Chapter 152: Nice Attempt

The gray fog filled the air in its eternally unchanging manner as the

illusory crimson stars hung around him at varying distances. Klein sat

inside the lofty palace that looked like the home of a giant as he

looked at the familiar sight before him.

After a few seconds, he looked away and made a yellowish-brown goatskin

appear before him. Then, he lifted a pen to write his amended

incantation for the summoning ritual.

"Light a candle to represent myself.

"Use a spiritual wall to create a holy environment.

"Drip a drop of Full Moon Essence Oil in the flame, Chamomile Pure Dew,

Slumber Flower Powder, and other ingredients. (Note: There's no need to

be too particular in this step because it's summoning oneself).

"Recite the incantation below.

"I! (In ancient Hermes, Jotun, Dragonese, or Elfish. It must be a deep

shout)

"I summon in my name (Hermes),

"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era, the mysterious ruler above

the gray fog; the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck."

After scrutinizing it three times, Klein wrote a divination statement at

the bottom:

"There will be danger if the ritual above is carried out outside of this

world."

Phew. He let out a breath, put down the pen, took out the

silver chain in his sleeve, and held it with his left hand.

The topaz pendant hung above the goatskin steadily, only a slight

distance above the divination statement. He reined in his thoughts and

entered a Cogitation state.

"There will be danger if the ritual above is carried out outside of this

world.

"There will be danger if the ritual above is carried out outside of this

world."

After reciting the statement seven times, Klein opened his eyes which

were almost all black and looked at the topaz pendant which was spinning

counterclockwise.

That meant a negative outcome: there would be no danger!

"I can give it a try then." Klein made the items before him disappear.

He then extended his spirituality to wrap around himself and simulated

the sensation of falling.

When he returned to his bedroom, due to the fact that he had sealed the

entire room with a spiritual wall, Klein immediately cleared his desk

and put out a mint-scented candle right in the middle.

He pressed slightly on the candle wick, rubbing it with spirituality to

cause friction and ignite the candle.

Under the flickering dim light, Klein dripped the corresponding

essential oils, extracts, and herb powder onto the flame.

A soothing fragrance suddenly filled the air, and the room alternated

between brightness and darkness.

Taking two steps back, Klein looked at the candle that represented

himself and shouted in Jotun, "I!"

Then, he switched to Hermes, "I summon in my name:

"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era, the mysterious ruler above

the gray fog; the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck."

Just as he finished speaking, he sensed the wavering candlelight

suddenly dance vigorously and produce a vortex with the surrounding

fragrance. It absorbed his spirituality at an insane rate.

"Slumber flower, a herb that belongs to the red moon, please bestow your

powers to my incantation..." Klein endured the discomfort brought about

from having his spirituality drained as he finished reciting the

incantation.

Then, he saw the candlelight stop wavering. It was tainted with a gray

luster, which extended to about the size of a palm.

"I didn't summon anything... Oh right, perhaps I'll need to respond to

it above the gray fog? It's really quite troublesome to summon

myself..." Klein muttered, pinching his aching forehead.

He calmed himself down, then took four steps counterclockwise before

arriving above the gray fog again. He saw that there was a rippling

light above the seat of honor at the ancient table.

It stemmed from the strange symbol at the back of the corresponding

chair. The strange symbol that was made up of a Pupil-less Eye, a symbol

representing concealment, and Contorted Lines that represented change.

All Klein did was extend his hand to reach for it when he immediately

heard, "I! I summon in my name, The Fool that doesn't belong to this

era, the mysterious ruler above the gray fog; the King of Yellow and

Black who wields good luck." Then, he saw surging spirituality combined

with a rippling light that formed into an illusory yet shapeless door.

The door shook as though it wanted to be opened. Klein immediately felt

inspired and strongly willed for it to be pushed open.

Almost instantly, the boundless fog and lofty palace was drawn forward.

There were a few barely noticeable ripples.

The ripples surged towards the illusory yet shapeless door.

But, no matter how much Klein pushed it, the door couldn't be pushed

open. Every movement resulted in dead silence.

"The Door of Summoning has yet to take shape?" Klein reined in his will

and creased his eyebrows when he analyzed the reason why he had failed.

He had casually named the door "the Door of Summoning."

"Hmm, I'm lacking spirituality, so I can't form a complete Door of

Summoning. When I advance to Sequence 8 Clown and pass through the

initial dangerous stage, I can give it another try. Maybe it won't be a

problem by then..." Klein nodded lightly and roughly understood what had

happened.

This experiment gave him a confidence boost, he felt heartened as this

was the first time that he received some sort of response from the

mysterious space above the gray fog\---\other than the incident where

he divined about Eternal Blazing Sun!

*There will come a day when I'll understand all the secrets

here!* Klein excitedly declared in his heart. He then made a

rapid descent into the boundless fog after he wrapped himself up with

spirituality.

Klein quickly blew out the candle after he returned to his bedroom. He

ended the ritual and cleaned up his study desk before he removed the

spiritual wall.

A gust of wind suddenly blew as he yawned. He collapsed into the bed,

covered himself with a blanket and quickly fell asleep.

