The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 981: The Level 4 Trial

The fireplace cast a flickering glow, and slender shadows danced.

"The 'Watcher' is really strong. I wish I had a Cursed Title like that."

Late at night, in the dim, quiet, and cozy common room, Nasi let out an envious sigh.

"He only became strong after releasing the Cursed Title," Yeger, who was still awake, replied.

"A Cursed Title that doesn't need to be released would be fine too," Nasi said dreamily.

"Is that Cursed Title from the Swamps forbidden zone?"

"My mysticism is only at level 3. Maybe the captain knows?"

The end of his question hung in the common room, unanswered.

"He's asleep. Let's get some sleep too." The sound of Yeger turning over in his bed followed.

"Good night, Yeger.""Hmph..."

Silence once again fell over the common room.

The fireplace crackled softly in the distance. On a bed in the far corner of the room, a pair of black eyes, deep as night, stared calmly at the fluorite lamp behind the curtain, which cast a glow like dim moonlight.

Many people believe that being able to observe more details is a good thing, but Lu Li didn't think so.

Evolution, or rather, human development, forces the brain to discard useless, excess information. For example, you don't notice your own nose unless you focus on it, nor do you register every detail of your surroundings.

The cost of processing so much complex, extraneous information was higher energy consumption and greater danger. In these dark times, with anomalies running rampant, who knew if some curse was attached to a random ruined building you happened to glance at, or if an anomaly lurked at the edge of your vision.

The more you know, the faster you die.

That phrase wasn't specifically about the "Watcher" Cursed Title, but it certainly applied.

Kane's mental state was proof of that.

Even after Lu Li helped him recover his humanity, it was difficult for him to return to a normal state.

If the Cursed Title from the Swamps forbidden zone turned out to be "Watcher," Lu Li would avoid it.

Putting the thoughts aside, Lu Li drifted off to sleep.

...

In the morning, Lu Li slowly woke up.

As Lu Li rose from the bed and stretched his arms, his wrinkled shirt straightened, and he pushed aside the curtain.

Yeger and Nasi were still asleep in their beds, while Kiruet sat before the brightly burning fireplace, reading a book she had borrowed from the library.

"Good morning, Lu Li," she said, turning her head to greet him.

"Morning."

Lu Li went into the washroom. He emerged a short while later, his handsome face looking pale after washing, with drops of water clinging to the black hair at his forehead.

Kiruet watched him, captivated, feeling an indescribable attraction until the heat from the fireplace warmed her cheek, forcing her to look away.

Lu Li walked over to the coat rack and took down his black coat and cloak.

"Are you leaving?" Kiruet asked.

"To take the level 4 mysticism trial."

"Are you ready?"

"Almost."

"Should I bring you some breakfast?"

Kiruet carefully placed a precious bookmark made from a leaf into her book and closed it.

"Thank you."

"We're teammates, aren't we?" Kiruet's smile was a little feminine as she added:

"Good luck."

Leaving the common room, Lu Li headed to the mysticism office to apply for the level 4 trial.

Professor Grey amiably contacted a proctor for Lu Li. But when they arrived, the professor's expression "changed," and in front of the proctor and the students passing in the hallway, he yelled:

"Lu Li! Did you come here to disgrace me?! Get out... Out! I don't want to see you again!"

Lu Li didn't need to play along with Professor Grey; he just had to follow the proctor in silence.

"What are you looking at?"

After Lu Li left, Professor Grey, his legs trembling, clung to the doorframe to keep from falling and growled darkly at the students.

The students exchanged glances, mockery and contempt clear in their eyes, and left the hallway without a word.

Obviously, the news that Professor Grey was so scared of Lu Li that his knees were knocking would spread quickly throughout the middle courses.

The Assignment Hall.

The students were surprised by the arrival of Lu Li and the proctor. Some guessed that Lu Li was about to take the level 4 trial. The proctor's actions—heading toward the "parchment wall" to select a task—confirmed their suspicions.

Soon, the proctor returned with Lu Li's trial assignment.

[Midnicht — Outer City — Lianhe Street]

[Clayman is suffering from an anomaly. Every night, when it grows quiet, he hears alluring whispers in his head. Clayman sought help from a neighboring cult, promising his faith, and the cultists cleansed his house, but he can still hear the whispers.]

[Task: Find the source of the whispers]

[Advanced: Completely resolve this assignment]

[Hint: Clayman is the key. Ask him where he has been and what he has come into contact with.]

[Base Reward: 1 academic credit; 1 team point]

By completing the assignment alone, Lu Li would pass the level 4 mysticism trial.

Accompanied by the proctor, Lu Li donned his cloak and arrived once again at Lianhe Street.

Lianhe Street wasn't a single street but a collection of several neighboring blocks, covering a fairly large area.

After drinking a protective potion, Lu Li stepped onto the porch and knocked on the door of the rather elegant detached house.

Soon, the subject of the assignment opened the door.

Tired, deeply sunken eyes and hair as thick as weeds spoke to Clayman's mental state. He begged Lu Li to solve his problem, at any cost.

Lu Li first asked Clayman about the time and place he encountered the anomaly. Contrary to expectations, the whispering, which had been going on for nearly a week, didn't seem to be caused by the house—he had lived there for several years, but the whispers had only recently appeared and could be heard in other locations as well.

"What were the whispers saying?"

"I don't understand... It's not our language," Clayman said, recalling that the whispers gave him a headache.

Clayman then confessed that he was a writer, and on the night the whispers began, he had been working on his manuscript all night. In the days prior, he hadn't left the house or come into contact with anything—except for the nanny who came to cook once a day.

Lu Li asked Clayman to call for the nanny, then drank a revelation potion and inspected every corner of the house.

He paid special attention to Clayman's manuscript—Lu Li had read about cases where anomalies pestered writers, but this time, that wasn't it. There were no traces of an anomaly on the manuscript.

"Mr. Clayman?"

The nanny's strange cry came from downstairs.

"She's here! Quick, let's go see!"

Clayman hurriedly turned and went downstairs. And as he turned his back to Lu Li, a cloud of gray mist erupted from behind his head.

...

The Holy Light Squad's Common Room.

Kiruet, sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace, looked up as Lu Li opened the door and returned.

She had thought Lu Li wouldn't be back until noon, and had been too lazy to go to the dining hall for breakfast yet. Even Nasi wasn't up.

"Did you pass?"

"Mhm."

"So quickly?!" Yeger's head, dripping with water, poked out from the washroom door.

"What happened?" Kiruet asked as well.

Lu Li briefly recounted the strange story of how an anomaly, drawn to Clayman's novel, had been hiding behind his head, pestering him daily for updates. But Clayman, unable to understand the anomaly's language, was terrified.

"I suppose even the Academy, who set the rules, didn't think of that..."

Kiruet was silent, not just because of the case itself, but because of the revelation potion that had so easily exposed the anomaly.

The Academy obviously couldn't have imagined that a student would use expensive Sequence Potions to pass a level 4 trial.

"I wonder what the level 5 trial is... Maybe I can manage to complete it while I'm at it?"

Kiruet stroked her chin.