On Friday afternoon, Klein, who had feigned illness to avoid the literary salon, once again arrived above the Gray Fog.
Before him lay a palm-sized, patina-green notebook, its cover clearly sturdy; it was none other than the " Lemano's Travel Notes " provided by " The Magician " Fors.
Klein turned to a page of what was actually more like a magic book, glanced at its yellowish-brown color, and summoned the " Sea God Scepter " from the pile of clutter, holding it in his palm.
As he infused some of his Spirituality into " Lemano's Travel Notes," causing it to glow with a faint, indistinct light, he also caused the blue-green gems at the top of the bone staff to burst forth with bright light.
Amidst a teeth-grinding crackling sound, streaks of silvery-white lightning appeared out of thin air, thick and ferocious, baring their fangs and claws, intertwining to form a Storm- like spectacle.
Meanwhile, on the yellowed page of Lemano's Travel Notes, complex symbols and markings were rapidly sketched, overlapping and merging, gradually taking shape.
Just as this page was about to turn silvery-white, bolts of electricity burst forth from within, instantly destroying all the patterns!
Another failure... Klein sighed silently and repeated the process he had just gone through.
This wasn't his first attempt. Ever since he obtained " Lemano's Travel Notes " on Wednesday night, he had been frequently venturing above the Gray Fog to Record the abilities displayed by the " Sea God Scepter " in this magic book. He had gone through it again and again until his Spirituality was nearly exhausted, forcing him to return to the real world to rest.
During the process, there were failures and successes. Klein relied on repeated attempts and finally reached the last step, which was to Record the " Lightning Storm " that he had been longing for!
This is Demigod ability from the " Sailor " pathway!
Before that failure, Klein had failed nearly twenty times, so his luck was quite bad.
Failure, failure again, failure once more, until the fifth time, when he was overjoyed to see the silvery-white color stain the yellowish paper, causing the ancient, mysterious, complex and indescribable symbols on it to shrink inwards at the same time, forming a strange pattern that made people feel as if they had been struck by lightning just by looking at it.
"Phew... it's finally done." Klein ran his fingers over the paper and let out a long sigh of relief.
He flipped through " Lemano's Travel Notes," admiring his previous work.
In the past two days, he wasn't entirely fixated on the " Lightning Storm." He also Record two other Demigod- level abilities: one was the " Paper Angel," formed by manipulating a small amount of power from the mysterious space above the Gray Fog, which could be used to interfere with Divination and prophecy; the other was the " Tornado," which also originated from the " Sea God Scepter."
When Record them, Klein was relatively lucky, succeeding in nine attempts for one and twelve attempts for the other.
As for extraordinary abilities like "flight glide Lightning Strike " that don't reach Sequence 4, they only require one or two uses, so Klein filled almost a whole book with them.
This magic book isn't particularly useful to wild Beyonder. It requires a long time and a lot of patience to Record a sufficient number of useful abilities, and the failure rate increases once you reach Sequence 6. It's not so easy to obtain... However, there are 22 paths in the mystical realm. If the abilities of the first few Sequence are combined well, it's not too surprising to defeat Sequence 5... Klein closed " Lemano's Travel Notes " and sighed to himself.
In his view, this magic book is indeed equivalent to half a divine artifact for wild Beyonder. Although it is more difficult to form in the early stages than " Creeping Hunger ", once it is well-matched, challenging those above one's level will be a regular occurrence. However, in the hands of Beyonder supported by powerful forces, the " Lemano's Travel Notes " has an even more exaggerated effect, almost like a bug, because it can Record the abilities of Demigod!
Demigod can demonstrate again and again if they so desire, and " Creeping Hunger " is unlikely to devour Demigod. Even a genuine " Shepherd " would find it extremely difficult to Grazing a High-Sequence being. Firstly, they lack resources, and secondly, they are prone to losing control. Elder Lovia of City of Silver was only able to Grazing Evil Spirit that was slightly equivalent to Sequence 4 due to exceptional luck... Thinking of this, Klein turned his gaze to a dark blue stone placed beside him. It was uneven and its surface was covered with burn marks. It was the Spirit World Traversal Stone provided by " Magician " Fors.
With " Lemano's Travel Notes " and this stone, plus the " Fate Siphon " charm and the " Wraith " Marionette, even if Mr. X is surrounded by Saint, I can still complete the mission and leave calmly... Klein rubbed his temples, returned to the real world, set up the ritual to request the bestowal, and produced the corresponding items.
After making these preparations, he walked to the full-length mirror, looked at himself, and made himself look a little haggard.
After dinner, Klein excused himself, saying he wasn't feeling well, and went back to his room.
After admiring the night view for a few minutes, he took a palm-sized mirror out of the drawer and placed it on the soft, bouncy pillow.
