Lord of Mysteries: The Lord of Power

After carefully comparing the book's contents with the real city of Trier and committing it to memory, Furen found himself walking down Terson Street. The long journey home made him feel a bit foolish for walking such a distance, but he reassured himself that he had no pressing social obligations and could treat the walk as a way to familiarize himself with the layout of Trier.

Just as Furen was about to instinctively unlock the door and push it open, his spirituality seemed to flicker briefly. Startled, he turned his attention to the mailbox, which he hadn't used since arriving in this world.

Looking at the red mailbox, Furen approached it and casually glanced around, pretending to act nonchalant. He then extended his right hand toward the red mailbox. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that he wasn't holding a key—just a piece of paper. The mailbox had only one opening, inconveniently located at the front.

However, Furen confidently reached his hand to the back of the mailbox, pressing the paper against it. By channeling his spirituality in a way incomprehensible to ordinary people, his hand seemed to pass effortlessly into the interior of the mailbox. Yet, as he tried to retrieve the envelope, an awkward situation arose—the envelope couldn't pass through the barrier of the mailbox.

Furen remained calm, merely intensifying the coverage of his spirituality and extending it to the envelope. This time, he successfully retrieved the letter. Surprised but quick to adapt, he mused to himself, "If clothing can pass through an obstacle while being worn, then it's reasonable to assume other objects can as well. However, this increases the spiritual energy required. I'll need to test this further later."

Nodding as he mentally noted the discovery, Furen turned back to the front door. He smiled faintly at the sight of the sturdy lock. With a subtle shift in his spiritual energy, the lock seemed to naturally fall open, as though an invisible hand had gently unlatched it. The lock dropped as effortlessly as a ripe apple falling from a tree.

As Furen stepped into his home, he reflected on the abilities of the "Apprentice." The main ability was "door manipulation," which manifested in three ways. The first allowed the user to seemingly move into another dimension to pass through a "door." This method was highly taxing; using it to cover his entire body would only be possible twice in his current state. Digesting the potion might reduce the consumption, or a higher level of spirituality could enable more frequent usage.

The second method involved creating an azure door on a physical surface, enabling the user to pass through. This consumed less spiritual energy, allowing Furen to use it three times in his current state—though it couldn't transport others.

The third method allowed the user to unlock barriers without damaging them, as Furen had done with the front door. This was the least taxing and could be used multiple times. The method he used to retrieve the letter was the first, while opening the door employed the third.

Beyond these, the "Apprentice" granted only modest spiritual energy, slightly enhanced physical attributes, and improved memory. According to records, an "Apprentice" could activate spiritual vision but lacked the abilities of a Seer to discern a person's health or emotions.

The application of the "Apprentice" powers was limited to door-related objects. The paper Furen had used to retrieve the letter bore a lifelike depiction of a door, a family heirloom passed down by the Abraham family. Though durable, the paper had no extraordinary properties beyond this. On its back was a name written in an unrecognizable yet strangely comprehensible script: "Gabriel Abraham." Gabriel was a direct ancestor of the Abraham family, a fallen angel who had perished during the War of the Four Emperors.

After locking the door behind him, Furen headed to the study on the second floor. Under the crimson moonlight, the spacious and empty room seemed even more solemn. Lighting a few necessary candles, he sat at the desk and used a small knife to cut through the wax seal of the envelope.

Before opening the letter, Furen recognized the seal's emblem—it was the crest of the Abraham family. The sender could only be the family's representative in Trier, Elder Lave Abraham, who had successfully digested the "Astrologer" potion.

Of course, Abraham family members never used "Abraham" as a surname. Furen's full name was Furen Freeman, while Lave Abraham was known as Lave Crow, a well-known merchant in Trier. Lave's business, Crow Emporium, dealt in rare and exotic goods from distant lands, supported by ten trading caravans operating between the northern continent and Trier. Even in Trier, Lave Crow was considered a wealthy individual.

The letter read:

"...A member of the Abraham family in Trier has been exposed due to their extraordinary abilities being noticed by suspected members of an orthodox Church during a gathering. Unfortunately, as this individual fled, some of their unfinished letters were discovered, explicitly mentioning their identity as an Abraham family member and revealing that there are more than ten family members in Trier.

Now, the orthodox Churches and the military are frantically searching for traces of the Abraham family in Trier...

"...Given the current complex situation, and to celebrate the imminent birth of another 'Astrologer' in Trier, I have decided to convene a family gathering on July 8th. To ensure the local Abraham family does not decline to the point of forgetting the glory of our ancestors, I must leave some provisions behind..."

After reading the letter, Furen frowned slightly and leaned back in his chair, his mind replaying its contents. The letter was indeed from Lave Abraham, the family's representative in Trier.

As he tapped his fingers on the desk, Furen analyzed the details, sensing the situation was more complicated than Lave's calm tone suggested.

"This letter, while composed with apparent calmness, is messier than Lave's usual handwriting," Furen thought, recalling the elder's prior letters.

"If it's only a matter of the member revealing the number of Abraham family members, there's no need for a meeting. A simple letter would suffice. Did Lave's identity get exposed? Or is he planning to distribute the family's resources in Trier among its members?"

"If so, I might be implicated as well. In past gatherings, while everyone wore iron masks to conceal their faces, their physiques and accents were exposed. If someone is spiritually interrogated, my only options would be to flee Trier and Intis or become a fugitive."

Furen rubbed his forehead, acknowledging the gravity of the situation. If the Abraham family in Trier were wiped out, he wouldn't even have access to the Sequence 6 and Sequence 5 formulas, let alone become a demigod.

"Power... If I were already a demigod, such purges from the orthodox Churches wouldn't be a concern. They wouldn't dare provoke the Abraham family with a demigod in its ranks, especially since we no longer seek conflict. It seems news of the family's lack of mid- to high-ranking members has already leaked."

Calming himself, Furen turned his focus back to studying his abilities, determined to find a way to navigate the dangers ahead.