Help (First Update)

"The Saint Wind Cathedral is not far from the subway station. Let's go there!" Xio had barely recovered from her earlier emotional Loss of Control and spoke to Abner as they ran.

Abner nodded at her words. Though neither of them was a believer of the Lord of Storms, that Tyrant was clearly a greater threat to evildoers. With the enemy hidden and themselves exposed, running to a cathedral was the best possible choice. As for why the railway from the East Borough to Saint George Borough passed by the Saint Wind Cathedral in Cherwood Borough? It was common knowledge that the subway looped around the city!

The two ran all the way. Though the other people on the platform found it somewhat strange, they did not think much of it, assuming they had some urgent matter to attend to. Only near the duty room, a man in a baseball cap crouched halfway to the ground with one hand clutching his head, staring viciously at Xio's retreating figure. He seemed to be in great pain, beads of sweat the size of beans constantly dripping from his cheeks. Beside his hand lay a badge split by a large crack. Yet strangely, no one around him noticed anything unusual about him.

This subway station was less than a hundred meters from Holy Wind Church. The moment they left the station, Abner saw the headquarters of the Church of Storms from over a thousand years ago. They quickly reached the cathedral's outer wall and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Once they were here, unless the Beyonder who had ambushed Xio had lost his mind, he would not strike again. After all, launching an attack here meant that even if he succeeded, he would have to consider whether the Tyrant might turn him to ash with a bolt of lightning.

Abner and Xio did not enter the cathedral. After all, they were not believers of the Lord of Storms and were merely "wild" Beyonders. If they exposed themselves, the Mandated Punishers might very well arrest them.

The two leaned against the church wall and rested for a while before Xio finally said, "Thank you, Abner. Without your help, I probably would have lost control and become a Monster while drowning in those inexplicable emotions..." After what had happened, she felt more gratitude and trust toward Abner.

Abner waved it off, indicating that she need not mind it, then asked, "Xio, who exactly did you offend? How did you end up cursed?"

"Sorry for dragging you into this!" Xio first lowered her head in apology before answering as she recalled the events. "After listening to your analysis that day, I kept investigating the consultant named Sick. After questioning many of Rosen's former subordinates, I discovered that the man really was suspicious. Not only was he very skilled at persuading others and eliminating dissidents, he also kept encouraging Rosen to issue usurious loans through trap-filled contracts, ruining many families... On top of that, he had connections with quite a few slave traders and was keen on abducting the family members of bankrupt households..."

"From the sound of it, Sick doesn't seem like a Swindler. He sounds more like an Instigator of the Demoness Pathway. After all, one has to personally carry out fraud to Act it; committing fraud through others probably isn't part of the Acting principles... Still, he has ties to slave traders. Perhaps the mother of this body was also taken away by someone he hired... Wait!" Abner had been pinching his chin in thought when his pupils suddenly contracted. It was as though lightning had flashed through his mind, connecting the novel's plot with the situation before him and making him understand many things at once!

If Sick really is an Instigator, then he should belong to the Demoness Sect. And in the novel, the Demoness Sect cooperated with the Loen Royal Family, constantly trafficking people to provide sacrifices for that emperor who wanted to become a god... Could this also be part of George III's arrangements to become the Black Emperor? In the original story, Klein exposed the slave trader Capim, but how could such a grand scheme of godhood have only one subordinate handling it? Hmm, a minor gang that lends money at usurious rates couldn't possibly have been arranged by the upper ranks personally. It was probably just something an outer organization did on the side...

Having figured this out, Abner's expression turned somewhat grim. The matter involved forces far beyond what a mere Sequence 9 like him could interfere with. The only good news was that Sick was most likely just a peripheral nobody as well, unlikely to draw the attention of any truly formidable figures.

"Did you think of something?" Seeing Abner's changing expression, Xio asked worriedly.

Abner looked at Xio. In the original story, she had failed in this case, severely injuring Rosen and ending up in Prison. Now it seemed likely that a Beyonder had interfered with her; otherwise, this young lady would not have dealt such a heavy blow to an ordinary person. And now, because of his earlier warning, Xio had uncovered deeper secrets, which had drawn the other party's curse.

In a sense, it was my meddling that put her in danger... Thinking this, Abner felt slightly guilty. He hesitated, unsure whether he should tell her some of the truth. Strictly speaking, she was one of the victims of George III's attempt to become a god. But he quickly decided to conceal it for now. The reason was simple: he had no way to explain his source of information, and claiming it was merely deduction would sound far too fake.

"I think Sick may be an Instigator, rather than the Swindler I previously suspected... He may be from the Demoness Sect or the Gnosis Society." After carefully revealing a little information, Abner changed the subject. "But that isn't the key issue right now. The key is how to deal with the cursed demonic patterns on your body! If we don't Purify them, that attacker will sooner or later use them to make you lose control again!"

Xio frowned at that and asked, "You helped me deal with the curse's outbreak just now... Abner, did you figure out what type of curse it was? And what was with your white pupils?"

