Chapter 435: Aggregation Effect

8 p.m., Harvest Church.

After changing back into his usual attire, Klein looked around once as

he pressed down on the edge of his hat. Then, he walked into the hall

and headed for Emlyn White who was standing before three rows of candles

on the right side of the hall.

At the vampire's feet was a black suitcase, its surface was seemingly

covered with a layer of a wall of spirituality.

Upon sensing Detective Sherlock Moriarty coming in, Emlyn was first

pleased before revealing an alarmed look.

He bent down to grab his suitcase and took a few steps back, closing the

gap he had with Father Utravsky who was focused on praying.

*Are you afraid that I'll rob you of the Beyonder

ingredients...* Klein stopped three meters away, then he smiled

and said, "Let me first verify if it's the two ingredients I need."

Emlyn White ran his hand through his hair, lifted the leather case to

his chest and undid the buckle.

The wall of spirituality shattered as a result, turning into a light

breeze that blew through the prayer hall.

Klein, who had long activated his Spirit Vision, immediately saw bursts

of strange and dazzling light. It was the spiritual radiance released by

many Beyonder characteristics.

There were two small boxes inside the suitcase. One was made of tin and

had many patterns on it. It looked spartan and heavy. The other was only

a cardboard box.

Holding the black leather suitcase in one hand, Emlyn opened the

slightly tarnished silver-colored tin case. The item inside looked like

a yellowish brown peeled walnut with the grooves and ridges of a brain.

Along with the flickering of the candle flame, its appearance constantly

changed. Sometimes it would turn gray and appear wrinkled. At other

times, it would turn dark brown and extremely smooth. The colors would

interweave, outlining a featureless "face."

At the sight of it, Klein felt the power of the potion, which he had

completely digested and assimilated, stir a little, like a magnet

encountering an opposite pole.

He was able to control his body with his Clown powers as he suppressed

the feeling of attraction. He knew deep down that the item was a genuine

mutated pituitary gland of a Thousand-faced Hunter.

*It seems like what Emperor Roselle speculated in his diary is possible,

that High-Sequence items of the same pathway would unconsciously draw

Low- and Mid-Sequence Beyonders to them, with a tendency to draw them

together... Although the Thousand-faced Hunter's mutated pituitary gland

is still very far from a High Sequence and doesn't have that kind of

special force of attraction, it contains enough Beyonder

characteristics. Moreover, I've digested the Sequence 7 potion. When the

person and ingredients are sufficiently close, such a phenomenon will

appear...*

*I didn't notice it before because, firstly, the corresponding Beyonder

ingredients are of low quality, and secondly, my own strength is

lacking, and I wasn't of a high enough Sequence... Right, every time I

digested the potion, an illusory starry sky would appear around me.

There were many resplendent lights within, and they would pull one

another in an attempt to converge... This might be a scene of the law of

convergence of Beyonder characteristics of the same pathway, and the

greater the "quality," the stronger the pull...*

*Then, will Beyonder characteristics of similar pathways conform to this

law?*

Klein's expression didn't change as he recalled the records in Roselle's

diary, and combined with his three experiences of digesting potions, he

was able to determine the existence of a certain law.

Emlyn White glanced at him warily, quickly closed the tin box and opened

the paper box next to it.

The paper box was padded with thick cotton, and in the center of the box

was a glass bottle that could hold 200 milliliters of liquid. The bottle

was half-empty, while the rest of it was filled with a viscous liquid

that could change its color based on the change of light.

"Any other problems?" Emlyn closed the paper box.

"Let me confirm once more." Klein took out a gold coin and let it spin

between his fingers, as though it had a life of its own.

Ding!

The gold coin bounced up and fell down again, landing in Klein's palm.

It was heads, indicating a positive response.

Klein nodded slightly and took out stacks after stacks of notes from

various pockets. They were in ten-pound, five-pound, and one-pounds

denominations.

"1,450 pounds." Klein placed the pile of cash on a nearby piece of

furniture.

"Retreat a few steps, no, five steps!" Emlyn called out cautiously.

Klein smiled, raised his hands, and took five steps back.

Emlyn cautiously moved closer, checking to see if there was any blank

paper in the stack of cash.

After doing a slight count, he threw the leather suitcase in his hand

towards Klein.

Klein was startled and with his agile moves, he accurately caught the

suitcase.

He was afraid that the blood of the Thousand-faced Hunter would seep out

after the bottle shattered.

And Emlyn White took the opportunity to collect the bills and quickly

retreated to the side of Father Utravsky.

Only then did he heave a sigh of relief and seriously checked the amount

and their authenticity.

At the sight, Klein recalled the scene and suddenly felt ashamed.

He and Emlyn had made a perfectly fine Church of Earth Mother cathedral

look like the scene of an arms or drugs trade...

After confirming the condition of the two ingredients, Klein snapped his

fingers, igniting a match he had specially separated in his clothes and

allowed the soaring red flames to envelop his body.

When the flames descended back down, he had already disappeared.

As he often met Emlyn White at the Harvest Church, he didn't mind if

Father Utravsky found out that he was a Beyonder who had helped him

eliminate his dark personality. He even felt that this would give him

some form of friendship.

