Lord of Mysteries

Chapter 69 Amulet

Klein's gaze swept across the room and he saw the person asking about the ox-tooth peony.

The other person was less than a meter away from him, dressed in a black suit, wearing a matching top hat, holding a silver-rimmed cane, and wearing gold-rimmed glasses. He had a very refined demeanor.

"Yes, do you need it? This small jar contains 3 sulphurs." The stall owner was wearing a dark robe with a mystical feel.

The man with light blond sideburns and bespectacled, a refined-looking man, thought for a moment and said:

"Could you give me a discount? I need to buy other materials, like these white-edged sunflower petals."

The stall owner thought for a few seconds and answered reluctantly:

"Two sous and six pence, I don't think you'll find a cheaper price anywhere else."

Seeing that the man with the gold-rimmed glasses had not only bought ox-tooth peonies, but also white-edged sunflowers and other materials, Klein suddenly felt that he might have been overthinking things.

However, he still cautiously tapped his brow twice and scanned the other party with his spiritual vision.

No problem, you're in good health and in a good mood, sir, keep it up... Klein looked away, turned around, and looked back at the stall selling homemade amulets.

In his pupils, each amulet was clearly visible, some made of pure silver, some of iron, and some of gold.

However, among these amulets, only two or three possess a faint aura color, such as crimson, pale white, or golden yellow.

This indicates that they have begun to possess spirituality, and that these amulets have some effect!

Just now, Klein observed very carefully and confirmed that the stall owner who made the amulets had some knowledge of occultism:

His choice of different sources of power for different spells was flawless, and the corresponding materials he determined for each source of power were also perfectly accurate.

Of course, a mere enthusiast of the mystical would inevitably overlook something. Klein discovered that the stall owner didn't quite understand incantations themselves. Simply translating the prayer according to Hermesian grammar doesn't make it an incantation. Incantations must conform to a certain format and have unique rules.

Another problem is that the stall owners made varying degrees of mistakes when choosing appropriate symbolic representations for the incantations and the "source of power," resulting in only two or three out of dozens of amulets being completely correct and emitting a "faint glow."

As for the extent of the effect of these two or three items, Klein could only say that something is better than nothing.

A truly effective amulet requires the maker to let their own spiritual energy burst forth from the tip of the knife during the process of carving incantations and symbols!

For better results, ritual magic must be used.

These two things are almost impossible for anyone but an extraordinary person to accomplish.

Klein tapped his brow thoughtfully, then tapped the upper left corner of the stall twice with his black cane, saying:

"How much are these two items?"

He wasn't asking about the amulets that already possessed an aura and color, but rather about the unfinished products—those that only had the shape and hadn't yet been engraved with incantations or symbolic symbols.

For Klein, there was no need to buy the few items with weak effects; his goal was to turn the semi-finished products into real amulets.

Hmm, make a talisman to ward off misfortune for Benson and Melissa each... I can use the materials provided by the Night Watchers for my own... Hmm, have I been corrupted by Old Neil? I don't feel any guilt about thinking about this kind of thing anymore... Klein watched the stall owner pick up the two unfinished silver talismans, his thoughts wandering.

One of the two silver amulets is long and narrow with a hollow center, surrounded by clusters of angelic feathers. The carving is exquisite and very beautiful. The other is simple and plain, with almost no extra embellishments or patterns. It is a "circle" representing crimson, which is set on a "vertical" line symbolizing the night.

As someone who prioritizes aesthetics, Klein fell in love with them at first sight.

"This 6-sule," the stall owner, a taciturn middle-aged man, said, pointing to the more exquisite piece.

He paused, then stroked the simple garment:

"This is 5 sous and 3 pence."

"This is too expensive. In fact, they are far from being amulets." Klein, who was used to being influenced by Benson and Melissa, had begun to get used to bargaining.

After some verbal arguing, he bought the two silver ornaments for 5 sous and 6 pence and 4 sous and 9 pence respectively.

Well, for now, it can only be considered silver jewelry... Klein thought to himself.

The 10 soles and 3 pence were deducted from the 5 pounds he had finally received as part of the fortune-telling club's expenses.

Just as Klein took the two pieces of silver jewelry, put them in his pocket, and was about to browse other stalls, he suddenly heard a soft, youthful voice:

"Sir, why don't you buy a ready-made amulet?"

Klein turned his head and saw that the person asking the question was a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old. She was wearing a pale yellow dress with a lot of lace and was holding a veiled hat with ribbons in her hand.

"Because I plan to make my own amulets, you know, that's every occult enthusiast's wish," Klein replied tactfully.

He didn't want the stall owner to think he was trying to steal business, although he had considered whether he should use this "skill" to earn some extra money in the future.

The girl had long, naturally curly brown hair and an adorable baby face. She looked at Klein with her light blue eyes and asked sincerely:

"May I ask you how to choose a talisman? Um, I was brought here by a friend. I've been here a few times and I'm very interested in the occult, but I don't know much about it. Um, my friend will be turning sixteen in a while, and I want to choose a talisman for her as a surprise, so I didn't ask her to come with me... I did ask her for advice beforehand, but I can't remember many of the key points."

