Chapter 168: The “Clown” Potion

Chapter One Hundred Sixty-Eight
The “Clown” Potion

Hoo. I finally passed… Just like that, I passed…

Hearing Crestet Cesimir’s declaration, Klein, though mentally prepared, first breathed out in relief. Then a faint bewilderment followed, as though the whole thing felt not quite real, like a dream.

In his expectations, the examination should have been harder and much longer. Yet after thinking about it carefully, he felt that the current situation was exactly how it ought to be. If he had not digested the Seer potion in a single month and sought advancement, but had instead waited step by step for three years, the examination might not even have alarmed the Sanctuary. Perhaps it would merely have been handled by the captain of the Tingen Nighthawk team.

I thought there would be sections investigating my family situation and personal relationships… Mm, perhaps His Excellency Cesimir arrived in Tingen two days ago and secretly finished that step… I also thought the examination would involve completing some assigned mission. Heh. Looks like I overthought things. The purpose of the examination is only to confirm the degree to which I digested the potion, whether there are hidden dangers, whether I clearly understand the acting method, and whether I shared my experience with others…

Thought after thought flashed through Klein’s mind, and a sincere smile appeared on his face.

“Thank you, Your Excellency Cesimir.”

“Praise the Goddess!”

Crestet lightly nodded.

“Advancement is for better serving the Goddess and better protecting kind believers. You must remember that. Trust me, it will likewise help you resist the temptation to lose control. Remember: temptation.”

“Temptation…”

Klein chewed over the word.

Crestet studied him with dark-green eyes and said with great solemnity, “The acting method can help you digest potions and lower the risk of losing control, but it is not a panacea. At certain times, it may even confuse you, causing you to mistake the role you are acting for the existence that is yourself. You know what would happen to opera or stage actors like that. They would inevitably develop severe psychological problems. Once that reached a certain degree, you would truly go mad.”

Remember that you are only acting… That is the sole precaution summarized by the City of Silver, and it is basically consistent with Deacon Cesimir’s explanation…

Klein nodded thoughtfully, indicating that he agreed with the other party’s view.

“In addition,” Crestet emphasized, “loss of control is not only connected to potions. It is also closely tied to your own emotional state and psychological health. Mm, the most important thing for a Beyonder is the ability to control oneself. Only then can you resist the temptations of evil gods and demons. Only then can you withstand the corrosion of jealousy, greed, and other emotions and desires.

“Of course, I do not mean completely eliminating such emotions and desires. That is something humans cannot do, nor even half-god, half-human existences. Mm, perhaps only certain special Sequences can reach that state.”

“You mean keeping those emotions and desires within a reasonable range, not allowing them to control us and make us do irrational, abnormal things?” Klein suddenly thought of Old Neil and could not help asking in return.

Crestet nodded gravely.

“Yes.”

After answering, faint wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes.

“That is what I wished to remind you of. Next, I will give you the formula for the Clown potion, along with the corresponding ingredients.”

He bent, lifted the silver-white suitcase onto the long table, then turned slightly and moved a few steps, blocking Klein’s view.

As the surrounding light once again vanished in that strange way, Klein stood within the pure darkness and suddenly understood: the formula and ingredients were all inside the suitcase that held the sacred relic. Earlier, his gaze had been completely drawn by the pure white bone sword, so he had not noticed—perhaps could not have noticed—whether there were other objects inside.

Several minutes later, the gas lamps once again illuminated the alchemy room. Crestet withdrew with the suitcase, allowing the objects placed on the long table to enter Klein’s sight.

Among them, the most conspicuous was a gray goat horn roughly the size of a palm. It looked as if a normal horn had been shrunken down. Its entire surface was crystalline and translucent, light flowing over it. Deep inside, vague layers of strange patterns could be seen.

Beside the goat horn lay a blue rose. Red lines marked its petals, linking together until they seemed to form the face of a person grinning widely.

Hahaha. Sob, sob. Hahaha. Sob, sob…

Klein heard illusory laughter and crying intertwine around him. He saw specks of gray light drifting through the air.

The single-horn crystal of an adult Hornacis gray mountain goat, and a complete human-face rose. Mm. The main ingredients for the Clown potion are gathered!

He nodded almost imperceptibly and walked several steps to the long table.

“Eighty milliliters of pure water, five drops of mandrake juice, seven grams of black-edged sunflower powder, ten grams of golden cloak grass powder, three drops of hemlock juice…”

Looking at the contents written on the unfolded parchment, Klein compared them against the formula in his memory.

After confirming there were no errors, he recalled Old Neil’s original demonstration.

He inhaled, then slowly exhaled, restraining his emotions. Using the devices inside the alchemy room, he distilled the pure water required by the potion.

In potion formulas, pure water referred to water that had been repeatedly distilled.

Then he cleaned the black iron pot and placed the supplementary ingredients inside one after another, as practiced as he had been back in high school when he performed chemistry experiments most often.

Because no extraordinary materials had yet acted as catalysts, he found no obvious change in the liquid inside the iron pot. At most, he could see powdery impurities floating within it.

