Acting alone

And so, Gner slept soundly while Kronos thought in silence, until Gner woke on his own at seven in the morning.

"Kronos, why didn't you wake me?" Gner rubbed his eyes. He had clearly asked Kronos to wake him at six.

"It's fine. You worked hard yesterday, so I let you sleep a little longer," Kronos said.

Gner glanced at the Evil-Patterned Black Panther's corpse beside them, then asked, "What do we do now?"

Kronos said slowly, "I've thought it over. Take the Evil-Patterned Black Panther back to the harbor today. I'll finish the rest of the journey myself."

"What? No way! You're still a beginner. What if you run into another one of these things?" Gner firmly opposed the idea.

Kronos didn't look at Gner. He continued staring quietly at the fire, then said, "I've already decided."

There were no lengthy explanations, but Gner could feel the resolve in Kronos's heart.

Although Kronos always acted as though he had everything under control, to Gner, he still had a child's mindset.

It wasn't that he was particularly immature or unreliable.

Above all, Gner couldn't sense any real resolve in Kronos. It was hard for someone with a way out to become utterly determined, so Gner understood.

Kronos was the heir to a Marquis. He simply had too many options.

His father, the current Marquis Argyle, had once secretly sworn to break free of the constraints of his family's secret tome, become a demigod, and restore the family's glory. So why had he ended up wasting twenty years?

Because while he wanted to become a demigod, he also wanted to be Marquis Argyle, as well as a merchant whose wealth could rival a nation's.

That meant caring about his dignity as a noble and being unwilling to take risks to act as a Warlock. He also had to study commerce, so he couldn't devote all his energy to digesting his potion.

Kronos was much the same. He had far too many fallback options. Although titles and money didn't interest him much, even if he failed to improve his own strength, he could still attach himself to someone powerful.

He had even considered that if investing in Klein, a "stock with potential," proved too risky, he might as well invest directly in the Evernight Goddess, a "blue-chip stock."

But today, Gner saw resolve in Kronos-the determination to succeed no matter what.

Kronos had never been easy to persuade in the first place. Seeing that resolve, Gner knew there was absolutely no chance of changing his mind.

He also realized that Kronos wasn't sending him away merely to avoid wasting the Evil-Patterned Black Panther. It was only worth one or two thousand Pounds Sterling. Kronos might not even bother picking that much up off the ground.

Kronos's real aim, then, was for Gner to leave. He wanted to venture out alone.

Gner hesitated for a long time, wanting to speak, but in the end, all he said was, "All right."

Kronos smiled, turning to look at Gner. "You really do understand me."

Gner, however, wasn't in a good mood. On this voyage, he had regarded himself as Kronos's bodyguard. They had only been away for half a month, and the bodyguard had already lost his purpose.

"You probably don't know how to process this Evil-Patterned Black Panther. You can try the bookstore east of the harbor gate. Its owner should be a believer of the Church of Knowledge, and he's very likely one of their informants."

"He should know about these things. Remember, the most valuable parts of an Evil-Patterned Black Panther are its entire supply of spinal fluid and its brain, followed by its hide. The rest isn't worth as much."

"You can offer some panther meat and bones as payment to hire the owner to help you. Then ask whether he knows how to seal the spirituality inside the materials. If he doesn't, wait until I return, and I'll do it myself."

"Finally, you can come to Saint Luo Village the day after tomorrow. Bring a carriage. I'll probably be exhausted by then, so I won't ride a horse."

Gner listened to Kronos's stream of instructions without speaking, packing his things on his own.

In the end, he left without another word, carrying his supplies on his back and dragging the Evil-Patterned Black Panther behind him.

Kronos knew Gner was upset, but there was nothing he could do. Some things simply had to be done this way.

After watching Gner leave, Kronos shouldered his backpack and headed toward the second village.

It took Gner an entire day to get out of the mountains. Dragging a whole black panther behind him, he turned every head he passed.

At last, he managed to hire a carriage large enough and rode it back to the harbor.

Remembering what Kronos had said, he didn't enter the harbor, but had the carriage stop outside the bookstore instead.

The owner was inside when he entered.

"Welcome, sir. Is there anything you need?"

"I killed an Evil-Patterned Black Panther in the mountains, but I don't know how to process it. I heard you do?" Gner was in no mood to beat around the bush and went straight to the point.

Startled, the owner immediately asked, "Who told you that?"

