Chapter 151: A Demigod’s Evaluation

Chapter 151: A Demigod’s Evaluation

Inside the world of the book, the moment Klein appeared in a secluded place outside the city, he immediately took out the remaining dark-red soil from before. Picking up a withered branch, he used the dowsing rod method to search for Tutanthis II’s mummy.

He was worried that the mummy, called the embodiment of curses, might harm the residents here. Although the book world did not lack Sequence 5 quasi-powerhouses, and although Tutanthis II’s mummy had lost the stimulation from Azik’s copper whistle and was now in a muddled state with little ability to act, it had been a half-human, half-god Beyonder while alive. The curse evolved from its corpse after death was certainly not simple. Even Klein himself would not have dared approach too closely without the curse-resistant golden bead Miss Sharron had given him.

Of course, Klein had weighed matters before deciding to use Groselle’s Travels to steal Tutanthis II’s mummy. His previous experiences and others’ encounters had all proven one thing: when outsiders entered the book world, they did not directly appear before the local residents. They had to explore before they could meet, especially the first time!

Therefore, Klein believed that Tutanthis II’s mummy should have been moved to some uninhabited place. Given the state of that living corpse, there was a high chance it would circle nearby, finding it difficult to autonomously explore in different directions like humans, elves, or giants.

In other words, as long as too much time did not pass, no real loss should be caused. And from when Klein smeared the blood-containing mud over the travelogue’s cover, only two or three minutes had gone by.

Following the direction indicated by the dowsing rod, Klein flew toward a nearby mountain peak. Soon, he saw a valley.

At that moment, Tutanthis II’s mummy appeared!

It was wrapped all over in yellow-brown bandages, stained with dark-red liquid, and wore a mask with a golden base and colored patterns over its face.

From its throat came sounds unlike anything human. It charged over in long strides, while the surrounding air dimmed.

At the same time, several incomplete animal corpses throughout the valley overturned the soil that covered them and, moving with difficulty, approached Klein.

Klein, whose spirit body was reinforced by Azik’s copper whistle, immediately gave a soft heh.

“How enthusiastic…”

Unhurried, he tossed away the withered branch and picked up a clump of deep-black matter.

This was the Requiemer Beyonder characteristic he had previously released from the mutated Creeping Hunger. Pure points of light lay at its core, making the whole thing resemble a night curtain studded with stars.

Invisible waves spread out with some difficulty. The surroundings abruptly darkened, as though night had descended all at once.

A quiet, peaceful feeling arrived together with specks of starlight. The several incomplete animal corpses first grew dazed, then fell down and returned to slumber.

Tutanthis II’s mummy likewise slowed its pace. Its movements became slower and slower, but it never lay back down.

“As expected, using a Beyonder characteristic directly does not produce an especially good effect, and the negative influence is not low either…”

Klein could not help raising his left hand and covering his mouth as he yawned.

He immediately made Creeping Hunger turn pale and acquire a slight sinister green tint, directly using the living corpse ability to control the deceased opposite him.

The overlap of the two Beyonder effects finally made Tutanthis II’s mummy quiet down.

With two black gemstones embedded in its eye sockets, it slowly arrived beside Klein and silently stood there, as though it were the most professional valet.

“What a pity about the curse…”

Klein immediately drew a golden bead from inside his own spirit body. It had an obvious ancient Highland Kingdom style and was deeply engraved with many blue-green patterns.

It came from Sharron and had been prepared specifically for Tutanthis II’s mummy. It could effectively suppress and dispel curses. Otherwise, how would this Wraith young lady dare set her sights on a pharaoh mummy?

After playing briefly with the golden bead, Klein made Tutanthis II’s mummy open its mouth on its own. Then, through the slit in the mask’s mouth, he stuffed the item inside.

Only two or three seconds later, the surrounding dimness disappeared.

Having finished all this, he stepped forward and, in his spirit body form, possessed Tutanthis II’s mummy. Then he ended the summoning without hesitation and returned above the gray fog.

This mummy had already become a living corpse under his control. Like his previous marionette, Senor, it could be brought out in this way and did not need to be forcibly contained within his body.

After a round of bestowment, Tutanthis II’s mummy, this spirituality-rich material, returned to the real world—back to the room in the cheap inn.

Klein handled the corresponding traces, reached out with his right hand, and was about to grab the mummy’s shoulder and Travel with it back to the two-bedroom house where Sharron and Maric were.

He looked at the somewhat greasy yellow-brown bandages. He looked at the dark-red liquid upon them. Then, silently, Klein retracted his right hand and switched to his gloved left palm.

After his left palm gripped the mummy’s shoulder, it immediately turned transparent and rapidly spread that trend across his entire body.

With a single flicker, Klein brought the mummy back to the previous room.

He did not hurry to open the door and present the result to Miss Sharron and Maric. Instead, he took out his gold-cased pocket watch and pressed it open.

