4

Writing my biography through the ages

Chapter 4: Olive from the Incident Investigation Department

As the footsteps approached, led by Daegal, a woman entered the room without uttering a word.

Bertram glanced toward the door, and then his expression changed.

He had never seen a woman like her before, or rather, he had never been so close to a woman like her. Her black hair was a massive braid resting on her left shoulder, while a thin cloth covered the lower half of her face, leaving only her eyes exposed, which gleamed with a faint white light, compelling people to look at her twice.

She wore loose black pants that covered every inch of her skin, while the upper half of her body was concealed by a vest that covered her long arms.

Her outfit was designed to be very conservative, revealing only the bare minimum of her figure. Even her hands were gloved with white silk.

“I am Olive from the Incident Investigation Department. I am a practitioner on the path of the divine spirit, so I specialize in perceiving malevolent auras or afflictions in those who have fallen victim to demons. The Grand General Daegal has entrusted me to examine you. Please, Lord Bertram, sit down and extend your left hand,” Olive said with a flat, emotionless voice.

Bertram complied, lifting the blanket and sitting up, extending his left hand.

Olive pulled out some black powder from her bag and placed it in the palm of Bertram’s left hand.

At that moment, Bertram noticed that she also carried two short knives and a wooden token hanging from her waist. The token was engraved with the word ‘seeker’ and three stars, indicating her rank and authority within her department.

In this world, there were different continents. The one they currently inhabited bore many similarities to medieval Europe, though cultivators were more aligned with ancient Eastern times, resulting in a rather diverse fashion style.

On the continent where the Great Dynasty of Eonia reigned, there were still ongoing battles with demons, which had led this nation to create various departments for the extermination of these beings across human territories.

As mentioned before, Olive belonged to the Incident Investigation Department, so Bertram assumed she possessed the qualities of a formidable martial artist.

In this vast city with millions of inhabitants, the fact that she held a three-star wooden token was extraordinary.

“This is death soil, which can stabilize any type of malevolent aura. I want you to stay still, and no matter what you feel or see, do not move or make any sound,” Olive instructed. She then closed her eyes and, with a delicate movement of her hand, slid her fingers over Bertram’s arm.

As a martial artist in the spiritual realm, specializing in the soul, she was on track to becoming someone very powerful with time.

As she would with anyone else, she opened her mind’s eye and looked at Bertram’s soul, who kept his eyes closed.

The people in the room held their breath and focused, not daring to disturb her. Bertram swallowed hard, not even daring to breathe for fear that she might discover his soul was different.

At that moment, as if touching veins connected to past memories, Bertram vividly remembered the fight he had with that demon, who was likely in the Deep Earth cultivation realm.

That fight was terrifying. Even though Bertram, who fought with a heavy iron staff, had well-honed skills, he couldn’t harm the demon.

But even though he couldn’t do anything to it, the demon couldn’t easily harm him either.

In Bertram’s mind, he watched his former self in that fight and couldn’t help but admire how strong he was. That level of power was not comparable to someone lacking in skill, but to a true warrior.

As far as he understood, he practiced immortality, though he was one step behind the Deep Earth realm. His father also practiced immortality, but the difference in talent was incomparable.

“This is strange…” Olive, the spiritual practitioner, frowned as she saw something that unsettled her.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room was surprised.

“Miss Olive, is Bertram’s soul truly damaged?” Amelia tightly clenched her hands but did not cry. She would not show such vulnerability to people she had not trained or given birth to.

“Don’t jump to conclusions so quickly, mother,” Adelaida held her mother’s trembling hand firmly.

Bertram was also shocked, wondering if she could see through his reincarnation.

“Rest assured, Lord Bertram’s soul and internal aura are now in perfect condition. It’s just that something strange has happened with the divine energy of his mind. I noticed that it’s much more powerful than his internal energy. As a normal martial artist, he seems to have focused solely on his internal energy, but this shows that he has instead concentrated more on the literature of fate, nurturing his mind rather than his starting point, which is the practice of the body,” Olive expressed, surprised.

