Mystery: Starting from the Shadow World

Chapter 4: Targeted by the "Evil God"

Kingdom of Rune, County of Ahova, City of Tingen.

The midday sun shone brightly on the ground. Philip lifted his satchel, stepped out of the steam train platform, and breathed in the air, which was much cleaner than in Backlund. He finally relaxed and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Nothing unexpected happened along the way. Based on his memory of the Rose School, he knew that they wouldn't have their own influence in such a remote small city; otherwise, the Church of the True God would have been out of business long ago.

After all, the reputation of the Rose School has never been good since the indulgence school became mainstream. It is even worse than the witch cult next door, which plays assassination instigation and even men transforming into women to play seduction.

But none of that matters. Anyway, Philip is only a half-Sequence 9 "prisoner" now, and strictly speaking, he is not an extraordinary person at all. Even if the church finds out, they won't do anything to him.

Next, we settled down in a nice place in this beautiful, peaceful, and clean small city that seemed to have nothing to do with danger.

He bought a map and a newspaper with rental information, then found a horse-drawn carriage parked nearby and sat down.

"Sir, where are you going?" the coachman asked, but Philip's gaze froze for a moment on the newspaper he had just unfolded in his hand:

A detached house at 1 Devon Street in the North End is available for rent for one, two, or three years at £6 per week. Interested parties please go to 16 Champagne Street and ask for Mr. Gusherf.

Townhouse at 6 Narcissus Street. Available for rent for two or three years at 17 soula per week. Interested parties please contact Mr. Colmar at 13 Zotland Street.

The houses in these newspapers are a bit expensive, but I can understand, since they're for families. But right now he only has a little over three hundred pounds to his name, and no income at all. He doesn't know how long that will last after all his expenses. Sharing... forget it.

There might be some cheaper places, but those are either in poor condition or require a third-party company to provide identification and handle various procedures, which he can't provide now.

As a member of a nation obsessed with food, Philip believed that if his income couldn't exceed his expenses, it would be a major life crisis. He closed the newspaper and decided to postpone his idea of ​​renting a place for himself: "A hotel."

After he handed over a silver sole in exchange for a 5-penny and two 1-penny copper coins, the horses, under the coachman's guidance, began to head towards the bridge spanning the Tasok River in the distance.

Finally, around noon, Philip arrived at the hotel, bringing his short journey to an end. He carried his satchel, spent 1 sulph to book a room, and bought a plate of flavored fried fish, beef with black pepper sauce, and two glasses of ginger beer before entering his room.

After the waiter placed the food on the table and left with the door closed, he sat on the edge of the bed, put down his satchel, and gently leaned back until he was completely flat on the mattress.

It went more smoothly than I expected. Philip blinked and stared blankly at the ceiling.

None of the unexpected events he imagined on the road occurred. For example, he was robbed because he was found to be carrying a large sum of money, or he was suddenly shot by a bullet outside the window while riding in a horse-drawn carriage, or the steam train overturned due to an accident.

Well, it's better if it doesn't happen.

It's true that you shouldn't watch too many virtual works.

How could such an absurd thing happen?

The boy entered the bathroom in the hotel room, picked up a towel hanging nearby, wet it with tap water, and began to carefully wipe his arms, cheeks, and other easily accessible parts of his body.

After finishing all that, Philip wanted to wash his hair, but then he thought that he probably wouldn't be able to resist taking a shower that night, so he left the bathroom and went back to the table to eat lunch.

Because he was once a big foodie in China, the food in this other world didn't seem very appetizing to him. However, given the original owner "Philip's" years of temperance and suffering during his escape, the food tasted incredibly precious to him.

Hmm. Next, I need to find a way to make money before tomorrow night to make sure I can afford to rent a house and live a normal life, otherwise I'll have to spend another sous. Philip finished the last bite of beef, then stood up and walked to the bedside.

But before that, I'll take a nap.

Anyway, there's no rush.

However, just as Philip took off his clothes, lay down on the bed, and covered himself with the blanket, his vision was suddenly obscured by a grayish-white mist, making it impossible for him to see anything.

"Um???"

What happened again?

Is it illegal for me to take a nap?

This strange occurrence made the boy calmly and silently sit up, turning his head around to look for the cause, but the next moment, a deep red light shone on his body, engulfing him completely.

Above the gray-white mist, Philip calmly glanced around, comparing it with the shadow world. Feeling slightly relieved, he then noticed that besides himself, there were three other people standing nearby.

A tall, blonde girl; a middle-aged man with messy, dark blue hair like seaweed; and a mysterious figure in the distance, completely shrouded in mist and clearly distinguishable from the others.

The difference in location and appearance allowed Philip to instantly distinguish between the host and the guest. He immediately and discreetly moved his feet and hid behind a man and a woman.

The man seemed to notice him at this moment, turning his gaze to look at him without saying a word. It was the girl who, after noticing the mysterious man, cautiously but politely inquired:

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

"Sir, where is this place? What is your purpose in bringing us here?"

Fortunately, someone stepped forward. Philip silently gave the other person a thumbs up in his heart. Even though he felt that this mysterious person was definitely not related to the Rose Cult, he did not dare to take any risks.

The mysterious figure shrouded in gray mist remained silent for a few seconds, then gently raised his hand and spoke in a calm and gentle, yet refined manner:

"An attempt."

try?

The three of them silently repeated the word in their minds. The girl frowned slightly, but quickly calmed down and said somewhat nervously, "Now that the experiment is complete, can we go back? I mean... without any negative effects."

"Heh, of course, no problem." The mysterious man chuckled, then seemed to think of something, and pointed his fingertips out of thin air, causing the surrounding gray mist to surge.

Two rows of towering stone pillars emerged, connecting with the dome above, and the magnificent architecture enveloped everyone.

Where they stood, there was now a long bronze table, with twenty seats on the left and right sides, and strange star maps that did not completely correspond to reality on the backs of the seats at the top and bottom.

(End of this chapter)