Beyonder items

"There shouldn't be much difference. If Gner can hold off a Spirit Medium, you can probably deal with the remaining Corpse Collector and Gravedigger." Argel stroked the beard on his chin, then continued.

"But we don't have a Spirit Medium in the family. Sequences 7, 8, and 9 of that pathway aren't particularly useful, so the family doesn't recruit them. We do have a Nightmare of the Sleepless Pathway, though. There isn't much difference between the two in close combat. You can give him a try."

"All right, Dad. I'll head to the storeroom, then," Kronos said happily. Everything had worked out just as he wanted.

"Go ahead, and take this with you." Marquis Argyle pointed at a stack of papers on the desk. "Details on the Black Skull Gang's strength. And let me remind you: this gang may have someone backing it, so try to show some restraint."

"Don't worry, Dad. I understand." Kronos certainly understood. Whether it was the East Balam Restoration Society or the Numinous Episcopate, the Argel Family couldn't afford to provoke them. All he needed to do was fight them and teach them a little lesson. Who would offend a marquis's family over a harbor?

Seeing that Kronos had taken his words to heart, Marquis Argyle didn't lecture him any further.

After leaving the study, Kronos took Gner toward the storeroom.

The Argel Family's storeroom was enormous. The marquis's two bodyguards usually stayed by its entrance. After all, the marquis never left home, so they rarely had any opportunity to put their skills to use.

Once the old butler helped open the storeroom doors, Kronos led Gner inside.

The treasures inside nearly dazzled Gner blind. Valuables worth a fortune outside were piled up here, right by the entrance, which meant they were the least valuable things in the storeroom.

That was indeed the case. Everything near the entrance was merely ordinary treasure. Farther inside were potion ingredients and even Beyonder items.

There was only one bookshelf in the storeroom, so Kronos headed straight toward it. The potion formulas could only be there.

Kronos browsed the books on the shelf and discovered that the notebooks Marquis Argyle had given him last time were there too. No wonder he hadn't seen them before.

The family certainly had an extensive collection: Sequences 9 through 7 of the Hunter Pathway, Sequences 9 through 6 of the Warrior Pathway, Sequences 9 through 7 of the Sleepless Pathway, Sequences 9 through 7 of the Savant Pathway, Sequences 9 through 6 of the Arbiter Pathway, Sequences 8 and 9 of the Spectator Pathway, Sequences 8 and 9 of the Reader Pathway, and the Sailor Potion formula.

Kronos could more or less guess why they had so many potion formulas. The Argel Family had fought both the Feysac Empire and the Intis Republic, so obtaining formulas for the Hunter and Warrior Pathways was hardly surprising.

They were on good terms with the Church of Steam and Machinery, and the Savant Pathway was an adjacent pathway to their own, so those formulas were understandable too. The rest had probably been collected or acquired through trades over the years.

"Take a look. Memorize them all if you can, and buy the ingredients whenever you come across them." As he spoke, Kronos tossed all the Warrior Pathway potion formulas to Gner.

Kronos was always generous to his own people, but to his surprise, Gner tossed them back without even looking. "Bad memory."

Kronos rolled his eyes at Gner, then said irritably, "The family may have a large collection, but ingredients for Sequence 7 and above aren't exactly cabbages. They're hard to find. You have to get lucky."

When Gner showed no reaction whatsoever, Kronos could only quietly memorize the Warrior Pathway's Sequence 9 through 6 potion formulas himself. He would look for the ingredients later.

Potion ingredients were piled high in the Argel Family's storeroom as well. The accumulated wealth of a family with over a thousand years of history was no joke. There were also special storage measures in place; otherwise, everything would have lost its potency after just a few years.

Kronos casually picked out the main and supplementary ingredients for Pugilist, then began brewing the potion on the spot.

For Beyonders whose abilities centered on knowledge, this was a basic skill. Kronos swiftly finished preparing the potion and handed it to Gner.

Gner took the potion without a word and downed it in one gulp. Then his whole body began convulsing. Kronos smiled and shook his head at the sight.

The Warrior Pathway focused on improving physical attributes, and every advancement brought a substantial transformation to the body. It was best to drink its potions in bed. Otherwise, one would end up like Gner, who convulsed a couple of times before collapsing to the floor and continuing to twitch.

Kronos left him alone and continued farther into the storeroom, wanting to see the family's collection of Beyonder items.

He had only taken a few steps when a middle-aged man appeared before him, bowed, and asked, "Is there something you need, Lord Argel?"

The fact that he addressed him as Lord Argel meant he belonged to the Argel Family. Since he was here, he was probably responsible for guarding the Beyonder items.

"I'd like to see the family's Beyonder items," Kronos answered honestly.

