Chapter 83: Carving

Holding onto the yellowish-brown paper bag full of herbs, Bogda

staggered out of the Lawson's Folk Herb Store.

While waiting for a tracked carriage, he suddenly came to a realization.

He had spent ten pounds to buy a bag of stuff?

This was nearly a month's salary for him!

If it wasn't for his trust in Anna and Joyce, he wouldn't have brought

that much cash to the Divination Club!

*Could it be that the reason why Mr. Moretti only accepted eight pence

for his divination, had something to do with his collusion with the boss

of Lawson's Folk Herb Store, so as to earn more? This was a classic scam

written on the papers!* When Bogda made this connection, he even

began to suspect Klein a little. He even began suspecting Joyce and

Anna.

When a tracked carriage stopped in front of him, he looked at the herbs

in his hand. Unable to bring himself to return, he entered the carriage

with a heavy heart.

Inside Lawson's Folk Herb Store.

As the boss watched Bogda leave, he suddenly turned his head and shouted

at the door where there was a pile of herbs, "Scharmaine, stop

purchasing herbs from today."

"W-why, Master?" A handsome-looking youth with disheveled hair walked

out.

The boss smiled and said, "This is the sixteenth customer that has come

because of my fame. If this carries on, I believe the Nighthawks, the

Machinery Hivemind, and the Mandated Punishers will notice me. When the

time comes, I'll need to consider heading to other cities."

"Then, do we need to sublease this store?" Scharmaine nodded in

understanding as he asked with concern.

The boss chuckled.

"If you wish to stay, you can be the boss of this store. You are already

capable at identifying herbs and concocting medicine. Of course,

remember to deposit half of your monthly profits into my anonymous

Backlund Bank account."

"But, I haven't learned what you are really good at." Scharmaine was

already sick of never staying in a city for more than a year, but he was

unwilling to give up learning the magical formulas that his master was

good at.

The boss leisurely rocked himself in his seat.

"That's not something you can learn just because you want to..."

A blackish-green bubbling liquid appeared in front of Bogda's eyes. It

smelled of stinking socks and the color that makes one want to puke made

him deeply suspicious about everything he had done today.

When the rooster blood was dropped into the medicine, Bogda's father

looked at his son worriedly and said, "I think surgery is the best

option."

The few drops of rooster blood bubbled with the boiling liquid before

vanishing. Bogda took a deep breath and said, "If this medicine is

useless, I'll consider surgery."

"The Lord will watch over you." Bogda's father gestured a triangular

Sacred Emblem across his chest.

By the time the boiling liquid had cooled down, Bogda had no intention

of wasting the ten pounds. He raised his right hand and closed his eyes.

Flicking his head back, he gulped down the medicine in one go.

The pungent aroma that had the noxious smell of blood, swished around in

his mouth as he nearly spat out everything he had just drank.

That night, Bogda had an upset stomach. He went to the bathroom six

times, and by the time the crimson moon vanished, he fell asleep

groggily.

After an unknown period of time had passed, he jolted awake, having

dreamed that he was being reprimanded by his boss at work.

"Thankfully, I took three days of annual leave. I don't have to rush to

work." Bogda heaved a sigh of relief when he discovered that he felt a

lot more spirited.

This was in stark contrast to the sluggish state he was in for the past

few weeks.

Bogda subconsciously reached out and pressed the right side of his

abdomen. He noticed that the region which previously hurt when under

slight pressure felt normal. He only felt the pain from ordinary

pressure.

"Don't tell me it was really effective? That apothecary was clearly just

fooling me..." Bogda was both surprised and doubtful as he got out of

bed. He stretched himself and felt his health returning to him.

He fell silent for a very long while as he muttered, "According to the

apothecary, I still need to drink it twice. Once I'm done drinking, I'll

go to the hospital to get a check up from a doctor...

"That apothecary didn't tell me how many times I can drink a day...

"...I still think he's a cheat..."

Inside the civilian staff office of the Blackthorn Security Company,

from his prior request, Klein received a space where no one would

disturb him.

He held a carving knife and emitted his spirituality. He seriously

carved the incantations and symbols onto two silver accessories.

The incantation was a request to avoid misfortune and was written in

Hermes. The two mysticism symbols symbolized the Evernight Goddess as

well as the Empress of Misfortune and Horror.

Aside from that, Klein also added the Path Number that corresponded to

the Goddess, 7, and the magical characteristic.

In addition to that, charms and amulets had to be engraved on both

sides; and each side's symbols, incantations, and characteristics, their

exact locations, or special formats was in the realm of mysticism. The

ones that were spread amongst the ordinary populace were filled with

mistakes.

At that moment, Klein had a lot of damaged materials to his right.

Through repeated practise, and only after he confirmed that he had

enough practice, did he dare to begin creating the amulets for Benson

and Melissa.

As he calmed his mind, his spirituality spewed out from the tip of the

carving knife. The number 7 appeared on the surface of the silver

accessories.

He had already finished carving the incantations and symbols on the

other side of the accessory. All that was left was to finish the

remaining side.

After putting down his knife, all his spirituality chained together as

Klein suddenly felt a strange, majestic, and terrifying energy surge

throughout the room.

The commotion quickly vanished as the incantations on both sides of the

accessory became complete with Klein's Spirit Vision. It emitted a

serene blackness.

He put down his carving knife and gently polished the silver accessory

that was formed from a circle and a vertical piece. He felt a tinge of

coolness from the mild-to-the-touch surface.

"It's done!" He happily placed the finished amulet and another one that

he had previously finished into his pocket, planning to find an

opportunity to give it to Benson and Melissa.

Amulets created by Beyonders possessed a certain level of effectiveness.

They allowed the wearer to unknowingly avoid disasters to a certain

extent, but it was nothing too ridiculous. Furthermore, their

spirituality would wane bit by bit. Unless one used a high-level

ritualistic magic and created a prayer set, a year was the maximum one

could use them for. As for high-level ritualistic magic, there was a

terrifyingly high spirituality requirement. It wasn't something Klein

could endure at the moment.

*When the time comes, I can use my spirituality to make another

one...* Klein thought, nodding as he began tidying up the messy

table.

He didn't make one for himself for the moment, because an amulet of that

level had limited effects on him. Therefore, his goal was to gain a

deeper understanding of incantations before trying to pair it with

ritualistic magic. That way he could create a few defensive amulets that

could be activated specifically with sound.

After everything was finished, Klein walked out the office and prepared

to hand over the damaged materials. That was when he saw Captain Dunn

walk over in his black trench coat.

Dunn's deep and gray eyes swept across him as he smiled.

"Klein, the Holy Cathedral has approved it. You're now an official

member."

"Really? That's great!" Klein expressed his delight.

Dunn nodded and said with a smile, "You can now receive a make-up pay of

three pounds for this week. You'll receive 4.50 pounds every subsequent

week until the advance payment is cleared.

"By the way, did I mention the Nighthawks' ritual?

"Every official Nighthawk has to independently complete a mission. Only

by doing so will you gain the recognition of your partners. In

consideration of the outstanding performance you showed, I believe I can

assign you an ordinary mission instead. When that happens, I'll formally

introduce you to all the Nighthawks in Tingen City."

Klein replied without hesitation, "Alright!"

Three pounds plus his compensation of seven pounds. Getting a new suit

wasn't a problem anymore!

Furthermore, he would still have plenty left over!

Well, who knows when my mission will arrive...

Klein waited all the way till Sunday, the day of Selena's birthday

banquet.

Changing into his formal suit and using a brush and handkerchief to tidy

his half top hat, Klein looked himself in the mirror before walking over

to the first floor in satisfaction.

At that moment, Melissa was sizing up Benson's clothes.

"Is there a problem?" Benson raised his cane, feeling a little lacking

due to his sister's gaze.

He felt that there was nothing wrong with him when he inspected himself.

He was already dressed quite decently.

Melissa stopped staring at him and said with a serious expression,

"Benson, that is a very old suit you're wearing."

"There will be a lot of excellent ladies and madams participating in

today's birthday banquet. I believe that by wearing that, it'll be a

form of disrespect to them."

Klein was originally filled with questions. However, when he heard

Melissa's emphasis, he immediately realized what was happening. He went

over with a chuckle and said, "Benson and I share a similar build. He

can wear my other tuxedo."

He had already informed his siblings about buying a new suit. He

explained it away by saying that his clothes had been torn while

inspecting certain objects. Therefore, the company generously

compensated him. Of course, he concealed the matter of him being

"promoted with a pay rise." He was afraid of scaring them and only

planned to tell them after half a year.

Such an explanation made Benson and Melissa extremely envious. They felt

that the Blackthorn Security Company was an impeccable employer.

"There's no need to, right?" Benson retorted, having not realized the

gravity of the situation.

"No, it's extremely important." Klein pushed Benson's shoulders up the

stairs. "My tuxedo is hanging on the clothes rack."

After watching Benson go up the stairs in a daze, Klein turned around

and smiled at Melissa.

"Are you hoping that Benson will use the opportunity provided by

Selena's birthday banquet to begin a beautiful new romance?"

He had been reading quite a fair amount of newspapers and magazines

recently. He knew that aristocrats and middle-class banquets were

typically grounds for blind dates.

Melissa nodded solemnly.

"Yes, Benson has missed out too much because of us."

Sis, why are you like a mother... Klein looked at Melissa as

he suddenly shook his head with an exasperated laugh.