Then, Klein moved closer, letting the mirror reflect Dawn Dantès's deep Blue Eyes and graying temples.
He then slowly straightened up and stepped back, and suddenly another Dawn Dantès appeared on the bed!
The gentleman, dressed in dark silk pajamas, leaned against a cushion, holding a book, his eyes half-closed, seemingly resting or deep in thought.
Indeed, the Mirror Illusion is no less powerful than the Paper Figurine Illusion... Klein returned to his desk, picked up his pen, and drew a strange symbol on the paper that blended Concealment and voyeurism.
After a brief silence, Dawn Dantès, suddenly opened his eyes and smiled obsequiously:
"Great master, your humble and loyal servant Arrodes has arrived!"
It has to be said that even Dawn Dantès ' face couldn't handle such a smile... Klein sighed inwardly and almost turned his head to look at the other side.
"Very good." He nodded slightly, offering a word of praise.
He gave no further instructions, put on a half-high silk hat, slid down from the balcony to the first floor, and climbed over the outer wall of 160 Böklund Street from a corner along a quiet garden path, making sure to close the window during the process.
With his right hand on his top hat and his feet firmly planted on the street, Klein slowly raised his head. His features and profile had changed; he now had black hair, brown eyes, a gaunt face, and sharp angles.
This is Gehrman Sparrow, the mad adventurer with a bounty of £50,000 for a single country!
The hunt is about to begin.
In the Cherwood Borough, Hugh was about to head out to the East Borough for Mr. X's Beyonder's Gathering when Fors stopped him.
"You're going out to gather materials?" Hugh asked carefully, using his friend's usual phrase.
Fors smoothed his hair and said:
No, it's about making money!
"I took on a mission to help people find the dust left behind after ghosts disappeared. You know, there are no ghosts in the cemetery. They were sent to their respective gods' realms by the priests and bishops long ago. So, I can only go to the East Borough to find those who died for various reasons but have not yet been discovered."
"Can you bear to watch a beautiful and delicate lady like me enter that chaotic place alone?"
"But can't we postpone it for a day?" Hugh said hesitantly. "I was planning to attend the party Mr. X was hosting."
Fors immediately shook his head:
"No way, the assignment is due tomorrow, and it costs a whole 50 pounds!"
"It's due tomorrow, so why didn't you do it the days before?" Hugh looked at his friend suspiciously.
Fors chuckled:
Do you just meet me?
Don't you know I have a serious procrastination problem?
"Besides, you have no money, so what's the point of going to Mr. X's party? You don't even know what extraordinary materials you need!"
"That's true." Hugh was convinced, then laughed, "Does every Author have procrastination issues?"
"Probably." Fors replied evasively, while secretly letting out a sigh of relief.
In a budget hotel in the East Borough, Klein entered the room that Miss " The Magician " had booked under a pseudonym.
Here, a room with one bed and one person is a luxury, but even so, a similar room only costs 12 pence a night. Of course, many budget hotels in the East Borough don't have single rooms at all. The best option is a "small cubicle" for 5 pence a night, which only has a bed and some partitions to block other people's view and make it easier to change clothes.
As for the basement with a dozen or twenty bunk beds, each bed costs 1.5 pence per night. You are responsible for your own belongings, and we are not responsible for any loss.
There's a mirror, not bad... Klein put down his top hat, stood in front of a full-length mirror with gaps, and put on the hooded robe that Miss " Magician " had prepared for him.
Immediately afterwards, his body visibly shrank, his skin gradually turned whiter and tinged with wheat color, the protrusion of his throat disappeared, and his hair grew considerably longer and turned golden.
After " The Magician " Fors provided the image of a friend disguised but not shown, Klein immediately recognized that the person being imitated was Miss Hugh!
However, because of the hooded robe, he didn't actually become feminine; he simply made up for the parts that were easily visible to others.
At 1.50 meters tall, I really can't do anything about it. I'd have to completely digest all the Potion in my body to reach that limit... Luckily, Miss Hugh has a height-increasing disguise, so I don't have to worry about that... Klein looked at his 1.60-meter reflection in his glasses, then changed into the leather boots in the room. They looked flat, and they were indeed flat.
After completing his disguise, Klein pulled up his hood and quietly left the single room through the window, heading into the alleys of the East Borough. He then made his way to the house where Mr. X had convened the gathering of Beyonder.
Recalling the knocking code given to him by the " Magician " lady, Klein curled his fingers and knocked on the door with three light and three heavy knocks, and two long and three short knocks at intervals.
Ten seconds later, the door opened silently, and a waiter wearing an iron mask first scrutinized the newcomer for a few moments before stepping aside.
Klein remained calm and walked past him into the house.
P. S.: Requesting monthly votes on the second-to-last day of April, and recommendation votes on Monday!