Prelude (First Update)

Abner had expected his teacher's surprise, but he had no good excuse, so he could only offer a brief explanation. "I loved reading even before becoming a Beyonder. It's very helpful for digesting Potions."

Upon hearing the word "digesting," Detective Isengard Stanton gave Abner a long, meaningful look. "So you had mastered the Acting Method from the very beginning!" Bound by the Knowledge Church's oath, he could not proactively mention the Acting Method to others, but if the other party already knew about it, there was no problem.

Once Beyonders of the Churches of the True Gods learned of the Acting Method, they would be required to swear before a Sacred Relic that they would not spread it.

Abner knew this, so he did not mind that his teacher had known the Acting Method yet never taught it to him.

Seeing that his student remained calm, Detective Isengard sighed. "It seems you know even more than I imagined... Whether you figured it out yourself or learned it through other channels, it's ultimately a good thing... Your future is much brighter than mine. Back then, I spent more than ten years languishing at the Detective Sequence without fully digesting it. It was only after I forcibly advanced to Keeper of Knowledge that I inferred the Acting Method from experience."

No wonder that despite knowing the Acting Method, you're still only Sequence 7, Teacher. It wasn't just because you lacked the Sequence 6 formula...

Abner came to a realization, but he did not want to dwell on the matter any further. After all, he would inevitably have to lie that way! He did not want to deceive his teacher.

"Teacher, you seemed quite happy when you came back just now. Did something good happen?" Abner tried to change the subject.

Detective Isengard came back to his senses. He was also unwilling to probe into his student's secrets, so he revealed a familiar smile. "The Mandated Punishers Squad still failed to keep the Rose School members even after using a Sacred Relic! They've truly disgraced themselves this time..."

Though the Knowledge Church and the Church of Storms were at odds, wasn't this gloating a little excessive? Abner could not help grumbling inwardly. Because of the original novel, he actually held the official Beyonder squads in great respect.

After all, they were pitiful people, and they were Guardians!

However, he soon learned something from his teacher's account: the place where that battle had occurred seemed to be not far from the public library he often visited. It was also not far from Jane's family clothing store.

"But why didn't I notice that encirclement?" Abner thought, and then asked aloud.

"That's because the Church of Storms used a special Grade 2 Sealed Artifact. I don't know its exact name, but it can pull Beyonders within a certain range into a strange enclosed space," Detective Isengard explained.

There was such a Sealed Artifact? I wonder which Pathway it belongs to... Abner pondered silently.

Late at night, Mr. Grant, who had rarely gone out to collect corpses that evening, suddenly woke with a start. He immediately sat up and looked around. With the natural Spirit Vision granted by his Corpse Collector Potion, every spirit in the shop was clearly visible to him.

Yet he found nothing. Confused, he could only light the gas lamp and shine it outside the window. Everything outside was silent, with only crimson moonlight falling over the ground like a thin veil.

At that moment, his wife, Mrs. Grant, woke up. Seeing her husband standing before the window, drenched in sweat, she could not help asking, "Darling, what happened?"

Hearing his wife's question, Mr. Grant was still puzzled, but he forced a smile and replied, "Nothing... I just had a nightmare..."

Inside the clothing store's warehouse, a figure dressed in a black tailcoat and a dark red cape slowly took shape in the air. He was a middle-aged man in his forties, his hair neatly slicked back without a strand out of place. His black eyes held a hint of green, devoid of any emotion.

The moment he appeared, he quietly rebuked a lean but muscular man hiding in the warehouse. "Tyr, restrain your malice! The master of this house is a Beyonder, and his intuition is very sharp!"

"Lord Steve, I really can't hold back much longer! And why should I?" Tyr scratched at his spiky upright hair and said in a hoarse voice, "I want to tear this family's bodies apart and listen to their wails! If I keep holding it in, I'll lose control!"

Steve the Wraith ignored him and vanished directly from the warehouse. Jason the Zombie, who was also hiding nearby, tossed Tyr a section of a human torso and advised, "Our prey hasn't taken the bait yet. It isn't suitable to kill people here at random. Tomorrow night, or the night after at the latest, I'll let you lay hands on the two women in this household. For now, make do with this. I killed it just the day before yesterday."

"Not fresh at all..." Tyr muttered as he accepted it.

The next morning, since it was Wednesday, Abner met Xio as usual at the underground shooting range of the Cherwood Borough police station. However, the person receiving them this time was no longer the sharp-tongued second-generation police officer Aitris, but an elderly policeman named Brier.

