Chapter 139: Studying “3-0782”

Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Nine
Studying “3-0782”

The crimson before his eyes vanished, and Derrick Berg once more saw his own bedroom. He saw the pure crystal ball.

Crack!

The crystal ball shattered from within. Some pieces turned into sheets of illusory light and flew into the surrounding emptiness, while others clattered to the floor, each fragment sparkling.

Derrick stared at the scene in silence. From the reflection in a nearby bronze mirror, he saw streaks of dried blood crossing his face. He saw a crimson radiance spiraling inward on the back of his right hand, condensing into a circle that emitted line after line of light.

In the blink of an eye, that strange symbol burrowed into the back of his hand and disappeared completely.

Derrick remained dazed for more than a dozen lightning flashes before he finally awoke from his dreamlike bewilderment.

He looked at the crystal ball fragments on the floor, then at the back of his right hand. His gaze gradually deepened.

Leaving his bedroom and returning to the sitting room, Derrick opened the front door and lifted his head to look at the sky above the City of Silver.

A bolt of lightning cut across it, covering all things in silver radiance. Immediately afterward, amid rolling thunder, the world returned to darkness. Darkness without a single point of light. Darkness so deep and heavy it could drive one to despair.

Derrick clenched both hands into fists. There was no joy in his eyes. Grief and pain still remained.

But he was no longer lost.

…

Hoo. I fooled in another member—no, I developed another member…

Klein shook his head with a laugh, mocking the Tarot Club’s current strength:

The “Fool” who serves as leader is actually only Sequence 9, and has only just digested the Seer potion!

And the City of Silver, which seemed to hold not the slightest hope in the Sun’s words, has at least three Sequence 4 high-ranking powerhouses!

“One more round of groundwork, and I can explain the situation to the Captain and submit a special application. Once I become a Clown, I will at least no longer be merely support.”

Klein did not linger. He extended his spirituality, wrapped it around himself, and dropped sharply downward.

Passing through the gray fog and the ravings, he returned to the room and removed the wall of spirituality.

Then Klein picked up the key, pulled open the door, and first went to check the two rooms Dunn had booked. After confirming that the Captain and Frye had not yet returned, he walked down to the first floor and pushed the key toward the innkeeper.

The innkeeper glanced at the wall clock at the side, then gave him a thumbs-up.

“Well done!”

Hey, what do you think I rented a room by the hour for?

Klein opened his mouth to explain, but in the end, decided to let the other man continue misunderstanding.

Feeling rather wronged, he comforted himself.

Mm. That way, he will not gossip to the Captain about me opening another room!

After going out and deliberately making a show of walking around, Klein performed a quick divination. According to the result, he returned to the inn and went directly to the second floor, where he saw, as expected, Dunn and Frye exchanging information from their investigation in one of the rooms.

“It can be confirmed that the wraith appeared only within the last two or three months.”

Dunn glanced at Klein, who had opened the door and entered, and gave the conclusion with a nod.

Klein immediately echoed, “My investigation confirmed this as well…”

He summarized the key points of his questioning, then added at the end, “Heh, a town resident called Rascal Gray also claimed his family possessed a portrait of the first Baron Lamud, saying it was an ancient oil painting from over a thousand years ago.”

“You did not spend money to buy it, did you?”

Dunn’s gray eyes flickered. After a pause, he asked directly.

Captain, do you think I am some fool who can be conned so easily?

Klein gave a dry laugh.

“No. I absolutely did not. Although I am only a history student, I have attended some archaeology lectures and possess a certain amount of experience in this area. I can make a preliminary judgment regarding authenticity. Heh, the person in that oil painting rather resembled my history instructor, Mr. Azik.”

He spoke the most crucial matter in the careless tone of a casual mention.

Just as expected, Dunn did not pay attention to that point. He rubbed the corner of his brow and said, “Small towns with ancient ruins are always filled with all sorts of antiques. Just now, a town resident tried to sell me Baron Lamud’s silver wine cup.”

“Someone tried to sell me the Lamud family’s emblem, claiming it was dug out from the old castle,” Frye added.

Klein instinctively asked, “You did not buy it, did you?”

Frye looked at him. He looked at Frye. Neither side continued the topic.

“The next task is this: either you or Frye, after recovering, will carry Sealed Artifact 3-0782 to an uninhabited place outside town. Otherwise, half the inn’s guests may become idiots who know only how to praise the Sun. Will you go first, or will Frye?”

Dunn’s deep gray eyes looked at Klein.

“Me.”

Klein raised his hand slightly and smiled.

“It is not too late yet. I can sleep well after I return. We rotate every two hours, correct?”

“Yes. Frye, go with Klein first and confirm the exchange point.”

Dunn turned his head toward the Corpse Collector, Frye.

During their separate investigations, he had already found an opportunity to pass Sealed Artifact 3-0782 to Frye. Otherwise, he would have long since had his body and soul purified and begun praising the Sun. As for Frye, because his recovery time had not been enough, he could currently endure only another three hours.

“All right.”

Frye removed the Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem from the inner side of his thin black windbreaker and handed it to Klein.

Klein accepted it with considerable curiosity and interest. The badge’s metal surface felt warm and gentle, as though hot water flowed within it.

Its warm, soft radiance spread outward like ripples, bringing a pure scent. At the same time, Klein felt the dark-gold emblem bearing the sun symbol continuously washing his spirituality, removing impurities and leaving purity behind.

As expected, all Sealed Artifacts have a horribly treacherous side. One careless moment, and you die—or end up in a condition worse than death…

He muttered silently and pinned Sealed Artifact 3-0782 inside his clothing.

After confirming the state of his revolver, charms, and cane, he left the room with Frye, departed the inn, and headed straight outside Lamud Town.

Beside a sparse, desolate stretch of woods, the two made a circuit, confirming that there were no living people within dozens of meters.

“If anyone comes close, drive them away,” Frye reminded him coldly and gloomily. “I will come replace you in two hours.”

“No problem,” Klein answered with a smile.

Watching Frye walk back into town, he found the waist-high stone he had noticed earlier, picked a few nearby leaves, and wiped its surface clean.

Then, with one finger, he touched the top of the stone and examined the finger under the crimson moonlight.

After confirming there was nothing wrong, Klein lifted the hem of his black windbreaker and sat down heavily.

If you can sit, do not stand!

He silently added the principle in his heart.

After sitting quietly for several minutes, he looked toward the dim, silent, deep, terrifying woods. Unable to stop himself, he stood again and took out different small metal bottles from the hidden pockets inside his clothing. Around the stone, he scattered a circle of herbal powder, essential oil, and hydrosol.

Immediately afterward, Klein recited an incantation in Hermes. Borrowing the materials and releasing his spirituality, he sealed the area where he sat.

This simple ritual had two purposes. First, it was to defend against corpses or ghosts sneaking up on him without relying on a Seer’s sense for danger. Second… second, it was to drive away mosquitoes.

It is a hundred times better than floral water!

Klein sat down again with satisfaction.

After idly staying there for several minutes, he rather curiously removed Sealed Artifact 3-0782 and carefully examined the Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem.

I wonder whether I can divine its origin and the source of its special nature…

Suddenly, an interesting thought flashed through Klein’s mind. He took out the paper and round-bellied fountain pen he carried with him, then wrote down the divination statement:

“The origin of the Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem in my hand.”

As a qualified and true Seer, Klein had long since prepared himself to perform divination anytime, anywhere.

After silently reciting the divination statement seven times, he closed his eyes and entered meditation. Using that as a springboard, he began dreaming.

Inside the dream, he saw only pure radiance. Beyond that, there was nothing.

“Mm. The Church definitely tried other diviners before, and the file does not contain its origin, which means no effective result was obtained—just like with me…”

Klein sighed, then thought, “I wonder what result I would get if the interference were eliminated?”

The instant that idea surfaced, it seized his mind and pushed his curiosity to its peak.

After hesitating for more than ten minutes, seeing that the night was quiet, that no one was around, and that he stood within a hidden part of the woods where passersby would not see him, he rose within the wall of spirituality and walked four steps counterclockwise, once again entering the space above the gray fog.

Inside the majestic palace, Klein sat at the head of the ancient long table. Before him appeared yellow-brown parchment, a black round-bellied fountain pen, and the Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem.

“It feels pretty real…”

He picked up Sealed Artifact 3-0782 and weighed it, sensing that its shape and touch were identical to the real object.

A manifestation based directly on my senses?

Klein muttered to himself, then wrote down the previous divination statement once more:

“The origin of the Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem in my hand.”

After silently reciting it seven times, he held the parchment and Sealed Artifact 3-0782, leaned back, and entered a dream.

Inside the gray, illusory world, Klein saw a drop of golden, warm, bright liquid.

It floated above an altar. Standing before it was a man in a white classical robe.

Only the man’s back was visible, and all signs of life had left him. He slowly collapsed, falling toward the altar.

At that moment, the Sun Sacred Emblem in his hand touched the drop of golden liquid. The latter swiftly seeped into it.

After seeing this, the dream swiftly faded, and Klein awoke.

“So it was because it fused with that drop of golden liquid that this Sacred Emblem could remain effective and impossible to control. Hm, at least several decades have passed since it was discovered, and its purifying ability has never weakened… I wonder what that drop of golden liquid really is… Some high-ranking extraordinary material?”

Klein toyed with the manifested Sealed Artifact 3-0782, sinking deep into thought.

After considering it for several minutes, he tried to use the sensation from the dream to reverse-separate the “golden liquid” from the manifested Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem.

As soon as the thought appeared, the result presented itself.

Shocked and astonished, Klein looked at the Sacred Emblem before him, now no longer quite so warm or pure, and then at the drop of golden liquid quietly floating beside it. His evaluation of the mysterious space above the gray fog rose another level.

This is enough to be called miraculous—even if it is only the separation of a manifested illusory object!

“The source of this drop of golden liquid.”

Quite excited, he wrote down a new divination statement.