Mystery: I Married the Queen of Mystery

Audis looked at the island before him, shrouded in darkness.

For a moment, he felt as if he had arrived at the "Land Forsaken by God." As far as the eye could see, it was a dark and gloomy land. Only when lightning occasionally flashed in the sky could he make out the distant scenery.

This was an island without any normal vegetation. The ground was bare, but it wasn't completely devoid of life. In the distance, there seemed to be some animals and plants, but from their appearance, they all seemed somewhat abnormal.

Audis and Bernadette landed at a safe point established by Cattleya, an ancient ruin that was already very dilapidated, with most of it having collapsed.

It was raining heavily outside. According to Cattleya, it seemed to rain constantly here.

"It's that symbol," Cattleya said, pointing to the wall.

Audis looked over. It was the complex symbol, mainly composed of inverted triangles, that Cattleya had shown them before.

It still seemed somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite recall where he had seen it.

Bernadette glanced at the distant mountains: "There is indeed a 'Scholar of Secrets' there."

As a Sequence 3 of the same pathway, Bernadette felt no pressure at this moment.

Reaching the exit of the ruin, a floating umbrella with dazzling colors appeared above Bernadette's head. The umbrella grew larger and larger, sheltering Audis and Cattleya underneath.

Audis sighed: "This ability is really practical. Once you learn it, you'll never have to worry about getting caught in the rain again."

Bernadette smiled and waved her hand. Immediately, a winding path appeared before the three of them, illuminated by the light of dawn, accompanied by the sounds of birds chirping and wind rustling through the leaves.

This way, they wouldn't have to step on the muddy ground.

Audis asked: "Won't this be too conspicuous?"

Bernadette replied: "This path is only visible to us… including the three of us. As long as we are under this umbrella, ordinary people won't be able to see us."

Audis sighed again: "This ability is truly enviable."

Cattleya was observing their interaction, and she had a feeling that… it seemed as if they weren't superior and subordinate, but more like two friends out for a stroll.

Walking on this path with the light of dawn, Audis found that with each step he took, he moved a great distance forward.

In just over half a minute, the three of them arrived in front of a valley, with towering mountains on the other side.

This made Audis feel a little disappointed, because it meant they had missed the extraordinary creatures along the way.

Bernadette didn't care about those extraordinary creatures, but Audis thought they were worth hunting.

Bernadette stared at the other side of the valley for a while before saying: "There seems to be a ruin inside."

Audis was taken aback. He had originally thought it would be a "wilderness hunt," but unexpectedly, it was another "ruin exploration."

"Stay close to me," Bernadette said. "Pay attention to my gestures. If I tell you to leave, Audis, immediately use 'Travel' to take Cattleya away.

"I will buy you time to enter the spirit world."

Audis nodded: "Okay."

At this time, of course, he wouldn't try to be brave.

The three entered the valley. Audis asked: "Where was that 'Trick Steed' discovered before?"

"It was in this valley," Cattleya replied. "But at the time, I didn't dare to explore this valley, and I didn't know exactly where its nest was."

Audis said "Oh." He could only hope that he would be lucky and that the "Trick Steed" was still on this island.

After passing through the valley, a tall tower appeared in front of the three of them.

The tower had a distinct asymmetrical style from the Fourth Epoch, with a semicircle on the left and a square on the right.

Although it was constantly raining here, the tower still looked very solid, unlike the buildings outside, which seemed like they could collapse at any moment.

Bernadette looked around and didn't sense any danger.

Audis said: "That demigod-level monster, could it have sensed that you are too powerful and hid?"

Bernadette smiled and said: "If that's the case, it would mean it's quite weak."

She paused and then said: "Let's explore this tower first."

Audis and Cattleya would definitely prioritize her ideas, and they had no objections to this decision.

The door of the tower was closed. Bernadette summoned "Invisible Servants" to push the door open a crack.

The three entered one after another, and the sound of the rain outside seemed to be immediately cut off.

