Lord of Mysteries: Starting As A Reader

Vice Admiral Iceberg put down the dry ration in her hand and took out the small mirror she carried with her. After a long moment, she finally said,

"We are destined to encounter the Finks Lion."

Ma'am, do you realize that your way of speaking is starting to sound increasingly like a charlatan's? Ebner silently complained to himself, but on the surface, he appeared thoughtful as he asked,

"Does this mean someone is 'arranging' things again?"

Given the interception of the "King of Immortality" fleet not long ago, his question subtly hinted at whether the God of Knowledge and Wisdom was behind this.

"I don't know." Edwina shook her head, but her expression turned pensive. She deliberated for a moment before saying,

"However, the name 'Daniel Valley' reminds me of someone."

"Who?" Ebner asked curiously.

"The founder of Lenburg University's current academic system, the pioneer of the impact factor system for academic journals, and a master of magical pharmaceutics—Mr. Daniel," Edwina explained, her face showing a trace of reverence.

"This... why have I never heard of his accomplishments?" Ebner pondered for a moment and confirmed that he had no impression of this person—neither from the original story nor from his understanding of this world after transmigrating.

Logically speaking, someone who made such contributions shouldn't be so obscure.

"According to the records I found in the 'Tower of Wisdom,' that master wasn't someone who sought fame. He seemed to 'temper' his desire for recognition, acting very discreetly. Many of his creations were published under other people's names. The only exception was a specific essential oil he named after himself, but most people didn't associate 'Daniel' with his name. They simply assumed it was the Hermesian word for 'care for one's loved ones,'" Edwina briefly introduced what she knew about Daniel.

"Daniel's essential oil?" Ebner mulled it over and finally recalled hearing about an item related to that name.

"Yes, that was indeed one of his works. It's said that rituals dedicated to the Earth Mother or the Evernight Goddess achieve better results when using this particularly fragrant essential oil as a sacrificial offering, especially the former. However, as a follower of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, I've never personally tested this, so I can't verify its efficacy," Edwina said with a slight nod.

Hearing her description, Ebner suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. After thinking for a moment, he tentatively asked,

"Do you know the formula for Daniel's essential oil?"

All this time, whenever he conducted rituals, he either directed them toward the "Unknown Land" associated with himself, the Fool, or the omnipotent God of Knowledge and Wisdom. Aside from crafting "Holy Night Powder" on the first day of his transmigration, he'd never sought the blessings of the Evernight Goddess or Lilith. Thus, while he'd heard of Daniel's essential oil, he'd never deliberately looked into it.

Edwina nodded lightly and replied,

"I do."

Raising her right hand, she smoothed out a section of the dirt wall beside her with an earth-element spell, creating a makeshift "blackboard," and began explaining earnestly.

Since they had some time to spare, Ebner didn't interrupt her habitual "role-playing" and instead adopted a posture of attentively listening to a lecture.

However, his expression quickly turned peculiar as Edwina detailed the formula. It turned out that this so-called "Daniel's essential oil" was essentially a more advanced version of the "Silica Joy Water" he had once concocted based on a formula from the Book of the Dead.

The ingredients were more luxurious, and the preparation methods more intricate, but the underlying principles and approach were identical...

Based on existing information, Jane's ancestor—the Death Consul—likely began "sleeping" in Calderon City around the end of the Fourth Epoch or the beginning of the Fifth Epoch. The Book of the Dead must have been written before that...

Could it be... this so-called Master Daniel was merely a "plagiarist" who happened to acquire the Book of the Dead? Is that why he kept such a low profile?

But his other talents were undeniably impressive—his forward-thinking ideas in various fields were remarkable. Wait, could he have been a transmigrator too? A more modest one compared to Roselle? But then why name the essential oil after himself specifically?

The Book of the Dead had supposedly remained within the Grant family since the days of "Baron Conva," passed down until it was taken into the Death Consul's tomb by a descendant, and later retrieved by Jane.

Unless this Daniel was also a member of the Grant family, he would have had no chance to see it... Could it really be a coincidence that his ideas overlapped with those of the Death Consul?

Thinking this, Ebner asked Vice Admiral Iceberg, "What was this master's surname?"

"Master Daniel's origins are mysterious—he appeared suddenly and vanished just as suddenly. Even the 'Tower of Wisdom' has no record of his surname, nor does it know where he ultimately went. However, after reading the Glimpses of the Spirit World you brought me last time, I suspect he might have been an avatar of one of the Seven Lights of the Spirit World, perhaps even one of the rulers of the Pure Light Brotherhood." Edwina pondered for a moment, then casually erased the "essential oil formula" from the makeshift blackboard and began sketching diagrams and symbols as she spoke.

That is possible... Aside from transmigrators, the Seven Lights do often engage in guiding humanity's development... But that doesn't explain why he was so low-profile in everything else yet insisted on attaching his name to an essential oil...

This question seemed destined to remain unanswered for now, so Ebner set it aside and redirected the conversation to the initial topic. "Why did the name of that valley remind you of this master? Isn't 'Daniel' a fairly common name in Hermes?"

"The common language of the Southern Continent is Dutanese, the tongue of the former Balam Empire. Most place names here are derived from that language... Besides, after Maria told me about the Finks Lion's location, I researched that area. Once I connected the dots, I realized its naming origin aligns with Master Daniel's era," Edwina explained while writing examples of Southern Continent place names on the "blackboard."

"I see... Maybe his sudden disappearance was because he somehow crossed the yet-to-be-navigable Storm Sea and made his way to the Southern Continent..." Ebner's face showed an expression of realization, and he muttered thoughtfully.

"I suspect he originally came from the Southern Continent. His methods of crafting potions, his deliberate 'temperance' in his actions... all bear traces of the Rose School's Temperance Faction. And you mentioned that the military's transport team for a certain item has been repeatedly ambushed by the Rose School. The Seven Lights might have already mastered a way to cross the Storm Sea by then..." At this moment, Edwina fully displayed her logical and analytical abilities as a Beyonder of the Reader pathway.

The Rose School... the military... Wait, I remember the military went as far as to offend the Church of the Storms to forcibly seize "1-025." Even Xio had to return that Wind-blessed Marionette to smooth things over...

And "1-025" is essentially the characteristic of a Sequence 3 "Disciple of Silence"!

Could it be that the item the military is transporting to the Southern Continent with such effort is "1-025"?

Does it have some connection to Daniel? Or could it even be Daniel's legacy?

And is the military trying to use it to locate other relics left behind by Daniel?

With such an extravagant operation... what could it possibly be?

...

At the edge of Daniel Valley, Jane wandered through the rain, scouting the area. Aside from finding traces of human activity, she discovered nothing else.

"Although the Queen called this place Daniel Lake... it really has turned into a valley..."

"The Queen wants me to find the lair of an extraordinary creature called the Finks Lion here. According to her, that lion was deliberately released into the wild here by Emperor Roselle... And she wants me to retrieve a 'card' that might exist in its lair...

"But there's no sign of a lion here at all... let alone a lair. Could it have been hunted by others active in this area?"

Muttering to herself, Jane raised her head to look at the thick layer of clouds above. She frowned slightly, her thoughts silent as she observed the intensifying downpour.

"This rain... it seems to be getting heavier!"

(End of Chapter)