Chapter 780: Extract

Walter came to the third story and rapped on the master bedroom's door.

"Who is it?" Dwayne Dantès's slightly weak and hoarse voice sounded.

Walter turned the doorknob, opening a tiny crack in the door.

"Sir, Bishop Elektra is here to visit you.

"Do you wish to meet him in the living room or activity room, or should

he be invited directly to your bedroom?"

Usually, visitors weren't permitted to enter the master's bedroom. This

was rather impolite, but visiting the sick was an exception.

After a brief silence, Dwayne Dantès replied, "Invite him into the

bedroom."

"Alright, sir." As Walter gestured Richardson to urge a maid to prepare

some tea, he walked down and invited Bishop Elektra of the Church of

Evernight up.

Soon, Elektra entered the bedroom and saw Dwayne Dantès lying in bed,

looking haggard.

"Richardson, get the bishop a seat," the pale Dwayne Dantès said with a

smile.

Richardson had already done so. He immediately moved a high-back chair

to a spot near the bed.

However, Elektra took a few steps forward to observe the new tycoon in

town and asked in concern, "Dwayne, how are you? Did you consult a

physician?"

His spiritual perception wasn't triggered, so he didn't make any

attempts. He was only visiting a pious believer out of concern.

Dwayne Dantès coughed lightly and smiled.

"I'm actually almost recovered. I believe I'll be able to head over to

church tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to listen to your preachings."

"That's good. I was wondering if I needed to pray to Goddess to bless

you." Elektra chuckled and took a step back before sitting on the chair

which Richardson had brought for him.

At this moment, Dwayne Dantès glanced at the bishop and chuckled.

"Actually, I've always had a question. Are clergymen of the Church of

the Goddess allowed to get married?"

Elektra, who was two years short of reaching forty, sighed and smiled.

"This question has actually troubled us for the longest time.

"In ancient times, the archbishops had engaged in intense debates about

this on several theosophical meetings.

"One side believed that servants of the Goddess need to maintain their

purity, be it men or women; otherwise it would be sacrilegious. The

other side found words from the Goddess in The Revelation of Evernight

and other books, believing that the Goddess encouraged marriage. 'She'

encouraged equality between both sexes and for them to have normal

contact. Hence, clergymen should be an example of this, and not be a

negative example; by doing so, that would be the greatest respect

towards the Goddess.

"In recent times, this question has basically been shelved. The Church

doesn't ban or encourage it. The only request is that married clergymen

are not to let their families live in the cathedrals."

Dwayne Dantès nodded slowly as he curled the corner of his lips.

"Your Excellency, do you have a wife?"

Although Bishop Elektra was thin and not very good-looking, he was

pleasant to the eyes. He sighed and said, hardly hiding his smile, "Two

years ago, I walked down the aisle under the Goddess's watch. I happen

to have a child this year.

"I originally imagined that I would remain single my entire life in

order to serve Goddess, but..."

As he spoke, he gave a self-deprecating laugh and shook his head.

Without waiting for Dwayne Dantès to probe deeper, Elektra asked, "You

seem to be single as well. Are you considering the problem of marriage?"

He seemed to imagine that Dwayne Dantès had such thoughts, and he

directly asked, imagining that the answer was certain as he continued,

"What kind of lady do you like? Perhaps I might be able to help

introduce you to someone."

Dwayne Dantès coughed lightly and said with a smile, "I often chose

adventures to amass wealth in the past, so I wasn't willing to get

married, afraid I would drag her down. Heh, I like many types of women

and am not picky.

"I like those older than me, one's who can give me warmth and make me

feel at ease..."

Before he finished, his valet, Richardson, wore a stunned expression. He

hurriedly turned his head aside and lowered it. He felt his face burning

for some baffling reason.

Dwayne Dantès didn't seem to sense it as he continued, "I also like

those younger than me, those who are pure and lively, making anyone who

sees them feel as though it's dawn because of the radiance they aren't

aware of..."

Bishop Elektra's face suddenly froze as he raised his palm and clenched

it into a fist as he held it to his mouth and coughed twice.

Yet, Dwayne Dantès didn't stop. He shook his head and said with a sigh,

"I also like those who were once in love or were married so that people

wouldn't dare approach due to their status, women who can only be viewed

from afar. They are so charming that each action of theirs are so

intoxicating and irresistible. I often dream..."

Butler Walter, who was standing nearby, trembled. He felt as though he

had experienced a dream that he didn't wish to wake up from despite

opposing it greatly. He had no idea if it was a good or bad dream.

Dwayne Dantès was about to continue to describe further, but he stopped

producing any sound after opening his mouth.

He then chuckled softly.

"That's all very normal. When humans are at their limits and are under

the influence of their senses, they often have some abnormal thoughts.

