Chapter 9: Curse
On Friday morning, when the first ray of sunlight broke through the terrible smog in the sky above Backlund and forced its way through the window into a house near the Bravehearts Bar, Ebner finally woke up. He skillfully took out his pocket watch and glanced at it before sighing. "It's still six hours."
Although the price wasn't light, he had gained quite a lot. Last night, he had activated the Eye of Pure White twice. The first time, he had successfully analyzed a Sequence 8 deduction student's supplementary ingredient from a Beyonder characteristic. And although the second time was short, he had memorized more than a hundred ancient Feysac words from the study materials. The efficiency wasn't low!
And more importantly, Ebner realized that reading books while activating the Eye of Pure White would greatly enhance the digestion of the Reader potion. In just a few seconds last night, his potion's strength had already been restrained.
"From the name, one can tell that the reader's acting needs to read more books to broaden their knowledge and insights. The meaning behind it should be to understand the laws of nature, humanities, and even Beyonders through reading. He should be omnipotent because of His omniscience! Of course, it's impossible for a mere Sequence 9 to reach the level of omniscience, but the acting essence of this Sequence should be the same. The subsequent students of deduction, Knowledge Keeper, and Scholar are actually analyzing, analyzing, and imitating all the knowledge they have learned… And my pure white eye is clearly very compatible with this main decree during the application process. It's no wonder it can promote the digestion of the potion."
At this rate, as long as I persist in using the Eye of Pure White to read and learn all kinds of knowledge every day, I might be able to digest the Reader in half a month? Perhaps I can reach Sequence 8 before The Fool descends?
While Ebner was daydreaming about the future, there was a knock on the door.
"It must be Kaspars." Ebner looked at his pocket watch again and came to a conclusion.
Therefore, he stood up and removed the wall of spirituality. Then, he walked out of the entryway and carefully opened the door.
Surprisingly, there was no one outside the door. Ebner was stunned for a moment before blinking his eyes. A white light flashed past his eyes, and he finally looked into the distance. Only then did he see Kaspars on the road two yards away. He could not help but laugh at himself. "Is there a need to be so exaggerated? Aren't I fine?"
Kaspars, on the other hand, watched Ebner from outside the yard for a long while before staggering to the door and saying expressionlessly, "I once saw someone being swallowed by a monster that lost control of the Beyonders in the sect after opening the door without any wariness!"
Ebner's expression froze. Before he could say anything to ease the tension, the other party handed him a gun bag.
"This is the revolver you wanted. I'll be indebted to you for three pounds!" Kaspars held the bag and said succinctly.
Ebner's eyes lit up as he hurriedly counted out three pounds of cash from his wallet and handed it over. Then, he took the gun bag and took out the contents on the spot.
A silver revolver with a long barrel was reflected in his eyes. Its handshake was made of walnut wood.
In addition, there were also fifty yellow bullets neatly placed in the box.
Ebner tested the empty gun, then loaded five rounds. He put the revolver back in the holster and hung it under the armpit on the inside of his coat. As for the rest of the bullets, he put them in his other pocket.
Kaspars verified the authenticity of the notes under the sunlight before saying, "Our deal is done. If you need anything in the future, you can look for me at the Bravehearts Bar."
Ebner nodded and said, "Thank you so much for this. If you encounter any trouble in the future, you can seek my help. As you know, I'm already a Beyonder now."
Kaspars scoffed and said, "Kid, don't be too confident. Beyonders are also made of flesh and blood. Don't try to show off just because you have some ability."
Ebner could tell that he was advising him out of goodwill, so he wasn't angry. He just made a mental note to keep his promise.
After the two of them spoke for a while, Ebner took the lead in saying goodbye to the other. He had a lot on his plate today and didn't have time to waste.
After Ebner walked far away, a figure appeared out of thin air. It was a mature man with short yellowish-brown hair, dressed in a white shirt and brown vest. As soon as he appeared, he smiled at Kaspars and said, "Looks like I didn't come in handy. Your little friend is quite steady."
Kaspars shook his head and said, "I'm just afraid that he'll get into more trouble if he relies too much on his abilities…"
When the man heard that, he straightened his expression and said, "Kaspars, don't underestimate that kid. Although I don't know which pathway's Sequence 9 he is from, he should have discovered me!"
"Really? Zreal, are you sure?" Kaspars was clearly surprised.
"Don't underestimate the observation and judgment of a detective, Kaspars. Although I'm not a detective of the Reader pathway, I can still sense his obvious nervousness and wariness through my Spirit Vision." Zreal looked at his watch and continued, "Alright, after seeing this little guy here, I'll go prepare breakfast for the little guys at home."
"Zreal, you still have those wanderers?" Kaspars asked.
"They're my good assistants as detectives, aren't they?" Zreal replied with a smile.
Kaspars frowned and didn't say anything else as he watched Zreal's body slowly disappear.
…
On the other side, Ebner, who had returned to East Borough, heaved a sigh of relief. Previously, when he opened the door, he had subconsciously activated the Eye of Pure White for a second. Then, he saw a figure hidden beside Kaspars. He was really shocked back then, but fortunately, he quickly realized that the hidden Beyonder didn't have any ill intentions. Instead, he had come to help Kaspars deal with the possible loss of control. Only then did he secretly take precautions and complete the transaction with Kaspars.