Because of Bernadette's abilities, they hadn't been rained on so far, and even their shoes were dry.

The tower was very empty, with only a stone statue in the center.

On the walls were formulas, geometric figures, and descriptions of nature.

These texts were all in Ancient Forsi, which was the common language of the Northern Continent during the Fourth Epoch.

Finally, the three of them focused their attention on the stone statue in the center. It was wearing asymmetrical Fourth Epoch-style clothing, holding a pen in one hand and a writing board in the other, as if writing something.

Audis glanced at the formulas again. He guessed: "Scholar of Yore?"

Bernadette nodded: "That's a good idea. It's likely that this floor is trying to express 'Scholar of Yore'."

She glanced at the stairs: "We can go to the next floor to see if we can determine what this is describing."

So the three of them went upstairs. It was still very empty here, with a stone statue in the middle. Its clothing had changed. It held a classical magnifying glass in one hand and a somewhat dilapidated book in the other.

The surrounding walls had turned into murals. The first thing that caught the eye was elves stepping on the waves, giants wielding heavy swords, and so on. With their rich knowledge of mysticism, the three immediately realized that the murals were depicting the eight ancient gods.

Continuing to look down, there was also a sacred mural of someone standing in front of a giant cross, with a sun behind them, looking ahead with compassion.

That was the Ancient Sun God.

Continuing to look down, there was the style of an emperor from the Fourth Epoch. The main color of the mural was black, and the person depicted was a mature middle-aged man with black hair and black eyes, with a gloomy yet wise gaze and a majestic aura.

Audis said: "This should be 'Black Emperor' Solomon."

He remembered that among the four emperors, only the "Black Emperor" had black hair.

Cattleya asked: "But why aren't there the 'Blood Emperor' and the other three emperors?"

Bernadette, who was pinching her chin, said: "Perhaps, when this tower was built, there was only the 'Black Emperor'."

Then it was a building from the early Fourth Epoch. It must have been treated with some special methods, otherwise the murals wouldn't look so vibrant.

Bernadette glanced at the statue and said: "It seems this is an 'Archaeologist'."

Then the three of them went up the stairs to the third floor. The statue here became more complicated. There was also a stone platform in front of the statue, with a stone hat placed on it.

The statue stretched out its hands, as if telling Audis and the others the ability of this hat.

This was Sequence 7, "Appraiser."

Audis looked at the surrounding walls. This floor had turned into text, all in Giant language, recording some precautions during "appraisal."

Arriving at the fourth floor, the statue was dressed as a blacksmith, embedding a gemstone into a stone helmet.

The surroundings were also descriptions related to the creation of "Extraordinary Weapons" and Sealed Artifacts, which Audis found invaluable. However, he couldn't look at them in detail at this time. He glanced at them roughly, and he would "recall" them after returning.

The statue on the fifth floor was standing in front of a large orrery. This was an "Astronomer," and the walls described various constellations.

On this floor, Cattleya was watching very seriously.

When they reached the sixth floor, the three of them were stunned at the entrance of the stairs, because there were many statues on this floor. They stood there quietly, all staring in the direction of the stairs.

The expressions of these statues varied. Some were smiling, some were crying, some were kind, and some were sinister, but they all looked exactly the same, and they were lifelike, which made them look a little strange.

It was as if they were all living people just a second ago, and after hearing Audis and the others come up the stairs, they looked towards the stairs and transformed into stone statues.

Even more strangely, in the middle of this group of people, there was a statue with the same appearance, dissecting a person with the same appearance.

The statue lying on the stone platform being dissected was also very realistic. Its chest and abdomen were open, and the internal organs were clearly visible.

Audis swallowed: "Are the abilities of an 'Alchemist' so strange?"

Bernadette looked at the surrounding walls for a while before saying: "It seems that during the Fourth Epoch, 'Alchemists' did not use gears and metal parts when creating 'puppets'.