"You have permission to requisition one or two Beyonder items, my lord, but no one may enter their storage area without the marquis's authorization," the middle-aged man said expressionlessly.

Kronos didn't insist. "All right, then. I'd like a Beyonder item that can change my appearance. If possible, I'd also like one that improves my combat strength."

"The Vampire Mask was made from a Sequence 6 Faceless Beyonder characteristic," the middle-aged man said. "It can change your appearance at will, but whenever you use it, it must absorb five hundred milliliters of blood that same day."

"That one. I'll take it," Kronos said immediately.

The middle-aged man didn't move, but continued, "The marquis has ordered that until you reach Sequence 7, your weapons are to be your own fists. You therefore have no authority to requisition combat-oriented Beyonder items."

Kronos wasn't disappointed. Using combat-oriented Beyonder items at this stage would indeed greatly hinder his potion digestion.

Seeing that Kronos had nothing more to say, the middle-aged man turned and headed deeper into the storeroom. Before long, he returned with two items.

One was a soft mask made of human skin. The other was a necklace with a blood-red, heart-shaped gemstone pendant.

"This is the Vampire Mask. It fits perfectly over your face and can be worn for extended periods. As long as you don't change your appearance, it doesn't count as using it." The middle-aged man handed the human-skin mask to Kronos.

After taking it, Kronos eagerly put it on. He only felt something on his face the instant he donned it. After that, he couldn't feel it at all.

The middle-aged man then handed Kronos the necklace as well. "This is the Vampire’s Heart. It was made from a Sequence 7 Vampire characteristic of the Apothecary Pathway. It can greatly enhance your body's ability to recover, and it can briefly form a pair of Wings of Darkness, allowing you to fly at extreme speed."

"The marquis has authorized this for you. The Vampire Mask needs blood, and so does this. It's best to let the Vampire’s Heart absorb blood in advance. Otherwise, when you activate its abilities, it will continuously drain your blood at a rate of ten milliliters per second."

Once Kronos accepted the Vampire’s Heart, the middle-aged man turned and disappeared into the depths without another word.

Kronos wasn't annoyed. These were the family's guardians, who answered only to the family head. Even the heir had no authority over them. Without them, the family could never have endured for so long.

Looking at the necklace in his hand, Kronos put it around his neck, then turned and headed back out.

When he reached Gner, the man had stopped convulsing but still hadn't woken up. He remained unconscious, so Kronos did nothing and simply leaned against the bookshelf to read the books.

He started with the potion formulas. Who knew when they might come in handy? Kronos had an excellent memory and soon finished reading them. When he checked Gner again, he discovered that the man had fallen asleep.

Leaving him alone, Kronos read through the books on the shelf one by one. There were only seven or eight in total, all written by the family's predecessors. Most were supplements to the family's library, so he read them quickly.

Once he finished, Kronos walked over to Gner and gave him a kick. "Wake up. Time to get up."

Kronos had been right. Gner really was asleep, so he soon woke.

"How do you feel?" Kronos asked.

Gner took stock of his physical condition. "Fantastic. I feel like I could take on two of my old self."

"Not bad, then. I asked my dad to find a Sequence 7 Nightmare. That pathway's strength is about the same as a Spirit Medium's. You'll spar with him in a bit, and we'll discuss the rest afterward."

"No problem. I can't guarantee I'll beat him, but I'm confident I can keep him occupied."

Kronos said nothing more. Keeping a Spirit Medium occupied and keeping a Nightmare occupied were entirely different matters. A Nightmare could pull an opponent into a dream and put him to sleep. Still, after the fight, they would know whether Gner could hold off a Spirit Medium.

The two left the family storeroom one after the other. The two bodyguards and the butler were still waiting at the entrance. Upon seeing them, Kronos suddenly remembered something.

He pointed at one of the bodyguards and said to Gner behind him, "This man is a Pugilist too. Would you like to spar with him and get used to your increased strength?"

At those words, not only Gner's eyes but also the bodyguard's lit up. Who would choose the Warrior Pathway if they were content with a quiet, uneventful life? Yet the marquis they served, a Beyonder of the Mystery Pryer Pathway, happened to be a homebody. They might go three or five years without a single chance to fight.

"No problem," the two Pugilists said in unison.

What followed could be considered quite an event at Argyle Manor. Footmen, maids, bodyguards, and even the old butler didn't miss it. They all gathered in the manor's courtyard to watch the two men fight.

Kronos also happened to glance toward Marquis Argyle's study. There seemed to be a figure standing by the window.

But in truth, the gap between the two fighters was rather large. While Gner was still adjusting to his increased strength, they were evenly matched. Once he got serious, however, the bodyguard was immediately knocked down.