Chapter 25
“The Final Case”
Eivass and Oswald returned very late.
Bishop Mathers’ lessons on Sacred Skills were not long. After all, once the essentials were covered, it was all about persistent practice. Such matters couldn’t be rushed. Ultimately, these mysterious powers arose because Extraordinary beings walked their chosen Paths, resonating with the philosophical essence of their Paths.
Learning, practicing, and using Mystical Arts allowed Extraordinary beings to level up their Extraordinary Professions because practicing these Arts constituted the cultivation for their respective Paths. Since it was cultivation, it was inherently a long process. Unless, like Eivass, one had an awakening.
Aside from “Prayer,” Eivass had quietly mastered the remaining three Sacred Skills. Prayer itself didn’t need explicit instruction, as it was part of the Seminary’s curriculum. Eivass’s initial “Basic Prayer” was due to his lack of knowledge of the correct incantations and rituals. Teaching that would be too long and troublesome, and more importantly, it didn’t affect his professional advancement. The correct incantations merely facilitated the channeling of the Candlemaster’s power to heal the soul. Bishop Mathers had demonstrated it for Eivass once.
Countless faint lights, like larvae, flew from light sources in all directions towards Mathers. As he prayed, a thin shell of radiance gradually enveloped him, growing brighter with time. During this process, Bishop Mathers’ light-attribute Mana was visibly and slowly recovering. Normally, an exhausted Mana Pool would only refill after sufficient sleep. However, Casters on their own Paths usually had emergency replenishment methods. The method for the Path of Devotion was “Prayer.”
Aside from the universal need for sleep, those on the Path of Devotion had two prayer opportunities daily during the day. Through sustained prayer, their light-attribute Mana Pool would slowly replenish, restoring up to half of its maximum capacity. The Mana consumed by the Illuminate Spell was substantial; without prayer for mana regeneration during combat downtime, Mana was utterly insufficient. The greatest advantage of the Mystical Art of Prayer was that it required no materials, no preparation, and would never fail. Praying twice daily, for a minimum of three minutes each time, would steadily yield skill experience. Skill levels could increase steadily over time. Even the timing of the prayers was flexible. If busy, one could combine them before dusk. If extremely busy, one could even skip prayers altogether—sacrificing that free and stable experience.
Bishop Mathers then imparted the most crucial knowledge to Eivass: “The Nine Pillar Gods do not require faith. From a certain perspective, we are using our faith and prayers to constrain the actions of the Nine Pillar Gods. Or rather, we are like stakes driven into the ground, and faith is the rope…” However, he didn’t elaborate on the specifics. That was not something Eivass was meant to know yet.
In any case, even without mastering the correct prayer method, Eivass could only use the skill for mana recovery. Once he acquired more divine knowledge and prayer protocols, [Basic Prayer] would naturally evolve into [Prayer] of the same level.
Afterward, Eivass had a simple lunch in the chapel. The food was blessed communion wafer, sanctified by the ritual when Bishop Mathers demonstrated the [Blessing] skill. Consuming it granted a temporary buff that stabilized the spirit and continuously restored stamina. In a sense, Eivass’s lunch was his textbook for the day, with absolutely no waste.
Eivass also noticed that Bishop Mathers made no mention of Eivass’s wheelchair. He didn’t even offer to heal Eivass’s body or help him “stand up again.” A healer of his caliber could have easily discerned Eivass’s abundant life force, recognizing he was neither ill nor disabled. So why was Eivass in a wheelchair? Bishop Mathers must have harbored such questions. If Eivass’s foster father, James, hadn’t specifically briefed him on the situation, it would have indicated extreme emotional intelligence—even if he didn’t know why, he wouldn’t pry. It was better to avoid unnecessary trouble, to act as if he saw nothing and knew nothing.
