Getting Acquainted

Dawnlight shone, Crimson faded, and Abner looked at the golden light streaming through the window into the room. He pounded his somewhat stiff shoulders and sat up.

He was in a fairly good mood. Although repeatedly opening the Pure White Eye had left him somewhat mentally exhausted, after a night of hard work—unconsciousness—he had finally fully analyzed the formula for the Reader Potion.

"Reader, Sequence 9

Main ingredients: one pair of Garrol Fish Pupils, 15g of Manhass Monkey brain slices

Supplementary ingredients: 80ml of pure water, 10g of Ball Grass powder, one petal of Pure White Elf Flower, 10 drops of Calamus juice

Garrol Fish probably weren't a rare species. Even the original owner, an ordinary person, had heard of them, though he had never seen one. Their pupils shouldn't be difficult to obtain in Beyonder circles... As for Manhass Monkeys, they seemed to be monsters from horror stories in the inherited memories. But since the Pure White Eye had analyzed them, that meant such monsters truly existed... Hmm, I'll ask around in Beyonder circles later.

As for where to find Beyonder circles, Abner had long since made plans. Ever since recalling the detailed Potion formulas recorded in the Lord of Mysteries novel, he had been considering how to sell a few of them to improve his quality of life and raise funds to buy ingredients.

According to the information recorded in the Lord of Mysteries novel, there were two relatively safe Beyonder gatherings during this period. One was the intelligence and material exchange meeting often attended by Xio and Fors, hosted by Mr. A of the Aurora Order; the other was the Beyonder trading gathering organized by old Mr. Eye of Wisdom, which the original protagonist Klein had come into contact with.

Of the two gathering circles, Abner was more inclined toward the latter. First, as the organizer, old Mr. Eye of Wisdom's true identity was the famous great detective Isengard Stanton. He had ties to the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom and could be considered half an official in the Loen Kingdom. His character was also decent, making him far more reliable than the Aurora Order's Oracles, who could go mad at any moment. Second, the Lord of Mysteries novel had recorded in detail the location and method of obtaining the time for Eye of Wisdom's gatherings, making it much easier to find than the Aurora Order's trading meeting, which had only been mentioned in passing. Finally, the Aurora Order stood behind an evil god who enjoyed stirring up trouble. Abner, who possessed a cheat, was actually rather uneasy about it. He did not want to expose his Secret to the True Creator too early.

"Hmm, it's nearly eight already. I'll go buy a copy of the Backlund Morning News first and see whether that gathering is being held soon. If not, I'm afraid I'll have to find work and earn some money first. There's only 1 pound and 5 soli left in my pocket. Forget buying ingredients—before long, even food might become a problem." Reining in his thoughts, Abner packed away the ritual materials, washed up briefly, and left the house.

Then, he bought a copy of the Backlund Morning News from a newsboy on the street and flipped directly to the fifth page, where he saw an advertisement. An advertisement from the Ernst Trading Company purchasing goods! This was the code used by Eye of Wisdom to announce gatherings in the novel!

"What a coincidence. Hmm, let me take a closer look... The quoted prices are 8 pence per liter of flour, 1 soli per pound of butter, 7 pence per pound of lard, 1 soli 3 pence per pound of cream, 8 soli per pound of Marquis black tea... In other words, there's a Beyonder gathering at eight tomorrow evening. The Door Opening code is eight heavy knocks followed by one light knock, with intervals of seven long and one short, in that order... The later 3 and 8 have no meaning..."

Using the interpretation method personally described by Eye of Wisdom in the novel, Abner sorted out the message. His heart immediately leaped with excitement, and he felt that his luck was truly quite good. At the very least, he would not have to find work.

In high spirits, he returned to the restaurant where he had eaten breakfast yesterday. The moment he pushed open the door, however, he froze. A conflict was erupting inside the restaurant.

Calling it a conflict was not entirely accurate. What met Abner's eyes was a girl with messy hair, only one and a half meters tall, facing three burly men over one point eight meters tall. Yet surprisingly, those three men were already lying on the ground with bruised and swollen faces, while the girl calmly gripped one of them by the collar and demanded, "Who sent you to capture me?"

Though she was not tall, the Majesty radiating from her was extraordinarily intense. Even the restaurant waiters standing some distance away could not help but retreat several steps. Unexpectedly, although the burly man being interrogated was drenched in sweat, he endured that Majesty and revealed nothing.

Abner was quite surprised by this sight. These people were clearly ordinary people; otherwise, they would not have lost to Miss Judgment, who had only just advanced to Sequence 9... Then how had they resisted a Beyonder Ability?

Though somewhat curious, Abner clearly had no intention of investigating further. He could only be considered half a Beyonder now and did not think he had the ability to involve himself in this kind of matter.

"Still, I've run into Xio here two days in a row. That counts as fate. Should I strike up a conversation and get acquainted later?" Abner thought.

