Chapter 128: The Impoverished Fool

After eating lunch, Klein only rested for half an hour before he rushed

to the Shooting Club to practice with his revolver. He didn't dare to

relax, not one bit.

After practicing his shooting skills day after day and expending more

than a thousand bullets, he was finally shooting well enough to earn

Dunn Smith's basic approval. He was pretty good at fixed-target

shooting.

After practicing for a while, he put away his revolver and took the

public carriage to a stop close to the house of his combat teacher,

Gawain. Then, he walked for ten minutes before arriving at the door.

He changed into his knight training suit that had been left to dry in

the sun. After running, skipping rope, lifting weights, squatting, and

other exercises, not to mention footwork and punching training, he was

covered in sweat and felt exhausted.

"Take a break for fifteen minutes." Gawain's blond white hair and deep

facial lines made him look hard and stern. He took out his pocket watch

and flipped it open to glance at the time.

Since they first began training, he had ultimately maintained his

silence. He only spoke to Klein when there was a need to switch training

methods or to correct one of Klein's mistakes whenever one arose.

Klein panted for air, but he didn't dare to rest straightaway. He paced

back and forth slowly. The most direct feedback of his combat training

was that he was much tanner. His skin had turned bronze under the sun.

Gawain put away his pocket watch and stood next to the crude training

field behind his house. He crossed his arms as he watched Klein cool

down. He was as quiet as a marble statue.

"Teacher, besides fighting with fists, would you teach me how to use a

straight sword, broadsword, rapier, and spear?" Klein asked proactively.

He was in a good mood, as he had just digested the Seer potion.

He had seen weapons like the straight sword and rapier in Gawain's

collection room before. There was also chest armor and full body armor.

He knew that Gawain wasn't only good at fighting hand-to-hand.

Bathed in sunlight, Gawain swept his gaze at Klein. He lowered his voice

and replied, "It's useless for you to learn any of those. Those weapons

have all fallen behind the times, and their only place is in museums or

the private collections of collectors..."

He fell silent for a few seconds before adding with a voice that had

experienced the vicissitudes of life, "They have been eliminated... You

should focus on guns. Even combat is merely supplementary."

Klein looked at his listless teacher and chuckled as he spoke.

"I don't think so."

"Every minister, every Member of Parliament, every general, everyone of

them thinks so," Gawain said, clenching his teeth.

Klein stopped and acted like he was a true keyboard warrior. He

responded with ease and fluency, "No, they have merely retreated from

the front lines of a battlefield. They still have their uses elsewhere.

"Why does combat have to be used against firearms? They could be used

together. I believe a person who is more flexible, swifter in action,

and quicker in response could use guns in a more effective manner."

When he saw Gawain's eyes suddenly sharpen, Klein turned smug and

continued, "The other weapons aren't eliminated either. They only need

some enhancement to be more portable..."

"...We could form a squad with high maneuverability. A group that's

designed to circle the front lines and launch an attack from behind the

enemy and fight right to their core. In such a small-scale surprise

attack, a warrior who has outstanding hand-to-hand abilities and

familiarity with various kinds of weapons could play an important role.

You can imagine such a scene..."

Klein gave full play to his ability of knowing a bit of everything. He

mixed and matched all the combat tactics the special forces on Earth had

and described them to his teacher.

He wasn't sure when Gawain's breathing became heavier. He stood there

without moving an inch, seemingly unwilling to break the scenes he

imagined.

Klein stole a glance at the man's reaction. He felt smug in his head as

he cleared his throat and said in a restrained manner, "Teacher, what do

you think about my plan? Is there any possibility of realizing it?"

Gawain's body quivered as though he just awoken from a dream. He looked

deeply into Klein's eyes and said, "Your break is doing you well. Repeat

the whole set of exercises ten times."

Huh? Klein looked lost.

Very soon, he started running and snapped back to reality. He roared in

his heart, Ten sets? Teacher, no!

I don't want to celebrate my complete digestion of the Seer potion like

this!

Hey, didn't you gain any inspiration at all?...

Looking at Klein running towards the other side of the training field,

Gawain suddenly uncrossed his arms and covered his face with one hand.

He closed his eyes tightly, and the wrinkles on his face were deep and

obvious.

After nearly puking from exhaustion, Klein took a shower, changed

clothes, and bade a still silent Gawain farewell. He took the public

carriage and left.

He didn't return home directly but headed to Evil Dragon Bar near the

harbor. He planned to inquire about the price of Beyonder ingredients

and buy items for making charms.

On the way, Klein kept his mind on his tiny stash that he was carrying

with him. He forced himself to stay alert and reached his destination

with great difficulty.

"I need to save four pounds for the remaining balance that I owe to the

detective company. I can only use three pounds and five soli tonight..."

He touched the paper notes in his pocket before grabbing his cane and

alighting the carriage.

At that moment, the sun had already begun slipping below the horizon.