"And the person in the middle is not dissecting, but making 'puppets'."

Audis was stunned for a moment and asked: "What parts are used to make them?"

Bernadette didn't answer, but instead looked at Audis.

Audis immediately understood and felt a little disgusted: "This tower should have been built by a secret organization that mastered the 'Scholar of Yore' pathway, right?"

The "parts" used by the Sequence 4 "Alchemist" of this pathway to create puppets do not need to be obtained from corpses.

Because they can inject souls into things without souls, inject life into objects without life, and they don't even need to obtain them from the bodies of living beings.

For example, the demigods of the Church of Steam and Machinery, the puppets they create are basically mechanical devices.

If this process involved corpses, Audis would immediately feel like he had encountered an evil organization.

Bernadette didn't speak, but suddenly said, "These stone statues are not right."

Audis quickly took two steps back, re-examining the stone statues as he asked, "What's wrong?"

He saw that the stone statues were still standing there quietly. Although the atmosphere was a bit terrifying, nothing seemed amiss.

Suddenly, Audis noticed that the dissected stone statue lying on the stone platform had its chest and abdominal cavity open, and the stone internal organs inside were clearly visible.

At this moment, blood flowed from its abdomen. At first, it was just a few drops, but soon it flowed more and more, as if turning into a small stream.

The stone statue next to it, which was making a puppet, suddenly moved its eyes, and a strange smile appeared at the corner of its mouth.

Audis swallowed, but he immediately noticed that Bernadette was still very calm and did not gesture for them to leave.

So Audis calmed down and continued to observe.

At this time, Bernadette suddenly said, "The problem is not on this floor."

Audis saw that the gloomy stone statues were gradually starting to make small movements: "Are you sure it's not on this floor?"

Bernadette raised her hand, and the stone statues on this floor suddenly collapsed and shattered, leaving only a pile of stone chips.

Immediately afterwards, a illusory light suddenly flew out from the stone chips and rushed towards Audis and the others.

Bernadette gently raised her hand, and a classical full-length mirror appeared in front of her, reflecting the light.

The light then flew towards the stairs, to the seventh floor.

Only then did Audis notice that the floor they were on now had no traces of blood at all. Everything that had just happened seemed like an illusion.

Just then, Audis felt something moving under his feet. Before he could react, a illusory beanstalk quickly grew and pierced through the roof, creating a large hole.

At this time, the illusory light appeared again, and the thick beanstalk suddenly lost all its vitality. The leaves withered, the branches withered, and it quickly turned into dust.

Bernadette didn't seem to care. A illusory silk flew up from the hole.

Then, time seemed to stand still. Audis didn't hear any sound from above, and the illusory light didn't appear again.

About four or five seconds later, Bernadette suddenly said, "Solved."

As she spoke, she took the lead and stepped onto the stairs. Audis smiled and said, "There's no chance for us to show off at all."

Soon, the three of them arrived on the seventh floor. It seemed like there had been a fierce battle here. The walls were full of scars. In the center of the hall, layers of illusory silk wrapped a ray of light like a silkworm cocoon.

The ray of light was rushing left and right, but it couldn't break through the illusory silk. It looked like a restless lantern.

Audis asked, "What is that?"

"This should be an 'unexpected harvest'." Bernadette smiled and said, "This is the 'Light of Mysteries'. After extracting all the life in the light, you can get one of the main materials for the Sequence 3 potion of the 'Scholar of Yore' pathway."

"However, for me, the 'Light of Mysteries' has other uses."

As for what those uses were, Bernadette didn't say. She just raised her hand, and a crab claw emerged from the illusion, clamped the illusory silk, and disappeared into the illusion.

Then Bernadette said, "According to the previous agreement, apart from the characteristics and materials you need, all other spoils belong to me."

Kadriya and Audis had no objections to this. After all, the two of them had just been spectators. Not only that, but they also needed Bernadette to protect them.

