Lord of Mysteries

Chapter 31 Magic Potion

Dunn Smith stared directly into Klein's eyes with his grey eyes, remaining silent for a full minute.

Under such silence and such pressure from his gaze, Klein did not back down, nor did he look away; he firmly met the other's gaze.

"You should understand that once you take the potion, there's no going back." Finally, Dunn spoke again, his voice low and emotionless.

Klein smiled and said:

"I know, but I respect my inner voice."

First, "The Sleepless" doesn't meet his needs, and the "audience" in the "Tarot Gathering" also seems to fit the description. As for other extraordinary methods, he doesn't know when he'll be able to access them, so they're not urgent enough. Therefore, there's no need to wait. For the same reason, "The Corpse Collector" is also eliminated, leaving only "The Secret Seeker" and "The Diviner" as options.

Given the premise that all sequence potions are equally dangerous, and without being able to obtain more information, and considering that both "The Seer" and "The Overseer" meet the requirements, then regardless of whether Emperor Roselle wrote it casually or whether he truly regretted not choosing one of "Apprentice," "Thief," or "Overseer," it is enough to tip the scales in his heart.

Moreover, his notes show that as long as one can understand the true meaning of "digestion" and "playing", one can avoid the negative effects of the potion to the greatest extent. As for the whispers and illusory temptations that lead people to depravity and madness, even if one does not become an extraordinary being, one has already come into contact with them!

"Okay." Dunn Smith stood up, picked up his top hat, and said as he put it on, "Come with me underground."

Klein nodded and gave a grateful, gentlemanly bow.

Tap, tap, tap, the two descended the stairs, their footsteps echoing in the quiet, empty staircase and corridor.

Klein suddenly became a little nervous and tried to make conversation:

"Captain, you said that taking the potion doesn't directly grant you the corresponding mystical knowledge, but only the qualification to learn and master it. So where did the original mystical knowledge come from? Did the sages risk their lives to discover it little by little, or did it come from something else?"

Every time he came down to the underground, he could feel that the air was quite fresh, obviously the ventilation was very good, but in this environment, the occasional gust of wind was really frightening.

Dunn glanced at him sideways, his gray eyes unusually deep in the dim light.

He answered calmly:

"First, there's the exploration, summarization, and improvement you mentioned; second, there's the divine grace; and third, well, those dangerous 'whispers' that others can't hear. They're not always mad ramblings or meaningless chatter. Occasionally, they do talk about mysterious things. But as far as I know, those who actually listen to these things and listen for a long time have all gone mad or degenerated into monsters. Of course, we should thank them; the notes they left behind are a precious treasure in the field of mysticism."

Human-shaped lab rats... A chill crept in from the underground, and Klein suddenly shivered.

Will my "lucky charm ritual," which turned into "friendship magic," always be accompanied by those crazy and terrifying "whispers" afterward, and will it bring the same effects?

Upon reaching the crossroads, Dunn neither proceeded towards "Charnis Gate" nor turned towards "Weapons, Materials and Documents Archives," but instead led Klein towards the left-hand side of St. Serena's Church.

Halfway there, he stopped, and somehow triggered a hidden door.

"This is our Night Watch squad's 'Alchemy Room.' I'll have Old Neil go to Charnis's door to retrieve the recipe and materials for the 'Diviner' potion. Heh, you're lucky, the goddess is protecting you. There should be two sets of the 'Diviner' materials left, otherwise you'd have to wait a long time," Dunn said, pointing to the room inside the door. "You wait here and observe Old Neil's entire potion-making process. This is the most basic thing in the occult. Hmm, don't touch the items inside. They're either very dangerous, very expensive, or both."

At this point, Dunn added, just as before:

"Oh, right, I forgot something. You became an Extraordinary based on the need to deal with danger and find the Notebook. Merit only accounts for part of it. Therefore, you cannot become a formal team member for the time being. You will still be an administrative staff member, still receive the corresponding salary, and still do the things I arranged before. You will just have to learn a lot of occult knowledge from Old Neil. You can arrange your own time."

