The morning sunlight streamed through the newly replaced glass, casting a fresh and pleasant scent upon the floor.
It was a tranquil morning. Inside the castle, the servants had risen early and begun their daily routines.
Baron Ramd had gone out on patrol yesterday and had yet to return. The two esteemed guests who had recently returned from overseas and the Baroness were currently within the castle. The servants had already prepared a lavish meal, awaiting the moment to serve their masters.
As one of the castle's masters, it was a wonderfully peaceful morning. His noble status allowed Tang Eggers Ramd, the Baron's youngest son, to indulge in the delightful aroma of bakery bread, the dazzling array of supermarket deli items, and the surprising fizz of various carbonated drinks within his dreams.
However, the sound of knocking at this precise moment was somewhat suffocating.
Tang, whose morning temper was particularly volatile, was forced to open his eyes, contemplating hanging the knocker from the crooked-necked tree later that night. As the persistent knocking continued, and no servant intervened, Tang reluctantly crawled out of his warm bed. With messy hair, he sat up, forcing a wry smile.
Before opening the door, the image of his impetuous elder brother, a boorish man fond of swordsmanship, had already formed in his mind.
He opened the door, his eyes still heavy with sleep but filled with simmering anger as he looked at the tall man before him.
"My dear elder brother," Tang began, his voice laced with sarcasm, "if there is nothing of importance, would you perhaps allow your younger brother to rest peacefully? Or do you prefer the delightful experience of maids incessantly knocking on your own door in the middle of the night?"
"Haha, Tang." His brother, Owen Ramd, grinned, slapping his younger brother on the shoulder with a force that made the latter wince, yet showed no remorse.
He thrust the greatsword he had prepared beforehand, a weapon almost as tall as his younger brother, into Tang's hands. Seemingly oblivious to the murderous glare he received, Owen said, "Father taught us that physical training is a daily endeavor, and self-discipline is an excellent quality in itself... Oh, I meant to remind you, you've truly overslept today, and our mother is waiting for us to have breakfast."
Tang: "..."
Taking a deep breath, he used his physical strength to toss the greatsword back into his brother's arms before slamming the door shut without looking back.
Owen chuckled at the muffled sounds of indignation from within, hefted the greatsword, and turned to leave.
Entering the washroom and looking at himself in the mirror, a voice echoed in Tang's mind.
'Host, the current time is six forty-two AM standard time.'
'According to the schedule, today requires a summary of the "Marionettist" acting method rules.'
'New tasks have been updated.'
'Task: A Small Experiment for the Marionettist'
'Now that you have advanced from "Faceless" to "Marionettist," as one of the most bizarre abilities below the level of a demigod, the Marionettist's extraordinary powers can become a formidable force in your hands.'
'Please attempt to control the spirit threads of any sentient being.'
'Task Completion: 31%'
'Task Two: Red Light, Green Light.'
'How can a Marionettist not have their own marionettes? Please hurry and find sentient beings that can be made into marionettes. Remember, the quality of the marionette is equally important.'
'Create your own marionettes.'
'Task Completion: 0/3'
Main Quest:
'Main Quest One: Advance to Sequence 4, Occultist.'
'Main Quest Two: Retrieve the Sequence 1 extraordinary characteristics and Uniqueness of the "Hermit" and "Perfectionist" pathways.'
'P.S., Do you need to switch to the Mystic/Alchemist pathway for Sequence Four? YES/NO'
The P.S. at the very bottom was entirely unnecessary, thank you.
Tang rolled his eyes. "Do you want me to give you a live performance of turning into a caterpillar and crawling all over the ground?"
Anyone who had transmigrated into "Lord of the Mysteries" knew that randomly switching pathways would lead to death.
Even if one didn't die, they would go mad, and in a very miserable way.
Tang rubbed his temples, finished washing up, and lay down on the clean, sun-drenched bed, feeling lazy and still wanting to sleep.
But after the recent commotion, his desire to peacefully 'pass away' with his hands folded across his chest had vanished. Remembering the system, he sighed silently.
"It's been almost eighteen years."
Eighteen years ago, he had died in a car accident in his original world.
When he opened his eyes again, he was here.
A bizarre world.
"Why did it have to be Lord of the Mysteries..."
Although encountering transmigration and gaining a second life was already a stroke of incredible luck, even transmigrating into combat-oriented anime like Naruto or Bleach would have been much better, he felt. In those worlds, at least an ordinary person had a chance to survive.
But it had to be Lord of the Mysteries, a world with a strong Cthulhu flavor...
Gods, evil gods, cultists, a world with too many elements of death, where most of the lower class had no hope of living well.
And he wanted to live, to cherish this hard-won second life.
Taking another silent breath in and out, Tang sat up in bed.
"This is really, too terrible..."
'Host, there's no need to feel too terrible.'
The voice in his head continued incessantly.
'Perhaps you could choose the Mystic/Alchemist pathway.'
Tang: "Heh."
Tang: "Is this thing part of that... something?"
He couldn't remember what that thing was, only a very vague impression remained. Honestly, after entering this world and becoming a Seer through the potion, he still couldn't recall it.
It wasn't that he had forgotten, but after integrating into this world, his spirituality warned him that remembering would have terrifying consequences.
This included many things. His spirituality automatically filtered out knowledge he shouldn't come into contact with, preventing him from recalling it.
This was a form of protection, after all, in this world, knowledge beyond one's grade could truly lead to death.
And this system that was born with him... kept pushing him towards the Craftsman and Keyholder pathways...
Ugh, bad luck.
A few days ago, Tang, who had returned from a sea voyage after advancing to Sequence Five 'Marionettist' through the voices of mermaids, looked at the bright sunlight outside the window and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air once more.
"Alright, there are still at least thirteen or fourteen hundred years until the Fifth Epoch, until the descent of that 'Mr. Fool'."
"With such a vast span of time, how am I supposed to get through it?"
He rubbed his chin. "For an Ancient Scholar of Sequence Three, the ritual is to detach from reality for at least three hundred years."
"Forget it, I'll think about Sequence Three later."
Tang thought as he sat at the dining table, preparing to enjoy breakfast.
'Host, you can also choose the Mystic/Alchemist pathway...'
"System," Tang said with 'affection', "don't force me to slap you when I'm in the best mood of the day."
System: '...'
Rationality, host.
The protagonist is of the Seer pathway and has a built-in mystical 'system'.
(End of this chapter)