Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 140 So love will disappear, right?

October 12th, Thursday.

When Ember entered the living room, he saw Fors listlessly curled up on the sofa, snuggling up to Kurara like a pillow. From the kitchen came the sounds of gas burning and stir-frying. It was undoubtedly Hugh and Kurara.

Seemingly hearing the commotion in the living room, Hugh's energetic voice came from the kitchen:

"Just a moment, breakfast will be ready soon!"

"Splash splash~"

A moment later, Kuraris entered the dining room carrying several plates simultaneously using her numerous tentacles. The menu was the same as before: toast, bacon, fried eggs, sausage, and a glass of hot milk. After all, Hugh wasn't a professional chef, so she couldn't possibly prepare anything extravagant. But for an average family, this breakfast was already considered a luxury.

"Fors!"

Hugh came out of the kitchen and saw Fors napping on the sofa. He was immediately furious. He strode over and pinched Fors' cheeks hard, forcibly rousing the sleepy girl. While slurring her words, she slapped Hugh's wrists, trying to make her let go.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Xiu, Zong, let's go! Quick, Zong, let's go!"

Although Hugh loosened his grip after his friend's protest, he still kept a straight face and said:

"You still feel pain? Get up right now and eat breakfast, then you go perform at the circus. Also, you're not allowed to go home before dark; I'll be passing by the circus this afternoon for a spot check!"

"Eh!!"

Fors stared wide-eyed at Hugh in disbelief, as if to say, "How can you betray your friends like this?"

Xiu gave her a sharp rap on the head and said irritably:

"This is your own doing. You advanced to Sequence 8 half a month faster than me, yet you still haven't finished digesting the potion! I spoiled you too much before, but not anymore. You must finish digesting the potion before the New Year!"

"Eh?!?!?!"

A girl's mournful cry suddenly filled the living room. Waking up early in the winter had already made her quite depressed, and now being forced to go to work only made Fors feel worse, leaving her speechless with despair.

Under Hugh's oppressive gaze, Fors, like a wilted eggplant, listlessly sat down at the table, listlessly picking at the bacon and fried eggs on her plate. Kurala floated behind Fors, extending her tentacles to massage her as if to comfort her.

While eating breakfast, Ember suddenly asked:

"How do you digest potions?"

"Go to the circus and perform magic, what else can you do?"

Fors puffed out her cheeks and muttered, "In the end, is there really a difference between performing magic tricks and performing magic? Anyway, I can clearly feel the potion being digested when I perform magic in the circus. Magic masters might as well just change their name to magicians."

Hugh rolled his eyes at Fors and retorted, "Aren't you the 'Magician'?"

"no the same."

Fors rolled her eyes and said listlessly, "Oh well, it's not a big deal anyway. Hmm~ my potion has been mostly digested, I should be fine in a few more days."

She'd much rather sleep in than digest the magic potion. But what could she do? She was constantly being pressured by someone around her. Hugh would urge her to perform magic at the circus every day, and she couldn't refuse.

And to make sure she wouldn't slack off, she specifically chose a circus in the Joewood district. That way, Hugh could take Fors there every morning on her way to the East End and watch her enter the circus—and on her way back in the evening, she would also pass by the circus to make sure she was working properly.

Although she could occasionally beg Hugh for a day of sleeping in, such an opportunity was rare, maybe only once a week. Fors immediately made a painful decision: rather than continue to suffer like this, she might as well digest the potion completely in one go—that way, you wouldn't have any reason to force me to go to the circus, right?

Fors hummed a folk tune from her hometown, giving herself a thumbs up for her cleverness.

"A circus."

Ember suddenly said meaningfully, "This is indeed a good place to digest. The next step after becoming a magician is an astrologer. In addition to performing magic, the circus can also perform divination. Once you advance to the astrologer level, you can continue to go to the circus to complete the next stage of potion digestion."

Hugh's eyes lit up immediately, and he exclaimed, "Great idea!"

