Chapter 121: Bullets

Chapter One Hundred Twenty-One
Bullets

The single candle swayed with dim yellow flame, making the shadows along the sitting room walls drift and ripple.

Klein chose a position most convenient for escape and swept his gaze around. He saw old Mr. Eye of Wisdom, whose nasolabial folds were very deep, and he saw the chubby-cheeked Apothecary.

Mm. After comparing again, although he is wearing an iron mask that covers the upper half of his face, I can basically confirm he is the sharp-tongued man I encountered inside Rice Circus’s small theater…

Klein withdrew his gaze and waited for the gathering to formally begin. The woman with an Artisan behind her had concealed herself rather thoroughly, just like most of the participants. Therefore, before she spoke, he could not confirm whether she had come.

A few minutes later, Eye of Wisdom raised his head to glance at the mechanical wall clock and laughed.

“Quite a full attendance today.”

“Let us begin.”

Before his voice had fully faded, the plump Apothecary had already spoken first.

“I need a Beyonder creature for experiments. Preferably an animal. Preferably one already subdued, without too much danger.”

An animal-type Beyonder creature?

Klein was slightly stirred.

He remembered what the other party had said in the circus’s small theater, remembered that the man had seemed capable of understanding beasts’ thoughts.

He is merely an Apothecary, yet he has that kind of ability—and now he is buying animal-type Beyonder creatures. Mm. After I sold him the Spring of the Elves’ marrow crystal, he should have already gathered all the ingredients and advanced… In other words, the Sequence after Apothecary is related to commanding beasts?

Based on the information he knew, Klein made a guess.

At that moment, someone responded to the Apothecary with a sneer.

“Who would keep a Beyonder creature by their side?”

“It is dangerous, and it is easy to be discovered. Would it not be far more convenient and discreet to kill it directly and preserve the Beyonder materials?”

The Apothecary never admitted defeat in a war of words. He immediately gave a heh.

“What a stupid idea!”

“You cannot guarantee that the Beyonder material on that creature happens to be what you need, nor can you guarantee that it happens to sell. Rather than that, you might as well tame it, command it, make it your helper, and double your own strength…”

As he spoke, his voice slowly grew quieter. He felt as though he had revealed some important secret.

Shit! Why can I never control this mouth of mine!

The Apothecary slapped himself hard inside his heart.

As expected…

Klein nodded almost imperceptibly.

The Apothecary’s request undoubtedly went unanswered. Most participants here were not of very high Sequence, nor were they people of great status in Backlund. They lived cautiously, barely maintaining themselves. How could they luxuriously keep a Beyonder creature?

More importantly, wild Beyonder creatures were often extremely hostile toward humans. Once encountered, it was generally either you die or I perish. If one wanted to capture them alive, one needed a sufficiently powerful team, or the strength to completely suppress the target. Of course, it could not be ruled out that certain Sequence Beyonders possessed special abilities especially suitable for such situations.

After a burst of disappointment, the Apothecary coughed lightly and said, “I brought quite a few potions with me. All of you know their effects. Anyone who wants them can speak near the end.”

The same few kinds as before: healing wounds, making oneself berserk, and improving performance in that area?

Klein mocked him silently, gave a low laugh, and offered the other man an idea.

“You could buy a Sequence 9 formula, find the corresponding Beyonder ingredients, then brew it into a potion and feed it to the animal you have taken a fancy to. That way, you would possess a Sequence 9 Beyonder creature, and afterward, you could let it advance continuously through follow-up potions.”

“Of course, the premise is that you have enough financial resources, and that you can deal with the defective products that lose control.”

The Apothecary listened in a daze for several seconds. Only after a long while did he say, “That is truly extravagant.”

“Just saving money for myself and looking for the Beyonder materials I need is already difficult enough. Animals consuming potions have a high probability of losing control. Without several attempts, it would be very hard to succeed.”

“Anyone able to do that must own a mine—or have opened a bank.”

Miss Justice from our Tarot Club should already be raising a Beyonder creature…

Klein suddenly felt a little sorry for the Apothecary.

If he truly let go and earned money without caring about anything else, an Apothecary would absolutely be one of the low-Sequences most capable of gathering enormous wealth. The problem was that doing so would likewise make it easy to be targeted by official Beyonders.

Several more transactions either succeeded or fell through. Then Klein heard a deliberately lowered voice say:

“This time, I have brought only one Beyonder weapon.

“It is a set of fifty bullets with different effects. Among them, twenty are engraved with symbols and marks from the Sun domain, forming complete charms. They can effectively purify ghost-type monsters and harm comparatively strong resentful spirits and shadows. Therefore, they are called Purifying Bullets. Another twenty target filthy, depraved creatures and are called Demon-Hunting Bullets. The remaining ten are comparatively effective against eerie evil monsters and are called Exorcism Bullets. Their effects can remain stable for eighteen months, perhaps even longer.

