Robot

But his opponent was no novice at hand-to-hand combat. Once he saw what Kronos intended, he quickly changed tactics, blocking with a bent elbow before swiftly attacking again.

Kronos saw a knight's style in the man's fighting: tough and forceful.

That style immediately reminded Kronos that, in the original story, Klein had learned to fight from a knight. The man before him was very likely a Midnight Poet, which meant there was a good chance he was a Nighthawk.

They exchanged many blows, neither gaining the upper hand. Neither belonged to a Sequence adept at combat, and their physical abilities were comparable. Kronos might have had a slight edge in fighting technique, but it was not enough to make a decisive difference.

After the stalemate continued for a while, the Nighthawk lost patience. He opened his mouth and began to chant, "Ah, the threat of terror, the crimson hope! At least one thing is true: this life flies by. One thing is true, and all the rest are lies. Once the flower blooms, it shall bid the world farewell..."

As the chanting began, Kronos's mind immediately grew hazy. He seemed to see tranquil moonlight and the gently rippling surface of a peaceful lake. His eyelids rapidly grew heavy, as though he could fall asleep standing up.

The Midnight Poet's powers had begun to take effect, but a Melee Scholar's abilities were completely useless against them, and the Eyes of Mystery Prying could not get him out of this predicament either.

Kronos decisively leaped backward, disengaging from the fight. He clasped his hands into the One-Pronged Hand Seal and shouted, "Rin!"

His opponent jumped, thinking Kronos was about to unleash some powerful move, and immediately took a defensive stance. Yet several seconds passed without anything happening.

With the power of Rin supporting him, Kronos had shaken off the negative effects completely. But he realized this was an opportunity and continued shouting, making it look as though he was trying to break free through sheer volume.

His opponent now caught on as well. This was no powerful attack, merely the desperate struggle of a cornered beast.

The Nighthawk therefore did not rush to attack. He simply kept chanting without pause, while Kronos played along, pretending to be utterly disoriented.

Seeing Kronos in that state, the Nighthawk smiled and slowly approached him, feeling that victory was already assured.

Just as everyone thought the fight would end in Kronos's defeat, his eyes suddenly cleared, and he stepped forward with a punch.

Under everyone's astonished gaze, the fist stopped just short of the Nighthawk's nose.

"Thank you for holding back." The Nighthawk left those words with an ugly expression, then jumped straight off the ring and left the bar, leaving Kronos alone in the ring to receive the crowd's cheers.

Only after Kronos stepped down did Violent Bear come over to the table he shared with Gner. "Don't worry about it. That's just how he is. He's a little thin-skinned. He felt embarrassed for a moment and couldn't take it."

Kronos did not mind. Instead, he asked, "A Nighthawk?"

"How did you know?"

"Unaffiliated Beyonders rarely belong to the churches' Pathways. Besides, he uses a knight's fighting techniques. Church Beyonders generally follow that approach."

Violent Bear laughed heartily. "Good eye. He's a member of the Nighthawks in the Bridge Borough."

Kronos said no more about it and instead introduced the man beside him to Violent Bear. "This is Gner, my friend. A genuine Pugilist. I mean it-you should ask him for pointers when you have time. Otherwise, that Sequence 8 of yours is going to waste."

Violent Bear gave Gner a nod with a wry smile, then said, "But I really don't like fighting. I know the next Sequence, too. Weapon Master, right? I like that even less."

"I've liked the Apothecary Pathway since I was little, but I happened to inherit the Warrior Pathway at birth. I once thought I could disregard all that, but it's not as though I have some blood feud to avenge. I really don't have enough motivation to do something I dislike."

There really was little to be done about Violent Bear's situation. His life was comfortable, and he had no lofty ambitions. If his Pathway had been one he liked, he might have made an effort, but unfortunately, it was not.

Kronos did not know how to persuade him either, so he said no more and simply drank.

Once they started drinking, Kronos remained fairly composed, but Gner and Violent Bear hit it off as though they were old friends. They went straight to calling each other brothers.

Still, they did not forget their business. The timing of the next Boxing Match was flexible, so they scheduled it for the following evening. From Violent Bear's tone, he clearly held the man's character in contempt, though his fighting ability was genuinely impressive.

Kronos did not inquire too deeply. Gathering as much information as possible before putting on a flawless performance was a rule of the Magician's Acting Method, not the Melee Scholar's.

In the end, Violent Bear and Gner both got completely drunk, leaving Kronos with no choice but to drag Gner out of the bar.

But it was so late that the subway had stopped running, and there were no public carriages on the streets either. Kronos could only find a nearby inn at random and stay there. He needed to monitor the Black Skull Gang's movements the next day anyway, and the Bridge Borough was closer.