"So far, my White Eye doesn't have Spirit Vision, and I can't see a Spirit Body for the time being. Therefore, that person shouldn't be in a Spirit state… Then, is it… a Trickmaster's diversionary tactic? A Magician's hallucination? A swindler's psychological interference? Only these three families were good at this when they were Low-Sequence Beyonders. Yes, the theory behind these abilities should be to influence people through their psyche. In that case, does my White Eye have the ability to resist or see through psyche-related spells? Sigh, there's too little information. I can't be sure for now."
As he pondered his thoughts, Ebner walked into the restaurant that he had visited every day since his transmigration. He looked around but did not see Xio.
That lady's investigation should still be ongoing… This thought flashed through his mind, but Ebner didn't mind. Although he knew that the so-called "two-faced" Lawson had once kicked his father when he was down, he had only inherited the memories of his original body. He didn't have any feelings for the other party, so he wasn't in a hurry. All he needed to do was wait for the right moment to make that person pay the price.
After breakfast, Ebner put the study materials back home before heading to the nearby subway entrance.
Backlund's subway was born twenty-five years ago. It first connected the two banks of the Tussock River, and now, it had expanded to several major districts. Of course, there weren't many stops.
Since the St. George Borough River Street that Ebner was heading to was too remote, the carriage would take too long. It was more convenient to take the subway.
Arriving underground, Ebner looked at the price tag near the ticket window.
"The peak period (7 am to 9 am, 6 pm to 8 pm in the afternoon) is a 10-minute class. For the remaining 15 minutes, the first-class seat is 6 pence, the second-class seat is 4 pence, the third-class seat is 3 pence, and the return trip is 9, 6, and 5 pence. The annual ticket is 8 pounds for the first-class seat, 5 pounds for the second-class seat is 10 soli, and the third-class seat has no annual ticket."
The price is acceptable. Even if I ride it every day to practice my aim, I can afford it.
As this thought crossed his mind, Ebner took out four copper pennies and handed them to the ticket seller. He bought a second-class ticket.
When he arrived at the station that led to St George Borough's Station No. 4, he didn't have to wait long before he heard the rumbling sound of a steam whistle. He saw a huge steam locomotive break through the illumination of the gas lamps on both sides with a majestic sense of power and stop with a clang.
Its huge shape, meandering body, black iron color, and complicated machinery mixed together had a unique beauty.
"Now I really have the idea of steampunk!" Ebner couldn't help but whistle. At the same time, he was complaining about Squid's behavior in the introduction of the Lord of the Mysteries. Although he knew that steampunk in this novel was only a background decoration and couldn't be investigated, now that he was involved, he finally felt the power of steam and machinery!
Not long after they got on the train, the steam metro began to speed from a slow speed to a fast speed amidst the clattering noises. Ten minutes later, it gradually slowed down again and slowly stopped beside the scheduled station.
As Ebner had yet to reach his destination, he sat in his seat and waited for it to start again. At that moment, with a series of powerful footsteps, a petite girl with disheveled hair entered the carriage. It was Xio Derecha, the future Miss Judgment of the Tarot Club.
"Xio?" Ebner exclaimed in surprise, but in his heart, he was thinking: Could it be that he was too fated with this lady? He had only transmigrated here for less than four days, but he had already met her for three days.
At this moment, Xio had clearly seen Ebner. She walked straight to the empty seat beside him and sat down, greeting, "Good morning, Ebner. What a coincidence, where are you going?"
"Good morning, Miss Xio. I was planning on practicing my marksmanship at the Shooting Club on Riverside Street," Ebner answered honestly without further thought.
"Riverside Street… Is it the Shooting Club at 33 Riverside Street?" Xio suddenly paused before asking with a complicated tone.
"That's right! Miss Xio, how did you know? Have you been there before?" Just as Ebner was about to ask this question, he suddenly realized that Xio's expression was amiss. Her expression changed constantly, mixed with nostalgia, confusion, indignation, and many other different emotions as she sank into it.
He couldn't help but be alarmed as he thought to himself, Even if my words might have moved Xio, as a Sequence 9 Arbiter, how could she lose her composure in front of someone she's unfamiliar with? That's very wrong!
With this in mind, Ebner decisively activated the Eye of Pure White and saw a strange black mark on Xio's forehead!
"So that's my father's property. I used to play there when I was young…" Xio didn't seem to notice her problem as she muttered about the past.
However, when she subconsciously turned her head and exchanged a glance with Ebner's pure white pupils, she suddenly shuddered and woke up.
"Xio, listen to me. Settle your emotions first and empty your thoughts! You should be cursed, and this curse might be using your extreme emotions!" Seeing that her eyes had regained their calm, Ebner rubbed his dizzy head and continued, "Let's get out of the car now and find a safe place to talk."
As he spoke, he grabbed Xio with one hand and reached into his holster with the other to grab the revolver's handle. Then, before the train started moving, he strode towards the platform.
Although Xio lacked mysticism knowledge as a wild Beyonder, she was extremely experienced. Without any hesitation, she jogged to catch up to Ebner.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone