Chapter 110: Three Advancements in One Week

Chapter 110: Three Advancements in One Week

Is there any necessary connection between when I accepted the commission and when I found him? If I had not spent an entire day waiting for Will Auceptin, that Mercury Snake, to locate the paper crane, I could have been twenty-four hours earlier… This is called professionalism! Klein replied flatly, “You may choose not to listen.”

The fat Apothecary Darkwill choked back the words that followed. The muscles on his round face twitched.

“Go ahead.”

Klein said in a plain, straightforward tone, “I received information that Roy King was secretly captured by the military and is currently imprisoned inside the Governor-General’s Office.”

Information received from the magic mirror Arrodes… he silently added inwardly.

“Really?” Darkwill again failed to control himself. His eyes widened, and the question escaped his mouth.

Klein nodded almost imperceptibly.

“My source is sufficiently reliable.”

“But I have no way to confirm it…” Darkwill said hesitantly.

“Because it involves an important Sealed Artifact of the Life School of Thought,” Klein said directly.

The fat Apothecary was instantly shocked. He retreated two steps, warily glancing left and right, afraid that what Klein had just said might have been overheard.

Is this something one can casually say on the street? He knows that we belong to the Life School of Thought. He knows the old man is involved with an important Sealed Artifact… I only learned that during the last contact… Darkwill gradually began to believe the information provided by the adventurer before him.

Klein swept a glance at the owl that had flown down from the roof and landed on the fat Apothecary’s shoulder.

“You can pay the reward now.”

“I still cannot confirm it. It cannot be that I simply believe whatever you say…” Darkwill stubbornly said.

Then he saw the adventurer opposite him turn exceptionally cold in the eyes.

The fat Apothecary shivered, then hastily muttered, “Fine, I will reluctantly count it as your completion of the commission.”

With a heartache obvious on his face, he dug a large handful of cash from a hidden pocket inside his countryside witch-doctor robe and counted out one hundred pounds in bits and pieces to Klein.

Although he was a Beyonder, his profession was Apothecary plus Beast Tamer. The enhancement to his physical condition did not fully translate into direct combat ability. He might not even be able to defeat an ordinary person holding a revolver. As for his tamed Beyonder pet, it was also a fellow without much fighting ability. Meanwhile, the person opposite him looked at first glance like an experienced adventurer with many channels, most likely a Beyonder as well. Even if one man and one owl were tied together, they might still not be his match. He could only accept whatever the other party said.

The money I worked so hard to save… he mourned inwardly.

Being an Apothecary was indeed very profitable, especially in an overseas colony. Here, pirates, sailors, and adventurers were numerous, personnel were mixed, and official organizations managed things comparatively loosely. He could sell certain prohibited potions without worrying that someone would come to his door. In the past two months, the customers from the Red Theater alone had brought him more money than he had earned in the entire year before.

However, as a Beyonder, his expenses were enormous as well. His previous savings had largely been consumed in advancing to Beast Tamer. Afterward, he had raised a pet, worked hard to buy a formula for it, concocted its potion, and purchased defensive charms and other items for himself. The money he could truly save amounted only to several hundred pounds.

Klein accepted the cash, using the act of counting to verify its authenticity. Only then did he place it into his pocket and turn to leave.

Watching his back vanish at the alley entrance, the fat Apothecary Darkwill’s expression instantly sank.

“This place is too dangerous…” “Too dangerous…” “I have to leave as soon as possible!” he muttered quietly as he returned to the herbal shop, entered the inner room, dragged out a brown suitcase, and swiftly stuffed all kinds of clothes and neatly folded cash into it.

Finally, he poured out the small-denomination notes and copper pennies of different values from the change box, stuffed them into his pockets, picked up the identification documents he had purchased at high cost, and carried the brown suitcase out of the folk herbal shop.

Looking back at the various potion materials that had not yet been sold, Darkwill’s plump face visibly twitched.

He inhaled, endured the pain in his heart, locked the door, rushed straight to the alley entrance, hailed a rental carriage, and headed for the Bayam Passenger Liner Ticketing Company.

“Too dangerous, too dangerous. Even the old man was captured…” “Captured…” Sitting inside the carriage, he muttered soundlessly to himself again and again, trembling slightly.

In this state, he finally arrived at the ticketing company. As soon as he paid the fare, he nearly ran into the hall and joined the line before the ticket window for East Balam.

Inhale. Exhale… Inhale. Exhale… Darkwill took several deep breaths, following the person in front of him step by step as the line moved forward.

“Buy the soonest ship,” he emphasized to himself.

As the line advanced intermittently, Darkwill gradually quieted down.

His expression suddenly twisted, then rapidly smoothed out. It twisted again and smoothed out again.

When there was only one ticket buyer left ahead of him, Darkwill’s steps froze in place.

“Stupid donkey! You stupid donkey!” he cursed himself. Then he abruptly turned around, carrying his suitcase and holding his identification documents, and walked out of the ticket hall.

…

Klein did not care how the fat Apothecary Darkwill would go about saving his teacher, Roy King. He believed that this was not something he needed to consider.