"That was because I used a mystical item." Abner first gave a vague excuse before analyzing, "A curse that makes someone lose control through emotions most likely comes from the Abyss Pathway, and it should be a Sealed Artifact!"

He had actually figured it out while they were on the way. The reason the Pure White Eye had helped Xio recover was not because it possessed the ability to actively break curses. Rather, when Xio looked at him, the spellcaster had tried to spread the curse to him through her line of sight. The result was that he tragically suffered suppression from the Pure White Eye's higher status. The curse power spreading toward Abner had not only been instantly extinguished, it had likely backlashed through the connection! That was why they had not suffered any further attacks in the subway station.

As for why he judged it to be the effect of a Sealed Artifact rather than a Beyonder of the Abyss Pathway, it was because Lower Sequence spellcasting could not be conducted from too far away. If that person had personally suffered such a backlash from a higher existence, he would have either died or lost control on the spot. Yet there had been no abnormalities on the subway platform or in the carriages at the time, meaning there had to be another layer between them. He had merely suffered backlash through the Sealed Artifact. Even so, he could not have had an easy time of it.

As for the possibility that the attacker was a mid- or High Sequence Beyonder, Abner did not even consider it. If such a powerful figure wanted to deal with two Sequence 9s like them, why would he go through so much trouble? They probably would not even know they had been attacked before they died.

"The Abyss Pathway?" Xio felt that her knowledge was truly woefully lacking.

"It's what people commonly call the Devil Sequence. They are best at manipulating emotions and tempting people into becoming Fallen." Abner gave her a brief explanation.

Xio nodded and did not ask how Abner had determined that it was a Sealed Artifact. She only asked awkwardly, "Then how can it be completely removed?"

If the Fool were here now, you would only need to pray to him, and he could use a Paper Angel to solve it for you... Unfortunately, the Fool won't arrive for another month. For now, we can only find a Beyonder or an item from the Sun Pathway and see if they can help.

While letting his thoughts wander, Abner combined his knowledge from the novel with the demonic patterns he had just seen and offered a suggestion. "This shouldn't be a particularly high-level curse. We only need to find someone to perform an Exorcism ritual."

"Exorcism... Can you do it?" Xio blinked and asked.

How would a newbie who only transmigrated here four days ago know how to do that? Even as he complained inwardly, Abner kept a calm expression and asked in return, "Is there no one in the Beyonder circles you know?" For example, that person who would later show Klein such kindness.

"But there won't be any Beyonder gatherings for another week or two..." Xio lowered her head dejectedly. With her experience, she had also guessed that the curser had suffered backlash and probably would not attack again for a short while. But that short while might only be a day or two, certainly not one or two weeks.

Considering that his own "meddling" had led her into this predicament, Abner wanted to help her once more. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I know someone who has a mystical item that might be able to help you, but I can't guarantee that I can contact him. I can only go and try."

"Thank you, Abner! This wasn't your responsibility to begin with..." Xio regained some of her spirits upon hearing that, feeling even more grateful toward Abner.

"No need to be so polite. Let's go!" After saying that, Abner hailed a horse-drawn taxi on the street and instructed the driver to head for Iron Gate Street in the Bridge Borough.

Sitting in the carriage, Xio looked at Abner beside her and asked hesitantly, "Weren't you going to Riverside Street's shooting club to practice today?"

"I can't go today. I'll have to wait until tomorrow. I hope Mr. Dave forgives me." Abner answered with a bitter smile.

Xio carefully chose her words. "Actually, if you want to practice shooting, you don't need to spend money there. I know a place that's secluded and free, and my marksmanship is quite good, so I can serve as your instructor too. Of course, I can provide the practice ammunition as well." She felt that she owed him a favor and wanted to make up for it.

Abner's eyes lit up. He found Xio's suggestion very convincing, then glanced at the knight's training outfit she wore and suddenly had a new idea. "Then, Xio, how good are you at hand-to-hand combat?"

Not understanding why he asked, Xio answered, "I received complete knight training from childhood!"

"Then how about this? I'll hire you as my firearms and combat instructor, and we'll use the intelligence fee and deduction fee you owed me before as payment. What do you think?" Abner said shamelessly.

"Then it's settled!" Xio instead breathed a sigh of relief. She disliked owing others, so being able to repay him this way was for the best.

As they spoke, the carriage had already arrived at Iron Gate Street. Abner led Xio into Bravehearts Bar and, familiar with the place, quickly found Kaspars.

Kaspars gave Abner and Xio a strange look and asked, "Why are you back so soon? What is it this time?"

"I'd like you to pass a message to the old gentleman who organizes the gatherings. Tell him that I've completed the study assignment he gave me, and that I'd like to ask him to bring the Sun Brooch and help with something! The payment will be a piece of secret knowledge regarding the Fourth Epoch. Hmm, preferably tonight!"

The name needs to be changed for signing, so this story's title has been changed to "Lord of Mysteries: Starting as a Reader." Please take note.

Also, the second update will be at midnight.

(End of Chapter)