The atmosphere in the living room, illuminated only by a single candle, was as silent as if frozen.
Several seconds later, the man who appeared to be a " Apothecary " muttered something:
Why didn't you leave your address? That way I could have gotten something from your body.
What seemed like a curse was actually a piece of advice... Klein pretended not to understand and looked at the " Black Snake " as he said:
"If I don't gamble, I have no chance of survival; if I gamble, at least there's a sliver of hope."
"I will not sit and wait for death to come."
Upon hearing this, the old man with the " Eye of Wisdom," who was about to speak, shut his mouth, for he could offer no other hope.
"I admire your personality!" Black Snake chuckled.
"I admire him too. I had several friends with this kind of personality, and I now put a bouquet of flowers at their graves every year," the man, who appeared to be Apothecary, whispered, seemingly agreeing but actually offering advice.
He didn't care that " Black Snake " was better than him, and said whatever he wanted.
" The Apothecary " must have suffered because of his temper... Klein thought to himself with a sigh of gratitude.
He handed the iron cigarette case containing the " Hunter's " Beyonder Characteristic to the waiter who had led him in, and watched as the waiter walked up to the " Eye of Wisdom ".
The old gentleman counted out 400 pounds in cash from the suitcase beside him and had the waiter give it to " Black Snake ".
" Black Snake " glanced at it casually and said:
"I believe in Mr. ' Eye of Wisdom '."
He took a small wooden box from his pocket, bent down and placed it on the ground, then pushed it forcefully, causing the item to slide in front of Klein without passing the waiter.
The moment Klein's fingers touched the surface of the box, he immediately experienced mild auditory hallucinations and a dizzying sensation caused by violent shaking.
For him, this was not something unacceptable, and it was even less so than the illusory voices brought about by the prayers of " Justice " and others.
After sitting up straight, Klein carefully opened the wooden box and saw an "ear" inside!
The ear looked incredibly real, except that the skin was dark and there were several rotten, greenish patches.
"How do I use it?" Klein asked.
" Black Snake " answered casually:
"Holding it without gloves is the same as using it. Ha, you'd better try it at home, when you're alone."
Klein didn't ask any more questions, closed the box, put it in his pocket, and deliberately gave a wry smile:
"This makes me feel dizzy."
After a brief silence, the man, who appeared to be the " Apothecary," suddenly shouted:
I want to buy the medullary crystals from the ' Elven Spring '. Does anyone have any?
His voice echoed, but no one answered.
The " Apothecary " smacked his lips and muttered:
"Honestly, I never get an answer when I ask."
"Perhaps you could book a ferry ticket to Sonia Island, the Eye of Wisdom," the old gentleman joked with a smile.
The " Elven Spring," also known as the " Sonia Golden Spring Elven Spring," is named after its origin. While the water itself is common, it is considered to possess Spirituality properties, but its medullary crystals are an extraordinary material that is not easily obtained.
Afterwards, several more deals fell through at the gathering. The " Eye of Wisdom " clapped his hands and said:
"That's all for today. As usual, we'll leave one by one, with a three-minute interval between each person."
They left one by one... with three minutes between each other... Was this to prevent someone from following or even robbing other party members as soon as they left? Klein received a prompt from the " Eye of Wisdom," stood up, and, led by a waiter, left the living room and came to the door.
He took off his hooded robe and returned it to the other person, then followed the path he remembered back to the back door of the " Bravehearts Bar." He removed his iron mask, walked through the kitchen, and amidst the noise of barking dogs and shouting men, saw Kaspars standing outside the card room.
"I'm so glad you're back." The old man with the red nose visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and the hideous wound on his face seemed to tremble.
Klein moved closer and lowered his voice:
Will there be any more gatherings like this in the future?
"It seems you haven't gotten what you wanted. With the Storm raging, I don't think you need to waste any more time." Kaspars glanced at the troublesome customer and said, "Perhaps it will be a few days later, I'm not sure exactly, it depends on whether you can make it."
Klein nodded, then asked:
Is Maric there?
"You're trying to persuade him? No, that will only anger him!" Kaspars warned in a deep voice. "He's in that card room right behind you."
No, I don't intend to persuade him, but rather to stay as far away from him as possible, lest his Living Corpse rebel... Klein touched the Azik Copper Whistle in his pocket and said:
"I see."
He immediately left the Bravehearts Bar, wandered around the one-bedroom apartment in the East Borough, and then returned to Minsk Street.
Inside the card room, Maric went all in with all his chips and confidently turned over his hole cards.
He had three Kings and a pair of Nines, while the Living Corpse opposite him had a pair of Sixes and an Eight.
Suddenly, the Living Corpse revealed its trump card: a pair of sixes!
This game is a four-win streak!
Pale-faced Maric stood there, stunned, and then felt the cold, eerie gazes of all the Living Corpse around him fixed on him.