Following that, Bishop Mathers took Oswald to a seemingly grand football match. The teams were the “Unicorn Club” and the “Sword in the Lake Club.” The former represented the Church, while the latter was from Avalon. Though Eivass couldn’t fathom what interest these two high-level Extraordinary beings found in watching mortals play football, it appeared to be an important match. This was likely why Oswald hadn’t sent Eivass home, but instead, half-willingly agreed to take him along. With the two of them protecting him, nothing could go wrong.
Although Eivass wasn’t personally interested, these two were respected elders, so he treated it as accompanying the old gentlemen on an outing. Thus, Eivass put on a cheerful and bright demeanor. In the end, it seemed to be a successful outing. The Unicorn Club defeated the Sword in the Lake Club 4-0, a crushing victory that even a complete novice to the sport could recognize. Oswald seemed delighted, while Bishop Mathers showed no particular reaction, merely grumbling, “I knew the manager of the Sword in the Lake Club was problematic.” Overall, it was a happy occasion.
However, Eivass gleaned a strange piece of information from their conversation—Oswald, the old butler of the Moriarty Family, had served the Moriarty Family since the founding of the Avalon Kingdom. Despite this, he held a deep recognition and affection for the Eternal Holy Kingdom. Yet, when Eivass tentatively asked if he wanted to “go back and see,” Oswald merely shook his head.
“I can’t go back,” the old butler sighed, casually remarking. “The Church is good in all aspects, but it’s no longer a home. It’s better not to return.” This was also the first time the taciturn Oswald, like a shadow, had mentioned anything about his past to his “young masters” like Eivass.
Afterward, Eivass fell into a contemplative silence. As Oswald slowly pushed Eivass’s wheelchair homeward, it was already evening. The sunset hung in the sky, and the lake within Moriarty Manor shimmered with a fragmented golden radiance. At the iron gate of the manor, a young man with black hair, brown eyes, and a slender build leaned quietly. He was engrossed in a dark gold book in his hands, its pages emitting a mysterious blue-green glow, as clear as a pristine lake. He was openly reading a forbidden book in front of Moriarty Manor without fear, clearly familiar with and at ease here.
Because Eivass was in a wheelchair, his lower vantage point allowed him to clearly see the title of the book the young man held: *The Sutra of Empty Clarity*. Eivass knew this book. It was a Mystical Art from ancient times—an era when the distinctions between Paths were not as defined as they were now. Hence, many ancient Arts could belong to multiple Paths. This book, however, was an exception. It possessed strong Wisdom Path attributes. The “Empty Clarity Technique” it described was the origin of the later Wisdom Path Mystical Art, “Meditation.”
In the game, the owner of this book was supposed to be Sherlock Hermes. He acquired it shortly after the main storyline began. Sherlock was a powerful Extraordinary being with dual Path adaptability in Wisdom and Authority. In version 0, he already had dual professions: “Law Master” and “Mage.” He was a powerful ally who remained outside the protagonist group. Although not a player’s partner, he occasionally helped solve difficult problems. After the downfall of the Avalon Kingdom, he didn’t follow the players to the Church or the Star Antimony Kingdom. Instead, he accepted an offer from the Iris Kingdom and served in a government position for a period.
As his name suggested, this character was based on Sherlock Holmes. However, unlike the stereotypical image of Holmes with his “pipe and cane,” Sherlock, being semi-affiliated with the Glass Island Inspection Bureau and a high-level Extraordinary being, was far wealthier than the original Holmes, achieved fame much earlier, and lacked his own Watson. At the start of the main storyline, Sherlock was only 26 years old, yet he was already the “Chief Advisor” whom even the Inspection Bureau Director of the White Queen Division treated with respect.
As a Law Master originating from the Path of Authority, his spending on pleasures was also more extravagant. He would buy the most expensive cigars he could afford, rather than cheap pipe tobacco. He was not frugal with his dining, often treating players to meals during their meetings. He would also travel abroad to attend the best concerts. The gifts he gave friends were also highly valuable—for instance, the gifts arranged in his name for the players were generally expensive paid materials. This was a typical characteristic of the Path of Authority: demanding only the best. Not for the sake of enjoyment itself, but for the sake of possessing “the best.” However, after quickly spending the money he received, he would calmly downgrade his consumption, contentedly living a life of no money until the next event made him wealthy again.
