Phew, it finally passed... It's approved...
Upon hearing Crestet Cesimir's announcement, Klein, who was already mentally prepared, first breathed a sigh of relief, then looked slightly bewildered, feeling that it wasn't real, like a dream.
He had anticipated that the examination would be more difficult and lengthy, but upon reflection, he felt that the current state was the natural course of events. If he hadn't digested the "Diviner's" potion in a month and sought promotion, but instead waited patiently for three years, the examination might not have even alarmed the Sanctuary, and would have been handled solely by the captain of the Tingen Market Nightwalker squad.
I thought there would be an investigation into my family background and interpersonal relationships... Hmm, perhaps Lady Cesimir arrived in Tingen a couple of days ago and secretly completed that step... I also thought the assessment would include the completion of a designated task. Ha, I was really overthinking it. The purpose of the assessment was merely to confirm my level of Potion digestion, whether there were any hidden dangers, whether I clearly understood the " Acting Method," and whether I shared my experience with others... A series of thoughts flashed through Klein's mind, bringing a genuine smile to his face.
"Thank you, Your Excellency Cesimir."
Praise the goddess!
Crestet nodded slightly and said, "Promotion is for better serving the goddess and better protecting the good believers. Remember this, and believe me, it will also help you resist uncontrollable temptations. Remember, temptations."
"Temptation..." Klein chewed on the word.
Crestet looked him over with his dark green eyes and said very seriously:
"The ' Acting Method ' can help you digest the Potion and reduce the risk of losing control, but it's not a panacea. In some cases, it can even confuse the role Acting with your own identity. You know, opera and theatrical actors like this are bound to develop serious psychological problems, and at a certain point, you'll really go crazy."
Remember, you're just Acting... This is the only point of attention summarized by City of Silver, and it's basically consistent with Deacon Cesimir's description... Klein nodded thoughtfully, indicating his agreement with the other party's point of view.
"Furthermore," Crestet emphasized, "Loss of control isn't just related to Potion, but also closely linked to your emotional state and mental health. The most important thing for Beyonder is self-control. Only then can they resist the temptations of evil Devil, and resist the Corrosion of emotions and desires like Envy Greed. Of course, I don't mean to completely eliminate such emotions and desires; that's something even humans, or even Demigod, cannot do. Perhaps only certain special Sequence can achieve that state."
"Is it about keeping these emotions and desires within a reasonable range, not letting them control you and causing you to do something irrational or abnormal?" Klein suddenly thought of Old Neil and couldn't help but ask in return.
Crestet nodded solemnly:
"Yes."
After answering, a few wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes as he said:
"That's what I wanted to tell you. Next, I'll give you, um, the recipe and ingredients for the ' Clown ' Potion."
He bent down, lifted the silver-white box onto the long table, then turned around, moved a few steps, and blocked Klein's view.
When the surrounding light mysteriously disappeared again, Klein, standing in pure darkness, suddenly realized that the recipe and materials were all in the box containing the sacred object. However, his gaze had been completely drawn to the Pure White sword, and he had not noticed, or rather, could not notice, whether there were any other items inside.
A few minutes later, the gaslights illuminated the alchemy room again. Crestet stepped back with the box, revealing the contents of the long table to Klein.
Among them, the most eye-catching is a palm-sized gray ram's horn. It seems to have shrunk from its normal size, and is crystal clear with flowing light. There are layers of strange patterns inside.
Beside the ram's horn was a blue rose with red veins on its petals that intertwined, seemingly forming a grinning human face.
Hahaha, woohoo, hahaha, woohoo... Klein heard illusory laughter and crying mixed around him, and saw specks of gray light Levitation in mid-air.
A crystallized horn of a mature Hornacis Gray Goat, a complete Human-faced Rose —hmm, the main ingredients for the " Clown " Potion are all there! He nodded almost imperceptibly and walked a few steps to the long table.
"80 ml of pure water, 5 drops of datura juice, 7 g of black-edged the Sun powder, 10 g of golden cape grass powder, 3 drops of poison violet juice..." Klein looked at the unfolded parchment and compared the contents written on it with the recipe in his memory.
After confirming that everything was correct, he recalled Old Neil's original demonstration.
Klein took a breath and slowly exhaled, composed himself, and used the equipment in the alchemy room to distill the pure water needed for the Potion.
In Potion recipes, pure water refers to water that has been repeatedly distilled.
Then, he washed the black iron pot and put the auxiliary ingredients in one by one, as skillfully as he did when he was doing the most chemistry experiments in high school.
Since there was no extraordinary material to catalyze it, he did not find any obvious changes in the liquid inside the iron pot; at most, he could see powdery impurities suspended in it.