Klein smiled politely and said:

"So what kind of amulet do you want to choose? One to avoid misfortune? One to keep away from disease? One to bring good fortune? Different requirements correspond to different sources of power, which are different deities, and different deities correspond to different stars, and different stars correspond to different materials."

"For example, spells to ward off misfortune must belong to the Queen of Misfortune and Fear, the Goddess of Night. And as occult enthusiasts, we all know that the symbol of the Goddess of Night is the moon, and the metal corresponding to the moon is pure silver."

"Therefore, if we wish to avoid misfortune, it is best to choose a silver amulet with corresponding incantations."

Furthermore, the language of the incantation must be correct, the format must be correct, and the corresponding symbolic symbols, representative numbers, and spell symbols of the "Queen of Calamity and Fear" must be correct, as well as their relative positions... But that's too complicated, there's no need to explain it to you... Klein silently added in his mind.

The girl's eyes lit up as she listened, and she asked with considerable confusion:

"As a devotee of the goddess, is it permissible to wear amulets of other deities?"

"No problem, the gods won't care about such a small matter," Klein reassured him.

His "no problem" refers to the wearer, but the maker must be careful. If a follower of the Lord of Storms makes an amulet of the Eternal Sun, he will most likely receive a strong malice.

Of course, this refers to the kind that requires ritual magic to make; other types don't need to be considered.

The girl visibly breathed a sigh of relief:

"I hope it's a talisman to bless her with good health. Which deity should I choose? The Eternal Sun, the Earth Mother, or the Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom?"

"Eternal Sun and Earth Mother are both fine. The former corresponds to the sun, and the latter is symbolized by the Brown Star," Klein said with a smile. "The sun is made of gold, and the Brown Star is made of lead. I suggest choosing the sun, but I don't know if you have brought enough money."

He made this suggestion because one of the three amulets that initially possess spiritual power is a health amulet from the solar domain.

"This isn't..." The girl paused abruptly, glancing warily at the silent stall owner.

She thought for a moment, then asked:

"Once the materials are identified, how do we distinguish the incantations and symbolic symbols?"

"Do you know Hermeswen?" Klein asked in return.

"We've only known each other for a short time," the girl replied somewhat shyly.

"Then I'll help you choose," Klein said, pointing to the golden health amulet with his cane. "It has no problems with either the incantation or the symbolism."

The girl lifted her skirt, half-squatted down, and picked up the health amulet with sunlight-like patterns on the edge. She felt its warm touch, and her body seemed to relax.

"Thank you, thank you so much." She stood up again and bowed gratefully.

Klein laughed heartily and said:

"The rest is up to you two to communicate; I have other matters to attend to."

As he spoke, he glanced at the stall owner and noticed that the man's eyes were very strange, as if he was hesitating about whether to give him a kickback.

With a chuckle to himself, Klein ignored the matter and leisurely toured the entire underground trading market, but found no truly extraordinary materials.

At this moment, Old Neil came out after paying the bill, holding a dark wooden box in his hand.

Seeing Klein's puzzled look, he pointed to another room at the end and said:

"If you want to buy or sell extraordinary materials, go there. After all, no one wants others to know what extraordinary items they've bought."

"I understand." Klein nodded as if he were thinking.

He had no immediate need to go there, so he walked out of the underground trading market with Old Neil.

"How much did these elves cost?"

Suddenly, a questioning voice reached Klein's ears.

Elf flower... This is also a ingredient in the "Audience" potion recipe... Klein's heart stirred, and he glanced to the side, seeing the refined gentleman with gold-rimmed glasses again.

"What's wrong?" Old Neil asked, slightly puzzled.

"It's nothing." Klein looked away.

Although he was a prospective member of the Night Watch squad, he did not believe that all extraordinary individuals had to be absorbed and imprisoned. He thought it should be determined on a case-by-case basis. Among them, the "spectators" were definitely the type that posed no threat to society, the kingdom, or the world, and the possibility of Sequence 9 going out of control was also very low.

…………

After leaving the Dragon Bar, Klein and Old Neil took a public carriage away from the dock area, then parted ways in the North District and returned to their respective homes.

The public carriage drove into Narcissus Street and stopped at the roadside. Klein was about to get off when he suddenly saw a young lady in a gray and white dress preparing to get on.

This lady has smooth black hair, a round face, and long, narrow eyes. Her individual features are not particularly outstanding, but together they give her a gentle and sweet appearance.

Klein noticed her not because of her beauty, but because he noticed her body was trembling slightly, abnormally.

"Miss, are you feeling unwell?" Klein asked, intending to do a good deed.

The young woman shook her head violently:

"No, I... I'm just too tired."

At this point, the people getting off the bus behind him started urging him to hurry up, so Klein had no choice but to leave first.

Once he had regained his footing, he began to pay attention to what had just happened. He pinched his brow twice with his fingers, intending to confirm that the young lady was indeed alright.

If the other person does have a serious illness that is about to flare up, he will help take them to the hospital.

With his "Spiritual Vision" activated, Klein turned around, preparing to look at the gentle and sweet young lady.

(End of this chapter)