Chapter 38

"About the same intensity as 'last time'..."

Lumian looked at the corpse of the skinless monster and muttered to himself.

Before the time reversal, he had fought the monster back and forth, relying on his intelligence to make it look like an easy win. Now, it was just a matter of one axe blow.

Of course, this was also because he had experienced it "before" and had a thorough understanding of the ambush, allowing him to make accurate predictions in advance.

However, no matter what, the contrast between "before" and "after" was enough to make him feel the qualitative improvement he had gained after becoming a Beyonder.

Lumian thought for two seconds, then moved the skinless monster's body and head to a corner but did not bury them with stones, wood, or soil, leaving them and the blood on the ground exposed.

Then, Lumian quickly searched the half-collapsed building, precisely finding the remaining 197 Felkins and 25 Kopecks, and sorted them into different pockets.

He flipped through the small blue book again but found nothing unusual.

After doing all this, he headed deeper into the ruins. However, after only advancing twenty to thirty meters, he circled back to the same place, following the skinless monster's path and nimbly climbing onto the half-collapsed roof.

After completing the necessary preparations, he concealed himself.

Time ticked by, and Lumian waited patiently, like an experienced hunter waiting for prey.

After an unknown amount of time, a figure appeared from the ruins.

It had a half-human, half-beast appearance, with bent knees, oily black hair, and a hunting rifle on its back. It was the same monster that had given Lumian a "Hunter" Beyonder characteristic "before."

The rifle monster moved cautiously, as if on a routine patrol.

Suddenly, it sniffed the air and detected a large amount of blood on the ground in the distance.

It quickly changed direction and approached the half-collapsed building that had been burned.

Following the blood trail, the rifle monster found the skinless monster's body and head.

It crouched down and began a careful examination.

On the half-collapsed roof, Lumian shook his head and muttered to himself:

"At this distance, it didn't even smell my scent?

"Even with the blood masking it, it shouldn't have been completely unaware!"

As he muttered, he lifted his axe and forcefully split it into a pre-enlarged crack in the stone.

Crash!

The half-collapsed roof shook, and heavy stones fell down.

The rifle monster reacted quickly, twisting its waist and jumping to the still-standing area.

Lumian smiled.

He pounced from the still-standing part of the roof, like an eagle seizing its prey mid-air.

In the whistling wind, Lumian and the rifle monster met in mid-air. One was in a dominant position, raising his axe, while the other, facing the high ground, struggled to turn and block.

Lumian's left hand formed a fist and struck downward. When the monster extended its arm to block, he opened his palm, softened his force, and grabbed the monster.

With Lumian's left hand pulling back, his right hand, holding the axe, swung down forcefully.

With a thud, blood splattered as both Lumian and the monster fell to the ground.

Lumian, cushioned by the fall, was unaffected and raised his axe again.

The rifle monster's head, unwilling as it was, was severed from its body and rolled a couple of times.

Lumian stood up, looked at the monster, and sneered:

"You've become weaker!

"You're just a terrifying shell, with a scarecrow inside, aren't you?"

As a "Hunter," Lumian was confident he could handle the rifle monster again, but he didn't expect it to be so easy.

Looking at the corpse, Lumian patiently waited for the Beyonder characteristic to manifest.

But after waiting for a while, he saw no red light spots appear.

"No?" Lumian muttered in confusion.

He didn't find it surprising.

The rifle monster's Beyonder characteristic had been obtained by him "before" and had become a potion in his body.

Indeed, since the time reversal didn't revert him to a normal person or make the Beyonder characteristic in his body disappear, it meant that the "Hunter" Beyonder characteristic was missing here, and the rifle monster had simply returned to a living state without the essential support... The question now was, why did he still retain his pre-time reversal state? Lumian couldn't think of an answer and could only search the rifle monster for a few copper coins before leaving the ruins.

...

...

After the sun came up, Lumian didn't pretend to have a headache in front of his sister or bring up the topic of Beyonders as he had on March 30th. Instead, he got up early and prepared breakfast.

Toasted bread, sunny-side-up eggs, and sliced ham were laid out on the table.

"Wow, so diligent?" Aurore, coming downstairs and seeing this, was quite surprised. "I thought you'd be too hungover to get up after drinking so much last night."

Lumian casually replied:

"Just one apple cider and one absinthe, where's the excess?"