"Okay." Klein was a little resentful about not getting a raise, but otherwise he wholeheartedly agreed.

According to Dunn, after taking the potion and going through a learning and mastering process, one can directly become a formal member and participate in missions related to supernatural events. I really don't know how to spell the word "death".

Dunn turned around, took two steps toward the crossroads, then suddenly turned back and said:

"There's one more thing."

I knew it... Klein had gotten used to the captain's similar "style".

"We've made some progress on the Secret Order's actions," Dunn said calmly. "They shouldn't dare to provoke us again for the time being, but don't be careless. We can't yet confirm the importance of the Antigonus family notes to them. From our findings, they do retain some ancient customs, which can be confirmed to be related to the Solomon Empire and the decadent nobles of that time."

"I understand, thank you, Captain," Klein said with a sigh of relief.

This is also one of the reasons why he is unwilling to wait and seizes the opportunity to become an extraordinary person as soon as it arises!

After watching Dunn leave and confirming that he would not return to provide further assistance, Klein slowly walked into the alchemy room.

There were long tables set up here, with test tubes, droppers, balances and beakers on them, which looked just like the chemistry labs he had seen in his previous life, only more rudimentary and more old-fashioned.

In addition, there are large iron pots, black wooden spoons, crystal balls and other items, as well as strange symbols such as dark holy symbols that can be seen everywhere, which create a mysterious atmosphere.

Klein looked around with interest, but didn't touch or move anything out of line.

After a while, footsteps were heard, and old Neil entered carrying a small silver box with intricate patterns. He was still wearing a classic black robe that was out of step with the times, and a round felt hat of the same color.

"Little fellow, I didn't expect you to choose 'diviner'." Old Neil put down the small silver box and glanced at Klein with his slightly cloudy dark red eyes. "Just like me back then, you have a strong personality and don't follow the crowd. Not bad. Light these gas lamps and close the secret door."

"Okay." Klein suppressed his trembling and lit the gas lamps in the alchemy room one by one, letting the dim light once again dominate the place.

With a clatter, clatter, clatter, the hidden door closed. He turned around and came to Old Neil, whose hair was gray and whose eyes and mouth were deeply wrinkled. He saw the other man brushing the large black iron pot with a few strange branches tied to it.

"The preparation of sequence potions is very simple, at least for sequence 7 and below. No special flames are needed, no extra rituals are needed, not even spells are needed, and the involvement of one's own spirit is not required. Just add the ingredients in the correct order according to the recipe, stir it, and that's it." Old Neil smiled, his wrinkles seeming to bloom.

"Really?" Klein asked, quite surprised.

This sounds as simple as my own "luck-changing ritual"...

Hmm, that's a little scary to think about...

"Perhaps this is a gift from the gods, praise be to the goddess." Old Neil made a very unorthodox gesture by drawing a circle on his chest.

Then, he opened the small silver box and took out a roll of parchment that looked old.

The brownish-yellow parchment was unfurled inch by inch, revealing the words on it. Klein strained his eyes to see them and realized they were in Hermes script, a language he was familiar with.

They were written with blood-red ink, and seemed to retain the feeling of flowing, but apart from that, they did not have any other extraordinary feeling.

"The Diviner: 100 ml of pure water + 13 drops of night-blooming jasmine juice + 7 golden peppermint leaves..." Klein muttered the recipe, but the rest was blocked by Old Neil's elbow and could not be seen.

"Pure water is water that has been repeatedly distilled. I happened to have made it before, so there's no need to waste time," Old Neil explained, as he expertly picked up a large, sealed glass bottle with graduations from the long table.

He opened the lid and casually poured about 100 milliliters of pure water into the large iron pot.

Klein didn't dare ask any questions, fearing it would affect the other person's preparation, since he would have to drink the potion himself.