In the hazy dream that followed, Klein woke up abruptly and realized

that he was sitting in the living room of his home and was holding the

Tingen City Honest Paper.

...Don't tell me Captain is here again? He was stunned at

first as he looked outside the oriel window, finding humor in his

exasperation.

With a creak, the door opened. Dunn walked in slowly, wearing his black

trench coat that went beyond his knees and held a cane and pipe.

He was still wearing his black top hat, and underneath it were his

profound gray eyes.

Dunn came to the living room and sat on the single seat sofa. He

leisurely crossed his right leg over his left.

He put aside his cane, took off his hat, and leaned backwards. He sat

there quietly and looked at Klein as though he was thinking.

Captain, what are you trying to do today... Klein was

dumbfounded.

In order to not expose that he knew that it was a dream, he pretended to

not be affected by it and continued to read the newspaper.

One minute, two minutes, five minutes. He lifted his head to look at

Dunn who sat opposite him. He found out that the Captain was still

sitting there quietly and was looking at him in deep thought.

Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes. Klein flipped through the

newspaper back and forth multiple times, looking at Dunn from the corner

of his eyes, and noticed that the man was still looking at him quietly

in deep thought.

Captain, you're making me very uncomfortable... Klein couldn't

sit in peace. He folded the newspaper and put it aside. He nodded and

smiled at Dunn. Then, he went to the kitchen to get a piece of cloth and

started wiping the dining table and coffee table.

*Captain, look, my dream is so simple, so ordinary, so boring. There's

nothing worth observing. Hurry up and leave! Why don't you pretend to be

a ghost and I'll pretend to be frightened, then you can complete your

achievement as a Nightmare!* He prayed in silence and lifted his

head, but all he saw was Dunn's deep gray eyes that were still in deep

thought.

Under such a quiet and constant gaze, Klein wiped all the furniture and

cleaned his room. He was so exhausted in his dream.

What wore him out the most was Dunn Smith, who was watching him quietly

in deep thought.

Klein had no idea how much time had passed while he made himself busy

until he finally saw his Captain uncross his legs and stand up. Then, he

took his cane, put on his hat, and walked through the door.

Klein held his breath and watched Dunn leave his house.

He couldn't help but lift his right hand to wave goodbye.

Phew... When everything returned to normal, Klein let out a

breath of relief.

That really was such a nightmare! He thought to himself, too

preoccupied for tears.

Backlund, West Backlund, Philip's Department Store.

Philip's was one of the top-end department stores in the Loen Kingdom.

It only opened to nobles and wealthy people who were qualified to be

members.

There was always luxurious carriages parked outside with different

emblems printed on them. Not only was it a safe place for shopping, it

also became a popular social venue due to the strict restriction on

members.

Audrey brought her maidservant, Annie, and her golden retriever, Susie.

Under the ushering of an eagerly attentive attendant, she got off the

carriage and walked through the entrance.

Along the way, she saw daughters of viscounts, countesses, or maidens

with parents of high social status.

She maintained her elegance and greeted them all gracefully. She

communicated with different nobles on different topics. For instance,

when she faced a particular countess, she would compliment the fittings

of the countess's dress and when she greeted a particular baroness, she

would praise the outstanding performance of the baroness's husband in

the House of Lords.

Audrey hadn't been good at that previously; she was too stubborn and too

arrogant. But now, she didn't even need to put in much effort to respond

perfectly.

In a Spectator's eyes, most of the emotions and thoughts of the female

nobles were written on their faces.

Arriving at the second floor, Audrey turned into a shop that sold

ready-made dresses.

The attendant in the shop was a petite maiden. She wore a black and

white dress and had shoulder-length blond hair. She was the Arbiter, Xio

Derecha.

Audrey gave Susie a look without changing her facial expression. The dog

understood what her owner meant immediately and ran to another counter.

Maidservant Annie went after Susie to try to drag her back.

Well done! Audrey complimented inwardly and walked next to Xio

Derecha, pretending to look at the variety of dresses.

"...Why did you arrange to meet me here for?" Xio inquired with a

whisper while she loudly introduced the dresses.

Her voice was tender, just like a child's.

"Where's the original attendant?" Audrey asked in reply instead of

answering her.

Xio looked around and said, "I convinced her. She was happy to rest for

the morning."

Audrey looked at the different styled dresses while she took out a piece

of neatly folded paper from her lamb leather handbag and secretly passed

it to Xio.

"Vice Admiral Hurricane, Qilangos, has snuck into Backlund. This is his

portrait. I hope you can find him for me. Oh, and don't alert him."

Xio received the piece of paper and unfolded it to take a quick glance.

She saw that it was a lifelike portrait of a man in his thirties that

had a unique broad chin.

I was once constantly praised by my art teacher... Audrey

stole a glance at Xio and lifted her head.

She added, "The Kingdom offers a reward of ten thousand pounds for

Qilangos. If he were to be arrested, even the person that only provided

clues would definitely be awarded with a few hundred pounds."

Just as she finished her sentence, she saw Xio's eyes beam with joy, as

she had expected.