Upon hearing his words, everyone in the room sighed in relief.

“I suppose you abandoned the path of immortality and focused on the literature of destiny, which is an unknown path for practitioners.” Oliva took the death sand and placed it in a silver box, then asked, “Lord Bertram, is that correct?”

Bertram thought for a moment and replied, “I’ve been studying that path to power since I was young. I never gave it much importance until I realized I couldn’t progress further with conventional methods to reach higher levels in my cultivation. Unfortunately, on this path, I’ve encountered the same wall that everyone else has faced in this underexplored cultivation method.”

“That is the path of the Sage, Lord Bertram. To reach that level of power through literature is something few achieve at a young age. I’m sure, just like in the legend, you too will find that way.”

In the world, there are generally three major paths to cultivate inner energy: the famous path to immortality, which focuses on the energy of the stomach; the practitioners of divine spirit, who focus on power from the; and those who follow the literature of destiny, who focus on the power of the mind.

If you’re wondering, right now, Bertram believes that the path of the literature of destiny is the most powerful of them all. But it’s such a little-studied path that it was rare for people to focus on such an unpromising cultivation method.

That’s why those who didn’t succeed in the conventional path gave up any hope in more complex methods.

But this didn’t stop the former Bertram, who believed he could reach greater heights with the method of the literature of destiny.

“I’m sure I’ll remain at this point for the rest of my life,” Bertram mocked himself, not wanting to show his ambition to this woman.

Olive frowned slightly and showed a touch of displeasure in her eyes, but she quickly hid it and returned to her cold and icy demeanor.

“We have news that yesterday, a group of soul-attacking demonic creatures broke through the city’s defenses by entering through the drainage system. Thanks to Lord Bertram, hundreds of people survived. But you’re the only one who lived after losing the battle, so I have a few questions about that.”

Bertram nodded and recounted his vague memories of facing the black mist demon to save the lives of common citizens.

Upon hearing the story, Amelia showed a look of pride. “After all, we are one of the four largest houses in the dynasty. It was an expected choice not to retreat in the face of demons, even if death was staring us in the eyes. If, instead of fighting the demon, Bertram had fled, today we would be the laughingstock of the entire city and not the guardians we’ve been for hundreds of generations.”

Adelaide looked at her mother and thought, ‘Hadn’t you mentioned numerous times that Bertram should have fled?’

Olive finished recording the story, rolled up the scroll, and then her three-star investigator badge glowed, causing the scroll to disappear.

Bertram looked at this wide-eyed, surprised at what that badge could do. This was like a portable delivery system—faster than anything in the world!

At this, he wondered if he could create that billion-dollar company that made its fortune by delivering products to homes.

“It seems the black mist demon is an evil monster that specializes in devouring souls. Fortunately, the two energies in your body were enough to injure that demon, which we still haven’t found,” said Olive, drawing her own conclusions.

‘No, I didn’t survive, that demon killed me,’ Bertram thought, knowing that the former owner of this body had died in battle.

“Well, that would be all. The demon extermination division has closed districts A-23, B-22, and B-21. It’s believed the demon is hiding somewhere, scared, so it will be killed as soon as the other districts are secured.” Olive wasn’t worried about this; to everyone in this place, those demons were like fugitives who would be found sooner or later.

After this, she left the room, and the family decided to let Bertram rest.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Amelia asked, a bit concerned.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be at the family dinner, so don’t worry anymore,” Bertram said with a reassuring smile, and after that, he was left alone in the room.

He knew that if he had died in battle, being moderately powerful, anything else could end his life once again. That’s why he couldn’t rely on the extra defense measures his father was taking for him at the moment—only he could escape death.

“I hope the power of the mind is just as they described it in my previous life,” Bertram murmured, looking at his iron staff, which was broken into several pieces, resting on a large wooden table at the back of the room.