Chapter 309: Choosing One Out Of Two

The illusory feeling passed, and Klein saw the strange candle in his

hand again, along with its black wick and palish-white flame.

The damage of the Dawn Paladin---the shattered ground, broken pews, and

the sliced candles---had been restored to their pre-battle state. It was

hard to tell where they had been damaged.

At some point, Bishop Utravsky, who had been standing opposite him, had

taken a seat in the front pew, his back bent forward and his head buried

in his hands. His hands were pressed to his temples.

Drip!

Drip!

Sweat trickled down his face and spread out from his feet. The ground

was already completely wet.

When he sensed that the strange candle had been extinguished by Klein,

he shuddered and raised his head to meet Klein's eyes.

His slightly turbid eyes were filled with tears, and his wrinkled face

was streaked with tears.

However, his eyes were filled with emotion, joy, and clarity.

If it was said that this "giant" bishop previously appeared tall and

heavy, then all that was left of him now was the heaviness of his body

but without the heaviness of his spirit.

At this moment, Klein felt like he was looking at a newborn baby.

Those tears were proof of new life.

The corners of Utravsky's mouth curled up slightly as he smiled kindly.

"You're much better than I expected."

"No, this is because I gained sufficient understanding in advance and

made the appropriate preparations. As for the past you, not only were

you unsure of your opponent's strengths, you were also greatly weakened.

If I were to fight against you in the real world, I would be considering

how to escape," Klein calmly replied.

*A prepared Magician and an unprepared Magician are very different

concepts...* He added silently in his heart.

Bishop Utravsky didn't dwell on this problem. Brimming with relief from

head to toe, he said, "Thank you, my friend.

"According to our agreement, I'll give you the Apothecary formula. I'll

also give you an additional mystical item."

As he spoke, from his pocket, he took out what looked like a combination

of a needle, a tube, and a container.

"You have two choices. This is one of the two choices you have. When I

got it, I didn't know its name, and I never thought about naming it

either. You're able to use it to draw out a tube of blood, your own

blood. At a critical moment, you can transfuse it back into you. That

way, your fatigue will disappear. Your ailments and injuries will be

alleviated, and your strength, speed, balance, and other attributes will

all be greatly enhanced." Bishop Utravsky pointed to the object in his

hand.

"What about its limitations and latent dangers?" Klein asked rationally.

Utravsky looked at the mysterious patterns on the needle and tube and

explained in detail, "After drawing out a tube of blood, you'll be

weakened for a full twelve hours, and during those twelve hours,

transfusing the blood back into you wouldn't have any effect. Of course,

the specific time limit isn't that precise; it increases or decreases

according to your body's condition. In addition, it's best not to use it

too often; not more than once a week. Otherwise, not only will the

transfusion bring you power, but it will also temporarily make you lose

your rationality, and the short period when you have your blood drawn

and turn weak will become your characteristic.

"In addition to these, it also has a problem. If you carry it around for

more than half an hour, you'll become a little neurotic."

*Fortunately, Bishop Utravsky didn't previously draw his blood.

Otherwise, if the past him can transfuse his blood, my chances of

winning would've been very, very low...* This was the first

thought that flashed through Klein's mind.

He frowned and was rather worried about the negative effects of the

mystical item.

Regardless of whether it was a temporary loss of rationality, a twelve

hour period of weakness, or a change in his mental state, these were all

hidden dangers that didn't seem too problematic. But after seeing

Rampagers and hearing the ravings of an evil god, Klein believed that a

Beyonder's mental state was very important. If one's mental state

remained at a nadir for an extended period of time, or if there were

frequent anomalies, it would easily cause the phenomenon of losing

control to happen. This was the same even if a Beyonder had grasped the

acting method!

"What's the second choice?" Klein said after two seconds of silence.

Bishop Utravsky took out a simple brass key from his other pocket and

smiled.

"This is called a Master Key. It can help you open any lock which

doesn't contain mystical powers, as well as a small number of locks that

are augmented with Beyonder effects. And in a place without any locks or

doors, it can open a passageway that doesn't belong to reality. Heh heh,

the premise is that there are no restrictions by Beyonder powers and the

barriers aren't too thick.

"Its spirituality is completely restrained. When it's not being used,

Beyonders cannot see any difference between it and a normal key."

Utravsky stood up again, leaving Klein no choice but to look up.

The "giant" bishop increased his pace and came to the wall at the side

of the cathedral hall and pressed the Master Key against the brick.

He twisted gently, and his entire body seemed to sink into water as

ripples were produced. He went through the wall and arrived outside.

In the same way, Bishop Utravsky returned to the cathedral hall and

entered Klein's line of sight again.

"Have you decided on the mystical item?" the tall priest asked with his

head lowered.

"Hmm, what are the latent dangers of the Master Key?" Klein asked after

some deliberation.

Bishop Utravsky smiled warmly and said, "The person carrying it will

occasionally get lost.

"According to what someone told me, one gets lost at random."