Sherlock’s greatest characteristic was never saving money. He never considered “what if I don’t have money later.” This was because the young Sherlock was full of confidence in his own abilities. As long as he had his abilities, he could obtain money at any time—he simply wasn’t interested in earning it. He believed that if he worried about the future, it would subconsciously imply that his talents would eventually deteriorate. Beyond a decline in his quality of life, admitting that he would eventually become foolish was more unacceptable to him.
Such a talented, extremely proud, yet friendly NPC towards the players had always been quite popular among them, spawning numerous fan arts, cosplays, merchandise, and hand-drawn videos. Sherlock was very active throughout the main storyline of version 0, with many pivotal moments. He finally died in the main storyline of version 1. His death was bizarre—he was ambushed and killed while investigating a critical case, having been investigating alone. Although the plot differed from “The Final Case,” perhaps to foreshadow the story’s direction, that major chapter was titled “The Final Case.”
Looking back now, the one who killed Sherlock at that time might have been Eivass’s foster father, James Moriarty. It was only after Sherlock’s death that Eivass’s foster father reappeared in the plot. Players at the time said, “Oh no, he’s returned as Moriarty from ‘The Empty House’.” Eivass had a very deep impression of this event. When the title of that foreshadowing-filled main story was revealed, online discussions and popularity exploded. When the actual plot was released, players reacted with disbelief. More than anger or sadness, the comments were like, “They really dare to give out a death flag,” “He’s not actually dead, is he?”, and “Waiting for an Empty House return.” They didn’t believe it was real but feared it was. It felt like a young boy making a girl cry and then exclaiming, “She’s actually crying!”
Even Eivass specifically asked his screenwriter friend if Sherlock was truly dead. The response he received was vague, “Probably.” But until Eivass’s transmigration, Sherlock’s “Empty House” storyline never arrived. Instead, James Moriarty emerged, revealing his identity as the final BOSS of the version’s main storyline.
As if noticing the intensely complex gaze, Sherlock suddenly looked up in Eivass’s direction. Seeing Oswald pushing the wheelchair, he smiled and put away his book. “Mr. Oswald, good afternoon.” He greeted the old butler briskly and nodded with a smile towards Eivass. Oswald clearly knew Sherlock and greeted him enthusiastically, “Mr. Sherlock, why don’t you come inside and sit for a while? The Professor often mentions you lately.”
Eivass knew this old butler’s proud personality, with his elf-like stubbornness and high standards. He wouldn’t offer such a warm welcome to anyone he didn’t approve of. “No, thank you. If I go in, the Professor will lecture me again. I’ll leave after delivering this. I have other matters—please send my regards to the Professor for me.” The young man with black hair politely refused.
“If you have matters today, why not come to the family banquet tomorrow? I’ll instruct the chef to prepare some good dishes in advance,” Oswald inquired cordially, his attitude vastly different from his indifference towards Haina. “After all, the Professor has been talking about you for a long time—and Mr. Sherlock, you haven’t visited the Professor in almost a year.”
“I have something on tomorrow evening… you understand. I’ll send a formal invitation when I’m free later,” Sherlock replied vaguely. He exchanged a look with the old butler, and Oswald suddenly nodded in understanding, ceasing to press the matter. Eivass also grasped Sherlock’s implication. If he had something important going on tomorrow evening, it was likely an advancement. His vague attitude suggested this advancement was probably illegitimate— he dared to openly read Mystical Arts books from the Wisdom Path but was so reticent about this matter. It must be that his recently acquired secondary Path, the “Mage” profession of the Wisdom Path, was about to advance to the second Energy Level!
…Just like himself. Eivass paused.
“Good heavens. Could it be that my brother and I will meet in the Dream Realm?”
Today’s update is over six thousand words. I can’t control the word count, boohoo…
Happy Children’s Day, my dears!
