The Eye of Wisdom Gathering

"But in my family's dungeon, as a prisoner," Kronos added, then struck without hesitation.

Booze did not even last three minutes before Kronos subdued him.

"Violent Bear, rope!" Kronos shouted.

Violent Bear ran to the back of the bar and found a sturdy hemp rope. As he helped Kronos tie Booze up, he asked, "Aren't you going to kill him outright?"

Kronos understood Violent Bear's concerns. "Beyonders of the Monster Pathway are hard to find, especially one with abnormal luck. He's well worth observing. As for my family's dungeon, even a Sequence 5 couldn't escape."

Violent Bear was still somewhat worried, but with Kronos saying that, what else could he do?

Before long, Kronos's butler and Gner arrived in a carriage.

The moment the two entered the bar, they were greeted by an astonishing sight. The entire bar was a mess, and Kronos sat right in the middle, drinking, with his foot resting on a tightly bound man.

"Good, you're here. Take this fellow to the manor and make sure he's properly handed over. Then bring this letter to my father. Leave tonight." Seeing them enter, Kronos handed the butler a letter.

"Certainly." The butler bowed, but used no form of address. On the way over, Gner had already told him that Kronos was concealing his identity.

After loading Booze into the carriage, the butler drove off. Kronos left Violent Bear some money and prepared to leave.

"Klein, do you still want the next fight? The kind you'll probably lose." Just before Kronos left, Violent Bear suddenly remembered the matter.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I? I'm not doing this to win. I just want to fight."

Violent Bear held nothing back. "But this man is hard to arrange a meeting with. He's a bodyguard for a high-ranking noble and rarely has time to come to the bar."

"A high-ranking noble? Which one? Tell me. I might know him." Kronos grew interested.

"He's one of Duke Negan's bodyguards, a Sequence 8 Barbarian. His physical abilities are already the strongest, and he's trained hard in combat as well. That's why I don't think you can beat him."

Kronos had spent all this time studying fighting. Suddenly hearing about someone he already knew left him momentarily dazed.

"All right, don't worry about it, then. We'll cancel this fight. I'll come by for a drink when I'm free." He could go through Philip, so there was no need to insist on having Violent Bear arrange it.

"All right. When I get some good liquor, I'll treat you." Hearing Kronos's words, Violent Bear understood that he had other connections.

It was even later than yesterday. Gner had only brought one carriage, too, leaving the two of them no choice but to find an inn and make do for another night. The main problem was that the inns in Bridge Borough were all rather low-end and uncomfortable.

Over the next few days, Kronos took Gner around his companies and introduced him to their managers, so that if he ever needed Gner to deliver a message, they would know whether they could trust him.

As for the companies, the Ansel Company was still researching coal futures, with large sums already invested. The Walter Factory's production lines were being installed according to schedule, and all the charcoal produced would be transported to the Coim Company for storage. The Bowen Trading Company had also begun procuring resources on a large scale.

As a hands-off owner, Kronos simply waited for the profits from coal futures and smokeless charcoal once the Air Pollution Act was implemented.

During those days, Kronos also visited Duke Negan's home several times to look for Philip, but each time he was told that both Philip and Duke Negan were away.

Kronos was in no hurry. It was only mid-April, so there was still enough time. After one final battle with a Barbarian, he would have fought opponents from most of the pathways that were reasonably easy to find. The Black Skull Gang would be his final fallback. Then he could advance to Sequence 7 and head out to sea without worry.

One morning, while eating breakfast, Kronos happened to notice an advertisement in the newspaper from the Ernst Trading Company, offering to purchase goods.

Kronos quickly checked that it was indeed the Backlund Morning Post, then read the details. The offered prices were flour at 7 pence per liter, butter at 1 soli per pound, lard at 6 pence per pound, cream at 1 soli and 3 pence per pound, and Marquis Tea leaves at 8 soli per pound.

In other words, there would be a Beyonder gathering in Bridge Borough at eight tomorrow evening. The entry code was seven heavy knocks followed by one light knock, with six long pauses and one short pause between them, in order. The final 3 and 8 meant nothing.

This was excellent. He had been feeling bored with so little to do these past couple of days. If things continued like this, Kronos would have gone back to the Backlund University library to read.