All the houses were gradually tainted with a twilight luster. The boxing

matches and rat-baiting with dogs were already warming up in Evil Dragon

Bar.

After passing through the billiard room and numerous rooms, Klein

finally entered the underground market.

He looked to the left and right, but he didn't see Monster Ademisaul who

was always active around there.

"Didn't Old Neil say that Ademisaul only managed to survive because the

boss of Evil Dragon Bar feeds him?" Klein asked himself curiously.

As a Nighthawk, he remained vigilant to matters like that. He approached

the brawny man guarding the door and asked, "Where's Ademisaul?"

The brawny man replied without a smile, "I have no idea where he's

sleeping. He's been like that lately. He lies down in shivers and chants

'Dead, dead, all corpses, everyone has to die.'"

What scenes did he see this time? What triggered him? Klein

creased his eyebrows slightly and asked for more details. He wanted to

know where Ademisaul was sleeping, but the guard didn't know either.

*When I'm done, I'll look for him via divination to see what he's been

through...* After taking note of this, Klein walked towards one

of the two rooms at the end of the trading market.

According to Old Neil, the room on the left was for loans and repayment,

while the room on the right was for the buying and selling of precious

items, including Beyonder ingredients.

When he opened the door to enter the room on the right, Klein realized

that there was a partition that separated it into two spaces, the inside

and the outside. There were another three customers waiting on the

outside.

He lowered his silk top hat and queued behind the three customers. He

leaned his body forward and supported himself with the cane as he waited

in silence.

Soon, the door of the partition opened and a customer in a bluish-gray

harbor worker uniform came out. He kept his head low and left in a

hurry.

Klein lightly clicked his left molar twice and looked at the man with

Spirit Vision. He then looked at the other three customers. There was

nothing wrong with them other than the usual minor illnesses that people

had.

After another ten plus minutes, it was finally his turn.

He opened the door and entered the room that was lit with a kerosene

lamp.

He locked the door and took the seat that belonged to the customer. He

looked towards the old man wearing a black felt hat opposite him.

"I'd like to know what Beyonder ingredients you have, and at what prices

they are being sold."

The cheek muscles of the elder were droopy and the wrinkles at the

corner of his eyes were deep, but his body was well-built. He didn't

find Klein's request weird because many customers weren't willing to let

another person know what they wanted to buy before they confirmed that

the seller had it available. Generally, they wished to be introduced to

all options.

The old man flipped to the newest pages of the notebook, stole a glance

at Klein, and took a sip of his honey wine before he said, "Water

Ghost's brain tissue costs from three to fifteen pounds depending on how

intact it is. Star Crystal, 150 pounds per 50 grams. 200 pounds for one

Queen Bee Grass. 170 pounds for an adult black-spotted frog... 280

pounds for Human-faced Rose, but there's only one..."

Klein controlled his emotional response. After he listened to the old

man's introduction, he was surprised that an underground trading place

like this had fewer than thirty Beyonder ingredients.

As he touched the notes worth seven pounds in his pocket and thought of

Miss Justice's attitude towards a thousand pounds, he sighed.

"Unfortunately, there is nothing I want."

Without waiting for the elder to pose any further questions, he quickly

turned around to open the door and made an exit.

He returned to the underground market and looked around blankly. He

stood there for a while and sighed with a bitter smile.

*I'm probably the poorest boss among all the secret

organizations...* That only steeled his resolve of getting

ingredients internally from the Nighthawks or through exchanges with

Justice or The Hanged Man.

After circling the underground market twice, Klein picked and purchased

ingredients to make charms, such as a partially-finished silver piece,

herbal powders needed for rituals, and natural ores. He spent one pound

and fifteen soli in total.

*My private stash of money only has five pounds ten soli left. Excluding

the final payment to the detective, I still have one pound ten

soli...* After Klein silently did the math regarding his

financial situation, he felt helpless.

Of course, he knew very well that he had only been working for just over

a month. If the time span had been extended to a year, he should have

been able to save up more than a hundred pounds.

"In another two weeks, I'll have to tell Benson and Melissa that I've

gotten a raise to three pounds. We can hire a maidservant, but I won't

have a private stash of money anymore..." Klein thought as he walked

towards the exit of the underground market.

Just then, he saw Old Neil in his classic black robe entering slowly.

"Got everything?" Old Neil greeted with a chuckle.

"Yes," Klein answered frankly.

Old Neil tsked immediately. "You came really early."

"That's because I'm still hungry, but you've already had your dinner."

Klein chatted casually with Old Neil.

After a while, the boss of Evil Dragon Bar, Swain, walked in with his

navy officer uniform draped over him. He approached the two of them with

a mask of solemnity and lowered his voice.

"I need your help."

"What happened?" Old Neil suddenly turned serious, and Klein couldn't

help but feel a tug at his heartstrings.

Swain's brown hair was messy, and there was a strong smell of alcohol in

his breath. He replied in a low voice, "A member from the Mandated

Punishers has lost control nearby. We have to finish him before he harms

any commoners!"