"Where did Aitris go? Is she on leave?" Abner asked curiously.

Old Officer Brier glanced at Abner and said in an exaggerated tone, "You don't know? That bastard Aitris ran away from home!" It was obvious that the old policeman did not like Aitris at all. He probably wished he could publicize every one of her outrageous deeds.

"Ran away from home?" Abner had not expected such an answer, and hurriedly asked, "What happened?"

"Aitris left a letter for the chief, saying she was going to pursue her dream! Heh, that brat really doesn't know what's good for her. The chief had already secured her a promotion to inspector, but now someone else gets to benefit from it..." Officer Brier said with some glee.

Aitris's dream... If I remember correctly, it was to become an adventurer? Was she inspired by Miss Anne Gwen's initiative in that missing-person case? She did seem rather lost at the time...

Abner fell silent for a moment and did not continue the topic, merely praying in secret for his troublesome friend. This made the old policeman, who had wanted to say more, feel quite stifled.

After they reached the shooting range and Officer Brier had left, Xio frowned and said seriously, "No matter what, he shouldn't mock someone with a dream." She also had a dream: one day, she wanted to clear her father's name and redress his injustice.

"Exactly! While you're young, you should pursue your dreams! Besides, Aitris really isn't suited to being a police officer..." Abner nodded in agreement. Then he wondered what his own dream was. Helping Klein become a Pillar? Resolving the Apocalypse crisis so he could live longer? Or... going home?

Abner sighed, stopped letting his thoughts run wild, and focused on that day's training.

Then...

Miss Xio was stunned! She could not believe that Abner, whose shooting and swordsmanship had both been merely beginner-level last Saturday, now faintly possessed the bearing of a Master! If his physique had not remained unchanged, she might not have been able to defeat him.

Even so, Xio won their sparring match only with great difficulty.

"How did you suddenly become so skilled?" Xio panted several times before asking in confusion.

"Because I advanced to Sequence 8." Abner smiled.

Xio neither knew when he had become a Beyonder nor which Sequence Pathway he belonged to, so she was not particularly shocked. She even seemed somewhat enlightened. "I see. Congratulations!"

As she spoke, she took a book from her bag and handed it to Abner. "This is an advance copy of Fors's Stormy Manor. It happens to be a congratulatory gift for your advancement!"

Abner took it and casually flipped through it before smiling. "It's finally been published? How are the sales?" Though he knew that the book had become famous in the original novel, and even Mr. Fool had read it, it was now a product of Xio's relentless urging for updates...

"The response has been excellent! Fors has really become a famous Author this time. Many literary salons have invited her as a guest." Xio boasted about Fors with considerable pride.

Well, Miss Xio did contribute to this book being released so early! Abner mocked inwardly, but outwardly suggested, "What comes next will depend on Fors's Acting ability. At salon gatherings, she should casually reveal a little Beyonder ability before certain targets..."

However, Xio merely pursed her lips. After a long while, she said, "Abner, you're thinking too far ahead... Fors still stays at home every day, saying she needs rest. She hasn't accepted a single invitation to a literary salon yet."

"This... It's good to set the tone high. That might instead earn the attention of later salons attended by nobles." Abner racked his brains to make an excuse for the slacker.

Xio stared blankly for a moment before saying helplessly, "Fors will like the excuse you found for her!"

That afternoon, Abner had just returned to his teacher's residence when Detective Isengard called him over. Pointing at a stack of documents on the table, he said, "Since you've already become a Detective, come help me organize the connections and clues in these trivial cases! It will benefit your Acting. Hmm, two or three hours a day will do. Spend the rest of your time reading and studying."

"Are these all commissions you accepted?" There are that many? How much money would that make?!

"Of course not! Where would so many commissions come from? But even if they aren't commissions, should we ignore strange matters that appear before us instead of getting to the bottom of them? Besides, Emperor Roselle once said that preparedness averts peril. When a client comes to us with a matter we have already investigated, we can present the charm of deduction to our employer with greater composure and elegance!" Detective Isengard said as though it were only natural.

Abner opened his mouth, but in the end could only sigh.

"Reader Pathway Beyonders truly are a group who love showing off and putting on displays of holiness!"

At ten that night, Maric, dressed in a white shirt and black vest, left Bravehearts Bar through the back alley with his Zombie.