Chapter 38: Harvest

Chapter Thirty-Eight
Harvest

“The potion formulas of the Seer pathway.”

…

Klein leaned back against the chair and attempted spirit channeling using the technique of dream divination.

Inside the gray, illusory, unreal world, a gas lamp suddenly lit up, illuminating the stone slabs on the ground and a desk upon which lay a roll of parchment.

After the formulas for Seer and Clown flashed by one after another, Rosago, wearing a shirt with loose, puffed cuffs, stood to the side and listened to a voice that came from an unknown place.

“Before you advance, I must remind you of one thing. Recently, you have relied too much on divination.

“Divination is revelation. It is a result. It cannot tell us the process. For example, suppose you divine whether a railway stock will make money, and the answer you receive is affirmative. You then invest all of your funds. But in truth, the real meaning of that revelation is that from a long-term perspective, after thirty years, that railway stock will make money. Before that, however, it will fall more than it rises. Fate is not so easy to grasp. Much of the time, it cannot be defined or quantified. Divination is not omnipotent.

“Furthermore, divination can be interfered with and misled. Too many incomprehensible things exist in this world. If you rely entirely upon divination, then one day you will certainly die because of it.

“Divination is revelation, and it must be paired with one’s own care, caution, and restraint.”

Rosago had died at my hands precisely because Words of Filth involved the mysterious space above the gray fog, making it impossible for him to divine the corresponding danger. Otherwise, with those strange abilities of his, Miss Bodyguard and I would have found it very difficult to survive tonight…

This is also a reminder for me. Even with the gray fog isolating interference, I cannot grow careless. Even for actions I am certain of, I must leave a margin…

From these words, they did not seem to know the acting method back then. Otherwise, some of this could have been summarized directly as revering fate…

As thoughts flashed through him, Klein heard Rosago answer and saw him unfold the parchment.

“Sequence 7: Magician.

“Main ingredients: one true root from a Mist Treant; all spinal fluid from an Evil-patterned Black Panther.

“Supplementary ingredients: 60 milliliters of pure water; 30 milliliters of Mist Treant juice; 3 grams of Water-form Gem powder; 4 drops of Illusory Grass essential oil.”

Magician… That is still part of the circus. Together with Seer and Clown, it can form the three giants of the circus…

Klein first lampooned, then thought of the tuxedo clown he had once encountered.

He seemed to be a Magician. His abilities seemed to include snapping his fingers to fire air bullets, fire jumping, and turning paper into soldiers… They are quite nice. Just the ability to cast quickly alone can greatly improve my combat strength…

As thoughts flickered, Klein saw the scene before him change.

This time, it was a resplendent room, surrounded by all kinds of golden sculptures and decorations.

Again, it was the same voice from earlier. Again, it was a certain reminder.

“According to my experience, after consuming this Faceless potion, you must remember one thing: you can disguise yourself as anyone, but you can only be yourself.”

Faceless? Sequence 6 of the Seer pathway is Faceless? This should be the Beyonder ability that allowed Rosago to transform into Sergeant Fassin… In that case, the fake Detective Zeriel was also played by him…

Creeping Hunger allowed Qilangos to transform into people with different appearances. That matches this Beyonder ability very well. It seems a certain Faceless died by his hand… This ability will not improve direct combat ability, but in many situations, it is more useful than ninety percent of Beyonder abilities… No wonder Rosago dared to come here and kill, without fear of falling into a trap… This ability is extremely important to me!

Thinking this, Klein subconsciously widened his eyes and saw Rosago pick up a thin sheet of gold. Written upon it were many Hermes characters:

“Sequence 6: Faceless.

“Main ingredients: the mutated pituitary gland of a Thousand-faced Hunter; the characteristic of a Human-skinned Shadow.

“Supplementary ingredients: 80 milliliters of Thousand-faced Hunter blood; 5 drops of black mandrake juice; 10 grams of Dragon Tooth Grass powder; 3 strands of deep-sea naga hair.”

Thousand-faced Hunter? That seems to be a type of dragon. Not an especially powerful one… It should not be from the mind-dragon category, but it is still extremely rare and almost extinct…

Klein instantly recalled the corresponding mysticism knowledge.

At that moment, the scene before him remained unchanged, but Rosago’s clothing and position changed.

He wore a white wig, a deep-black tailcoat, and a face full of thick beard.

“This advancement will no longer be as simple as before. The potion must be consumed together with a ritual. Once you succeed, you will obtain one of the most difficult Beyonder abilities to restrain below the high Sequences,” said the person speaking. The voice had changed; it was much older.

Rosago seemed to have anticipated it and asked, “What ritual?”

“Go out to sea. Find a mermaid. Consume the potion amid her song.”

The old speaker opened an ancient book illustrated with countless mysterious symbols.

Light suddenly sprang from the surface of the book, outlining lines of ancient Hermes in midair.

“Sequence 5: Marionettist.”

Just as Klein saw this, a wave of pain struck his head. It was the sign that his spirituality was close to exhaustion.

In the earlier battle, the Words of Filth charm alone had consumed most of his spirituality. After that, he had used three more charms of the Evernight Goddess’s domain, summoned himself, and responded to himself. To be able to last until now already showed that he had improved greatly compared with the past, and also that his digestion of the Clown potion had progressed considerably.

As the scene flashed and shook, nearly collapsing, Klein forcibly supported it and swept the rest of the formula into his eyes:

“Main ingredients: dust of an ancient wraith; the core crystal of a six-winged gargoyle.