After completing the preparatory steps, Klein turned his gaze to the two main ingredients and felt sincerely fortunate.

Whether it is the single-horn crystal of the Hornacis gray mountain goat or the human-face rose, neither has any quantitative description… Perhaps an adult goat’s horn crystal or a complete human-face rose does not vary in amount from others of the same kind and simply happens to meet the requirement… Mm, in a mysterious and extraordinary world, something like that is entirely possible…

That way, I do not need to worry about putting in too much of a main ingredient!

After steadying himself for a few seconds, Klein picked up the human-face rose and dropped it into the iron pot.

The moment that strange flower touched the liquid, it immediately produced a sizzling sound. The illusory laughter surrounding him became even sharper.

Hahaha! Hahaha!

Klein did not delay. He hurriedly gripped the crystalline, mysterious goat horn and threw it into the iron pot as well.

Pfft!

The laughter that made one’s scalp tingle suddenly vanished. The floating specks of gray light rapidly contracted into the iron pot.

Klein looked down and saw that the liquid inside had been dyed gold, yellow, and red. The three colors intertwined, yet remained exceptionally clear.

Glug. Glug. One bubble after another rolled upward through the liquid, yet none could escape. They could only burst dimly beneath the surface.

The sight made Klein remember Sprite from his previous life, and all those carbonated drinks from before.

It looks like it would taste pretty good…

An extremely characteristic thought from his original culture naturally flashed through his mind.

Suppressing his nervousness, excitement, and anticipation, Klein used the device to transfer the liquid from the black iron pot into a glass bottle.

What surprised him was that not a single drop of potion remained inside the iron pot.

As expected of a potion that can let a person become extraordinary…

Klein lifted his right hand and gazed at the beautiful golden-yellow-red liquid in his palm.

Crestet Cesimir had remained quiet at the side all along. Only then did he smile and speak.

“Do not worry. At least from what I can see, there was no problem in your potion mixing process.

“I am waiting here precisely so that I can deal with any accidents after you consume the potion. You may rest assured. So long as the problem is not too serious, I should be able to pull you back.”

Mm. Klein nodded, but set the Clown potion back onto the long table.

He removed the silver chain hidden inside the cuff of his left sleeve, held it with his non-dominant hand, and let the citrine pendant hang steadily above the potion, only a little short of touching the liquid.

For Beyonders of other professions, the pendulum method could only divine “yes” and “no.” Of course, when the basic information was insufficient and one insisted on using elimination, the pendulum would remain motionless and not rotate at all—in other words, the divination would fail.

But Klein, as a Seer, had already tested that his pendulum method could also vaguely determine the degree of “yes” or “no.”

His eyes darkened, and he silently recited:

“This potion is harmful.

“This potion is harmful.

“…”

After seven times, he opened his half-closed eyes and saw the citrine pendant rotating clockwise, but the amplitude was very small.

Clockwise means an affirmative answer, which means this potion is harmful… The amplitude is very small, which means the degree of harm is low… Mm, potions naturally carry the risk of loss of control, so they definitely have negative aspects. A low degree of harm proves the potion itself has no problem…

Klein breathed out in relief, wrapped the spirit pendulum back around his left wrist, and hid it with his sleeve.

At that moment, Crestet could not help sighing.

“…You truly are a professional diviner.”

“One must make full use of one’s strengths, but never rely too heavily on them or believe they are omnipotent,” Klein answered in a low voice. Then he picked up the cup of Clown potion again.

Once I drink it, I will become a Sequence 8 Beyonder…

As the thought flashed by, Klein no longer hesitated. He lifted the cup, tilted his head slightly back, and gulped the potion down.

Bitter! So bitter!

It did not taste good at all!

In an instant, he understood what it meant for something to look beautiful yet taste terrible. His entire face seemed to crumple together, and he wanted to vomit but could not.

Immediately afterward, Klein discovered that his face was growing red. Similar changes appeared across the rest of his body as well.

He was quite certain he currently looked like a boiled shrimp. Yet his mind seemed to detach from his body, transforming into thin needles that merged into every drop of potion and pierced every cell.

It was a sensation of “observing” cells without needing a microscope. Standing there, Klein “saw” the invaders enter the most minute territory of his body.

During those few seconds, he felt like a robot being modified through parts and circuits.

After an unknown length of time, his own figure was reflected inside his mind, like hearing the sound of his own singing through an earpiece.

With the help of that bizarre reflection, Klein discovered that he could precisely grasp his facial expressions and bodily movements.

At the same time, buzzing filled his ears. Once again, after a long absence, he heard ravings and shouts echoing around him.

“Hornacis… Flegrea… Hornacis… Flegrea… Hornacis… Flegrea…”

Hoo. Klein imagined layered spheres of light and slowly entered meditation, little by little breaking free from the slight overflow of spirituality and its faint loss of control.

At that moment, he knew with absolute clarity that he had advanced successfully.

He knew he was now a Sequence 8 Clown.