Coincidence (Seeking Collection! Recommendation!)

In a remote shop in Nia City.

Bright sunlight spilled through the door and windows, illuminating dolls stacked in orderly layers on the wooden shelves.

Some possessed exaggerated red noses and clown decorations, others had blonde hair and blue eyes while wearing princess dresses, and some were simply various cute little animals.

Above the shop entrance, the sign for 'Doll House' was striking and eye-catching.

That's right, this was a doll shop!

Sulu sat behind the counter, his face full of boredom: "I never expected... that Galan would actually be a maker of handmade dolls!"

Although these puppets were exquisite and beautiful, the prices were not so lovely; the cheapest one cost at least one Silver Eagle, which often resulted in days passing without a single sale.

Because he hadn't hired a shop assistant to his satisfaction, Sulu was forced to take on the duties of a temporary manager, watching the shop here.

In reality, he was also using this contact point to wait for missions from the Goddess Church, which was the main source of income for the two brothers during this period.

Ever since that incident, Sulu had gone on several more missions with Rhode, and without constantly running into misfortune, they had resolved them quite smoothly.

As a result, he had gained not only a generous income but also rare practical combat experience.

"Facts have proven... in this current era, the outbreak of various extraordinary events is not particularly intense. Perhaps it is because we have just seen the dawn of a new day?"

Sulu speculated to himself.

In the past few days, the thing that left him most speechless was a guy who claimed to be a demon believer but actually relied on developing a cult to swindle people.

He was a complete fraud who put together a bunch of specious rituals, and there wasn't the slightest trace of extraordinary power involved.

Truth be told, the guy earned quite a lot, and even Sulu had been tempted.

During several missions, Sulu had become increasingly comfortable with the abilities of a [Medium], and could now be considered a qualified spiritualist.

"However, a Tier 1 extraordinary, whose own strength has not exceeded a certain boundary, has their own specialties. For example, a [Medium] is good at dealing with spirits but not good at fighting other extraordinaries... A [Witch Hunter] is strong in physique and resistance, and has a certain ability to craft magical items, though material limitations are restricted to demon-related ones, and the effects have time limits... According to Rhode, if he advances to a Tier 3 [Demon Hunting Expert], he can use demonic materials to craft magical items that last for a long time, and a Tier 4 [Demon Hunting Master] can even 'customize' them according to his own needs..."

Unfortunately, the other party was still a long way from Tier 3.

Sulu knew that the further one went in ranks, the more terrifyingly difficult the advancement became.

At this moment, apart from being a salted fish every day, he was busy scouting for news about Kira Gales and Beatrice.

Unfortunately, he had yet to gain anything.

Glancing at the shop door and confirming there were no customers, he opened a notebook with a black cover and an archaic design to begin his study of Demon Hunting Lore.

These were notes left behind by the ancestors of the Portley Family while hunting monsters, and they were very helpful for improving his knowledge in the field of occultism, especially regarding demonology.

At this moment, Sulu flipped to a new page:

"Cursed Spirit! A type of special spirit... They were either kind or evil during their lifetimes, but without exception, they were watched and cursed by special existences, or underwent a qualitative change in form due to some inexplicable influence!"

"Cursed Spirits do not wander the spirit realm, but instinctively yearn for the real world, killing according to certain patterns and spreading death and terror among humanity..."

"A true Cursed Spirit cannot be destroyed or banished. It is suspected to be related to the source of its influence. As long as the 'source' still exists, they are truly immortal and indestructible, bringing disaster to the world..."

The content of this notebook came from one of the ancestors of the body Sulu currently inhabited.

That person had become a detective during the Twilight of the Gods, secretly investigating the tracks of dark creatures, and this was left behind after he experienced a Cursed Spirit attack with an extremely high mortality rate.

"Take note! Even if a Cursed Spirit is destroyed, it will definitely be reborn... It can only be restricted by various means, but it cannot be completely erased! I suspect there is the influence of a high-level existence involved... such as a demon!"

At the end, there were forceful annotations from this ancestor, the last few letters exceptionally scrawled, tearing through the paper.

"Cursed Spirit? Isn't that just a vengeful ghost and a curse?"

Sulu smiled, flipped to the next page, and found that the handwriting had changed to someone else's: "Hamish is dead after all! He committed suicide by hanging with a belt, exactly the same as the deceased in the curse he had experienced back then. He thought he had escaped the doom of death, never expecting that the other party was just thirteen years late!"

This line of handwriting was neat and meticulous, yet it brought a cold chill that spread from Sulu's heart.

It was not just the terror of vengeful ghosts and curses, but also the despair and madness of these ancestors of the Portley Family that seemed to emerge from this notebook, which was on the verge of falling apart.

He glanced at the attribute panel and found that [Demon Hunting Lore] had actually been upgraded to LV4!

"The entire heritage of the Portley Family—if one does not join the Witch Hunter system, LV4 should be the limit for Demon Hunting Lore... because I have finished reading all the notes. Now, in terms of understanding demons, I might even be better than Rhode..."

Sulu thought to himself, feeling quite interested in the Cursed Spirit mentioned in the notes.

As a [Medium], dealing with various spirits was a professional instinct.

Of course, this kind of strange and terrifying Cursed Spirit was a bit scary, so it would be best to conduct research while maintaining his own safety.

Clack! Clack!

Hearing two sets of footsteps entering from outside, Sulu put the book away and had just put on a professional smile when his expression suddenly froze.

The two who entered were both his acquaintances, but he never expected to reunite under these circumstances!

"Sulu, I found a pretty good employee. He understands text, knows how to calculate, and can make reports... He's much smarter than the previous ones. Eh?"

Rhode brought someone in and saw Sulu with his mouth wide open, staring at the person he had brought along.

"Sulu!"

The person who came in was not much to look at, but he excitedly stepped forward and punched Sulu: "I thought... I thought you went traveling during this time before starting your job!"

"Sean, I'm very happy to see you again!"

Sulu's mouth twitched as he forced a smile and looked at Rhode: "What's going on?"

Since when had university students been reduced to working in doll shops? This wasn't the era from his past life where university students were more common than stray dogs.

"So, you two know each other?"

Rhode's stiff face remained expressionless: "This guy came knocking on my door himself. I interviewed him at a cafe, thought he was decent, and brought him along."

"And what about you?" Sulu looked at Sean.

In the current White Eagle Federation, a university degree was quite valuable; at the very least, one could find a job as an ordinary clerk at a large company. How had he ended up in such a state?

"Oh... that was truly a stroke of bad luck!"

When asked about it, Sean looked as if he were about to burst into tears: "I went to over a dozen interviews and finally managed to get into a trans-oceanic trading company, but it went bankrupt in less than a few days... Of course, it's not like there weren't other job opportunities, but I felt I was better suited for school. I'm planning to continue my studies, which requires an entrance exam. I needed a stable environment to study and a salary to support myself... and then, I saw the job advertisement your brother posted in the newspaper."