Extraordinary Gathering

Early in the morning, after a fruitless night of hard work, Abner once again went to the restaurant he frequented for breakfast. This time, however, he did not run into Xio. She was probably still verifying the information he had told her yesterday.

For the rest of the day, he busied himself gathering the supplementary ingredients for the 'Reader' Potion. Pure water, Ball Grass powder, and Calamus juice were relatively easy to find. Needless to say, pure water could simply be distilled with laboratory equipment. Abner had not yet completed all the procedures for graduation, so he could use the academy's laboratory. Ball Grass and Calamus were not particularly rare plants either; plenty grew wild in the suburbs. The troublesome one was the Pure White Elf Flower. Though it was also an ordinary plant without Spirituality, it grew only on certain islands in the Sunia Sea... As a result, Abner had practically combed all of Backlund before finally buying one from an herbal shop. It had cost him 1 soli!

After dinner, Abner put on the casual clothes and hooded Cloak he had bought yesterday, then headed out again. He took a public carriage to Iron Gate Street in the Bridge Borough.

After walking only a few steps, he spotted a bar named "Bravehearts," its blackwood doors seemingly heavy, with a burly man nearly two meters tall standing outside with his arms folded.

Eye of Wisdom's gathering should be held in an apartment somewhere in the alley behind Bravehearts Bar, but I don't know exactly which one. So, like Mr. Fool in the novel, I'll need to find someone in charge at the bar to lead me there. Even as he thought this, Abner did not slow down and walked straight into the bar.

The burly guard looked him over but did not stop him from pushing the door open. Upon hearing the cheers and clinking glasses inside, he merely muttered a curse under his breath.

This was the bar's busiest time of day. Before Abner had even fully entered, he felt a wave of heat rush toward him, smelled the rich aroma of malt beer, and heard the noisy clamor. In terms of atmosphere, it was no different from a modern bar.

The scent of alcohol mingled with sweat. Abner looked around, got his bearings, and forced his way toward the bar while protecting his belongings.

Before the bartender could speak, he beat him to it, imitating Klein's manner and experience from the novel. "A glass of Southville Beer." It was supposedly the best beer produced in the Loen Kingdom, though Abner had no idea whether that was true. He had only read it in the novel.

"Five pence," the bartender replied smoothly.

Abner took out the five pence he had prepared beforehand and handed it over, receiving a large wooden mug filled with golden liquid. The beer's fragrance was rich and enticing.

"In front of it, many beers can't even be called alcohol. They're just drinks," the bartender said with a chuckle.

After taking the mug, Abner did not drink. He merely examined it briefly, glanced at the delicate white foam inside, and then asked, "Where is Kaspars Kalinin?" In the novel, this man had been the Guide who led the protagonist Klein to the gathering.

The bartender stopped wiping his glass, looked up and scrutinized him for several seconds, then pointed to the side. "Card Room Number Two."

Abner nodded, carried his mug over, and stopped outside Card Room Number Two. With only a light knock, the door creaked open.

There were four people inside. They all looked over when they heard the door. Abner recognized none of them, so he carefully said, "Good evening, gentlemen. I'm looking for Kaspars Kalinin."

At those words, one of the four—a limping old man in his fifties with a large nose and a linen shirt—covered his cards and hobbled over. He initially looked somewhat impatient, but when he saw Abner's face beneath the Cloak, he exclaimed in surprise, "Abner? What are you doing here?!"

What? This old man knows me? Why don't I remember him? This Script is wrong! Abner's thoughts raced as he searched through the original owner's memories, but he still found no impression of him.

"This isn't a place to talk. Come with me!" Kaspars did not seem surprised by Abner's bewilderment. He led him into a private lounge before continuing, "You probably don't recognize me, but I know you, Abner! Your father once did me a great favor. He and I were friends."

"My father's friend?" Abner suddenly understood. No wonder he had no related memories.

"Yes. Unfortunately, I learned about what happened to your family too late. Otherwise, I might have been able to help him—at the very least, keep him from signing that usurious loan contract full of traps, and spare him from Suicide. Sigh, by the time I heard about it, all I could do was secretly stop the debt-collecting gangsters from pursuing you and make them give up those unreasonable interest payments. That was when I saw your photograph." Kaspars gave him a brief explanation.

So Father had borrowed usurious loans from gangsters? That made sense. Under normal circumstances, even if he lost everything, as a former major merchant, Father would still have had the connections to make a comeback. But with nothing left and crushing debts he could never repay, he truly had nowhere to go! Coupled with Mother's disappearance, it was no wonder he killed himself... Abner sighed inwardly. At the same time, he felt a trace of gratitude toward Kaspars. If what he said was true, then the peaceful few days Abner had spent since his Transmigration were thanks to him.