Next, the three of them looked around the seventh floor. It had been severely damaged, but judging from the stone chips on the ground, there were originally stone statues here as well.

The things recorded on the surrounding walls could only be seen simply, and were written in "Giant Language". However, the specific content had been destroyed, so it was impossible to see clearly.

Bernadette guessed, "That 'Light of Mysteries' may have been attracted by the knowledge here."

Audis smiled, "Now that you mention it, I'm quite interested in the knowledge depicted on the walls."

Kadriya was just about to remind Audis that being interested was useless, as it was all written in "Giant Language".

However, she thought that perhaps "The Hermit" could understand "Giant Language", so she continued to be a "transparent person" on the side.

Bernadette smiled and looked at the stairs: "There is no danger above."

So the three of them arrived on the eighth floor. They really wanted to see how the people who built this tower depicted the Sequence 2 of the "Scholar of Yore" pathway.

Arriving on the eighth floor, they saw a stone eye floating in mid-air. Behind the stone eye was an open, exquisite scroll.

That stone eye was different from the "Eye of Secrets" represented by symbols. In mysticism, eyes are generally used to represent the "Seer" pathway.

But that eye was more like a complex symbol, with indicator symbols and mystical symbols, jointly forming an eye without eyelids.

The eye in front of Audis and the others had eyelids, and even eyelashes. Audis even felt its gaze.

Because the eyes were very large, it was even possible to see illusory information rolling in the pupils.

The scroll behind it seemed like a normal scroll. It was unknown what it represented.

The three of them stared at the eye for a while, and no one spoke at first. After a long while, Audis said, "I remember that the description of the Sequence 2 'Knowledge Mentor' of the 'Scholar of Yore' pathway seems to be: can change some physical laws, can see through the essence of angels."

Kadriya was slightly stunned and probably understood why "The Queen" would solicit the opinion of "The Hermit", because he had a wide range of knowledge, and information about angels was readily available.

Bernadette nodded and said, "The situation in front of us is a very good description of the characteristics of this 'Knowledge Mentor'."

An ordinary stone eye was floating in mid-air like that. This was obviously a manifestation of changing physical laws.

And this eye with expression seemed to be seeing through everything in front of it.

Then the three of them noticed that there were no murals or any information on the surrounding walls.

They were not surprised by this. For any organization, knowledge at the angel level was top secret and could not be painted or written in a tower like this.

The three of them went up again. The stone statue on the ninth floor was even simpler than the eighth floor, depicting a ball of light with indicator symbols.

This time Bernadette spoke first: "I heard that the 'Perfectionist' pathway… that is, the Sequence 1 of the 'Scholar of Yore' pathway is called 'Civilization Enabler', and in ancient times it was called 'Dark Light'."

Audis rubbed his chin and asked, "Are you saying the light in the darkness? Or is the light dark?"

Bernadette didn't answer, so Audis didn't ask any more questions.

This was the top floor of the tower. Audis smiled and said, "Is this the tower builders' awe of the gods? Or are they also aware that their organization can only reach the Sequence 1 level at most?"

If this tower was built in the early Fourth Epoch, then the organization that built the tower would still have a chance to try to reach Sequence 1.

"Perhaps both are true." Bernadette said as she looked at the surrounding walls, but unfortunately there was nothing on the walls here.

However, Audis found something on the ground: "There seems to be a magic circle under the 'light'."

The ball of "stone light" was also floating in mid-air. Audis saw that there seemed to be a few symbols on the ground below.

Bernadette raised her hand, and the space under the "stone light" suddenly became illusory, and sucked away the dust on the ground like a vacuum cleaner.

All the symbols and graphics were revealed, and it was indeed a magic circle.

Audis took two steps forward and took a look. Although the characters in the magic circle were in "Giant Language", he quickly identified the purpose of the magic circle: "This… this is a magic circle that can enhance spirituality."

"Enhance spirituality?" Bernadette asked, "Enhance the spirituality of what? This ball of 'stone light'?"

