Volume 2 Chapter 18: Change of Mission

During the talks, the Baron and Bonnie still gave vague explanations about the epidemic disease, and Qin Lun was smart enough not to press further. Both sides seemed to intentionally ignore Little Miller, the source of the plague.

“Doctor Stan, now that you have our approval and learned the historical truth, you are a junior Demon Hunter. As long as you report to the Exorcist Organization later, you will become a full Demon Hunter,” Baron Albert said with a smile. “Now, you need to do one last thing: please sign the Demon Hunter Oath!”

As Baron Albert spoke, Bonnie took a thick, panel-sized book from a bookshelf. The book was hollow inside, holding an ancient brass scroll.

Bonnie unrolled the scroll, placed it in front of Qin Lun, and handed him a quill.

Qin Lun looked closely at the content of the scroll. It was divided into two parts. The first part concerned the Demon Hunter’s duties and responsibilities, similar to what Baron Albert had told him earlier, requiring all Demon Hunters to make it their life’s goal to eliminate Evil Creatures and protect the human world. The latter part contained many signatures of Demon Hunters.

Most signatures were from members of the Albert Family, along with a few other names. Qin Lun knew these names were probably only Demon Hunters in this region.

Qin Lun wrote the name “Wellington Stan” without any mental burden. Seeing him complete the signature, the Baron and Bonnie seemed to relax. This contract was not just a simple piece of parchment; it contained Guardian Power left by believers. Anyone who signed it would be bound by the oath.

After signing, a strange expression appeared on Qin Lun’s face—he actually received a prompt from the Death Notice.

“Apostle 70053, by signing a major law contract of this world with your current Plot Identity, you have directly intervened in this world’s ‘Dual Mystery Conflict.’ You have fulfilled Shattered Law Article 100, unlocking the world plot mission mode and obtaining World Essence Plunder permission!”

“Hint: Apostle 70053’s first Otherworld Guidance Mission content changed! The guidance mission to save Stephen Albert changed to Satellite-Level World Plot ‘Investigation.’ Mission content: Find the truth about Stephen Albert, with obtaining his real whereabouts as the minimum completion requirement.

Mission reward changed to one Fusion Crystal of Shattered Laws, 2000 Shattered Crystals. Mission failure penalty: 30 Soul Lifespan points.”

“Hint: Apostle 70053 obtained Satellite-Level World Plot, satisfying Shattered Law Article 788, unlocking the World Exploration Degree project. Death Notice began collating and organizing related memories, acquiring the current World Exploration Degree progress…”

Satellite-Level World Plot: Historical Plot related to a small region of this world, requiring this plot to meet conditions for changing regional history.

World Exploration Degree: Some actions by the Apostle will uncover this world’s secrets and indirectly or directly affect the world’s historical development, helping Shattered Starry Sky plunder the World Origin of the Other World. The greater the World Exploration Degree, the more World Origin is plundered.

This reward is independent of the Otherworld Mission system. Shattered Starry Sky will distribute this reward based on the World Exploration Degree progress.

“Hint: Death Notice has finished organizing the Apostle’s related memories and some analytical guesses.

…Beep, Death Notice reminds the Apostle that related memories and analytical results may improve the world plot quality. Submit to Shattered Starry Sky via Soul Mark…”

“Hint: Submission successful! Apostle 70053, the current analytical and judgment basis is insufficient. Possibility of upgrading to Planetary-Level World Plot is 40%, possibility of upgrading to Stellar-Level World Plot is 5%.

…World plot quality improvement temporarily postponed. Current World Exploration Degree is approximately 0.201%. Awaiting further information from the Apostle.”

“Shattered Starry Sky Special Hint: A Stellar-Level World Plot during the Apostle’s first trip to Other World has a certain chance to unlock the Gold-level evaluation for world plots. Please pay close attention!”

Seeing Qin Lun frozen there, Baron Albert and Bonnie smiled at each other, thinking the doctor’s intuition was sharp and he immediately felt the oath’s magic.

Bonnie stepped forward to put away the Demon Hunter Oath scroll. Qin Lun’s eyes flickered, and he quickly glanced at the end of the scroll, then narrowed his eyes slightly. On the thing, he noticed that five names seemed to be missing—names that should have been there.

After signing the oath, Qin Lun noticed Baron Albert and Bonnie became much warmer toward him, no longer just politely distant as before.

“Haha, Doctor Stan, congratulations on becoming one of us. Now, let’s head back! In a couple of days, when the other Demon Hunters from Odia arrive, we’ll prepare to enter the Great Forest Maiar,” Baron Albert said, handing his glass to Bonnie with a smile.

