Garden of Eden

In the South Bridge District on Weldi Street, inside the home of Cyril, Cyril—who was busy playing with a young child—suddenly froze.

He saw his familiar room and little Thomas, who was crawling on him and causing mischief, rapidly fade away, replaced by a modern metropolis bustling with traffic, though the people here were somewhat peculiar.

They were either crocodiles in suits and ties carrying briefcases, noble ladies of Western white-haired dogs wearing gorgeous gowns and exquisite makeup applied at vanity tables, frogs dressed as coachmen, snakes with the appearance of treacherous merchants, or wandering crows...

"...Garden of Eden?"

After a brief moment of dazed silence, Cyril immediately reacted, retrieving information about this place from his memory.

A peculiar place deep within the spiritual world, suspected to have been born under the influence of Adam.

The moment his thoughts stirred, he heard a familiar voice ring out beside him: "It seems you already know of this place, so there is no need for me to introduce more."

"Although this place cannot ignore the distance between people like the Twilight Hermit Order, it can, to a certain extent, allow two or more people who are far apart to complete face-to-face communication and transactions."

"I have been drifting at sea recently, and it is inconvenient to return to land to meet you for a transaction, so I requested some help from the leader to bring you here. I hope my actions have not caused you any trouble."

As soon as this voice appeared, the corresponding figure and the purpose of the other party's visit surfaced spontaneously in Cyril's mind.

A member of the Twilight Hermit Order, the one who accepted his commission to help find potion ingredients; clearly, the other party had collected all four of those relatively rare materials.

As for this efficiency, one could only say it was worthy of a leader of an organization.

However, just two sentences were enough to make so much content surface in my mind—the abilities of a Spectator are truly convenient!

After sighing to himself, Cyril turned to look at the carriage that had appeared and stopped behind him, nodding slightly to the elderly gentleman in gentlemanly attire who was revealing his upper body from the carriage window:

"Of course not. If anything, this gave me a surprise and allowed me to witness a mysterious and unfathomable place in the mystical world."

The gentleman in the carriage seemed very satisfied with his answer, the smile on his face deepening with a few more wrinkles:

"If you like this place, I can give you a beacon. With it, you can enter here yourself at an appropriate time."

Cyril was stunned for a moment, not expecting the other party to say this, but he immediately reacted and chuckled:

"Then thank you... er, sorry, I don't seem to know how to address you, sir."

The gentleman in the carriage nodded with a light laugh: "Baros Hopkins, one of the identities I use most often now."

"Baros Hopkins..." Cyril whispered the name, then reacted as if a beat slow, saying in surprise:

"The 'King of the Black Throne', Baros Hopkins, one of the Four Pirate Kings?"

"What an incredible identity. I never expected that one day I would know such a big shot."

The expression on Baros Hopkins' face remained unchanged, and he said in a very calm and friendly manner: "Child, compared to a King of the Five Seas, you have already known the true big shots of this world, and more than one."

He added some emphasis to the last sentence, seemingly hinting to Cyril that the big shots he spoke of were not just the summoner of the Twilight Hermit Order.

Interesting. If he hasn't read my memories, then the big shot he refers to is Hermes, who has long since become an angel?

Hmm, it seems that even if he had read my memories, I have only met and proactively spoken to those two angels.

Then can I understand it as him helping me find the potion ingredients having the hint or authorization of Hermes?

He quickly reined in all his thoughts; thinking too much in front of a high-ranking Spectator was not a good thing, as one could not distinguish which thoughts were one's own and which were merely those one thought were one's own.

In the carriage, Baros Hopkins looked at him with a normal expression. Seeing that his thoughts were no longer wandering, he slowly said:

"I have collected the Beyonder materials you need. I wanted to ask when you would like to conduct the transaction?"

Cyril pondered and asked in return: "Is tonight okay? I don't have enough cash on me and need to go to the bank."

Baros Hopkins nodded noncommittally: "No problem."

"How about 10 p.m.? At that time, take this and say the name Adam, and we will meet here."

As the other party spoke, a pure white fox mask appeared in his hand. The corners of the fox's mouth carried a cunning and treacherous smile, as if it were looking at him with ill intent.

But it was not scary; the lack of a truly pure white mask made it look more like an unfinished work.

After receiving the mask, Cyril instantly felt a sense of repulsion from his surroundings, his figure rapidly retreating until he faded out of the Garden of Eden.

In reality, Cyril, who had been resting a hand on little Thomas's head, suddenly came to his senses.

He looked down at little Thomas, who was trying to jump while pushing against his palm; it seemed that only a fleeting moment had passed.

He then looked at his other hand, where a pure white fox mask had appeared at some point.

"That really is, amazing!"

After a soft exclamation, he bent down to pick up little Thomas and handed him to Beth, who was chatting with Haven in the living room downstairs. He then used the excuse of a nap to return to the bedroom upstairs and closed the door.

Beth gave a reminder to get some good rest before taking little Thomas, leaving only Haven, who was looking at him with a face full of suspicion.

Just how long was this guy suffering from insomnia last night to be able to sleep so much today?

Should I prepare some soothing herbal soup for him?

Cyril, having returned to his room, fiddled with the quilt and pillows on the bed, shaping them to look like he was curled up under the covers sleeping.

Although Haven and the others shouldn't disturb him after he closed the door, with little Thomas as an unstable factor, it was better to be well-prepared.

After doing this, he changed his coat, poked his head out to look around the window, found an inconspicuous corner, and then walked directly through the wall. He arrived at the corresponding position and turned the ventilated, airy window into a "door," flipping directly outside.

Bang!

In the alley behind the house, Cyril flexed his ankles; this was even easier than he had imagined.

Although Apprentice is not a potion specifically designed to strengthen the body, a mere two-story drop was no longer a challenge for a Beyonder.

After putting some distance between himself and his home, Cyril hailed a carriage by the roadside and headed toward the bank.

I earned 400 pounds selling formulas at the gathering organized by the old gentleman from the Eye of Wisdom. Even though I spent some of it afterward, I still have about 350 pounds left.

Plus the 113 pounds in savings from Haven, and the 150-pound loan I should be able to secure from the bank given my status, that will be just enough to cover the cost of the main ingredients for Trickmaster.

Then I need to pay Owen a visit to let him know he should collect the supplementary ingredients for Seer this afternoon. They're all common items, so it shouldn't be too difficult. I also need to have his 200 pounds for the materials ready.

Arriving at the bank by carriage, Cyril successfully secured the 150-pound loan under the attentive and enthusiastic service of the counter staff. After also withdrawing Haven's savings, he hurried toward Owen's house.

After giving Owen clear instructions and receiving the 200 pounds for the materials, he rushed back home without a moment's rest, using his Apprentice abilities to slip back into his room without making a sound.

He glanced at his bed, which remained undisturbed, and after confirming that no one had entered while he was away, he let out a slight sigh of relief.

At 10:00 PM, he successfully obtained the potion ingredients from Baros Hopkins.

Since he had slept enough during the day, Cyril had no choice but to keep Haven, Beth, and the others company, chatting with them while "full of energy" and teasing little Thomas from time to time.

It wasn't until everyone had returned to their rooms to sleep or focus on other matters that he finally had the chance to sneak out of the house with the Seer potion ingredients.