Lost? I'm a Seer with spiritual intuition... Klein mumbled,

and his mind gradually came to a decision.

After a few seconds, he said, "I want the Master Key."

He didn't want his mental state to be affected, and he didn't want to

accumulate the risk of losing control.

*What a pity, what I want the most is that weird candle... It's akin to

the deepest part of a soul, the lowest level of a dreamland. That's

equivalent to my home ground...* He sighed in his heart.

"Alright." Bishop Utravsky handed the simple brass key to Klein and took

back the strange candle wrapped in human skin.

While Klein was examining the mystical item, Utravsky pointed at the

back and said, "The Apothecary formula is in that room. I'll go get it.

Wait here for a while."

Klein nodded in response. Taking advantage of the moment when Bishop

Utravsky's figure disappeared from the hall, he took out a penny and

divined if he had been lying about the Master Key.

After receiving an acceptable answer, he walked to the wall in front of

him where a row of candles were placed and pressed the ancient brass key

against the hard wall.

As he injected spirituality and turned the key, Klein's vision suddenly

blurred and then became clear.

At that moment, there were no longer burning candles filling his vision,

nor were there neat pews and straight walls. There were only withered

grass and muddy land strewn with a bit of garbage. To the side, it led

out to where a gas street lamp stood.

I really came out. Klein smiled, nodded, turned, and once

again using the Master Key to successfully return to the cathedral's

hall.

After more than ten seconds of waiting, Utravsky walked in with heavy

footsteps, a roll of yellowish-brown goatskin parchment in hand.

"You can get an appraisal for this. If there's a problem, you can always

find me at the Harvest Church. The "giant" bishop handed the Apothecary

formula to Klein.

*Main ingredients: Horn of an adult Flying Unicorn, 3 grams of a Royal

Jellyfish's venom crystal...* Klein swept his gaze, smiled and

replied, "I will confirm its authenticity."

For example, divine it above the gray fog... He added

inwardly.

Bishop Utravsky nodded slightly, and without another word, he turned

around and walked to the Earth Mother's Sacred Emblem of Life.

He spread his arms wide and chanted in a low voice, "Thank you, Source

of Life!

"Praise you, Mother of All Things!"

Klein put away the Master Key and the Apothecary formula. After Utravsky

stopped, he said half-jokingly, "Could it be that my visit was arranged

by Earth Mother?"

Why else would you be thanking Her for? The false believer of

the Evernight Goddess, Klein, chuckled inwardly.

"Yes, everything is arranged by Earth Mother. Otherwise, my request for

help wouldn't have reached your ears. I wouldn't be here in Backlund

either. Nor would I have obtained this Mental Terror Candle," Backlund

Utravsky said with a gentle smile without any signs of anger.

Complete and self-consistent believer logic, but... Klein

suddenly felt that it was impossible to communicate with him. He pressed

his hand to his chest, bowed, and said, "Thank you for your generosity.

I should leave now."

He straightened his body and quickly retreated. He then rapidly

disappeared from the main hall of the cathedral and from Rose Street.

Ten minutes later, he saw the golden façade of the Harvest Church from

another direction, and he couldn't help but twitch his mouth.

I can't go back without divination? he silently muttered to

himself. He really wanted to stubbornly rely on his own ability to

overcome the fact that he was lost.

But his hand, which was faster than his voice, had broken the branches

of a tree and made a makeshift dowsing rod.

Dowsing Rod Seeking could be used to seek people, as well as items and

directions!

This time, Klein was able to return home without incident, and he even

confirmed the authenticity of the formula and the latent dangers of the

Master Key.

The next morning was a Sunday morning.

After waking up, Klein ate breakfast, took out a pen and paper, and

wrote a letter to Isengard Stanton, asking him to seek help from the

police to confirm the current status of the few suspects for the serial

murder case from four years ago. Back then, the targets were single

prostitutes with a child.

After folding the letter and stuffing it in an envelope, Klein put on a

black stamp which was one penny in denomination. Putting on his clothes,

he took his hat and cane, and he walked out of his house to post the

letter at the mailbox at the end of the street.

Then, he saw Mrs. Stelyn Sammer and her husband, Mr. Luke dressed to the

nines.

A rental carriage was stopped by their door.

"Good morning. Why are you attending a banquet so early in the morning?"

Klein asked with some surprise.

Luke chuckled and said, "It's not really a banquet. It's more like us

helping out."

Mrs. Stelyn raised her chin slightly and added, "Mary has successfully

entered the National Atmospheric Pollution Council. There will be a

grand ball tonight, and we have to help out in advance."

Mrs. Mary's wish has been fulfilled? Impressive... Klein

sighed and said with a smile, "Please pass on my congratulations to Mrs.

Mary for me."

Luke Sammer nodded and said, "You haven't read this morning's paper,

have you? All the members of the National Atmospheric Pollution Council

have been published.

"The Chairman of the council is Sir Ders Shaw and the First Secretary is

Mr. Hibbert Hall."