This Subsidiary Keep stored a large amount of Demon Hunter-related materials. Aside from a few maids assigned to clean, no servants usually entered. They had to take the glasses they used back to the Main Keep for the servants to wash.

“Let me do it! Thank you both for opening the door to another world for me, making my life more exciting, and allowing the Stan Family to share the glory of the Demon Hunters!” Qin Lun hastily took the glasses from Baron Albert and Bonnie.

They didn’t refuse Qin Lun’s eagerness; to them, it was the humble attitude a junior Demon Hunter should have.

“Oh, by the way, is this Albert the first Baron Albert?” Qin Lun suddenly asked, pointing at the portrait of the tall knight as the three of them were about to leave.

“Yes, he is our Demon Hunter ancestor of the Albert Family, the first Baron Albert, Lorenzo Albert!” The Baron’s face showed a flash of pride. “The words below are the family rule and famous saying he established after receiving the mission to guard Odia!”

“A thousand-year duty, a thousand-year guardianship, a thousand-year glory!” Qin Lun nodded with a smile. “Truly a great Knight indeed!”

Back at the Main Keep, watching Baron Albert and Bonnie go their separate ways, a strange smile appeared on Qin Lun’s face. He glanced at the glasses in his hand and hurried toward his room.

In the corridor on the way to his room, Qin Lun unexpectedly met another member of the Albert Family. However, it seemed she wasn’t waiting for him this time; it appeared to be a coincidence.

“Doctor Stan!” Laura pulled the edge of her skirt and nodded to Qin Lun. “It seems you’ve become one of the Demon Hunters too!”

“Yes, beautiful Miss Laura. I never expected that a chance meeting with your family would lead me into such a mysterious world!” Qin Lun put the hand holding the glasses behind his back, smiling and nodding in return.

“There is no such thing as coincidence in the world, only inevitability!” Laura’s eyes suddenly showed a hint of helplessness as she murmured this puzzling statement, then walked away looking troubled.

“No coincidence, only inevitability!”

Watching Laura’s retreating figure, a strange light flashed in Qin Lun’s eyes. Among the five names he thought should be on the Demon Hunter Oath scroll but weren’t, Laura Albert was one of them.

The other four names were Miller Albert, Elizabeth Albert, Stephen Albert, and… Mary Albert!

Stephen’s children, Miller Albert and Elizabeth Albert, probably couldn’t become Demon Hunters due to their young age. Laura Albert was a noble lady who seemed delicate and not very combat-capable, so it made sense if she couldn’t be a Demon Hunter.

Then what about Stephen Albert? As Bonnie’s older brother and the Baron’s heir, why wasn’t he a Demon Hunter… Also, who was the never-mentioned Mary Albert?

From the tombstone Qin Lun saw in the Albert Family cemetery, Mary Albert was likely that white figure—whether human or ghost.

At that time, Qin Lun didn’t have enough time to dig up Mary’s grave to investigate. However, from the dates on the tombstone, Mary was born in 1698 and died in 1732, while Stephen was born in 1694 and died in 1732. They were four years apart, one 38 and the other 34, dying in the same year.

Judging by their ages, they were either siblings or a couple. If they were siblings, since the whole Odia Town knew about Stephen’s death, they should have some memory of Mary dying in the same year.

Given that Odia Town had little impression of Mary’s death, aside from the Albert Family deliberately covering it up, it suggested Mary’s presence itself was weak. Qin Lun inferred Mary must have been Stephen’s wife, likely very low-key, possibly a Demon Hunter whose signature was on another scroll, which would make sense.

Qin Lun pushed the door open, entered his room, raised the two glasses in his hand, and smiled slightly.

When Qin Lun first treated Little Miller, he had Frank fetch the Medical Kit from his room. When he opened the Medical Kit, he unexpectedly found a pleasant change in his carefully laid trap.

Fingerprints had appeared on some test tubes. From their size, they were an adult’s fingerprints. Someone in the castle had entered his room and started checking the Medical Kit.

Although Qin Lun obtained fingerprints, he didn’t yet know whose they were. Even though he dined and drank tea with the Albert Family members daily, he couldn’t get their fingerprints for comparison. If he rashly asked the servants for cups and utensils, it would surely raise suspicion.

However, the chance to enter the Demon Hunter Subsidiary Keep allowed him to get the glasses used by the Baron and Bonnie. Now he had the chance to compare their fingerprints with those on the test tubes.

However, the comparison results made Qin Lun frown slightly…