"13 drops of night-blooming jasmine juice. This can be extracted and made into essential oil for preservation." Old Neil took out a small brown bottle from the silver box and, with the help of a dropper, easily dripped 13 drops into the large iron pot.

A faint, calming fragrance wafted out, and Klein's mood unconsciously became peaceful.

"Seven mint leaves..." Old Neil picked up the silver-patterned tin can, opened the lid, and with his bare hands plucked out a few leaves, sprinkling them into the large iron pot. The fresh and pungent aroma could be faintly smelled.

"4, 5, 6, 7, just right." Old Neil chuckled, glanced at the potion recipe on the parchment, and said, "3 drops of violet juice. You can't just drink this stuff. It will paralyze you and make you die stiff. In ancient times, it was the best choice for suicide."

"I'm not stupid..." Klein thought to himself.

Old Neil changed the dropper and dripped the corydalis juice into the large iron pot, creating a strange, invigorating aroma.

"Nine grams of dragon's blood grass powder." Old Neil calmly reached into the small silver box, picked up a transparent test tube, and found the powder inside was as black as iron.

He weighed 9 grams of powder using a beaker, balance, and other similar items, then casually poured it into a large iron pot and stirred it a couple of times with a black wooden spoon. Klein watched this with a shudder, feeling that something was amiss.

"Actually, all these ingredients are just supplements. Adding a little more or a little less won't affect the final effect. Shall I add some more?" Old Neil joked. "The remaining two are the key. The amount can be slightly less, but it can't be too far off, otherwise your 'advancement' will fail. Hmm, the amount of them absolutely cannot be too much, not even a little bit, otherwise you'll have to treat your mental problems after taking them, and some people have even died."

Klein immediately tensed up, watching as old Neil took a black glass bottle out of the silver box.

"10 milliliters of blood from the Lava octopus. This octopus is an extraordinary species with obvious mutations. Its body is covered with mysterious symbols. Its blood will decompose rapidly under sunlight and lose its special properties. It must be preserved with opaque materials." Old Neil's tone was no longer relaxed. He quickly and carefully took 10 milliliters of blood with a test tube.

The blood was a sky-blue color, occasionally bubbling up with illusory bubbles, as if connected to a spiritual world.

"Pour the blood from the test tube into the container. Ignore the little bit left on the sides; it's to prevent overdose," Old Neil said in a low voice.

As soon as the azure blood entered the iron pot and came into contact with the previous liquid, a gurgling sound immediately rang out, and the surrounding light was tinged with a pale blue, giving Klein a strange feeling that was both distant and familiar.

It seemed to be an experience from the womb, one that made one's soul soar.

"The last item, Star Crystal, 50 grams." Old Neil's voice rang in Klein's ears, bringing him back to his senses, and he looked at the long table again.

In the old man's hand was a piece of crystal that was extremely pure, and the crystal was gelatinous, like jelly on Earth, lacking sufficient hardness.

Bathed in pale blue light, it reflected a shimmering glow, as if a dazzling starry sky were hidden within it.

"This is excellent material for making divination crystals... a little less, to account for error." Old Neil weighed it while cutting it with a patterned silver knife.

"Pure water + night-blooming jasmine + golden mint leaves + poison violet juice + dragon's blood grass + octopus blood + star crystal = fortune teller..." At this moment, Klein couldn't help but recall the recipe.

Once everything was ready, Old Neil tossed a few small pieces of "Star Crystal" into the large iron pot.

Noisy!

A phantom mist instantly appeared, shrouding the alchemy chamber in a hazy mist.

In this mist, Klein seemed to see the starry sky and also seemed to feel the gaze of some unseen being.

A few seconds later, the fog dissipated, and Old Neil used a black wooden spoon to scoop out a viscous, dark blue liquid from the large iron pot. The liquid had a strange property: it was connected to each other and would never separate, so much so that there was not a single drop left in the black iron pot.

The dark blue liquid was poured into an opaque glass, and Old Neil pointed to it, saying:

"Alright, here's your 'Fortune Teller' potion."

(End of this chapter)