"Never mind that. That person said I could give you some panther meat and bones as payment, provided you know how to seal the spirituality inside the materials."

Those terms differed somewhat from what Kronos had said, but Gner wasn't foolish enough to show his hand right away.

The owner hesitated. In truth, he didn't want to accept jobs from strangers. After all, just as Kronos had guessed, he was an informant for the Church of Knowledge.

He wasn't exactly a spy, but to the island's Church of Storms, he was most certainly a heretic.

For now, he could claim he merely believed in the God of Knowledge and Wisdom. But if his identity as a Beyonder was exposed, that excuse would no longer hold up.

Still, the bones and meat of a paranormal creature were simply too tempting. Eating the meat of paranormal creatures could improve one's constitution.

As for the bones, they could be made into weapons. Not every Beyonder could afford Beyonder Items. Most used weapons with a limited service life, and the bones of paranormal creatures were perfect materials for those.

After a good deal of genuine hesitation, the owner finally agreed.

"Bring the Evil-Patterned Black Panther over. I'll teach you how to process it."

"No need. It's right outside. I'll just drag it in." With that, Gner went out.

A minute later, Gner grabbed the Evil-Patterned Black Panther by the tail and dragged the entire animal into the bookstore.

By then, the owner had opened the door to the back courtyard and gestured for Gner to drag the panther out there. They couldn't very well process it inside the bookstore.

While Gner headed toward the back, the owner locked the front door.

"Which parts do you want? Would you like some advice?" The owner's eyes gleamed as he looked at the Evil-Patterned Black Panther.

Kronos had told him what to keep, but Gner didn't mind hearing the owner's advice. "Go on. I'm listening."

"The most valuable parts of this Evil-Patterned Black Panther are its brain and spinal fluid. Those are easy enough. Just extract them intact and put them in sealed containers."

"Next are the blood and hide. They're said to be ideal materials for making charms. The hide is straightforward-with good knife work, you can skin it in one piece. The blood is more troublesome."

"This panther must have been dead for over a day. Who knows how much value its blood has lost? Your best bet now is to drain it all, then purify it with a ritual. You might end up with less than a quarter left. That's the limit."

"As for the method of sealing spirituality you mentioned, I do know it. But I'll need half the remaining meat and bones as payment."

Gner didn't know how much would be enough, but that didn't stop him from bargaining. "One-third, no more. If that's not enough, forget it."

In fact, even one-third was already above the market rate, but Gner didn't know that. More importantly, the owner had realized Gner didn't know, which was why he had asked for so much.

"Fine, fine. Deal. But let me say this first: I'm no good with a knife. You'll have to do the cutting." That wasn't an excuse. An informant for the Church of Knowledge wasn't a butcher. Where would he have learned to take a panther apart?

Gner didn't think the owner looked as though he was lying, so he said nothing more and drew his dagger.

"Drain the blood first, then skin it starting from that incision. I'll purify the blood while you do that," the owner suggested.

Gner knew the value of taking good advice. He felt around the Evil-Patterned Black Panther's neck, found the artery, and cut into it.

Normally, the blood inside a dead animal would clot within twelve hours. But because its spirituality hadn't fully dissipated, the blood was still flowing, though it had turned almost black.

At first, the blood flowed quickly, but it gradually slowed. By then, the blood in the bucket amounted to less than half of the panther's total blood supply.

"That'll do. Draining any more will damage the spirituality in the other parts," the owner said beside him.

Gner glanced at the owner, then stopped draining the blood and began skinning the panther.

Beside him, the owner arranged a ritual around the bucket and began purifying the blood.

Gner worked extremely fast. He had removed the entire panther hide before the ritual was even finished.

The owner had to watch the ritual while telling Gner, "You'll need to be careful now. Separate the entire spine and head from the body. Be very careful-they're connected, and you mustn't damage either of them in the slightest."

With such precise requirements, Gner naturally became much more cautious. He slowly began cutting from the head. Removing the spine itself wasn't difficult; the trouble was that it was connected to the head, and one careless move could break the neck.

It took Gner twenty minutes to remove both parts together, fully intact.

Naturally, technical work like extracting the spinal fluid and brain couldn't be left to Gner. The owner was already waiting beside him with a pointed knife and two containers.

Gner no longer needed to concern himself with that part. His job now was to separate the remaining meat and bones.