“Thirty-six seconds left until five minutes…”

Klein made Tutanthis II’s mummy pull out a chair, then leisurely sat down upon it.

After waiting a while, he finally heard a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Klein replied with a smile while controlling Tutanthis II’s mummy to walk over.

With a creak, the door opened. At the same time, Sharron’s and Maric’s eyes reflected that withered figure wearing a golden-based colored mask and wrapped all over in yellow-brown bandages.

The black gemstones in the figure’s eye sockets flashed once. Then it nimbly lay down on the floor and arranged itself in position.

“…”

For a moment, Sharron and Maric did not know what to say.

Klein, having already used a wall of spirituality to isolate Azik’s copper whistle, released his control over the living corpse. Smiling, he pointed at the mummy lying properly on the ground.

“The rest is up to you.”

And the drama I directed has successfully come to an end…

Klein sighed inwardly and quietly experienced the potion visibly digesting at high speed.

This made him feel that perhaps he did not need to wait until the end of the year. Two or even three months earlier, he might be able to consider the matter of advancing to a half-human, half-god.

And thanks to this digestion, the number of marionettes he could control had finally risen to two. His maximum range could reach two hundred meters. When facing enemies whose spirit body strength was at the same level, the time needed to initially control a target and completely transform the other party into a puppet had shortened to ten seconds and two and a half minutes respectively, while the range had expanded to ten meters.

“It… really succeeded…” Maric stared straight at Tutanthis II’s mummy, unable to suppress his low mutter.

He could not imagine how this could have succeeded!

Sherlock Moriarty had actually stolen away the object contested by four demigods and two terrifying sealed artifacts right in front of them!

And this gentleman had been empty-handed just now!

Did the mummy deliver itself over?

Inside Sharron’s blue eyes, emotion remained deeply hidden. She calmly and attentively examined this “target.”

After confirming that it truly was a pharaoh mummy, and that it truly was Tutanthis II, she shifted her gaze toward Sherlock Moriarty, who sat with one leg crossed.

Her lips parted slightly, then closed once. Finally, Sharron spoke.

“Thank you.

“I will send the corresponding compensation by letter.”

“I wish you—mm, both of you—success in what follows,” Klein answered sincerely.

Immediately afterward, he silently sighed a few more times:

If Miss Sharron can successfully advance to Sequence 4, that will mean I have gained a helper at the demigod level! As the saying goes in the empire of great eaters: at home, rely on parents; outside, rely on friends. Naturally, the more demigod-level friends the better! Our Tarot Club must develop many, many friends and make our enemies fewer and fewer… However, my enemies also seem to be increasing without stopping…

At that thought, Klein added another reminder:

“Be careful of tracking.”

Tutanthis II’s mummy had too many items left with the Loen military, making it very easy to lock onto with Beyonder methods. Meanwhile, the interference from Klein’s Paper Angel could only last for a rather limited time.

Of course, he believed Miss Sharron and Maric must surely have made preparations. Otherwise, they would not have planned to steal the pharaoh mummy in the first place. Similarly, he believed they could handle the origins of the gray-iron mask and the special firework.

If it were Danitz, he would probably say to me: I never thought about those things…

Klein used a certain failed Hunter as a point of comparison.

Sharron nodded, indicating she would pay attention to that matter. Then she transformed Tutanthis II’s mummy into her own living corpse and took it into the spirit world.

“Thank you for your help.” Maric exhaled, restrained the many emotions surging inside him, and bowed to Sherlock Moriarty.

After that, he left the room, removed his disguise, and blended into the East Borough’s flow of people.

Throughout the process, Klein, wearing a black formal suit and a half top hat, remained seated in the chair, quietly watching them leave.

At some unknown point, his figure also vanished.

…

Inside a room near Pritz Harbor.

The Loen military demigod with golden eyes and a mask pushed open the door and entered. To his companion, the woman in an evening gown, he said, “No results for now.”

“That is normal. If he did not have a certain level of confidence, that mysterious person would not have come to steal Tutanthis II’s mummy,” the woman in the evening gown said in a low voice. “However, we can broaden the scope of the investigation. That firework, that mask, that set of clothes, and that provocative salute should all yield something.”

She was certain that the loss of Tutanthis II’s mummy had not been caused by the two demigods from the Rose School of Thought. If it truly were their method, there would have been no need to wait until such a dangerous moment before using it. They had nearly failed to escape.

The golden-eyed demigod nodded.

“At the time, I had a premonition that something would go wrong. Unfortunately, this operation did not involve joint action with the Churches. We did not have quite enough manpower.”

He paused, then changed the subject.

“Have you figured out what method that mysterious person used?”

The woman in the evening gown picked up the thorn crown before her and inserted the thorns into her own neck. As blood flowed out, she shook her head.

“Perhaps taking the mud containing Tutanthis II’s bodily fluids was part of a ritual…

“He is an extremely cunning fellow who excels at deception!”