Dark couldn't help asking, "It can draw the substance of thoughts out of the brain?" Old John nodded, then casually tossed the hook back onto the stall. "It's an old thing, and its quality isn't guaranteed. Besides, you can't use it yet. Give it five years. If it's still here then, I'll sell it to you."
Dark's lips moved, but in the end, he still left the Antique Shop.
He knew, really, that any high-level item involving the brain required exceptional ability to control. He clearly had a Magic Dropper, yet he only dared use the safest Dragonfly Skimming Method. This replica of the Fate Iron Hook was a lot like the Magic Dropper, except the latter could only extract a drop at a time, while the former could snag a whole clump in one pull! That was far too dangerous. It would be one thing to snag stray thoughts, but if he tried to hook something deeper, he might pull out his entire brain! "Fifth year?" Dark couldn't help wondering. "Will I even need it by then?"
After picking up a few blank Magitech Cards and some experimental materials, Dark left Traveler Street. He still had some interest in the Fate Iron Hook, but only a little. As he walked into the Castle, a raindrop quietly fell. It was raining. "How lucky!" Dark glanced back at the rain clouds gathering in the night sky and couldn't help sighing.
Over the weekend, Dark stayed either in the common room or the library. He occasionally visited Traveler Street, mainly to collect Flower Cards. But there seemed to be only one batch of new cards, and the distributors appeared to have been cleaned out. He made another round and managed to snag just three more. Still, he wasn't discouraged. Since the Flower