Having completed the preliminary preparations, Klein turned his attention to the two main ingredients, and inwardly felt a surge of relief:
"Neither the Hornacis Gray Goat's unicorn crystal nor the Human-faced Rose has a quantitative description... Perhaps the quantity of an adult goat's horn crystal, or a complete Human-faced Rose, is no different from that of its kind, just meeting the requirements... Hmm, in a mysterious and extraordinary world, this is absolutely possible..."
"This way, I don't need to worry about putting in too much of the main ingredient!"
After a few seconds of calm, Klein picked up the Human-faced Rose on it and threw it into the iron pot.
The moment the eerie flower touched the liquid, it emitted a sizzling sound, and the surrounding illusory laughter grew even sharper.
Hahaha, hahaha!
Without hesitation, Klein grabbed the crystalline, mysterious ram's horn and tossed it into the iron pot as well.
puff!
The chilling laughter abruptly vanished, and the specks of gray light Levitation around rapidly contracted into the iron pot.
Klein looked down and saw that the liquid inside was stained with gold, yellow, and red, which were intermingled yet exceptionally clear.
Glug, glug, bubbles churned and rose within the liquid, unable to escape, only to burst in despair.
This scene reminded Klein of Sprite and other sparkling drinks from his past life.
It looks delicious... An idea that suited his ethnic characteristics suddenly flashed through his mind.
Suppressing his nervousness, excitement, and anticipation, Klein used the device to transfer the liquid from the black iron pot into a glass bottle.
To his surprise, not a single drop of the Potion remained in the iron pot.
As expected of Potion that can make one achieve extraordinary things... Klein raised his right hand, gazing at the beautiful golden-red liquid in his palm.
Crestet Cesimir, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up with a laugh:
"Don't worry, at least I didn't see anything wrong with your Potion- making process."
"I'm waiting here to deal with any unexpected issues that may have arisen after you took the Potion. Don't worry, as long as the problem isn't serious, I should be able to save you."
"Hmm, "Klein nodded, but then put the " Clown " Potion back on the long table.
He unfastened the silver chain from his left sleeve, held it with his non-dominant hand, and then let the citrine pendant hang steadily above the Potion, just a hair's breadth away from touching the liquid.
For Beyonder in other professions, the Spirit Pendulum Method can only Divination "yes" and "no". Of course, if the basic information is insufficient and the process of elimination is forcibly used, the pendulum will stop there and not spin, which is called a failed Divination.
Klein, a " Seer," had already experimented with this method, and his Spirit Pendulum Method could vaguely determine the degree of "yes" and "no."
Klein's eyes darkened, and he silently recited:
"This Potion is harmful."
"This Potion is harmful."
After seven repetitions, he opened his half-closed eyes and saw the citrine pendant rotating clockwise, but only slightly.
Clockwise indicates certainty, meaning this Potion is harmful... The small amplitude indicates a low degree of harm... Hmm, Potion can cause loss of control, so they definitely have some negative effects. A low degree of harm means the Potion is fine... Klein breathed a sigh of relief, wrapped the pendulum around his left wrist again, and covered it with his sleeve.
At this moment, Crestet couldn't help but sigh:
"... You're a truly professional Seer."
"Make full use of your strengths, but don't rely on them too much or think they're omnipotent," Klein replied in a low voice, picking up the " Clown " Potion again.
If I drink it, I can become Sequence 8 Beyonder...
With a thought flashing through his mind, Klein no longer hesitated, raised his cup, tilted his head slightly, and gulped down the Potion.
It's so bitter! So bitter!
It doesn't taste good at all!
He instantly understood what it meant for something to look good but taste bad; his face contorted in pain, and he felt like vomiting but couldn't.
Immediately afterwards, Klein noticed his face turning red, and similar changes occurring in other parts of his body.
He was absolutely certain that he was now like a steamed shrimp, while his spirit had been detached, transforming into fine needles, infused with drops of Potion, piercing into each and every cell.
It was a feeling of being able to "observe" cells without a microscope; Klein stood there, "seeing" the intruder enter the most minute areas of his body.
For those few seconds, he felt like a Robot undergoing a transformation of its parts and circuitry.
He didn't know how much time had passed when his image appeared in his mind, as if he could hear himself singing through his in-ear monitor.
With the help of this eerie reflection, Klein discovered that he could precisely control facial expressions and body movements.
At the same time, a buzzing sound filled his ears as he heard long-absent murmurs and shouts echoing around him once again:
" Hornacis... Flegrea... Hornacis... Flegrea... Hornacis... Flegrea..."
Huff, Klein imagined layers of light spheres, slowly entering a Cogitation state, gradually shaking off the slight outflow of Spirituality that was becoming somewhat uncontrollable.
At this moment, he knew clearly that he had successfully advanced and that he was now the " Clown " of Sequence 8.