amazing. Just after you earned your accolades, the 'Gondola's Golden Feather' you needed conveniently showed up.

"Haha, I bought this from a naval officer aboard the newly arrived Covenant battleship in Gulain. It cost me a full 3,500 pounds to get him to part with it."

Alfred's azure eyes reflected the golden glow of the feather inside the box. Suppressing his excitement, he said steadily, "Don't worry, you won't lose out. I'll pay 4,000 pounds and give you 500 as a broker's fee."

"Deal. Just wire it to my account at the Backlund Bank," Pagni said, handing over the box. "I trust the Hall family's reputation."

"The Hall family never disappoints," Alfred said solemnly as he accepted the box.

"Come on, don't be so serious—we're friends," Pagni said with a wave of his hand. Then, as if remembering something, he hesitated before adding, "By the way, regarding the demigod dragon bones you asked me to investigate, I've come across a lead, though I'm not sure how reliable it is.

"To be precise, a merchant caravan under my family's employ heard some rumors about it in both Feysac and Winter County…"

(End of Chapter)