“Fifty rounds for five hundred pounds, or the Barbarian potion formula. A specially made revolver of suitable caliber will be included for free.”

As expected, she followed my suggestion last time and made similar bullets. But they look more complicated than ordinary Beyonder weapons. It took her this long to produce one set…

Klein did not leave others any chance and spoke directly.

“I have the Barbarian potion formula.”

At that moment, a rather tall man also made an offer.

“Five hundred and fifty pounds.”

In the current era, this was the easiest Beyonder weapon to carry and use!

The heavily concealed woman’s voice carried joy that was difficult to suppress.

“Sir, I am sorry, but I choose the Barbarian formula first.”

“Six hundred pounds,” the man said, raising the price again.

“No. This is not a matter of money.”

The woman with an Artisan behind her turned her head to look at Klein.

“Deal. But please hand the formula to old Mr. Eye of Wisdom first, so he can verify it.”

Hoo. Thank goodness I obtained the Black Emperor card. Otherwise, running into someone this ruthless at raising prices would definitely have made me bleed money today…

Klein rolled up his robe, took out the Barbarian formula he had written in advance from an inner pocket, unfolded it, and glanced through it once:

“Sequence 8: Barbarian. Main ingredients: one Berserk Grass; solid single-horn crystal of an Earth Rhinoceros. Supplementary ingredients: one Deep-veined Walnut; one Lemon Balm; ten milliliters of hydrosol made by soaking poplar bark; one hundred milliliters of strong liquor.”

After confirming there was no mistake, Klein folded the paper again and handed it to the attendant.

Just like the previous time, old Mr. Eye of Wisdom took out the ring whose green, eye-like gemstone was surrounded by many tiny diamonds, simulated a Notary’s Beyonder ability, and confirmed that the formula was authentic.

When he heard the old man announce, “The formula is valid,” the woman with the Artisan behind her clearly let out a breath. She took out a palm-sized square iron box.

After the attendant transferred the items, she received the formula as she wished and immediately spread it open on the spot. She read it several times, seemingly wanting to memorize it directly. Klein, meanwhile, held the iron box, snapped it open, and examined his harvest.

Inside the iron box, the bullets were divided into three piles. One portion glowed faintly pale gold, as though just taken out of hot water. Another was entirely silver, covered in patterns, cold yet sacred. The smallest pile bloomed with golden light from within its brass color, and one could faintly see many symbols and marks engraved inside.

Mm. They are real…

In the field of mysticism, Klein still possessed that much discernment. He snapped the box shut and placed the item inside the pocket beneath his robe.

As for the revolver included for free, its form was nothing special. The gun body was a deeper brass color, while the grip was made from walnut wood.

Because his underarm holster had also been lost during the previous police inspection, Klein could only tuck the revolver into his waistband and conceal it with his clothes.

After completing this planned transaction, he swept his gaze around the sitting room and deliberately raised his voice.

“I need powerful purification-type items such as Sun Holy Water and a Sun Sacred Emblem.

“I can purchase them with gold pounds, or exchange formulas for them—for example, the follow-up Sequence 7 after Barbarian: Briber.

“Of course, if there are questions regarding the mysticism field or the Beyonder world that need answering, I can also make an attempt, though I do not guarantee that I can answer.”

Across from him, the Apothecary’s eyes widened as he listened. He felt this had to be that “lucky fellow.”

But he only became a Beyonder not long ago. How can he have obtained so many valuable things?

The more the Apothecary thought, the more he gnashed his teeth, feeling that his original choice had been wrong.

Luck is what matters most!

As for the woman who had bought the Barbarian formula, she nearly failed to control herself, almost speaking in her original voice.

“I do not have the items you need, but I can pay gold pounds. Eight hundred pounds!”

Klein swallowed down the word “deal,” thought for a moment, and still chuckled.

“For now, I accept only barter.”

“I should come to the next gathering as well. You can collect similar items in advance.”

For now…

The woman chewed over that phrase and slowly nodded.

“Very well.”

Afterward, no other participant spoke. Klein’s request likewise failed to be satisfied, because in Backlund, in the Loen Kingdom, believers of the Eternal Blazing Sun could be handled as cultists. Therefore, very few similar items circulated outside.

Klein felt slightly disappointed, but not especially concerned. He had backup plans.

He clearly remembered that Miss Xio had once sought out a Beyonder believer of the Eternal Blazing Sun to perform purification!

Additionally, that woman who yearned for the Briber formula would certainly search actively as well.

Klein no longer spoke, simply listening to the following transactions and exchanges.

When the gathering neared its end, a participant of medium build with nothing remarkable about him pinched the iron mask on his face and spoke in a rich baritone.

“I need the silk gland of an adult Widow Giant Spider.”

The silk gland of an adult Widow Giant Spider? That sounds very familiar. I seem to have heard it somewhere…

Klein frowned faintly, forcing himself to recall without divination.

Suddenly, he remembered the source of that familiarity.

It was one of the main ingredients for the Demoness of Pleasure potion!