Lord of Mysteries

Chapter 96 Daisy's Guesses

The following morning, Klein, fully recovered, walked steadily into Blackthorn Security Company.

"Good morning, Klein. The weather is so cool today. I'm looking forward to dinner tonight." Rosanne, wearing a light green dress, stood behind the reception desk and greeted him with a smile.

Klein deliberately touched his stomach and said:

"Miss Rosanne, you shouldn't be discussing this kind of topic at a time like this. I'm already getting tired of the tasks that haven't even started yet, and I just hope night comes soon."

"Me too," Rosanne chuckled.

She looked around, beckoned Klein to come closer, and then lowered her voice:

"I just saw Ms. Daly."

"Ms. Daly, the 'psychic'?" Klein asked, slightly surprised.

This most famous psychic in County Ahowa has lived in Port Engmat, not exactly close to Tingen.

"Yes," Rosanne nodded vigorously. "But she's gone. Ah, she was the most ideal Extraordinary in my heart. If I could become a psychic, I would leave Tingen and travel the world alone, to Intis, to Fursac, to Fenneport, to the Southern Continent, to the Great Plains, to the primeval forests, to the icy plains!"

Miss, would you like to learn about the rules and regulations for night watchmen...? Klein chuckled and shook his head.

"Even Ms. Daly needs to apply and obtain approval to leave Port Entmat."

"I know, but you can't remind me now and shatter my illusions!" Rosanne said angrily. "In fact, I can't become an Extraordinary. That's too dangerous. I don't know when I'll suddenly die. In my opinion, an Extraordinary is someone who turns themselves into a monster in order to fight monsters."

"Archbishop Charnis once said that we are guardians, but also a bunch of pathetic creatures constantly fighting against danger and madness," Klein sighed in response to the words that had left a deep impression on him.

In order to fight against the abyss, we must endure its corruption.

The two were silent for a moment, then Rosanne was the first to recover, gesturing towards the partition with her mouth and saying:

"The captain told you to go find him as soon as you arrive."

"Okay." Klein, holding his hat and cane, knocked on the door of Dunn's office through the partition and entered.

A middle-aged gentleman with deep gray eyes and a high hairline put down his coffee cup and smiled, saying:

"Dali was here."

"This is not surprising, because Rosanne had told me beforehand," Klein replied with a smile.

Dunn ignored his humor and sighed, saying:

"Dali has been transferred to the Diocese of Backlund, the most bustling and crowded city in the world, with the most extraordinary people and the most opportunities... She has a better chance of becoming an archbishop or senior deacon than I do."

"Why?" Klein straightened his posture and asked in confusion.

Dunn pondered for more than ten seconds and said:

"She has a unique talent for mastering and exploring Sequence Potions... I told you before that the Night Watchers' internal rule is that in order to take the next Sequence Potion, one must wait three years and undergo rigorous testing to avoid losing control. But normally, three years is often not enough. It took me three years to go from 'The Sleepless' to 'Midnight Poet,' and nine years to go from 'Midnight Poet' to 'Nightmare,' a full nine years. And I've already spent three years going from 'Nightmare' to Sequence 6. I don't know how many more years it will take."

"When our bodies age and our spirits begin to decline, even if we overcome the hidden dangers, we should no longer try to get promoted, because the risk of losing control is so high that no one is willing to take the risk."

"Dali and I are different from most extraordinary beings. After becoming a 'corpse collector,' she submitted a special application just one year later, hoping to take the follow-up potion immediately. To everyone's surprise, she actually passed the more rigorous test and obtained the 'gravedigger' potion."

"From 'gravedigger' to 'psychic,' it only took her a year. Ha, this is only her fifth year as an extraordinary one. She's only 24 years old, still young enough, and has plenty of opportunities."

Her public identity is the most famous psychic in Ahowa County, but in reality, she is the real psychic... Isn't that just "playing a role"? Old Neil seems to have mentioned that Ms. Daly has a similar tendency... Klein feels that he has grasped the core element of Daly's rapid rise as a "psychic".

"Captain, you're still young enough, you're only in your thirties," Klein reassured Dunn, silently adding in his mind, "It's just that my memory isn't very good..."

Dunn took a sip of coffee, shook his head, and smiled bitterly.

"Why don't you ask Ms. Daly for advice on how to master and mine sequence potions?" Klein asked deliberately.

Dunn put down his coffee cup, rubbed his brow bones, and said:

"She made me a real nightmare... I don't know what that means."

Playing the Nightmare... Hmm, Nightmares seem really evil... Klein frowned slightly and fell silent for a moment.

At this moment, Dunn took out his pipe, sniffed it, and said:

"Dale and I discussed the fact that the 'Seer' potion's sequel is 'The Clown,' and without considering the possibility that the Secret Order members deliberately deceived you, she came up with an interesting guess."

"What guess?" Klein's eyes lit up, and he asked eagerly.

He once used divination to verify whether the "clown" was the follow-up potion of the "divine one," and received a vague but more certain answer.

Dunn's deep gray eyes swept over him, and he said thoughtfully:

"The normal sequence is a progressive one, following a common thread, advancing layer by layer within a field. For example, 'the sleepless,' 'the midnight poet,' and 'the nightmare' are clearly all related to the night and the sleep and tranquility that the night gives rise to. It's conceivable that the future will follow the same path, only it will be more intense and involve a wider range of issues, possibly including elements of secrecy, calamity, fear, and the Crimson Moon..."