Xio also noticed Abner entering the restaurant at this time. Though somewhat wary of him, she still devoted most of her attention to interrogating the three gang members. The failure of her ability had certainly surprised her, but her rich experience allowed her to immediately change her method of questioning to a "physical" one!

Amid the three men's repeated screams, they finally could no longer resist Xio's Majesty and began to confess. It turned out that the three had been hired by Sick, the adviser of Two-Faced Man Rosen.

This adviser named Sick had joined Two-Faced Man Rosen around seven or eight months ago and had won Rosen's deep trust, allowing him to mobilize more than half of Rosen's thugs! When he heard that someone had been asking about the badge last night, he immediately sent people to investigate. Who would have thought that after seeing Xio was merely a little girl, these three had actually decided on their own to capture her and bring her back?

They were not speaking loudly, but Abner, whose powers of observation surpassed those of ordinary people, heard them clearly. His brows instantly furrowed as he instinctively began to analyze and deduce, A badge? Could it be the Beyonder item Xio found? Used for contract fraud? If these three are telling the truth, the key figure in this case doesn't seem to be Rosen. It's more likely Sick! This man is probably a Beyonder! Then the question is, why would a Beyonder serve as an adviser under a minor gang leader? One possibility is that Rosen is an even more powerful Beyonder who made him submit, but that doesn't fit the facts. The other possibility is that Sick is Acting! And to Act as such a role, could he be a Sequence 8 Swindler of the Error Pathway? He deceives ordinary people, deceives his partners, and may even be misleading potential investigators! Hiss, thinking about it this way, even his claim that he sent people because of the badge may not be true... Hmm, I'd better remind Xio. It can serve as an opening to talk to her.

Although these were merely Abner's speculations and lacked any obvious evidence, even if his reasoning was wrong, it could still give Xio a warning and reduce some danger. In the original work, she might have only gone to Prison because of this case, but now she might not necessarily emerge completely unscathed. This girl could be rather reckless at times.

Meanwhile, after finishing her interrogation of the gang members, Xio instructed the waiter to call the police from the street and handed the three over to the authorities. As the victim of the attack and a woman, she only underwent a brief questioning before being cleared, watching as the police escorted the three men away.

Just as she was preparing to leave the restaurant, she suddenly saw Abner walking straight toward her. He smiled slightly and said, "Miss Arbiter, may I have the honor of buying you a cup of coffee?"

It was clearly the first time Xio had been approached like this, and she could not help but blank out for a moment. She muttered inwardly about why her Majesty had repeatedly failed today, but outwardly she asked warily, "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"Who I am isn't important, but I have some thoughts and deductions about what just happened. They may be of help to you." Abner spoke directly. There was no need to beat around the bush with someone like Miss Xio.

Xio was somewhat surprised by this. After hesitating for a moment, she nodded and sat back down at a table. Abner naturally took the seat opposite her and, under the waiter's reluctant gaze, ordered two cups of coffee, two slices of bread, and a piece of butter.

While waiting for the meal, Xio spoke first. "You're a Beyonder too, aren't you? One of the officials? What do you want to tell me?" Because of yesterday's inexplicable sensation, Xio was actually quite wary of Abner.

Abner shook his head and said vaguely, "I'm not an official. I'm merely an enthusiast who knows a little about Beyonder matters... I heard your conversation just now and noticed some problems. I wanted to give you a warning, Miss." He was not lying, either. At present, he was not yet a true Beyonder.

Xio did not believe at all that he was merely an enthusiast. She was certain he was a Beyonder, and one of a higher Sequence than hers. However, she did not expose him and simply asked, "What do you want to tell me?" Wasn't this matter already quite clear? Ordinary gang members had obtained a Beyonder item and used it to commit evil.

Abner did not keep her in suspense. After organizing and polishing his earlier reasoning, he explained it to Xio in detail.

Xio listened with some confusion and asked doubtfully, "Swindler? Acting? What do those mean?"

"So you don't know about the Acting Method yet..." Abner slapped his forehead and thought, I overlooked that. Xio at this point really doesn't know about the Acting Method. Fors only taught it to her after joining the Tarot Club. Oh well, she has been unconsciously Acting as an Arbiter all along anyway, so there's no harm in telling her early.

"What is the Acting Method?" Xio was even more bewildered, feeling as though she were a fake Beyonder.

After thinking for a moment, Abner imitated the tone the Fool used in the novel to fool the Tarot Club members and said, "For Potions, it is not mastery, but digestion. It is not excavation, but Acting. A Potion's name is not merely a symbol, but also an image, and even more so the Key to digestion."

After saying that, Abner did not wish to explain further and changed the subject. "If my deduction is correct, this matter has clearly exceeded your capabilities. You should find an opportunity to report the clues to the official Beyonders. With their expertise, they may be able to see more problems." Reporting cases was the future Lord of Mysteries' specialty, after all. He did not mind borrowing it in advance...

Xio had wanted to ask a few more questions about the Acting Method, but seeing that Abner was unwilling to say more, she could only purse her lips and ask again, "Sir, why are you helping me? Why tell me this knowledge and these deductions?"