Audis considered it for a moment, then shook his head and smiled: "I don't know."

Because his spirituality also noticed that there was nothing on this floor with spirituality.

Thinking of this, Audis was suddenly stunned, because now there were three Extraordinary beings with their own spirituality on this floor…

"Quick, leave!" he said immediately.

But it was already too late. The "Giant Language" symbols on the ground had been activated by the spirituality emanating from the three of them.

The suspended "stone light" suddenly cracked like an egg breaking out of its shell, and inside, it was actually a ball of real light!

This ball of illusory light surged, looking like a geyser of light.

The next second, the light suddenly rippled out. Bernadette once again "reproduced" the magic mirror, blocking it in front of the three of them.

But it didn't stop the illusory light. That circle of light passed through Audis and the other two, passed through the tall walls, and didn't know where it rippled to.

Audis and the other two quickly checked their own status and felt that they had not suffered any damage. Bernadette quickly raised her hand and summoned the pumpkin-shaped carriage.

But before the three of them could get into the carriage, the carriage was hit by a misty, somewhat illusory light from an unknown source and disappeared without a trace.

Odis quickly poured his spirituality into the "Travel Ring," but before he could open the illusory door, Bernadette used her "Reappearance" ability, and a large clump of thick, golden silk-like hair gushed out from under their feet.

These hairs flowed like a waterfall, sending the three of them down the stairs.

Almost instantly, Odis and the others had returned to the lowest level.

Although it was only a moment, Odis understood that the situation was so critical that there was no time to enter the spirit world.

The moment the three of them reached the bottom of the tower, Odis felt a penetrating gaze, as if his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys were clearly seen by that gaze.

In that instant, Odis seemed to understand: "It's the 'Knowledge Mentor'!"

The Sequence 2 Angel of the "Perfectionist" pathway, the "Knowledge Mentor," they had just been discussing!

Bernadette also noticed this, so as soon as her feet touched the ground, she took out a wooden box and put on the forehead ornament with a diamond-encrusted vertical eye.

The next moment, Bernadette summoned a layer of rolling information flow at the top of the tower, which shielded the three of them like an umbrella.

The penetrating gaze disappeared instantly. Odis was about to use his "Travel" ability again to escape, but the "Travel Gate" that opened had a hazy light.

Odis quickly stopped maintaining the "Travel Gate." Obviously, the "Knowledge Mentor" had just noticed Odis's "Travel" ability and was guarding the spirit world.

If this "Travel Gate" were completely opened, the other party might quickly appear beside them.

Bernadette was about to maintain the information flow while sending Odis and Cattleya away, but Odis noticed: "There's also a magic circle on the first floor."

"Now is not the time to study the magic circle!" Bernadette's spirituality did not sense a very urgent or dangerous aura, but it was certain that the other party was an angel.

Odis, while searching for the corresponding symbols, said: "No, I've seen this magic circle before! It's in…"

He had already found the corresponding symbol, so he immediately poured in his spirituality.

In that instant, the ground beneath the three of them disappeared, and they immediately fell, dropping to the underground part of the tower.

Odis saw that the hole above their heads automatically closed.

Just as the three of them were about to fall to the ground, Bernadette used her ability to give each of them transparent, dragonfly-like wings on their backs, and the three of them landed gently.

Bernadette glanced at the top of her head: "On the door of that 'Trensoost Secret Chamber,' there is such a magic circle?"

Before, in Backlund, the two of them had explored a Fourth Epoch ruin together. Odis suspected that it should be Trensoost's secret chamber for contacting outer gods.

Odis nodded: "That's right, but that magic circle was written with symbols I've never seen before, while this magic circle is written in 'Ancient Giant Language.'"

This means that this magic circle does not come from the starry sky, but is a product of the real world.

In addition, Odis had also seen a somewhat similar magic circle at the entrance of the Abraham family's "transfer station."

The function of those magic circles is to hide the location of the entrance, making it difficult to find even from the spirit world.

