Chapter 3 Facing the Transcendent

"I never thought I, the second son of the esteemed Bartleion family, would ever stoop to becoming a pickpocket," Lynn lamented while weighing the wallet in his hand.

In fact, Carol had not misjudged the situation.

Lynn, or rather the original owner of this body, was indeed a nobleman, and not just any nobleman at that.

Unfortunately, for some reason, this title not only brought him no benefits, but had repeatedly attracted attempts on his life, forcing him to live a life of shame and submission.

Just how wretched had his situation become?

The former noble had committed a grave mistake over a certain matter and was branded the "disgrace of the nobility," and following the incident, he was scorned by the entire Imperial Capital.

To quell the public's fury, he was exiled to the borderlands as a criminal by his family.

That in itself was bearable.

After all, the Bartleion family possessed countless assets within the Saint Laurent Empire, and Orn City also had its fair share.

Even if he spent his entire life here, he would have enough to live without worry.

But since Orn City was so far from the Imperial Capital, with inconvenient traffic and communication, as well as its backward living standards and being constantly affected by wars, the pampered family members were simply unwilling to suffer here.

Thus, many of the local estates were left to the stewards and servants stationed here to manage.

Over time, problems arose.

Since this place had been out of the family's control for so long, the stewart and servants had developed a habit of arrogantly abusing their power over the years.

Furthermore, many of the household staff, flaunting the Bartleion name, seized properties and oppressed the commoners.

The worst of it was that these damned individuals, whether following someone's orders or simply growing too arrogant from their standing in Orn City, had forgotten their place.

They even dared to commit acts of servants deceiving their master!

Since his predecessor had been sent here, the steward, servants, and even the lowest of the footmen looked down on him disdainfully.

Outwardly they called him "young master," but behind his back, they looked down on him with superior attitudes and secretly opposed him.

For example, the monthly allowance the family sent to maintain his dignity was intercepted by them, and they pocketed every last penny.

Or they confined him under various pretenses, forbidding him to go out.

The most outrageous instance was when someone gave him a servant's clothes to wear, shamelessly claiming the estate had run out of money and needed him to earn some.

They were overtly and covertly hinting that he should just get lost and fend for himself.

When the steward found out, he merely deducted a day's pay from the offender, treating the whole matter lightly.

It was an open insult.

What's more, his predecessor had even suffered several assassination attempts!

He had reason to suspect that these reckless servants were conspiring with external forces.

It was then, at that critical time, that Lynn had crossed over to this world, taking over this dying body, and found an opportunity to escape.

Moreover, according to his memories, the scandal that had caused an uproar in the Imperial Capital was from the beginning to end a conspiracy against him.

Regrettably, given Lynn's current circumstances, he was temporarily unable to consider seeking revenge.

With this in mind, he sighed.

The black cat beside him seemed to sense his gloomy mood and gave a "meow."

He had picked up the black cat from the roadside.

When they had first encountered each other half a month ago, it was all alone, seemingly hungry, so it meowed at him.

Perhaps it was because he saw something intelligent in the cat's eyes, or maybe out of a sense of shared misery, he took it in on a whim.

Lynn reached out to scratch its chin.

"Don't worry, Little Black, maybe it won't be long before we brothers can venture back to the Imperial Capital," he said, as if talking to the cat, yet also as if talking to himself.

This might also help shake off those mysterious forces pursuing him.

After all, who would imagine that the "disgrace of the nobility," chased out of the Imperial Capital like a stray dog, would dare to return there?

Lynn thought silently.

The next second, however, a jarringly abrupt voice suddenly rang out, causing his spine to tingle without warning.

"No, you aren't going anywhere."

The voice belonged to a man, spoken in a casual, dismissive tone.

Yet to Lynn, it was as though thunder had exploded in his ears.

Having encountered nothing unusual for the past week and feeling groggy, he had let his guard down and had no warning.