Emlyn, who was counting the money, looked up and was stunned for a good

two seconds.

He muttered to himself in a low voice, "My suitcase...

"My tin box..."

On the lamp-lit street, a carriage rolled over the puddles and headed

for the edge of Empress Borough.

Fors has told her good friend, Xio Derecha, that she had a teacher and

had ended up consuming another Apprentice potion.

After confirming that she didn't have any signs of losing control, Xio

looked outside the window at the gas lamps, which weren't much taller

than she was, and asked in puzzlement, "I've always wondered why they're

preserved as ingredients and not as a potion. Your teacher could've

concocted the potion beforehand and brought them here, so there was no

need for him to do it on the spot."

Fors gave a faint smile and said, "I've asked him about this before. He

said that there are two main reasons. One is that different Beyonder

ingredients have different uses, and when they're made into a potion,

they cannot be used flexibly. The second is that when the Beyonder

characteristics are solidified, they can be kept forever, but after it

becomes a potion, that won't be the case unless one uses a special

isolation technique."

"Why?" Xio asked in surprise. "This isn't an ordinary type of medicine

or Beyonder weapon in which its spirituality will continue to dissipate

and weaken."

Fors wasn't in the mood to laugh, but she had no choice but to maintain

her smile.

"It's not a problem about the characteristic loss, but that once

Beyonder ingredients become potions, not only can humans absorb them,

even other creatures or materials without life can. It's just relatively

slower. For example, if I use a glass bottle to store the potion, it

might appear fine, but after a few days, the glass bottle would 'finish'

drinking the potion, becoming a special mystical item. It might even

gain intelligence. Of course, my teacher said that such a situation has

very huge side effects, akin to what a Rampager leaves behind.

"The seven Churches and some hidden factions have special isolation

techniques, but it's rather troublesome, and they won't use it on Low-

or Mid-Sequence potions."

"How amazing!" Xio sighed.

She took another look outside and said in a low voice, "We're almost

there."

She and Fors were here to attend the Beyonder gathering which Mr. A was

holding.

Fors smiled while feeling her heart bleed.

"I hope there's the Spirit Eater's stomach pouch."

Her teacher, Dorian Gray, had taught her the acting method before he

left. He even gave her the potion formula for Trickmaster and got her to

attempt to find the Beyonder ingredients on her own. If she hadn't

gathered all of the ingredients by the time she digested the Apprentice

potion, she could write to him for help.

This left Fors in a rather lost state.

*Why did I spend large sums of money to purchase the Trickmaster formula

and the acting method?*

*Up to now, the greatest and invaluable help the Tarot Club has given me

were the things Mr. Hanged Man and Miss Justice taught me to take note

of, as well as Mr. Fool's interference in divination. Otherwise, Teacher

would've long discovered a problem with me, and I wouldn't have become

his student...*

*Sigh, I'll just consider it as the price for neutralizing the full

moon's curse...*

As the thought crossed her mind, Fors suddenly noticed that the house

where Mr. A had his gathering held had visibly collapsed, and there were

even scorch marks in many places.

*There was a fierce battle here... Who dealt with Mr. A? An official

organization?* Fors immediately signaled to Xio and instructed

the carriage driver outside, "Not here, two more streets up ahead."

"Aurora Order's base found. Terrorist organization suffers severe

setback."

The next day, Klein saw this article the moment he flipped the

newspapers open.

"Let's hope Mr. A died in this ambush." He drew the crimson moon on his

chest in solemnity.

He had already thrown the Thousand-faced Hunter's blood and mutated

pituitary gland from last night above the gray fog to ensure that they

wouldn't be lost.

Even if I die, they won't be lost... Klein chewed on a piece

of bacon with great ease.

After last night's transaction, his cash reserves had fallen back below

1,000 pounds, leaving him with only 735 pounds, which was only enough to

buy a Deep-sea Naga's hair. After that, he didn't have the ability to

purchase the Human-skinned Shadow's characteristic.

Without any better clues or money, Klein rested at home the entire

morning. After lunch, he dressed up and headed straight for the Backlund

Bridge area.

He had previously made an agreement with Carlson of the Machinery

Hivemind to find him at the Lucky Bar near the West Balam dock if he had

any intelligence. If the intelligence was especially important and

Carlson wasn't there, he was to go straight to Lever Cathedral. After

all, Sherlock Moriarty wasn't a member of a secret organization, so

there was no need for caution.

There weren't many customers at Lucky Bar in the afternoon, so Klein

instantly saw Carlson sitting and drinking alone in a corner of the bar.

He walked over, knocked on the table, and reported with a suppressed

voice, "Many people in East Borough are spreading the faith of the

original Creator."

Carlson sipped some alcohol brewed from pure malt and replied

noncommittally, "I'm aware."

As expected... Klein commented silently before smiling.

"I have a clue regarding a Fourth Epoch tomb of a noble."

"Ah!"

The glass in Carlson's hand paused as he looked at Klein in surprise,

and he unconsciously nudged his thick glasses.

But he noticed that Detective Sherlock Moriarty wasn't continuing to

describe the matter, but looking at the bartender a few steps away while

saying with a smile, "One glass of Southville beer."