"Some sequence pathways may not seem like this on the surface, but upon closer analysis, commonalities can still be found. For example, 'assassin' and 'instigator' share the implicit commonality of bringing disaster, pain, sorrow, and despair to people. Subsequent sequences should also conform to this pattern."

Klein listened intently and asked proactively:

"But the 'fortune teller' and the 'clown' aren't related in that way?"

"Hmm." Dunn nodded slightly. "Dayley believes there might be another sequence of relationships, after all, we don't know much about it yet."

He paused and then said:

"Daly said that in a similar way, low- to mid-series potions would each provide the extraordinary with a completely new ability that seemed to have nothing to do with the previous one. When a certain qualitative change occurs, these abilities will be combined to create an exceptionally powerful 'profession' that includes them."

"In other words, it's not a progression, but rather a relationship of decomposition and combination."

Seeing that Klein looked somewhat confused, Dunn raised his right hand and said:

"The normal growth path is progressive, just like everyone's physique. Starting from childhood, you grow taller step by step, interspersed with getting stronger, heavier, and more mature."

"And the special sequence pathway is like this..."

At this point, Dunn gave a thumbs-up:

"This is sequence 9."

Then, he bent his index finger:

"This is sequence 8."

Then, he slowly bent up the remaining fingers one by one:

"Each finger is independent and seems unrelated, but in the end..."

When he uttered the word "last," Dunn had already clenched all five fingers into a firm fist!

"I understand now." Klein suddenly realized, deeply agreeing with Ms. Daly's guess and the captain's analogy.

Perhaps that's really the case? He nodded thoughtfully.

Sequence 8 "The Clown" is completely different from Sequence 9 "The Diviner," possessing entirely new abilities. Furthermore, according to the Night Watchers' internal documents, the corresponding Sequence 7 and Sequence 8 "The Clown" have no similarities...

Klein was silent for a moment, then asked curiously:

At what stage will different abilities combine to cause a qualitative change?

Dunn took a sip of coffee and chuckled:

"Daly and I both guessed it was Sequence 4!"

"Why?" Klein blurted out.

"Because according to the Church's classification of the sequence pathways, Sequence 4 is the starting point of the higher sequences. It is said that it will bring about a qualitative change in life and spirit. In ancient times, in the Fourth Age, strong people of Sequence 4 were qualified to be called demigods. Unfortunately, in modern times, such strong people are extremely rare," Dunn sighed.

"Sequences 4 to 1 are high-sequence powerhouses, so what are the low-sequence ones?" Klein asked with great interest.

"Sequence 9, Sequence 8, and Sequence 7 were all considered low sequences a thousand years ago, but in recent centuries, the scarcity of Extraordinary Ones has led major churches to regard Sequence 7 as a middle sequence as well," Dunn said with a self-deprecating smile.

序列9和序列8是低序列，序列7、序列6和序列5是中序列，序列4及以上是高序列……克莱恩在心里重複了一遍，难免有点嚮往之情。

Emperor Roselle was a high-sequence powerhouse!

However, the higher the sequence, the greater the risk of going out of control... Klein thought with considerable fear.

He asked another question, seemingly casually:

What is the name of the Sequence 4 potion from the Church of the Goddess?

"Actually, I'm not sure. My security clearance level doesn't allow me access to the relevant information yet. I'll only be able to look at them once I become a diocesan bishop or a Night Watch deacon," Dunn said with a shake of his head and a smile. "In fact, at least half of the thirteen archbishops and nine senior deacons at the top of the church are below Sequence 4. Well, that's a rather optimistic assessment. The archbishop Ince Zangwill who was wanted before lost control after failing to advance to Sequence 4."

The one who took away the sealed artifact "0-08"? His potion seemed to be called "Gatekeeper"... Klein thought for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Is Sequence 5 of the Sleepless Path 'Gatekeeper'?"

"No, that's the path of the psychic. Once you become a Sequence 7, a bishop, or the leader of a Night Watch squad, you'll be able to see the corresponding information."

"Gatekeeper" is Sequence 5 of the psychic path? Does it mean guarding the gates of hell? Or, guarding the gates of the spirit world? Klein wondered.

"Alright, go find Old Neil and continue your studies," Dunn said with a smile. "Don't forget the big dinner tonight, at Old Will's Restaurant. I've already made a reservation. This time, I'll formally introduce you to the other night watchmen."

"Okay, I've got the cash ready." Klein forced a smile.

"No, no need. Have you forgotten we have extra subsidies? For the portion you submit after completing the assigned tasks," Dunn said, waving his hand.

Klein paused for a moment, then smiled broadly and said:

"Yes, Captain!"

He turned around, walked towards the door, and began to count silently in his mind:

"Three, two, one...wait, the captain didn't call me..."

Klein stared for a long time, then was surprised to find that there was something Captain Dunn Smith hadn't forgotten that needed to be added.

A miracle… he silently commented in his mind.

…………

Inside the armory, old Neil glanced at a cheerful Klein and said:

"Don't think about the big dinner tonight. You still have a lot to learn, such as more ritual magic, ancient Hermes, dragon language, elven language, and so on."

"By the way, every afternoon outside of your rest days, you also have to practice combat with your teacher for at least two hours."

"Fighting? The captain didn't mention that..." Klein was startled.

Old Neil nodded and answered without hesitation:

"He forgot."

(End of this chapter)