Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 254 - 188: The Journey of the Central Administrative Province (Part 1)

Chapter 254: Chapter 188: The Journey of the Central Administrative Province (Part 1)

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The new school year at the Church of the Goddess of Harvest was not quite peaceful.

First, the intelligence report that Malin had given to old Hoffman had been sorted out, and frankly, the senior members of various churches were all tingling with alarm—whether they truly hadn’t noticed the matter, or their lack of awareness was due to interference from a higher-level entity was an extremely dangerous question.

At least Malin felt that the higher-ups preferred not to know about it; the situation had reached a perilously dangerous point. If the murderer accomplished this act of mimicking slaughter, who could say how dangerous and terrifying the ritual might be?

In Hoffman’s words, half the population of Carterburg dying would have been a mercy from the gods. Had it happened in the Central Administrative Province, any city would be likely to produce a victim count over a hundred thousand.

The Church was investigating. Malin discussed the possibility of taking him along with Emma Seidel, the mentor leading the team to the Central Administrative Province tournament—of course it would be impossible to join the team competition; not every apprentice from other regions understood Malin’s strength, but there were no secrets among the churches, and teams from all cities in the Central Administrative Province already had a portrait of Malin in hand.

"Why don’t you take your girls to the Central Administrative Province yourself?" Mentor Emma Seidelk was an older man past middle age, but unlike most older men, he maintained strict standards for his appearance, using skincare products daily from the alchemy workshop because their ingredients really were much better than those found on Earth. Malin’s skincare products worked well, so the old man’s complexion had been looking quite good of late.

He was tall and slender, always combing his hair with pomade into a side part, with a purposefully left patch of white hair on his forehead.

Most apprentices were somewhat afraid of him because he was, aside from a few legends like Hoffman, the most formidable combatant in the Church.

Actually, despite often being verbally fragrant and speaking in a sharp and scathing manner, from Malin’s perspective, he was still a standard member of the Church of the Goddess of Harvest—sharp-tongued but kind-hearted. The last time a group of apprentices had their spoils snatched by mercenaries from the Adventurers’ Guild, he didn’t hesitate to take his weapons and demand an explanation.

Afterwards, seven dead and eleven injured, he cut through a street by himself and came back as if nothing had happened.

While speaking to Malin, he would smile, as if bathed in the spring breeze.

"I thought it’d be good for everyone to be together for support. Besides, my sister is also in your team, isn’t she? I need to keep an eye on her so that no one in the Central Administrative Province will think to bully my sister—otherwise, she might not be able to find me if she needs help." Malin mentioned this with a somewhat insincere smile—if there really was such a precious little treasure, Malin would likely bury the culprit with the speed of light.

"Malin, she’s your sister, but she’s also my apprentice, and I will protect her," Emma Seidelk raised his eyebrows, glanced at the list in his hand, then looked at Malin: "By the way, I heard you’re preparing to take a Magic Potion and decide on a Sequence. I was told you originally wanted to pursue the path of a combat mage."

" That’s because I didn’t know before, I thought native professions and potion Sequences were separate, who knew they could intersect," Malin replied with an embarrassed smile.

"Mmm, you can pursue the path of a combat mage and also take Magic Potions to enhance your physical condition. As a combat mage, you’ll never feel your body is strong enough," Mentor Emma Seidelk sat up straight, looking at Malin: "Which Sequence have you decided to choose?"

"The Detective Sequence," Malin replied with a smile.

"The Detective Sequence, a very mixed bag of a Sequence. Seems to know a bit of everything but master of none," Mentor Emma Seidelk said dubiously: "Can you tell me, how exactly did you come to decide upon this?"

"Well, first of all, the Detective Sequence is very public, its ladder entirely open, from Apprentice to Divine Detective, all the potion Sequences are very mature."

"Of course, it’s a very safe Sequence with almost no possibility of distortion," Mentor Emma Seidelk nodded: "But safety isn’t the issue. You should choose a more powerful Sequence, not one like Detective with a jumble of skills, even though it can offer you a variety of enhancements and abilities, but you said you were a combat mage, right?"

"Yes, but I need a Sequence that can disguise my Transcendent abilities," Malin explained.

"Then why not choose Disguiser?" Mentor Emma Seidelk had just finished speaking when he laughed, "I understand now. You don’t like the Disguiser because you don’t want to become an emotionless monster, right?"

"Yes, Your Excellency," Malin smiled: "I have a lovely sister and lovely girlfriends. Choosing that path would be unfair to them."

"Well, if you want a Sequence that can hide your identity and disguise your abilities, then the Detective Sequence is indeed very suitable for you." Mentor Emma Seidelk nodded, seemingly in agreement with Malin’s perspective: "However, I am very curious—why do you want to become a Detective?"

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"Because Holmes was written by me," Malin said with a smile.

The smile on Mentor Emmet Selk’s face gradually hardened, and, in the end, he chuckled, seemingly in disbelief, "I really can’t believe that’s true."

"But it is indeed true. I asked Mentor Hoffman, and if I choose this Sequence, after drinking the Magic Potion, the Author’s ladder would be as easy for me to climb as flipping my hand."

"It seems you’ve been well-prepared and well-informed, Malin. In that case, I have nothing more to say. Just like you’ve said before, don’t regret your choices."

"Yes, Mentor Emmet Selk, everyone pays a price for their choices." At this point, Malin grinned, "Could I go with you?"

"For the sake of the Goddess, I agree. Otherwise, you little rascal would drive me insane before we even departed," Mentor Emmet Selk shook his head, saying somewhat helplessly.

Malin smiled and accepted the mentor’s ’compliment.’

...

Maya, hearing that Malin would be joining them and bringing her sisters along, was naturally very happy.

If it weren’t for wanting his sister to integrate into the team faster, Malin would even have considered letting her follow them—Malin had found the railway company, and the president’s son, who owed Malin a favor from his promotion last year, agreed to let Malin charter a carriage to attach to the Church’s special train, and also gave him a considerable discount.

Of course, Malin returned the favor, promising to look after his son on the trip since the lad was also in the team.

Transactions between both parties are always pleasant.

When Logan heard about Malin’s trip, he shamelessly joined in. His Miriam, as a fourth-year team member, also joined; the boy, due to his constant obsession with his grand business, had barely studied in the past year. Malin had even threatened him, saying that if he didn’t make progress, Miriam would run off with someone else.

One could say the effect was remarkable.

However, there were two uncertainties about this journey.

The first was Malin’s Zalda big-eared fox, Miss Matilda, who often disappeared for days or weeks. Hearing that Malin was going on a long journey, she immediately showed up in front of Malin dressed as a maid, holding a small suitcase, and said in a genuine Central Administrative Province accent, "Sir, your personal maid is at your service."

I’ve completed the rocket booster check and am preparing for launch.

Although he really wanted to complain, Malin still let the girl get on the train.

After all, she was his maid, for whom he had paid a salary and commission; even if she did nothing but stand behind Malin in the specially tailored maid outfit, it was a beautiful sight. If there were a chance for her to pull out a Shotgun from under her skirt, that would be even better.

The perfect combination of absolute territory and a large-caliber spout.

The other uncertainty was Rewo Moka.

That he would be a first-year team member was beyond Malin’s expectations, and what surprised Malin even more was that old Hoffman seemed to be quite closely related to this youngster.

Facing his mentor’s request, Malin naturally allowed this little one onto the train and, after confirming she was a girl, handed her over to his own ladies.

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