“Supplementary ingredients: 80 milliliters of golden spring water from Sonia Island; 10 grams of Dragon Marked Tree bark; lingering spirituality of an ancient wraith; one pair of six-winged gargoyle eyes.

“Advancement ritual: consume the potion amid the song of a mermaid.”

Crack.

Klein could support it no longer. He let the dream shatter into countless illusory points of light.

He clutched his forehead, nearly fainting. As Rosago’s remaining spirituality and the slight feeling of madness were annihilated together, he was pushed back into the real world by an invisible force.

The floor, covered with blood, brain matter, hair, and all manner of fragments, entered Klein’s vision. He bent over and retched twice, recovering slightly.

Once I run out of spirituality, I am directly expelled from the mysterious space above the gray fog…

Klein looked around and discovered that Miss Bodyguard was still asleep.

He hurriedly extinguished the candle, put away the ritual-related items, and gasped for a while. Finally, his spirituality recovered a little.

Just then, a cold wind blew over his neck, making him shiver and causing his thoughts to stiffen.

Klein abruptly turned his head and once again looked toward the oriel window. The Miss Bodyguard in the black Gothic court dress had already awakened and was floating there.

Her pale-golden hair and pale face seemed somewhat dimmer. Her entire being had become even more illusory, and her skin faintly transparent.

Following the explanation he had prepared long ago, Klein hurriedly said, “After I blew up his head, I discovered that his body was still writhing. I was afraid he would turn into some sort of corpse monster, so I quickly used all the charms I had on me. I—I was very nervous and very panicked at the time. I may have affected you.”

This should be the risk shown in the divination… If she is dissatisfied and thinks I attacked her, then I am finished…

Klein thought with slight anxiety.

That genuine emotion made his performance even more perfect.

Miss Bodyguard lowered her head and looked at herself. In her drifting, nearly toneless voice, she asked, “What was the first charm?”

“At the gathering, I bought a black ear for 400 pounds. They said it could allow one to hear the voice of a great existence. If lucky enough, one could gain considerable benefits. If unlucky, one would die on the spot. At the time, I had been unable to hire a bodyguard and faced such danger, so I could only take the gamble. The result was not bad.”

Klein answered with absolute truth.

“After I heard the great existence’s voice, that black ear shattered on its own and became such a charm.”

Miss Bodyguard’s blue eyes slowly swept over him. The room went quiet, heavy with an almost solid stillness.

At last, the lady in the black court dress gave a nod.

“You had best find a psychiatrist.”

Meaning, I have already become a potential madman? Mm. She guessed that it was the relic of a Listener, and she also understands that Rosago’s spirituality was definitely contaminated by the True Creator. She will not suspect that I deliberately made her fall asleep and used the chance to perform spirit channeling… This can also explain why I broke free of the ravings faster than she did. After all, I am a potential madman manufactured by the True Creator…

Klein curled the corner of his mouth.

“Let us quickly clean up the scene. Perhaps MI9 people will come take a look.”

He pointed toward Rosago’s headless corpse.

As he spoke, Klein put on gloves, approached, crouched down, and swiftly began searching for relics.

He soon found more than ten pounds in cash, some essential oils and herbal powders, two crudely cut paper figurines, and a strange sheet of paper.

The paper was orange-yellow. Upon it, a blank rectangle had been circled using the symbolic signs and magical marks corresponding to the Sun. Simply holding it gave one a warm and stable feeling.

“What is this?” Klein did not conceal his puzzlement.

At some point, Miss Bodyguard had floated behind him. She answered simply, “A mystical item corresponding to Notary.”

“Notary?”

Klein was first stunned, then remembered that Rosago was an intelligence agent of the Intis Republic. Over there, they believed in the Eternal Blazing Sun and the God of Steam and Machinery, while the Eternal Blazing Sun was also the God of Contracts.

Is this Sequence 6 of the Bard pathway? Or Sequence 5?

“If notarized valid, a Beyonder ability is briefly strengthened. If notarized invalid, a Beyonder ability is forcibly dispersed,” Miss Bodyguard said, without explaining further, roughly describing its effect.

Klein was about to speak when he suddenly saw deep, secluded points of light separate from Rosago’s headless body and the mess of blood and brain matter. They attracted one another, gathered into a lump, and transformed into an entirely black eye without a pupil.

“What is this?” Klein asked again, deliberately pretending ignorance.

“Something without value.”

Miss Bodyguard maintained her unique manner of speech.

“Without value?” Klein frowned and asked back.

In truth, he understood what Miss Bodyguard meant. Under normal circumstances, if Rosago had ultimately lost control, he would have left behind a strange and terrifying Sealed Artifact. If he had not lost control, his Beyonder characteristics could serve as the main ingredient for the Sequence 5 Marionettist potion. Either way, they would be extremely valuable.

The problem was that Rosago had neither lost control nor remained untainted; he had been contaminated by the True Creator. Thus, what remained was a potion main ingredient marked by an evil god. Using it to concoct a Marionettist potion would, Klein believed, be the same as drinking poison and committing suicide.

Miss Bodyguard looked at the entirely black eye and said in her low, drifting voice, “It has been contaminated by an evil god. It has no value.”

If it really had value—and a very high one—I would have to worry whether you would conveniently deal with me as well…

Klein pointed at Rosago’s relics and said, “These are spoils of battle we obtained together. Each of us should choose some. You first.”

Miss Bodyguard turned her head and glanced at him. Without saying anything, she floated over and took the “Notarial Certificate.”

Just as I expected… Later, I must search for and study mystical knowledge related to removing evil god contamination…

Klein took out an iron cigarette case, bent down, and picked up the entirely black eye.