“They have the Life School of Thought behind them. Even if a split has recently occurred, it is still an ancient organization with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years of history, born in the early Fifth Epoch. It possesses deep foundations. The fat Apothecary can naturally find someone to help… If even the Life School of Thought cannot manage it, then bringing in the entire Tarot Club would be useless. There is no need for me to worry blindly. The military in Bayam has a half-god, half-human on hand… Of course, he may not be in the Governor-General’s Office. Perhaps he lives inside the military base.” Inside the carriage, Klein took out his wallet and looked at the paper crane inside, considering whether to immediately throw it back above the gray fog.

I will wait a bit longer. Maybe Will Auceptin, that Mercury Snake, wants to give me some benefit… Next time, I must remember to prepare a pencil. I overlooked that problem before. How large can one paper crane be? Writing with a fountain pen will quickly leave no space for intelligence… Then I will have no way to actively contact Will Auceptin and can only passively wait. And I cannot keep carrying this paper crane around forever. In a few days, I will have to send it back to the pile of miscellaneous items above the gray fog. After all, I cannot always let Will Auceptin locate me. Caution is best… Klein quickly made his decision. He returned to the Azure Wind Inn, packed his luggage, and checked out of the luxurious suite.

To his comfort, during Danitz’s second visit, he had prepaid part of the room fee. Klein only paid five soli.

Very soon, Klein changed districts and arrived at Autumn Street, near the Fragrant Tree Leaf Bar. He checked into an inn called Tiana, taking a clean but ordinary guest room. It cost only two soli and two pence per day, and even came with an extra glass of juice squeezed from the giant fruit known as tiana.

Drinking the faintly sweet, milk-like juice, Klein no longer needed to care about his image. He slumped into the armchair inside the room and decided to spend the next two hours blankly zoning out and catching up on sleep. After that, he would go above the gray fog, browse the prayers of believers, and experience the feeling of a thousand people with a thousand faces.

…

Backlund, the White household.

Emlyn looked at the blood-red “gem” that had appeared inside the altar, as though he could hear his own blood resonating with it.

After thanking Mr. Fool, he picked up the gem, sensed the special qualities flowing within it, and confirmed that this was indeed the relic of a Blood Clan Baron.

“I only need to prepare the corresponding inheritance ritual or supplementary potion materials, and I can become a Baron. That is not difficult at the current stage.” Emlyn thought with anticipation and pride. “According to the human system, I will then be a Sequence 6 Beyonder. The corresponding title is Potion Professor!”

…

In the blink of an eye, Monday arrived again. Upon the Fog Sea, a fleet was passing through thin mist and blue ocean.

Its flagship was an enormous sailing ship, flying a unique flag that depicted an eye encircled by ten stars—an eye without lashes.

Admiral of Stars Cattleya stood by the window of the captain’s cabin, quietly watching sunlight shine through the thin fog until the cuckoo call of the wall clock sounded.

She glanced at the time, quickly converted it to Loen time, then drew the curtains and sat behind the desk.

Upon the red wooden desk rested a brass sextant and a pale-blue globe. Large blank spaces covered the latter’s surface, representing regions that had not yet been clearly explored or could not be explored.

Cattleya extended a finger and flicked the globe. Then she half closed her eyes, waiting for The Fool’s summons.

It did not take long before surging crimson light appeared before her, completely drowning her despite her preparations.

After she adapted to the change, the sacred palace supported by stone pillars once again appeared in her field of vision, along with the ancient, mottled bronze long table.

Amid Miss Justice’s cheerful and lively greeting, Cattleya also paid her respects to Mr. Fool, who remained shrouded in grayish-white fog.

With a simple sweep of her gaze, her dark-purple eyes suddenly contracted slightly.

She discovered that The Hanged Man, The Moon, and The Sun opposite her all showed slight signs of spirituality overflowing. It was completely different from last time!

This indicated that they had all advanced!

It indicated that their advancements had occurred within the past few days!

“In just one week, three members of the Tarot Club have advanced. The Hanged Man and The Moon may even have reached Sequence 6… Is this coincidence? Did they just happen to take their potions this week? From a probabilistic standpoint, it is possible. The materials The Moon and The Sun sought last time can prove it. But this is also enough to show that the members of the Tarot Club advance very quickly. Otherwise, it would be impossible for things to align so coincidentally…

“Of course, below Sequence 5, Beyonders who accurately grasp the acting method and do not lack resources can advance quickly without it being strange… Starting from Sequence 6 to Sequence 5, ritual assistance is required, and digestion becomes increasingly difficult. It will be very hard for a similar thing to happen again…” The Hermit Cattleya withdrew her gaze.

Next, Justice Audrey apologized to Mr. Fool, saying that she had recently failed to contact members of the Psychology Alchemists and therefore could not provide Roselle diary pages. The same was true of The Magician Fors. Her teacher had been slow to reply recently, and the cold weather made her reluctant to go out.

As for The Sun Derrick, because he had just advanced and had many matters to handle, he had not been able to obtain new materials about ancient myths. The Fool Klein could only nod calmly.

Seeing this, Derrick let out a breath of relief and turned his head toward the foot of the bronze long table.

“Mr. World, I obtained the method you wanted for separating the mental corruption of the insane from Beyonder characteristics.”

Do not say it so directly… At the very head of the bronze long table, The Fool Klein’s expression nearly froze.

Although you, Little Sun, already made Miss Justice, Mr. Hanged Man, and the others aware of this matter through your repeated promises, Madam Hermit only just joined, didn’t she? Klein resisted the urge to cover his face.