Fors stared in disbelief at the two people discussing how to "murder" her, letting out a mournful whimper like a quail:

"No! You can't do this to me! Magic tricks are one thing, but for fortune telling or anything like that, you should at least go to a fortune teller's club, right?"

"OK."

Hugh replied without hesitation, "I'll grant your request. I'll contact the fortune tellers' club for you tomorrow."

Fors was stunned. Then she saw Hugh and Ember both wearing smug, conspiratorial smiles, and she was on the verge of tears. She immediately understood that these two were deliberately leading her into a trap!

But even if she wanted to regret it now, it was impossible, because she herself had taken the initiative to go to the fortune teller's club.

After breakfast, the three of them went out separately.

Ember headed north towards the North District, while Fors and his companion headed east towards the Georgewood District.

The warmth of the day melted the snow that had fallen the night before, leaving the roads of Backlund wet and creating numerous puddles filled with rainwater where the smooth roads met the sidewalks. Occasionally, horse-drawn carriages would deliberately speed past, skimming along the sidewalks, splashing up large amounts of water mixed with a thin layer of ice and dust, disappearing quickly amidst the curses of passersby.

Backlund is located in the central part of the kingdom, only a few dozen kilometers from the Sunia Sea. It experiences frequent light rain throughout the year, with an average high temperature of only 28 degrees Celsius in July and a low of around 2 degrees Celsius in winter. It rarely drops below zero like yesterday. But this doesn't stop people from feeling cold here. Even the people of North Fusak, who are used to living in icy and snowy conditions, sometimes find the damp chill that can penetrate their clothes and flesh unbearable.

Ember walked along the innermost side of the sidewalk, heading towards the North District. Although he already possessed the Traveler's Ring, which would allow him to quickly teleport to St. Samuel's Cathedral, Ember still chose to walk.

After all, if he used teleportation to go anywhere, it would take away a lot of the fun from his life, which doesn't fit the definition of a 'human'.

When Ember arrived at St. Samuel's Church, the main prayer hall was already filled with many believers. As usual, Ember skillfully traversed the main prayer hall to the back of the church, where he found Archbishop Anthony.

Good morning, Your Excellency.

Archbishop Antony nodded slightly to Ember in greeting, and smiled, "Have you found the answer you're looking for?"

Faced with Anthony's question, Yu Jin was not surprised at all, but simply replied:

"I have no idea."

This answer surprised Anthony slightly, as if he was lost in thought, because he didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"Archbishop Anthony."

Before Anthony could reply, Ember suddenly asked, "Is the witch's potion ready?"

"Yes."

Anthony nodded slightly and said slowly, "One witch's potion, and one 'recordkeeper' potion that Your Excellency needs. The Church of the Night has all the main ingredients required for both, and can prepare them at any time."

"But before that, I must remind you."

Anthony paused, then added, "In ancient times, only Sequence 6 was the true starting point of the middle sequence. This was not merely a symbol of power, but also the beginning of madness and danger. As you should know, Lord Favored One, the process of consuming potions inevitably accumulates madness and loss of control."

"In the lower sequences, as long as the role-playing method is strictly followed to complete the digestion of the potion, there is almost no risk of losing control. But this does not mean that the accumulation of madness and loss of control does not exist. From the moment the extraordinary person takes the potion, the mental influence remaining in the potion increases day by day."

"The accumulated 'effects' in the lower sequences are still small and rarely manifest themselves. However, when advancing to the true middle sequence, that is, sequence 6, these risks of getting out of control will begin to emerge. Therefore, even after fully absorbing the potion, there is still a great risk of getting out of control."

"That's why, starting from Sequence 5, every advancement requires the aid of a ritual. These rituals help the extraordinary individual minimize the risk of losing control."

"So I'd like to confirm one thing: did you experience any unusual symptoms during the process of taking and digesting the potion? For example, did you experience any drastic personality changes due to the residual effects of the potion, or perhaps you heard any delirium?"