Early the next morning, Kronos took Gner to breakfast, then headed straight for the Black Skull Gang's headquarters in the Harbor Borough.

Sure enough, at that hour, there was still no one inside the so-called headquarters. Only two guards stood outside.

There were large quantities of explosives and rifles inside. Who knew what the gang's leaders were thinking?

Seizing the opportunity, Kronos and Gner slipped into the headquarters. They needed to learn something about the interior, or they would be at a disadvantage when a fight actually broke out.

But they only went in quickly, surveyed the layout, erased their traces, and promptly left. It would be awkward if someone trapped them inside.

The Black Skull Gang's leaders started work quite late, too. It was not until ten o'clock that someone arrived: Lima. He was probably that day's "leader on duty."

Kronos now judged that the Black Skull Gang probably stationed one person at the headquarters each day. Perhaps all three leaders met briefly every day, but he would need to observe them for several more days to be sure.

Still, he did not necessarily have to conduct the surveillance himself. Kronos had only come personally to get a firsthand look. Naturally, long-term surveillance was not suitable for him.

After temporarily leaving the surveillance to Gner, Kronos went to find a private detective. The man was not particularly well-known, but he was perfectly suited to keeping watch.

The day passed just like that, and it was time for Kronos to attend his second-to-last Boxing Match that evening. Hopefully, it would push his digestion a little further.

In fact, although he had already digested more than ninety-five percent of the potion, Kronos felt that fighting now did very little to help. Perhaps at some point, it would stop helping altogether.

Today was completely different from yesterday. Although Kronos had not intended to ask about his opponent yesterday either, today Violent Bear deliberately came over and told him about the man.

Today's opponent was a Sequence 8 of the Monster Pathway-a Robot. Robots were a Beyonder Sequence fairly adept at combat. They possessed terrifying calculation abilities and precise control, with noticeable improvements in every aspect of their physical capabilities, making them naturally gifted at fighting, shooting, and similar disciplines.

But Violent Bear held this man in great contempt. His name was Booze.

He certainly lived up to the Monster Pathway. He had frequented casinos since childhood, cheating, stealing, and doing everything else, yet had somehow reached adulthood with all his limbs intact.

By chance, Booze had come across the Monster potion formula. He did everything he could to concoct the potion and became a Beyonder.

Then, relying on his exceptionally high spiritual perception, he went around swindling people. He was cautious, too, only cheating those who did not worship orthodox deities. Every time he struck, he swindled his victims out of everything they owned, then squandered the money in casinos.

But somehow, Booze really was extraordinarily lucky. Through another chance opportunity, he obtained the Robot potion formula and advanced successfully once again.

Apparently, he was still going around swindling people. He would do anything that made money, especially over the past six months. He had even taken work as a gang enforcer.

Violent Bear suspected that he might have obtained the next potion formula, because the last time he had behaved like this was when he acquired the Robot formula.

Although he greatly admired Booze's luck, Violent Bear's words kept urging Kronos, both openly and subtly, to take action against him.

"If you hate him so much, why don't you deal with him yourself? Why keep egging me on?" Kronos asked bluntly, making no effort to spare his feelings.

Violent Bear smiled bitterly. "You think I haven't tried? I've asked plenty of people to go after him, but every time, somehow, he's been lucky enough to escape. Eventually, everyone I knew stopped being willing to try."

"That uncanny?" Gner interjected from beside them.

"Yeah. Besides, he's on good terms with several gangs in the East Borough. If you fail to deal with him, he'll bring several people along to get revenge. The only reason he's never retaliated against me is that I've kept my involvement well hidden," Violent Bear sighed.

Kronos asked curiously, "Then why did you come to me?"

"Two reasons, I suppose. First, I've mentioned it to every kindhearted Beyonder I know, including your opponent yesterday. I even considered getting the Nighthawks involved, but his superior wouldn't agree."

"Second, I've always felt that you have an extraordinary background. You spend generously, and there's nothing ordinary about how you deal with people. So you have a chance of taking him down."

Kronos thought for a moment, then said, "How about this? I'll have someone investigate him. If he really is just as you say, we'll decide how to deal with him then."

Before Violent Bear could speak, Gner cut in. "Is that a good idea? Agai... would your family agree?"

Gner was also a little worried that Kronos had agreed so impulsively and would bring trouble on himself.

Kronos smiled, then said, "Why wouldn't they? He's just a parasite. We could even get a Beyonder Characteristic out of it, and perhaps three potion formulas. My family stands to lose nothing."