Although he knew that the gatherings held by "Eye of Wisdom," Detective Isengard Stanton, were not particularly high-level, they still offered some Sequence 8 and 9 potion formulas and Beyonder items. The Argel Family did not mind spending money on those, so even if they were useless to Kronos himself, he could have his expenses reimbursed at home.

With that in mind, Kronos summoned a manservant and told him to withdraw five thousand pounds in cash from the bank.

He had not sent the butler because the butler had yet to return since going back to the manor that day.

There had been no trouble, of course. Kronos had received a telegram from the manor. The butler had merely been told to wait a few days.

Kronos wanted the marquis to help extract the potion formulas for the Monster Pathway. Booze only had the formula for Sequence 7 Lucky One on him. The rest would have to be obtained through interrogation, and the butler would need to bring them back.

Going out so often over the past few days had left Kronos somewhat tired, so he decided not to leave home unless he had something to do.

For those two days, Kronos stayed home to finish his steel formulas. The formulas he remembered were all from a technological era, and some of the ingredients did not exist in the present age. He would therefore either have to refine them himself or find substitutes.

Those two days were quite fulfilling, and his overall appearance and demeanor grew even more like those of a researcher.

As for Gner, seeing that there was nothing much for him to do, he went to the Harbor Borough on his own, both to observe the Black Skull Gang's movements and to learn more about going out to sea.

It was not until the following evening that Kronos tidied himself up, put on a hooded robe and the Vampire Mask, and left the villa.

In the original novel, considerable attention had been given to the Eye of Wisdom gatherings, so Kronos was quite curious. He was particularly interested in Detective Isengard Stanton, who was wealthy and possessed several good-quality Beyonder items.

He arrived at the place Violent Bear had brought him to last time and knocked seven times heavily, then once lightly, with six long pauses and one short pause. Almost immediately, a small wooden panel in the door slid open soundlessly, revealing an eye that scrutinized the visitor from head to toe.

"What do you want?" a voice asked from behind the door.

"Violent Bear referred me," Kronos said.

Perhaps Violent Bear had already put in a word for him, because the door opened straight away. Since Kronos was already wearing a hooded robe, the attendant only handed him an iron mask that covered the upper half of his face.

After putting on the mask, Kronos followed the attendant through the dark drawing room and into the sitting room on the first floor.

A single candle burned on the coffee table. Its feeble light could not illuminate the entire sitting room, leaving it dim.

A dozen or so people sat on the sofas and chairs around the coffee table, all wearing hooded robes and iron-colored masks.

Kronos did not like sitting on chairs, so he picked a very comfortable spot on a sofa.

"This newcomer is quite unusual. Normally, newcomers sit quietly in a corner, but this one picked the most comfortable and conspicuous seat." A slightly hoarse voice rang out.

Kronos paid it no mind. "I'm no rookie. I have strength, money, and resources. Even if I didn't stand out now, I would soon enough."

"Hahaha, money is good. If you have money, we can make some." The people around him were fairly friendly.

"I'm selling two types of medicine. One quickly stops bleeding and promotes wound healing. The other helps you fall asleep faster and recover from fatigue more quickly," a plump figure said.

Kronos looked at him and thought, Is this the Apothecary who appeared two years later? He was already an Apothecary this early? His advancement is rather slow.

Seeing that no one else spoke, Kronos asked, "Does their silence mean your medicine isn't very effective?"

The plump Apothecary grew a little angry at that. "What's that supposed to mean? They all have my medicine. They simply haven't used it up yet. Apothecaries are a rare resource. How could our medicine possibly be ineffective?"

Kronos glanced around and saw several figures nod slightly. Only then did he continue, "How much is the medicine that helps you fall asleep?"

"Fifteen soli a bottle."

"Then would you sell your Apothecary formula?" Although this Apothecary had refused in the original novel, Kronos still tried asking.

"It's not for sale." As expected, the Apothecary refused without hesitation.

"All right, then. Give me ten bottles of the sleep medicine."

The Apothecary glanced at Kronos. "My medicine helps you sleep. It isn't a powerful sedative. Don't get the wrong idea."

Kronos nodded. "I know."

Hearing that, the Apothecary said no more and readily completed the transaction with Kronos.

Once the transaction was complete, Kronos stated what he wanted. "Potion formulas. As long as I don't already have them, I'm willing to buy them. I'm also buying Beyonder items. Single-use ones don't count, of course."

After saying this, Kronos also glanced at "Eye of Wisdom."