This is a very special "lock" that even Bernadette cannot break through.

Odis had studied this magic circle for a long time before, but he couldn't replicate it. It wasn't until the advent of the "Extraordinary Potion Production Line" that Odis suddenly realized that this magic circle must also be inlaid with Extraordinary characteristics.

It's just that he hasn't figured out yet, which position to inlay it in? What pathway's characteristics should be inlaid specifically?

Now is not the time to study this magic circle. Odis and the other two glanced around. The underground was a huge natural cave, with some artificially excavated places.

In the depths of the cave, there seemed to be some ancient buildings.

Beneath the feet of Odis and the other two was a stone-paved road, seemingly extending all the way to those ancient buildings.

Near those buildings, there also seemed to be some Extraordinary creatures active.

After a simple look around to confirm that there was no danger, Bernadette opened her arms, and two huge illusory wings with feathers appeared.

Just as the illusory wings were about to block Odis's sight, he suddenly saw a winged white horse flying up in the distance: "Trickery Pegasus!"

Bernadette glanced at it: "It is indeed a 'Trickery Pegasus.'"

She looked again at the top of this huge space, without any signs of being opened, and she also realized who the angel above was, and the situation was not as urgent as she thought, so she said: "Finish the hunt as soon as possible!"

Odis ran a few steps towards that side and suddenly flew up. It wasn't that he used a "Flight Scroll," but that the wings Bernadette had just given him hadn't disappeared.

These wings flew much faster than the "Flight Scroll." The "Trickery Pegasus" also discovered Odis and released a hurricane towards Odis, then turned its head and ran.

Odis immediately used a "Gale Scroll" to shift the direction of the hurricane, not affecting his flight.

Bernadette raised her hand, and a illusory frog suddenly appeared in front of the "Trickery Pegasus."

Ribbit~

A crisp croak made the "Trickery Pegasus" feel like it had been hit by a sap, and it suddenly fell from the sky.

Under normal circumstances, in this kind of adventure, whoever needs the materials is responsible for hunting them.

But now time is tight, and there is no time for Odis to hunt it himself.

With Bernadette's help, things became very easy. Odis flew over: "Imprison!"

Then came "Death" and "Reaping." The "Trickery Pegasus" didn't even have time to use its spells and died in such a muddled way.

Odis quickly took out the sub-array of the "Space Magic Circle" and stuffed the "Trickery Pegasus"'s corpse into the "Knowledge Wilderness."

Bernadette opened her arms again, and the illusory feathers appeared once more. Suddenly, a cold voice said: "Bernadette, are you going to leave without chatting?"

Odis and Cattleya were startled, because their spirituality felt a huge pressure, but they didn't know where the source of that pressure was.

Bernadette's face was uncertain, and the pair of illusory wings disappeared again: "Bono! Long time no see."

As she spoke, she put on the "Sage Forehead Ornament" again and looked at the distant buildings.

From one of the doors of those buildings, a young man with chestnut-colored hair, a handsome face, and a tall figure walked out.

It was Bernadette's younger brother, a favored one of the "God of Steam and Machinery," and the angel of the Steam Church, Bono Gustav.

Odis remembered that he had been blessed by the "God of Steam and Machinery" and was greatly influenced by this god. At this time, the "God of Steam and Machinery" might also be watching here, so he was ready to pray to the "Goddess of the Night" at any time.

Bono walked towards them, glancing at Odis: "You should stay away from Odis Gale, he is very dangerous."

Although they were far apart, his voice was as if it were in Odis's and the others' ears.

Bernadette said faintly: "I don't think so."

Then she looked at his azure blue eyes: "What? Have you suddenly remembered your own background? You even know to remind me that the people around me are dangerous?"

"You know, this kind of sarcasm can't possibly anger me." Bono's tone didn't show any emotional change: "I will advise everyone who appears around Odis Gale this way.

"Because, he is indeed very dangerous!"