A few minutes later, he staggered out of the card room, nearly falling at the doorway, while his usual entourage collapsed on the floor inside.
"Don't let anyone in before midnight today," Maric ordered hoarsely, looking at the astonished Kaspars.
He took out a white handkerchief and wiped his mouth, which quickly became stained with a bluish-red hue.
After receiving Kaspars's affirmative reply, Maric casually found a chair to sit down, ordered a keg of Southville beer, and drank it with a blank stare, remaining dazed for a long time.
At 15 Minsk Street, Klein routinely washed up and returned to his room, drawing the curtains.
After waiting for more than ten minutes and confirming that there were indeed no Spirituality lights around, he began to summon himself and respond to himself, carrying the black ear along with the wooden box into the mysterious space above the Gray Fog.
Below, illusory crimson stars dotted the surface without flickering. Klein sat at the head of the ancient long table and opened the wooden box.
This time, he did not experience auditory hallucinations or dizziness; the boundless Gray Fog seemed to isolate him from all external sounds.
Klein breathed a sigh of relief, feeling much more confident about the upcoming attempt, especially regarding safety.
With a thought, he blocked his hearing and conducted several experiments to confirm the effect.
"Not bad..." Klein nodded in satisfaction, reached out, and grabbed the black ear that showed signs of decay.
A cold, slippery sensation entered his mind, but he did not hear the voice of the great being described by the " Black Snake ".
"Completely isolated? This won't do... Just using it won't work..." Klein muttered to himself in confusion, pondering what method he could use to trigger the effect.
A dozen seconds later, he conjured paper and pen, intending to imitate the process of spying on the " Eternal Blazing Sun " earlier.
That time, he used divine blood and looked directly at the Eternal Blazing Sun; this time, he's only using an item left behind by the " Listener," so it's definitely not as dangerous... Klein confidently wrote down the Divination statement:
"The origin of this item."
He took a breath, grasped the black ear, leaned back, and silently recited the Divination phrase.
After repeating it seven times, his eyes deepened, and he fell into a deep sleep.
In the blurry, fragmented, gray world, Klein saw a man struggling on the ground. He rolled around, screamed, his eyes bulged out, his body swelled up like a balloon, and his countless hairs turned black and long.
Immediately afterwards, an extremely evil and filthy sound entered Klein's ears, instantly waking him up.
Unlike the murmurs and roars before entering the mysterious space above the Gray Fog, this sound was more penetrating, more purposeful, and more proactive!
Klein covered his ears to block out what was happening, but the sound from before still echoed in his mind.
He saw his veins and bulges protruding, as if they had turned into writhing, thick venomous snakes.
Bang!
His blood vessels burst, veins detached from his body, and spread outwards into slippery tentacles covered in evil patterns. The Gray Fog swayed slightly, causing the Giant's palace to show slight signs of Corrosion.
Unlike the time with the Eternal Blazing Sun, Klein still retained some of his sanity. Instead of rolling on the ground, he gripped the handrail tightly, enduring the pain.
After a few seconds, the swaying Gray Fog calmed down, and the evil voice echoing in Klein's mind completely subsided.
The "tentacles" fell off one by one, and his wounds began to heal rapidly.
"Dealing with gods is a dangerous thing, no matter what method you use... Fortunately, I didn't have to face the ' True Creator ' this time, otherwise the madness and loss of control would probably have remained and affected my body in the real world..." Klein leaned weakly against the back of his chair, silently mocking himself.
This process was largely within his expectations, and the overall outcome was not beyond his control.
The only thing that surprised him was that the " True Creator " seemed to be somewhat stronger than the " Eternal Blazing Sun "...
Just as Klein's thoughts were about to wander, he saw the black ear in his palm suddenly collapse, turning into tiny, light black specks of light.
Returning to pure Beyonder Characteristic? As Klein pondered this, he caught a glimpse of the twitching tentacles with evil patterns on the ground, the madness and loss of control stripped away from him.
These tentacles gradually became transparent and were about to disappear.
Suddenly, Klein had a flash of inspiration and sprinkled the tiny, light black specks of light in his palm onto the slippery tentacles.
A phantom black mist rose up, transforming into a sky constantly streaked with lightning, against an extremely dense and gloomy backdrop.
All of this vanished swiftly from Klein's sight, leaving behind a dark iron rune on the ground, adorned with numerous symbols, magical markings, eerie patterns, and Distortion numbers.
Klein bent down and picked it up, feeling as if a madman, constantly screaming, was sealed inside.
Using his Divination skills, he managed to decipher the spell's purpose from the revelation: to make his opponent hear a terrifying roar and become infected with madness. As for the final outcome, it would depend on the target's resistance. If strong, they might gain benefits, at the cost of becoming a devout follower of the " True Creator." If weak, they would collapse on the spot and die screaming in agony.
"Let's call it ' Words of Filth '..." Klein murmured, setting the activation spell. (8)