How could someone appear in the room without a sound? Could it be that same force that had been secretly after his predecessor?

These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

Lynn's body tensed as he gripped the revolver in his pocket.

And yet, even so, he did not feel much reassurance.

After all, he, who had read the novel, knew very clearly that this was an era where steam machinery and Transcendents coexisted, even the gods left traces to be found.

In front of such power, a left revolver seemed laughably weak.

To prevent a sneak attack, Lynn pressed his back against the wall, his gaze vigilantly sweeping the surroundings.

He noticed, the room had begun to grow darker without him realizing it, even the light from the gas lamps had dimmed.

Shadows spread like ink diffusing in water, and even the air started to ripple strand by strand.

Under Lynn's watchful eye, a human shape wrapped in shadow slowly emerged from the pool of darkness on the ground, without making a sound.

Indeed... this was the power of a Transcendent.

Without a moment's hesitation, Lynn drew his left revolver the instant the shadowy figure appeared and fired three shots in rapid succession.

The bullets were aimed at the head, the heart, and the groin.

"What a vicious little devil!"

The shadow seemed somewhat surprised by Lynn's ruthless action.

But it was just that, surprise.

The moment the bullets struck the figure, not a single drop of blood splattered; they hit what seemed like air before burying into the wall.

No physical form?

As this thought rose, a sense of alarm surged in Lynn's heart.

The next second, the inky darkness around the shadowy figure suddenly began to boil.

Following this, countless writhing tentacles shot out from the shadows like a tidal wave, firing towards Lynn!

Although he sensed the incoming attack, the ordinary human body he currently possessed could not support high-frequency evasion.

Moreover, half a month of sleeplessness had weakened him to the extreme.

Thus, it only took a few seconds for Lynn to feel his limbs and neck entangled by the shadowy tentacles carrying a powerful force.

The tentacles lifted his body slowly until he was suspended in mid-air.

At that moment, the human form shrouded in shadow slowly approached.

Its face, also covered in shadow, was indistinct.

"Don't resist; it will be less painful that way," the shadow's voice sounded quite young, "We can't let you get hurt before you meet that lady."

It seemed he wasn't about to give Lynn any chance to resist, as the shadowy tentacles around his limbs and neck started to tighten.

The air grew thinner, making it harder for Lynn to breathe.

Yet, his mind was still racing.

Based on the touch, the enemy was not without a physical form; their body had just merged with the darkness, making physical attacks ineffective.

That is to say, the power of the opponent derived from darkness.

If that was the case... then use light to disperse the darkness.

A sudden inspiration birthed a crazy idea in him.

"Let's... negotiate, shall we?" Lynn said in gasps, "No matter, who you work for, let me go... just this once... and I'll surely repay..."

"My companions and I have been tailing you for nearly half a month, and to stop now would be a waste," the shadowy man sighed, "And in my view, your repayment isn't worth much."

"Besides, that lady specifically asked to see you; as an ordinary person, do you think you can defy her will?"

Defy her will?

This phrase implied a great deal, causing Lynn's breath to catch.

While this confirmed the shadowy man wasn't here to kill him, it was more troubling than that.

But he had no time to consider the underlying meaning now.

"Alright, take a nap first, and you'll be there when you wake up."

With that, the shadowy man once again manipulated his power, causing viscous shadows to surge over Lynn's body.

"I... refuse."

Lynn did not want to entrust his fate to someone else and, using the last of his strength, tightly gripped the left revolver in his hand.

What needed to be done was actually quite simple.

"Bang!"

With the trigger pulled, a small hole was punctured in the gas pipe's metal sheet in the corner of the room.

"Hissss— Hissss—"

The sound of leaking gas and an odd scent rushed in, soon spreading throughout the cramped room.

The shadowy man's expression froze.

Disbelief flickered in his eyes as he subconsciously stepped back.

"What are you trying to do—"

Before he finished speaking, the trigger was pulled once more.

"Boom!!!"