Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 971

"Teacher, I've been the one guiding Jenkins all this time. We get along very well."

In the brightly lit living room, Audrey insisted. Her hands gripped the arms of her chair tightly, making her look like a lioness protecting her cub.

"But until I arrived, you were merely observing him. You haven't even made Williamette a true diviner."

Brolignans paused for a moment as the sound of a carriage hurrying down the street outside threatened to drown out their conversation.

"Williamette, do you not yet understand what an incredible opportunity you've been given?"

she asked Jenkins again. The warm, yellow glow of the gas lamp made everyone's faces perfectly clear.

"I have some idea," Jenkins replied. "But I would be delighted if you could be a bit more specific."

"No. These are things you must discover for yourself."

Hearing this, Jenkins struggled to keep a scornful expression off his face, knowing it would be terribly impolite.

the middle-aged woman added, her tone softening considerably.

Jenkins said nothing, silently stroking the cat on his lap. Audrey, however, looked ready to speak, but was cut off.

"Many strange people have come to the city. That is my hint for you."

The diviner's face seemed to blur in that instant. The sentence, once spoken, seemed to carry a profound magic, and it was immediately seared into Jenkins's memory.

"This sounds like the beginning of a strange tale."

Jenkins remarked, then glanced toward the door.

"But regardless of what you two are planning, I think we may have a problem."

The women followed his gaze to the door. An eerie silence fell over the room for a moment, and then a faint, abrupt knocking sound echoed through the quiet:

The flame of the gas lamp flickered. When it steadied, its light was significantly dimmer. The fire in the hearth cast dancing shadows across the faces of those on the sofa, while the closed curtains behind them displayed the strange, distorted silhouettes of three people and a cat.

The knocking, which felt as if it were rapping on their very hearts, sounded again. Jenkins glanced at the two diviners. Although they lacked his ability to see Cursed Items, they had clearly sensed that something was wrong.

No one spoke. The three of them stared in silent agreement at the front door, deep in the dark entryway. Suddenly, a rattling sound came from the window, as if a pebble had struck the glass, but with the curtains drawn, they couldn't see its source. Official source ıs nοvelfire.net

They could only see dark shapes patrolling outside the house, their forms twisting into terrifying images that created a tangible psychic strain. The temperature in the room was dropping, and the lights grew dimmer still.

Stroking the cat on his lap, which was poised to bolt in fear, Jenkins flicked a flame from his hand to reignite the dying embers in the hearth. The space in front of the sofa was instantly illuminated.

But in doing so, it only made the areas beyond the sofa seem even darker by comparison.

"A-04-1-6671, The Uninvited Guest of the Night."

Brolignans said with a frown. Seeing Jenkins's confusion, she continued to explain:

"It's a rather troublesome Cursed Item, but among those with a '1' danger classification, it's likely the most common. Its appearances have increased with the rising urbanization of our era... This thing only manifests in urban settlements, and it does so by knocking on the door of an enclosed house with three or more people inside..."

Knock, knock, knock...

The knocking came again, but this time it was louder and more urgent.

"Information gathered from survivors of 'the knocker' incidents indicates that a response must be given within five minutes of the first knock. A valid response includes either opening the door or loudly refusing entry..."

"Three minutes, twelve seconds,"

Audrey stated, marking the time since the very first knock.

"However, the key to ending an A-04-1-6671 event is to open the door at least three times. But be warned: there are nine knockers in total. If the ninth one leaves and the door hasn't been opened three times, everyone inside the building will vanish. As for where they go... there are currently no clues."

"Then how was this information obtained?"

"Through the use of a Class B Extraordinary item."

"Four minutes, thirty-five seconds!"

Audrey warned sharply.

"And what are the consequences of not opening the door within five minutes?"

"The knocker forces its way inside."

"Please leave! You are not welcome here!"

Jenkins shouted toward the door. Just as predicted, the knocking stopped. At the same time, everyone in the room—human and feline alike—heard footsteps receding into the distance. The sound was so clear it was as if they were walking away right behind them.

"The second knocker will appear within three minutes, so we still have a little time. And take note: any attempt to escape this house will result in death by an unknown entity. The effect is... having all the blood in your body evaporate in under three seconds."

"So what will we find when we open the door?"

"Danger or safety. There is no in-between. A benevolent knocker poses no threat, but against a hostile one... we would be utterly defenseless."

"And the probability?"

Jenkins asked. His shadow swayed gently on the curtains, merging with that of the cat in his arms to form a bizarre silhouette.

"No idea. After all, the dead don't report back to the Church."

The three of them remained on the sofa, as if the flames in the hearth could offer them some measure of security. Audrey seemed to have some knowledge of A-04-1-6671, but it wasn't nearly as comprehensive as Brolignans's.

She would occasionally add a few details, but for the most part, she just listened.

Jenkins found himself questioning his terrible luck at encountering a Cursed Item in his own home. In his mind, the house on St. George Avenue had always been his sanctuary. Ever since he had owned it, no Cursed Item or supernatural force had ever managed to invade it. Even on the night the Evil God's Scion was born, the entity hadn't dared to rashly force its way inside.

"So why would A-04-1-6671 be so bold? Simply because its danger classification is 1?"

Fortunately, the three people in the house were no ordinary mortals; Brolignans herself was a demigod-level diviner. By the time the second knocker began its rapping, she had finished explaining the Cursed Item's characteristics to the other two and proposed using divination to decide whether to open the door.

Divining a Cursed Item directly was, of course, impossible. Instead, Brolignans would divine their own safety. While their well-being was intrinsically linked to the Cursed Item, it wasn't the same as divining the item itself.

She hadn't brought enough ritual materials with her on this visit. Fortunately, since Jenkins had "just been promoted to level four," he had stockpiled a fresh batch of supplies at home to practice the new rituals Papa Oliver had taught him.