Archbishop Anthony's expression was extremely serious, clearly indicating that even with the method of acting, advancing to Sequence 6 was not a sure thing in his eyes.

Faced with Archbishop Anthony's serious questioning, Ember shrugged and said:

"I don't think so, otherwise I would know."

"Is that so?"

Archbishop Anthony sighed and said softly, "Your Excellency, please wait a moment while I prepare the potion for you."

Anthony opened the drawer and took out a square box. Opening the lid revealed its contents—a wrinkled and convex translucent object that resembled a brain. However, it was only one-fifth the size of a normal human brain, and its color was not pinkish but rather grayish-white.

That was one of the main ingredients needed to concoct the Recorder's potion—the complete Brain of Asman.

Anthony quickly and skillfully concocted the "Recorder" potion—a bottle of grayish-white liquid that looked like sewage scooped from a ditch on the street. Neither Anthony nor Ember hesitated; Anthony handed it to Ember the moment it was ready, and Ember drank it down in one gulp.

The cool, slippery "sewage" quickly filled his mouth, then slid down his esophagus and into his stomach.

Then, the feeling came!

Yu Jin felt his brain expanding rapidly, gray wrinkles and protrusions increasing wildly, while his body gradually blurred, breaking down into individual cells. Those cells glowed, as if forming a 'door' surrounding his brain.

This was an experience unlike anything he had ever had before; no potion had ever given him this feeling of his body being torn apart and reassembled. But even so, Ember could clearly realize that it was all an illusion—because he didn't have a brain; he was just a lump of ash.

Seemingly realizing that this change had little effect, Ember faintly heard strange murmurs again, but they were so ethereal and indistinct that it was impossible to discern any specific words. The sound grew clearer as it approached, as if it were trying its best to make Ember understand its meaning.

The voice was like a thread, spreading from the unknowable depths of darkness, attempting to penetrate Ember's 'brain' with an intense longing. Ember frowned slightly. Wanting to enter someone's house but not even knocking?

In the blink of an eye, a faint flame rose from the 'spiritual world'.

The thread vanished into the flames like a moth drawn to a flame, causing no impact whatsoever. Almost simultaneously, a flood of pure knowledge surged through Ember's mind, helping him understand how to use the 'Recorder' ability:

The mutated 'brain' reproduces the extraordinary abilities used by the target, then drives activated cells to form corresponding symbols, patterns, and markings, completing the storage. This is "I came, I saw, I recorded," using the spirit as a pen and the spirit body as paper. This is almost identical to the ability of Fors's "Lymanor's Travel Notes," but it's not surprising. After all, that notebook was originally created using the extraordinary characteristics of a recorder.

But for some reason, Yu Jin frowned slightly. Although extraordinary individuals would have their corresponding abilities from their current sequence appear in their minds when they were promoted, similar to the 'memory inheritance' contained in the bloodlines of those extraordinary creatures, the 'thread' that tried to burrow into his mind was clearly not part of the memory inheritance.

According to Archbishop Anthony, this should be the so-called spiritual residue, the source of loss of control and danger, but Ember did not feel that the so-called spiritual residue could affect him! It was not like the spiritual residue left over from when he was a supernatural being, but more like someone was actively entering his body - to use a more appropriate analogy, Ember felt that someone was possessing him.

Anthony smiled and said when he saw Yu Jin open his eyes:

"It seems you're adapting quickly."

"Sorry, I'm thinking about some things."

After a while, Yu Jin came to his senses and responded apologetically.

Anthony smiled slightly and waved his hand to indicate that he didn't mind.

He quickly took out another box from the drawer, containing two extraordinary ingredients: the blood of the Black Abyss Demon Fish and the egg of the Agate Peacock. In addition, there were some auxiliary ingredients; these were all extraordinary ingredients needed to concoct the Assassin's Path Sequence 7 Witch Potion, which could be prepared simply by mixing them into 80ml of pure water.

But instead of preparing the potion, Anthony closed the box and pushed it toward the embers.

"Your Excellency."

