Chapter 130: In Hand

Chapter 130: In Hand

The gas streetlamps at both ends of the stone bridge quietly illuminated the road, but could not disperse the darkness below. Only the dim crimson light falling from the high sky barely lit up the brown earth.

Councilor of Fate Ricciardo, hiding inside the bridge opening, remained silent for so long that Klein could not help suspecting that the other party might already have died from severe injuries. He guessed that the earlier failure to attach luck was very likely due to this factor.

Just as Klein was tentatively preparing to speak and confirm the situation, Ricciardo coughed twice and said in a deep, hoarse voice, “As expected of a powerful adventurer who can temporarily seal the die…

“The current situation is beyond my expectations. Cough. I am very curious what exactly happened to make the luck I attached completely ineffective.

“Unfortunately, I cannot come out. I cannot face you directly. Otherwise, I should be able to see things that Beyonders of other pathways would find difficult to see, even if they have relatively high spirit vision.

“This is special to the Fate pathway.”

So the problem is with me? That is not the important part. The important part is that you need to give me those seven hundred pounds—no, seven hundred and thirty pounds… While inwardly retorting, Klein could not help remembering Ademisaul, the orphan in Tingen City nicknamed Monster.

That young man, who was roughly equal to half a Sequence 9, had screamed and collapsed when he saw Klein. His eyes had bled, and he had been as terrified as if he had encountered a devil.

Was that because he possessed the special trait of the Wheel of Fortune pathway, allowing him to see my problem and some matters related to the gray fog? What a pity. This Councilor of Fate is severely injured and carries an aura of misfortune. There is no way to have him examine me… I will ask the Mercury Snake, Will Auceptin, later. He may know something. However, this pathway also has the feel of a professional charlatan. He may not directly answer me. There is a high chance he will only give me a few vague, ambiguous sentences… Klein maintained an expressionless state and said, “Then what do you plan to do?”

Ricciardo sighed.

“Go bring Darkwill over. I will attach luck to him and let him win at the casinos in your place.”

Following the name of the inn that Councilor Ricciardo gave him, Klein quickly found the fat Apothecary Darkwill. Then, carrying his suitcase and cane, he watched woodenly as the other party continuously won money at several major casinos, earning 750 pounds before dawn.

After receiving the 730-pound balance, Klein truly understood one problem:

The reason the earlier luck had failed lay with him!

“Why?” Klein tucked away his bulging wallet, frowning as he silently asked himself.

He quickly thought of the thin, invisible grayish-white fog around his body and vaguely understood the reason.

“After advancing to Faceless, the gray fog has intertwined with reality to a certain degree. Not only can it help me block ravings that are not too strong in essence, but within a certain range, it can also disrupt fate-related influences others place upon me? That is why the luck given by that councilor could not take effect.

“By this logic, misfortune within a certain degree should not affect me either.

“Heh. What is this supposed to be? It keeps me from becoming unlucky, but also destroys my hope of becoming a European emperor and winner…” Klein secretly shook his head. Together with Darkwill and the owl, he returned to the stone bridge and told Councilor of Fate Ricciardo the method for summoning his messenger, so that once the other party obtained information about an offensive mystical item, he could immediately pass it along.

After finishing all this, Klein found an inn in Oravi Island’s port city, booked an ordinary room, and stayed there.

…

Backlund, morning.

Emlyn White walked beneath the gloomy sky he liked, passing through fog that was not as thick as it had been in November and December last year, and once again arrived outside No. 7 Pinster Street in the North Borough.

He rang the doorbell and waited patiently with his back straight and chin slightly raised.

Leonard opened the door. He glanced at that face which, though handsome, was also extremely irritating, and moved aside, allowing the other man to enter.

He was still dressed in a white home shirt and black trousers, but there was now an unbuttoned dark vest over them.

“How did your consideration go?” Leonard asked with a smile.

“No problem.” Since it was not his own money being spent, Emlyn had no desire to bargain.

He even believed that, based on the other party’s attitude last time, bargaining might instead lead to a price increase.

Leonard lightly nodded and gave a laugh.

“You are quite wealthy.”

I can tell. You are fishing for information… Emlyn gave an inward snort and replied, “That is not something you need to concern yourself with.”

After speaking, he lifted the small leather suitcase in his hand, opened it, and displayed the 7,000 pounds in cash inside.

Leonard removed the stacks one by one and carefully inspected them for a while.

Then he removed the red glove from his left hand and handed it to Emlyn.

“This is the mystical item you need. It can disguise itself in different colors.

“It is called Fire Seed. It can enhance the user’s charm and give their words extremely strong persuasive power. It can steal one Beyonder ability from a target within fifty meters. The more you understand about the target, the easier it is to steal the specific ability you want. The less you know, the closer it is to random, relying on luck.

“When the target is higher than Sequence 6, failure may occur. The higher the target’s Sequence, the greater the probability of failure.

“After a successful theft, the original target loses that Beyonder ability and must wait at least twelve hours before it can recover. Meanwhile, Fire Seed’s owner can use it proficiently for around ten minutes.

“And the reason it is expensive is that its negative effects are minor.”

