Lord of the Mysteries

In a warehouse that was being rebuilt in Pritz Harbor.

Fors met her teacher, Dorian Gray Abraham, once again a few days later.

“Are you ready?” Dorian asked in a low voice.

Back when they met, he had already informed Fors of the ritual requirement of the Apprentice pathway’s Sequence 4 Secrets Sorcerer, so that she could make advanced preparations.

“More or less… I should be able to satisfy the requirements…” Fors replied without much confidence.

The advancement ritual of a Secrets Sorcerer was relatively simple, but in this case, “simple” was the antonym for “complex,” and not “difficult.” To Fors, she wished that it was something else.

The ritual required the candidate to seal a demigod-level creature with clear animosity. The less external help one received, the better the ritual’s effects. As for the target’s level, as long as it wasn’t lower than a demigod, it was fine. It had virtually no effect on the ritual.

Upon hearing that, Dorian nodded and said, “That should be fine. That ritual is really difficult for a Sequence 5 Beyonder to complete it on their own. It’s necessary to seek help at appropriate times, but you mustn’t go overboard, such as exceeding the corresponding limitations. Otherwise, the ritual will definitely fail.”

The suggestion he had previously provided to Fors was to borrow a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact. It would be best if she didn’t even hire a saint-level helper.

Fors said vaguely, “I only plan on making a wish to Mr. Fool to increase the success rate of advancement after consuming the potion. This is closer to obtaining good luck when consuming the potion, rather than being blessed and protected while sealing the demigod creature.

“Other than that, I’ll be using the painting that you mentioned.”

The painting wasn’t a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, the Scroll of God, but the Abraham family’s Grade 1 Sealed Artifact. It was called “Devil’s Oil Painting.”

In the Fourth Epoch, when many members of the Abraham family had advanced to Sequence 4 Secrets Sorcerer, they had created the oil painting to seal the corresponding demigod-level creatures.

However, after being attacked by the Aurora Order and losing a lot of documents, Dorian Gray wasn’t sure how many terrifying creatures were sealed in the Devil’s Oil Painting. He was only certain that there was definitely more than one sealed inside.

His original plan was to release a demigod-level creature that was completely insane from the Devil’s Oil Painting, one that acted purely out of instinct. This could then be his student’s ritual target. This made it much easier than dealing with a rational and intelligent saint. Furthermore, it was completely in line with the ritual’s requirements, but he never expected Fors to directly borrow the Devil’s Oil Painting.

Dorian frowned and reminded her, “The Devil’s Oil Painting only has the effect of imprisonment and sealing. It doesn’t have the ability to actively affect the target. In other words, you have to stuff a demigod-level creature into the Devil’s Oil Painting.”

Fors nodded, indicating that she knew this.

“Teacher, you mentioned that one’s ‘Record’ ability isn’t considered external help.”

“Yes,” Dorian Gray gave a definite answer.

If her “Record” powers were considered external help, almost no Traveler could advance. After all, “Record” was the core ability of the Apprentice pathway before they became demigods. Once it was “excluded,” Fors would be left only with the means to flee, making it difficult for her to do anything to her enemies.

“In theory, that’s the case. However, you can only record at most five demigod-level powers…” Dorian said worriedly.

Before he finished his sentence, he thought of Mr. Fool and “His” Blessed and felt a little more at ease.

“If the powers are matched well, it isn’t impossible for me to succeed. It’s just a mad creature that’s acting on instinct.” Fors tried convincing both her teacher and herself.

Dorian nodded indiscernibly and didn’t say anything else. He immediately summoned his contracted creature, Malmouth, who loved music, and took out the Secrets Sorcerer main and supplementary ingredients. He then concocted a bottle of Secrets Sorcerer potion for his student.

“If there’s no way to complete the seal, there’s no need to forcefully consume it. Even if the potion and glass bottle fuses together and turns into a Sealed Artifact, we can also pray to Mr. Fool to restore it to a Beyonder characteristic.” Dorian continued to warn her worriedly before handing the potion to Fors.

Inside the glass bottle were layers of stellar radiance, as though the Milky Way in the sky had been sucked into the potion.

“Alright.” Fors nodded heavily, indicating that she wasn’t worried that the potion would be wasted.

She had made plans ahead of time. She would immediately “Teleport” away once she realized she couldn’t seal the released demigod-level creature before making a wish to Mr. Fool and getting him to resolve it.

Dorian then took out an oil painting from his suitcase, which was filled with abstract images. It was an image that no one could understand. Just looking at it would make one feel dizzy and mentally weak.

This was the Devil’s Oil Painting that had sealed countless terrifying creatures.

“If you can successfully advance, I only have one request.” Dorian held the Devil’s Oil Painting and said solemnly to Fors, “That is, on the night of the full moon, listen to what Mr. Door is saying and ask ‘Him’ the reasons for ‘His’ actions.”

