Mystery: I, the Hermit, am too eager to improve

Chapter 2 The Mechanical Heart

Hoy University.

"Roy, I heard you and Rado performed some kind of mysterious ritual yesterday? Did it succeed?"

A brown-haired girl approached.

Naya.

Roy paused for a moment.

Although he was a mechanical engineering major, some of his classes were close to those of the history major, so they had some contact with each other.

Of course, it's mostly because Larry and Welch have a good relationship—

Their family is very wealthy.

The two often got together, and occasionally they would bring others along to chat and communicate. They also attended the same university, so they gradually got to know each other.

Roy wasn't particularly close to them; they were just acquaintances, their relationship was casual, and they'd only exchanged a few words.

Furthermore, if I remember correctly, Naya participated in the notebook deciphering with Welch and Klein, and then died from a curse.

He thought for a moment and replied kindly, "It failed. The mystery is all fake. I won't try things randomly in the future."

"That's because you haven't found the right one. There are mysterious things in this world, but not everything is one. How could your lousy ritual from who-knows-where possibly succeed?"

A defiant voice came from the side.

Roy glanced sideways.

Welch.

The banker's son is wealthy, generous, and enjoys making friends, but his closest friends are Naya and Klein.

The three of them often teamed up to do their homework together.

They're all alumni.

"Roy—"

"It's nothing. I know you guys are very interested in occult knowledge, but unfortunately we really didn't succeed yesterday."

Roy sighed.

Welch chuckled and said, "Just wait, I've got some news about something recently. I'll show you what it's like when I get my hands on it."

"I'm no longer interested in mysterious things, and I advise you not to get involved with them either."

Roy gave a serious warning.

Seeing that Welch didn't seem to care, he didn't say anything more, but returned to his seat and began searching for the figure—

Lardo Lange, who often played in the same group as him.

Lado has long, flowing blond hair and very fair skin; he's usually easy to spot, but I haven't seen him yet today.

A hint of worry flashed in his eyes.

Although he was quite unfamiliar with this classmate, the memories of his former body still gave him a certain fondness for Rado, and he didn't want anything to happen to his classmate if he could.

Then, he saw a boy with the same black hair.

It just appeared.

Naya waved from the other side.

"Klein, over here!"

"Sorry I'm late."

"It's nothing, hehe, we just arrived too."

The three walked together, discussing the debate from the day before, and headed towards an office.

Roy sat in the chair, his eyes secretly fixed on Klein.

very common.

He should be the original Klein, not the candidate for Lord of Mysteries after merging with Zhou Mingrui.

It's late May now, and everyone has just finished their thesis defense, so they're practically graduating.

That person hasn't come down yet.

He leaned back in his chair, pondering whether he should go to Rado Lange's house to inquire about the situation if Rado Lange didn't come.

At that moment, a figure walked over from a distance.

It's not Lardo Lange.

But -

The mentor I knew from my previous life.

Gunnar Thorome, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering.

This mechanical engineering professor was renowned for his expertise in steam-powered machinery, and Roy suspected that he was also a member of the Steam Church.

Upon seeing the associate professor arrive, he felt a vague sense of unease.

"teacher."

"Come with me."

Instead of reminiscing, Guna turned around with a cold expression and walked towards his office.

Upon arriving at the office, the elderly man, whose hair was thinning to the point of receding into the Mediterranean, took off his hat, then turned around and looked at Roy with a serious expression.

"What kind of ceremony did you and Rado perform yesterday?"

"us……"

Roy knew.

His guess came true; Rado really was in trouble.

but.

What he didn't expect was—

Their own teacher was an extraordinary being from the Steam Church.

After much deliberation, Roy decided to tell the truth.

"Yesterday we performed a ritual and prayed to a great being, who granted me half the power of a Seer. That's all I know. How's Rado doing? Why hasn't he come yet?"

Guna said with a gloomy face, "Rado has gone mad. His parents sent him to the Steam Church this morning."

Roy was speechless for a moment.

Guna took a deep breath, suppressing his anger: "You've gone too far! How dare you pray to an unknown being! Can you possibly bear the gifts of such an evil god?"

"Mentor, I was wrong. Is there any hope for Rado?"

Roy looked at Guna hopefully.

Guna shook his head and remained silent.

The Hidden Sage himself responded that madness was already a relatively good ending; those like Roy, who were neither insane nor deformed and whose state was very stable, were the exceptions.

He remained silent for a long time before saying, "Come with me."

"Yes, teacher."

……

Steam Church.

Roy met his old classmate, Rado Langeser, who was huddled in a corner, babbling incoherently in a jumble of words.

He had studied in the mysterious temple, so he knew what this language was.

Hermesian.

He was driven mad by the vast Hermesian language.

Furthermore, Roy could vaguely see a cold gaze coming from Rado, and he involuntarily took a half step back in fear.

"Guna, your student is very spiritual; no wonder he was able to persevere."

From the darkness behind Rado, a figure slowly emerged.

He held a peculiar mechanical artifact in his hand.

Roy paused, taken aback.

He had assumed the source of the gaze was the Hidden Sage, but it turned out to be an Extraordinary being from the Steam Church.

and.

If I had shown any unusual behavior just now, I probably would have been tied up.

"Karl!"

Gunnar frowned, then looked at Rado, who was still muttering to himself, and sighed, "At least he's still alive, but you—"

"You are a lucky one, but also an unlucky one. After becoming a half-secret seeker, you will have to follow the secret seeker sequence and fight against madness from now on."

Carl continued.

Roy took a deep breath and asked, "What exactly is a Spy?"

He had memories of this, but now, as a "newcomer," he had to ask common-sense questions.

Karl said, "The Seeker Sequence, the sequence controlled by the object of your prayers yesterday, will begin today. Every so often, you will be instilled with His knowledge. If you can endure it, you will gain knowledge; if you cannot, you will become like him, or even worse."

Roy didn't show much fear.

In the presence of extraordinary beings, facial expressions are often meaningless, because they can use their spiritual vision to directly observe astral bodies to determine the other person's emotions.

Unless he has reached a point where he can control his emotions completely, otherwise...

Acting will only make you seem more suspicious.

Staying calm is the best response.

He paused for a moment, then asked, "How can we get through this?"

"To master the power of potions, of course, you are only half a Seer right now, so you must first become a Seer and obtain the full power."

Carl spoke first.

Roy and Rado were both mechanical engineering students at Hoy University and students of Gunnar, so they had little doubt about their identities and beliefs.

Able to withstand the indoctrination of the Hidden Sage...

no doubt.

Roy is likely a genius among the extraordinary. If he weren't already half a Seer, Karl would definitely have advised him to choose the Commoner, since the Seer recipe within the Church is incomplete.

Guna, standing nearby, hurriedly said, "You can also choose not to become a spy. Although being a half-spy also involves being accompanied by madness, it's not that dangerous."

Roy said, "Thank you, teacher, but I want to become a spy."

Guna shook his head and said nothing more.

Karl chuckled and said, "Only by actively embracing and confronting these challenges can you truly master the potion. However, since you've enjoyed the benefits of the Church, you must serve it and become a member of the Mechanical Heart. Are you willing?"

"willing."

(End of this chapter)