At the same time, Abner found the matter strangely familiar. After all, he had only helped Xio reason through a case yesterday. He said to the old man before him, "Thank you for stepping in so righteously... Could you tell me who Father borrowed the usurious loan from?"

"It was Rosen the Two-Faced Man! You needn't thank me. First, I was repaying the favor your father had done me. Second, all I did was make them waive the unreasonable interest. They had already taken the principal and normal interest from the auction proceeds of your family's villa," Kaspars replied.

So it really was this Rosen. I didn't expect us to have this kind of 'fate.' Once I become a Beyonder, I should help Miss Xio teach him a lesson more often.

Kaspars was not surprised when Abner fell silent upon hearing Rosen's name. He proactively asked, "By the way, Abner, how did you find me? And what did you come to see me for?"

Abner came back to his senses, remembered the real matter at hand, and grew serious. "I came looking for a Beyonder gathering. Yes, the kind of Beyonders you know about. I heard you could lead the way!"

"How do you know about Beyonders?! And why are you looking for them? Could it be...?" Kaspars stared at him uncertainly.

"Yes, I got caught up in a supernatural incident. Only by finding them can I resolve it!" Abner understood what Kaspars meant and glossed over the details. He did not mention at all how he knew Kaspars was a Guide.

Kaspars pondered for a while and carefully examined Abner again before saying, "They happen to have a gathering today. I'll take you there! The people there are quite formidable. Whether you gain anything from it has nothing to do with me. However, I must warn you in advance: don't anger them, or you may not live to see tomorrow's sun! Do you understand, Abner?"

Abner nodded. "I won't be so reckless!" Then he asked sincerely, "Is there a fee for guiding me?"

Kaspars nodded in satisfaction. "You understand the rules! Hmm, since we're acquainted, I'll give you half off. One pound will do."

Without hesitation, Abner handed over a one-pound note, then accepted an iron mask from Kaspars that covered the upper half of his face.

"Put it on." After saying that, Kaspars led Abner, limping toward the bar's kitchen. From there, they entered the alley behind it and circled around to a house shrouded in darkness.

Once he saw that Abner had put on the mask, Kaspars took a deep breath, raised his right hand, and knocked on the door. Eight heavy knocks and one light one, seven long and one short.

Seven or eight seconds later, a small wooden panel in the door was suddenly pulled open, revealing a pair of brown eyes behind it.

After being scrutinized for quite some time, Abner finally saw the door open inward. A man in an iron mask stood there and rasped, "The gathering starts in one or two minutes. Hurry up!"

He shut the door, turned around, and led Abner through the dark living room into the first-floor sitting room. A candle burned on the coffee table there, its dim yellow light casting shadows throughout the room.

More than ten people were already seated on the sofas and chairs around the coffee table, all wearing iron masks.

Abner found an empty chair and sat down. After looking around, he quickly noticed an old man sitting on a single sofa. The nasolabial folds on his cheeks were deep, and his skin looked somewhat shriveled.

Judging by his appearance and the faint awe everyone around him showed him, this old man should be the great Detective Isengard, Eye of Wisdom, right?

As Abner was thinking this, the elderly gentleman suspected to be Eye of Wisdom looked at the clock on the wall and spoke in an aged voice. "Time's up. Let's begin. There's no need to wait for late friends."

The moment he finished speaking, a woman rushed to say, "I want to sell a weapon. It's a dagger. Anyone below Sequence 7 who is stabbed by it will immediately lose their Beyonder abilities, while those at Sequence 7 and above will also be affected, weakening the effects of their Beyonder abilities. In addition, the dagger itself is sharp and sturdy enough."

"What are its negative effects?" someone asked.

"Every time it successfully Seals an enemy's Beyonder abilities, it makes the user feel streams of electricity coursing through their mind, joining into a barbed whip that continuously lashes the soul. It hurts and numbs at the same time. But as long as one is prepared beforehand, the pain can be endured," the woman answered.

"What do you want in exchange?" Someone was clearly tempted. This dagger could produce unexpected results in battles between Beyonders.

"Five hundred and fifty pounds, or the Sequence 8 'Barbarian' formula!"

So she's the woman from the original work who had been trying to trade for the 'Barbarian' formula. I do have that formula in my memories, but I came today to sell another formula. Bringing this one out too would be far too conspicuous. Besides, close-combat weapons don't suit me very well. I don't know any fighting techniques at all. It would be just right for Xio, though...

While Abner was letting his thoughts wander, the dagger was sold to a middle-aged man for five hundred and fifty pounds.

After that, several more people proposed trades. Some succeeded, while others failed. Seizing a lull between transactions, Abner slowly exhaled and lowered his voice.

"I want to sell a Potion formula!"

(End of chapter)