Listening to Will Auceptin's "pleading," Klein didn't know how to react, so he simply remained expressionless.
Once the baby wrapped in silver silk had calmed down, he spoke with considerable doubt:
Even if I had said so sooner, it wouldn't have mattered. By the time I met you, you had already ' Restart '.
"No, back then I was still Will Auceptin. I had already ' Restart ' a long time ago," the chubby baby said, wiping away tears. "Although I'm still quite a while away from adulthood, it's not impossible to take risks if you're willing to. With the luck I've accumulated, I could have mitigated those risks, but now I'm far too far behind to make up for it."
Klein's thoughts shifted, and he said carefully:
"Perhaps we could find Angel through the ' Marauder ' route to steal your time and make you grow up faster."
Will Auceptin was still sobbing a little, shaking his head as he said:
"It's useless... They can't precisely steal my 'childhood' and 'adolescence.' Simply stealing my lifespan won't make me grow; it will only shorten my originally planned lifespan... In the end, Will Auceptin Ceres will die young, born in June 1350 and died in October 1350, at the age of four months..."
"But I've seen examples of people aging faster because their time was stolen," Klein recalled what he had seen in Amon's mausoleum.
The chubby baby was still shaking his head.
"No, that's just a symbolic representation. If it happened to me, it would be like this baby starting to grow wrinkles and its hair turning white..."
"If you really want to accurately steal 'childhood' and 'adolescence,' you can only find Amon, and even then, His true form must come in person..."
At this point, both the baby wrapped in silver silk and Klein fell silent, and no one spoke for a long time.
If we were to bring in Amon, it wouldn't just be "childhood" and "adolescence" that were stolen.
After a while, Klein let out a sigh of relief, making no attempt to hide it:
"Then let's not think about that for now. However, I still want to know where I can find a way to accommodate ' Uniqueness '. If I have the opportunity to get one, I definitely can't miss it; it might come in handy sometime in the future."
Will Auceptin lowered his hand from wiping away tears, sniffed, and said:
"No need to ask anyone else, I already got it a long time ago, I just can't do it. Otherwise, do you think I'm a fake chairman of the School of Life?"
"..." Klein asked, both surprised and curious, "Why can't we do it?"
Will Auceptin pulled the blanket inside the stroller and said:
There are three ways to contain ' Uniqueness ': first, one is to be born with it, which is equivalent to activating ' Uniqueness ' and integrating it with human nature; second, one can activate ' Uniqueness ' to a certain degree and then forcibly take it into the body, relying on the power of the Creator to suppress it, and gradually wear it down and adapt to it over a considerable period of time to achieve balance; third, one can blend ' Uniqueness ' into an incomplete Potion and consume it in conjunction with a simplified version of the godhood ritual.
"The first one goes without saying; that's what made those brothers the object of Envy. The second one, after the fall of the Ancient The Sun God, is something no one can accomplish anymore. The third one is currently the only feasible one, but for Sequence 1 of the ' Fate ' path, it's all up to Fate."
The first point was mentioned by Emperor Roselle in his diary, and it was Mr. "Men" who said it... Does the second point mean that after the Ancient The Sun God wielded multiple powers, he was actually at least half a level higher than the current true god, or even a level of... Creator status? Klein asked thoughtfully:
"What do you mean by 'it's all up to Fate '? What does that have to do with me telling you earlier that I'd help you accept ' Uniqueness '?"
Will Auceptin's chubby baby face showed an expression of amazement:
"The ' Fate ' path to godhood may be the simplest, or it may be the most difficult."
"If we can find the right opportunity in the torrent of Fate, we can directly take the Potion and try to advance."
"The problem is that the exact opportunity cannot Divination or foreseen, nor can it be locked in by any means. One can only eliminate certain interferences and patiently experience and search. I've ' Restart ' countless times, spent an incredibly long time, and still, I still haven't encountered it..."
At this point, the baby's tears started flowing again.
It sounds so simple, but in reality, it all depends on fate and looks... Klein sighed, then asked with a sudden realization:
When I said I would help you accommodate ' Uniqueness,' did you vaguely grasp that opportunity?
The chubby baby cried even harder.
"Although I haven't actually found it yet... I have a certain feeling..."
... I see... When Will Auceptin first approached me, besides hoping to get help from " Yesterday Once More," was he also driven by luck? What a charlatan... Klein hummed in agreement.
"Then there's nothing we can do..."
"I'll just have to give you a few more of those talismans!" Will Auceptin nodded emphatically.
"Okay," Klein replied without hesitation, then added, "You'll have to fold me a lot more origami cranes."
After he finished speaking, both the baby wrapped in silver silk and he fell silent.
Inside the rented room, Klein woke up from his dream, got out of bed, went to the outer room, took out paper and pen, and began to write a letter to Leonard:
"... I obtained some High-Sequence talismans from the ' Seer ' pathway, which allow one to borrow power from their past self..."