Anthony smiled and said, "I think you can try to concoct this potion yourself."

Yu Jin glanced at Anthony and nodded slightly: "Okay."

Ember grasped the wooden box in his hand, and the ring on his finger instantly emitted a faint, ethereal blue light. His figure vanished as well. This scene left Anthony slightly stunned, and it took him several seconds to react before he stared intently at the spot where Ember had disappeared.

It seems that Your Excellency possesses a magical item crafted using the extraordinary trait of the 'Traveler'. This implies that Your Excellency has most likely already made contact with the Abraham family.

……

At the same time, outside the Earl of Hall's luxurious villa.

Yu Jin appeared silently by the wall outside the villa and followed it to the main gate, where he conveyed his intention to visit to the male servant. The servant clearly recognized Yu Jin and, not daring to delay, quickly went inside.

A moment later, the butler came out from the living room to greet them respectfully:

"Viscount Black, Earl Hall and the others are having breakfast. Please come with me."

Thank you.

Yu Jin nodded slightly and followed the butler into the house. As soon as they entered the living room, they saw Audrey and Susie coming out from the direction of the dining room to greet them. The butler was slightly taken aback, immediately realizing that his job had been taken away. He gave a knowing, friendly smile and turned to leave the living room.

"Come with me."

Audrey blushed slightly as the servants stared at her. She whispered something and hurried upstairs.

Yu Jin shrugged and followed the girl upstairs to the small living room, which was next to Audrey's room. Susie followed her in eagerly, closing the door behind her.

"What happened?"

The feigned blush on Audrey's face vanished, and she asked softly.

Yu Jin succinctly and directly stated the purpose of his visit:

"I would like to ask you to help me concoct a magic potion."

Audrey blinked, and after confirming that Ember wasn't joking, nodded slightly.

"it is good."

Susie crouched on the ground, silently observing the two, wagging her tail as she pondered. Isn't brewing potions simple? Just mix the extraordinary ingredients with pure water; Audrey always does it that way. It's the same thing no one can do. Why would she specifically ask Audrey for help with something so trivial? Could it be…

Susie suddenly had a look of realization on her face, followed by a smile like she was shipping a couple—if a dog had such an expression, people might have been startled.

"alright."

As Audrey quickly and skillfully prepared the potion, she asked with some curiosity:

"Is this the recorder's potion?"

She knew that Ember was already a Sequence 7 Astrologer, which is why she asked that question.

"no."

Ember shook his head and said, "This is a witch's potion recipe."

"Huh? A witch?"

Audrey's hand trembled slightly as she finished concocting the potion, and she asked hesitantly, "If I remember correctly, this seems to be a potion that can turn a man into a woman..."

Before she could finish speaking, she saw an urn engraved with intricate patterns appear out of thin air in Ember's palm—it was the urn containing the ashes of the Kurara sisters. Before Audrey could react, Ember had already poured the potion onto the ashes.

"Audrey".

Suddenly, Ember asked, "Do you have any spare clothes?"

"Huh?"

Audrey was stunned for a while, somewhat doubting her ears.

"It's not what I want."

Yu Jin shook his head, and with a flick of his wrist, a small soul-summoning bell appeared in his palm. Accompanied by the clear sound of the bell, two tiny jellyfish appeared out of thin air. The next moment, the two tiny jellyfish floating in the air changed with a 'bang'—from their original pinkish-white jellyfish into two exquisitely beautiful little girls with fair and delicate skin.

However, they seemed, probably, possibly, perhaps, as if they had no clothes.

Yes, that's why Bishop Anthony doesn't just concoct potions directly.

Audrey's eyes lit up, her gaze fixed on the two little girls flying through the air. Although she didn't speak, Susie, who had already advanced to mind-reading and was silently observing the two, gleaned a message from the girls' faces:

"So cute! I really want to have a pet like that!"

Susie's wagging tail suddenly stopped, her expression gradually changed, her smile froze, and her eyes were full of innocence and grievance. So love can disappear, right?

(End of this chapter)