The members of the Abraham family still couldn’t fully accept that the curse they had suffered from had stemmed from their ancestor. They felt that Mr. Door might not know the consequences of “His” plea for help.

They wished to figure out the full truth.

“Alright.” Faced with her teacher’s sincere request, Fors agreed without any hesitation.

Following that, she took the Devil’s Oil Painting, “Teleported” out of Pritz Harbor, and came to a vast desert where no humans lived.

This way, even if an accident happened during the ritual, she had plenty of time to resolve it and not affect ordinary people.

After checking the surroundings and preparing herself, Fors inserted the Devil’s Oil Painting into the ground.

She then clasped her hands together and bowed her head to pray to Mr. Fool. She wished that “He” could increase her chances of advancing after consuming the potion.

Without any pause, she saw the illusory grayish-white fog and knew that Mr. Fool had already responded.

After stalling for a few seconds, Fors finally convinced herself. She took out the herbal powder she had prepared, and she scattered it on the Devil’s Oil Painting.

Then, she recited the incantation to release the seal in Jotun.

This was an incantation that only released one creature.

Without a sound, the powder that was floating in the air landed on the oil painting and rapidly spun around a central point.

As it spun, the surface of the oil painting turned illusory as if a deep vortex was forming.

Suddenly, a bluish-black hand emerged from the “vortex,” one that showed signs of decay.

It stretched out from the oil painting to the outside world!

Fors’s body suddenly turned cold as though she had fallen into a frozen lake.

While clearing up her mind, it also made her seem to lose control of her body. No matter how hard she tried, she was unable to move her limbs.

At that moment, Fors seemed to return to her past state of writing books at night and sleeping during the day. At that time, she often felt that she had woken up, but she couldn’t move at all. It was as though she was being pressed down by an invisible creature.

Although the terrifying creature in the Devil’s Oil Painting had yet to fully escape, its influence on the outside world with its godhood made Fors lose most of her ability to resist. Once it fully escapes from the oil painting, Fors would even lose control merely from looking at it directly.

The difference between the two in their lives’ natural order was unimaginable in certain aspects.

Gradually, Fors’s consciousness blurred a little, having a nagging feeling that she was already lucid. She raised her arm and moved her feet, but on second thought, she realized that it was only her imagination. As her body turned colder, the feeling of being pressed down by an invisible creature became more obvious.

Fortunately, she had a bunch of demigods providing her information, allowing her to close her eyes in time. She didn’t look at the Devil’s Oil Painting; otherwise, the consequences would be dire.

Using Cogitation to maintain a certain level of clarity, Fors began counting down.

According to Mr. World’s warning, she knew that the terrifying creature would need five seconds to completely escape the Devil’s Oil Painting.

4… 3… 2… With just one second left, an illusory book appeared in Fors’s eyes. It quickly flipped and stopped on one page.

1! Just as Fors finished counting, she suddenly spread open her arms.

Around her, peach blossoms fell in a colorful resplendence.

The bluish-black hand that was about to grab her neck moved away from her and was blocked by the peach forest that was blooming with vegetation and flowers. It was separated by a mountain that was the forest’s river source, making it only possible for it to enter through a small cave.

This was a fairytale magic Fors had “Recorded” from Ma’am Hermit. It was called:

Peach Blossom Source!

It could create an isolation barrier from the outside world, making it very difficult for the outside world to connect to it.

Seizing this opportunity, Fors, who barely managed to regain control of her body, took out a “Queen” chess piece from Roselle’s chess from a pocket and threw it at the source of the peach blossom scene, throwing it at the cave that penetrated through the flowing river.

This was another fairytale magic she had “Recorded,” called:

The Chessboard of Time!

Its effect was to slow the target’s movements, as though it had entered a region in which time flowed slower.

With a smack, the actions of the bluish-black palm that was trying hard to break through the Peach Blossom Source changed from extending outwards to squirming.

Fors didn’t even look at the effects. She used an invisible hand to pick up the Devil’s Oil Painting that was stuck in the sand, and she held it right up to the cave.

After one or two seconds, the bluish-black palm returned to normal. Its movements became extremely fast as it charged out of the Peach Blossom Source and crashed into the oil painting.

As the oil painting shook, the terrifying creature penetrated the surface and landed in it.

Fors was delighted. Without any hesitation, she recited the incantation and closed the outer seal of the Devil’s Oil Painting.

Thankfully, that demigod creature has already lost control. It’s left with nothing but madness and lacks intelligence… I wonder if I will directly hear Mr. Door’s shouts after consuming the potion… Still nervous, Fors took out the Secrets Sorcerer potion bottle and poured it into her mouth.