Klein didn't mention whether the poet classmate needed it; he seemed to be simply making a description.
He folded the letter, took out a gold coin and a rectangular diamond-like talisman, and began to play the Adventurer Harmonica.
Reinette Tinekerr, dressed in a somber and elaborate long dress, emerged from the void carrying four blonde, red-eyed heads, and all eyes simultaneously turned to the " Yesterday Once More " spell.
The four heads spoke in turn:
"This time..." "We need to..." "Deal with..." "Who..."
"So direct..." Klein sighed, then smiled and said:
It's not confirmed yet.
"I will next attempt to thwart George III's schemes, and I may need your help at a crucial moment."
Reinette Tinekerr's four blonde, red-eyed heads immediately replied:
"This..." "It sounds..." "Very..." "Dangerous..."
"I want..." "Add..." "Compensation..."
"More of these spells?" Klein's brow twitched, as if he were experiencing that soul-tearing pain again.
"Three..." Reinette Tinekerr's head, which hadn't spoken a second time, bobbed up and down.
... Klein forced a smile and said:
"No problem, but it will take one to two weeks."
Firstly, he had recently separated many " Worm of Spirit " and made quite a few "Yesterday's Talismans," which made him feel that he was nearing his limit and needed to rest for a while. Secondly, he felt that in another one to two weeks, with the release of Miss " Magician's" new book, he should be able to digest the " Bizarro Sorcerer " Potion and try to advance to " Scholar of Yore." At that time, there might be a simpler and easier way.
Reinette Tinekerr's four heads bobbed up and down with the help of her hair, indicating that everything was alright.
Klein then pointed to the letter and the gold coins:
"Put it in the mailbox at 7 Pinster Street."
He had Divination and discovered that Leonard wasn't home; he seemed to have gone to the Bridge South Borough.
One of Reinette Tinekerr's heads swung up, sucking the letter, gold coins, and the " Yesterday Once More " charm into its mouth.
Watching the messenger step into the void and disappear from the room, Klein pondered for several seconds before beginning to arrange the Sacrifice and Bestowal Ritual.
Now that the " Bizarro Sorcerer " Potion is almost completely digested, he undoubtedly needs to prepare various materials for the " Scholar of Yore " in advance.
Among them, the Flocculent Heart of the Demonic Wolf of Fog and the Frost Crystal both seem to be obtainable from the Evernight Goddess.
With the fibrous heart of the Demonic Wolf of Fog, they can now go to the Spirit World to "fish" for the Hound of Fulgrim.
After a flurry of activity, Klein finished setting up the altar, stepped back, and surveyed his surroundings.
"It's fairly clean... and with the ' Wall of Spirituality ' sealing it off, the ritual requirements are met... I haven't made any contributions lately, so how should I pray for a blessing? Should I tell the goddess I plan to take out a credit loan and pay it off in installments...? Would that be a bit blasphemous...? Hmm, I'll try offering something of value. If the goddess is willing to accept it, she will grant the corresponding blessing..."
"Something of value..." As he pondered, Klein's thoughts drifted to the pile of debris above the Gray Fog.
He really wanted to pack up the currently useless and unsellable Biotoxin Bottle, the " Interrogator " Beyonder Characteristic, the " Lunatic " Beyonder Characteristic, the Myrmidon's aura, the Thousand-faced Hunter's blood, the Six-Winged Gargoyle's eyeball, and the Spirit World Plunderer's dust and offer them as a sacrifice to the goddess in exchange for the materials for the " Scholar of Yore," but he felt that this would make the goddess look like a junk collector, so he had to give up the idea.
"It has to be of similar value... ' The Groselle's Travels ' won't do; it holds a significant secret and might prove extremely useful. By the way, next time Little ' The Sun ' and the others explore the ' Giant King's Court,' we can give them Groselle's ashes. This time, we're unsure how far they'll explore, and we're worried they might return before truly entering the ' Giant King's Court '..."
"' Sea God Scepter '? That's even more important. It's not only my most powerful Sealed Artifact to date, but it also involves the followers of Sea God. It's my anchor for a while to come. When I have other, more anchors, I can bestow them upon Mr. ' The Hanged Man '..."
" Herabergen Rambis's Beyonder Characteristic... this has already been promised to Miss ' Justice '..." After some thought, Klein realized that he didn't have many choices: the " Staff of Life," the " Solar Flare " charm, the " Fate Siphon " charm, the " Yesterday Once More " charm, and the Spirit Control Bullet.
The rest are all one-time use items, and even if you add them all together, their actual value is still less than the main ingredient of Sequence 3 Potion... Moreover, once my "Wound Transfer" ability is improved again, it can also take on some of the functions of the " Staff of Life "... After hesitating for a while, Klein finally made a decision.
P. S.: Updated first, revised later.