As long as they're repressed while acting in line with one's will, it

wouldn't feel like torture. One would still be a husband, a good father,

a good man."

"That's very reasonable. When I'm incensed, I often have irrational

thoughts, but few people will turn them into reality." Bishop Elektra

ingeniously changed the subject. As for Butler Walter and Valet

Richardson, they revealed looks of contemplation.

The bishop didn't stay long. After drinking a few sips of the marquis

black tea that the maid delivered, he got up and bade farewell, leaving

Dwayne Dantès's residence.

The room quickly turned quiet as the window at the balcony silently

opened. Klein, who had changed back into Dwayne Dantès, agilely leaped

inside.

*Thankfully, I returned in time. If I allowed Arrodes to continue

speaking, Bishop Elektra would probably renounce a pious believer like

me... Perhaps I'll even discover Walter and Richardson hanging from

their rooms tomorrow morning, and the streets would have rumors of

Dwayne Dantès being a pervert...* Klein looked at the fake

Dwayne on the bed and sighed silently. That final response had been

personally formulated by him, and he got Arrodes to read it.

Of course, this was his contingency plan for the worst possible

scenario. He had believed that Arrodes wouldn't have made the situation

develop that far.

"Welcome back, Great Master." The Dwayne Dantès in bed bowed and

greeted. "Did your loyal and humble servant, Arrodes, do well?"

Hearing the mirror stammer the question, Klein sighed and said, "It's

still alright. You did pretty good.

"However, try not to agitate others when chatting."

"I-I will take note!" The fake Dwayne Dantès rapidly vanished as a small

mirror appeared on the pillow.

Above the mirror, silver light bloomed as words appeared:

"Thank you for your affirmation. I will continue following in your

footsteps. I look forward to being of service to you the next time\~"

After a goodbye expression was sketched out, the mirror returned to

normal.

Klein went close to it and put away the mirror before entering the

bathroom attached to the master bedroom. He took four steps

counterclockwise and headed above the gray fog.

He wanted to complete the Grazing before Mr. X's Spirit Body dispersed.

In the book world, inside a cave on a snow-laden mountain peak.

Klein looked at Mr. X's corpse and carefully identified the head that

had been pieced together from the fragments. He matched it with his

memories of the target's picture which Miss Magician had provided him.

*It's him... I hope I'll obtain Traveling and Record. With them, I would

make a killing with this operation. Otherwise, I'll have to consider

getting Miss Magician to pay more. The difficulty between hunting a

Sequence 5 and that of facing a demigod are two completely different

matters.* As Klein thought, he reached out his left palm and

spread open his fingers, aiming at the corpse whose spirituality hadn't

completely dispersed.

Creeping Hunger quickly transformed back into its original form, looking

as though it was made of thin human skin, two eyes split open in the

middle of its palm. Its pupils were bright red, as though they were dyed

in blood.

Amidst a cold and eerie wind, Mr. X's significantly dispersed Spirit

Body and the resplendent Beyonder specks of light that resembled the

Milky Way drilled into Creeping Hunger, fixing onto a blank finger.

Creeping Hunger first turned transparent as if it was a shadow of the

spirit world before returning to normal.

Klein closed his eyes and sensed it as his brows gradually eased. A

smile surfaced on his face.

His luck was pretty good this time because he had drawn one of the

Beyonder powers he wanted the most: Traveler's Door!

It could also be called Door of Teleportation, Teleportation, or

Traveling. Its effect was to allow a person to traverse the spirit world

while sensing the external world. Beyonders of different Sequences could

endure Traveling for different periods of time due to the differences in

their Spirit Body's potency. This made the effects of spirit world

traversal and the distance differ.

*If it's a Sequence 9 or 8, they wouldn't be able to go beyond

Backlund... With my present level, I wonder if I can directly head to

the primitive island which Mr. Hanged Man provided. Hmm, if that doesn't

work, I can split it into a few trips...* Klein thought as he

smiled.

At this point, he realized that a Traveler's strength in head-on combat

was very powerful. This was because the difficulty in using

short-distance Traveling was about the same as Flaming Jump. This also

meant that a Traveler could keep phasing around a target, opening up and

narrowing distances as they pleased. This would catch people by surprise

while also preventing them from inflicting a successful blow.

Furthermore, if plenty of powers were Recorded and the vigilance that

accompanies immediately departing once something felt amiss, Klein

suspected that even with Lightning Storm and Hurricane, he had no way of

restraining a Traveler in direct combat.

*Indeed, a Marionettist should try to hide behind the

shadows...* As Klein thought poignantly, he cast his eyes on Mr.

X's corpse.

Creeping Hunger had also obtained another Beyonder power. It was Door

Opening of the Apprentice Sequence. It was equivalent to a very weakened

version of Traveling and was of little value.

Turning his gaze, Klein's eye noticed the ruby ring on Mr. X's hand.