Listening quietly to the introduction, Emlyn developed a strong interest in the mystical item called Fire Seed and asked, “What negative effects?”

Leonard casually ran a hand through his hair and smiled.

“First, while wearing it, there is a considerable probability that objects on your person will go missing. Second, after using it, one of your own Beyonder abilities will disappear for at least twelve hours. But within that time range, only one ability will be lost. In other words, even if you use it multiple times, only one will be lost.”

“Compared to many Sealed Artifacts I know, its negative effects truly are small.” Emlyn cleared his throat and nodded slightly.

He took the Fire Seed glove and carefully inspected it. Then he removed the stacks of cash from the suitcase one by one and placed them on the coffee table.

Afterward, he put the glove inside the suitcase, choosing not to carry it directly.

Carrying the suitcase, Emlyn returned to Harvest Church along the same route as before. He entered the clergy lounge and began setting up the sacrificial ritual.

The illusory, hazy mysterious door opened. The red glove passed through the dark, deep void and was about to enter the space above the gray fog.

Just then, on the surface where the glove touched the gray fog, a tiny distorted and terrifying human face suddenly emerged.

It continuously evaporated, yet struggled desperately to maintain itself.

Seeing this, Klein did not feel too surprised. After all, Leonard’s old grandpa was an angel of the Thief pathway. What Amon’s avatar could accomplish might also be within his abilities.

Klein had made ample preparations for this. He believed that even if the other party truly reached Amon’s level, he would be able to erase the corresponding aura without allowing the other side to perceive the existence of the gray fog, thereby preventing him from attacking The Moon Emlyn.

Picking up the Sea God Scepter that had long since been placed in front of him, Klein assumed a commanding posture from above and made all the blue-green gemstones light up simultaneously.

All at once, above the gray fog, silver-white radiance blazed. Beams of lightning fell one after another like torrential rain, carrying a little of the gray fog’s power as they struck that tiny illusory human face.

Before the human face could even scream, it completely dissipated, leaving behind a dead, semi-transparent worm. On it were twelve transparent rings.

“A Time Worm… but weaker than Amon’s…” Klein murmured. With a beckon, he made the red glove and the familiar worm fly over together.

After careful identification, he confirmed that the worm was fundamentally identical to the one left behind by Amon’s avatar.

“Poet’s old grandpa and Amon are on the same Sequence—Sequence 1? No, not necessarily. Perhaps this is merely a characteristic of some earlier Sequence…

“If he really is Sequence 1, then considering that Amon is the Creator’s son and a King of Angels, perhaps He has also accommodated the Uniqueness, or another Sequence 1 characteristic…” Klein made a guess, but had no way to verify it.

As for what that dead Time Worm could be used for, and when its spirituality would fully dissipate, he lacked the corresponding knowledge and could only casually toss it into the pile of miscellaneous items.

…

Backlund, No. 7 Pinster Street.

Leonard Mitchell sat on the sofa, eyes closed, both feet propped on the coffee table, as though using a brief sleep to make up for an entire night of wakefulness.

After an unknown amount of time, his eyes suddenly opened. He lowered his voice and asked, “What happened? Did you determine Fire Seed’s true buyer?”

Immediately, a somewhat aged voice sounded inside his mind.

“The aura I left behind was erased. Completely and utterly erased.”

“Did you discover anything?” Leonard pulled his legs back and asked solemnly.

The aged voice sighed.

“No.

“Before I could react, everything was already over.

“If I were in my best condition, perhaps I could have grasped the corresponding clue. Unfortunately, I have been weak for many years.”

Leonard fell silent for more than ten seconds, then shook his head.

“Then we will temporarily treat this as though it never happened.”

…

Above the gray fog, Klein listened to Emlyn’s prayer and noted the information he described about the mystical item, while turning the glove called Fire Seed over and over in his hands.

“Heh heh. With this, I have a glove for my right hand too.” He chuckled and spoke to himself.

After careful thought, Klein gave up on immediately attempting to steal the True Creator’s mental corruption from the All-Black Eye. This was to ensure success. He wanted to save that chance for when he could concoct the Marionettist potion. According to the City of Silver’s records, even without the gray fog’s shielding, such an operation would have no problem. And with the gray fog, there would no longer be any accident, even if it was mental corruption left behind by the True Creator.

“I can use Fire Seed normally too. Mm. When I need to use it, I should put my money, pocket watch, and other mystical items above the gray fog, making sure there is nothing important left to lose… Actually, even if I do not do that, the problem is not too big. I am a Seer. If something drops, should I really fear being unable to find it? Heh heh. In normal combat, I will have Creeping Hunger on my left hand and Fire Seed on my right. Just thinking about it makes me feel rather powerful…” Klein withdrew his thoughts and discovered that the preparations related to the Sequence 5 Marionettist potion were now basically complete, apart from two relatively common supplementary materials.

He gave an almost invisible nod and silently muttered, “Now I just have to wait for the Faceless potion to be fully digested!

“Then I will take Admiral of Stars’s ship or Mr. Hanged Man’s ship to the easternmost part of the Sonia Sea and search for mermaids.”