"What's there to be proud of? Besides wine, other alcoholic drinks are unhealthy and can affect our brains." Aurore shook her head and laughed. "No wonder you're getting dumber, my alcoholic brother."

Lumian, who had never won an argument with his sister, muttered:

"Why is wine an exception?"

"Because I like it." Aurore had a "go ahead and argue" look.

Lumian had nothing to say.

After breakfast, he didn't rush out but started kneading dough.

Aurore was amazed:

"Did you get into some big trouble? You're being so well-behaved...

"Tell me, and I won't hit you, just add an extra combat class."

"No." Lumian seized the opportunity to start a conversation. "I just feel the village's atmosphere is getting stranger, and some people are acting more abnormally, Aurore. Have you noticed this?"

From his observations, his sister indeed had no memory of the time that was reversed, but the village's abnormalities had been present before March 29th, with some signs. As a "Secret Seer," Aurore might have noticed but didn't take it seriously.

Aurore's expression became more serious:

"Even you can sense the abnormality?

"Tell me, who are the people that make you feel this way?"

Aurore indeed knew some people had issues, but she didn't expect the problems to be so severe... Lumian, washing his hands, carefully said:

"Madame Poualais, the parish priest, Poncebene, and the shepherd Pierre Berry, who returned to the village early."

"Madame Poualais does have some issues. I knew something was off when she and the administrator came to Cordu, but she's very restrained. Apart from her continuous extramarital affairs, there's nothing truly evil about her." Aurore recalled. "I've seen... something in her..."

Aurore stopped, not wanting to involve Lumian in the Beyonder world.

Continuous extramarital affairs? Before discovering Madame Poualais and the parish priest's affair, Lumian thought she was a decent lady, not knowing the parish priest wasn't her first lover.

Of course, this fit his current impression of Madame Poualais.

"As for the parish priest, he, like you, has a strong desire for Beyonder powers but hasn't received the Church of the Eternal Sun's blessing." Aurore thought aloud. "Poncebene, that muscle-headed guy, wouldn't do anything strange... The sheep Pierre Berry brought back early seem a bit off, but I can't pinpoint what's wrong and don't dare to investigate further..."

No wonder, a Sequence 7 of the "Secret Seer" pathway... Before the time reversal, I didn't communicate enough with my sister about these matters, missing the crucial clue that Pierre Berry's sheep might be problematic... Well, at that time, I didn't suspect Pierre Berry much, just found it odd that he returned early for Lent... Lumian was about to speak when the doorbell rang.

Their doorbell was being pulled.

"Who is it?" Lumian asked as he walked over.

"Aurore has a telegram!" the person outside called out.

"Telegram?" Aurore looked puzzled. "Who sent me a telegram? There's nothing urgent recently..."

Lumian was also confused:

Before the time reversal on March 30th, we didn't receive any telegrams at home!

Wait, on March 30th, I went to the village square early to wait for Raymond. Maybe Aurore received a telegram and didn't tell me... Lumian quickly found a possibility and opened the door.

Outside was Bertrand, the administrator's subordinate in charge of telegrams. He handed a piece of paper to Lumian and said:

"1 Felkin."

Bertrand, with brown hair and brown eyes, was not from Cordu but had come with the administrator from Liege. He was a young man who appeared热情 but was actually greedy.

Lumian took out a 1 Felkin silver coin and threw it to Bertrand, then looked down at the telegram.

The content of the telegram was not complicated, and he quickly read through it:

"Regarding the writer's salon in June, if Miss Aurore is willing, you can start your journey to Trier now, allowing enough time for sightseeing. We guarantee it will be a wonderful trip."

The signature was from the editorial department of the "Novel Weekly."

This... Lumian's eyes widened.

Is this a reply from the "Novel Weekly"?

"When did I say I wanted to attend the writer's salon?" Aurore leaned in, read a few lines, and said, "What's the editorial department of the 'Novel Weekly' up to? It's annoying to meet so many people at once!"

By this time, Bertrand had already moved away from the door.

Hearing Aurore's words and considering the content of the telegram, the stunned Lumian suddenly had a bold guess:

The telegram in his hand was indeed a reply from the "Novel Weekly," but it was a reply to the telegram he would send a few days later!

More accurately, the telegram he sent before the time reversal had received a reply after the time reversal, and in his current experience, that telegram had not yet been sent!