As he listened to Will Auceptinâs âtearful complaints,â Klein was at a loss as to how to react. He could only remain expressionless.
After the baby wrapped in silver silk calmed down, he asked in puzzlement, âEven if I said it earlier, itâs useless. When I met you, you were already ârebooted.ââ
âNo, I was still Will Auceptin at that time. I didnât have Ceres as my last name, Iâd ârebootedâ for a long time back then.â The chubby baby wiped his tears and said, âAlthough Iâm still quite some time away from becoming an adult, as long as Iâm willing to take a certain risk, itâs not impossible to accommodate it. With the luck Iâve accumulated, that risk can be resolved. But, the difference now is just too great. Thereâs no way to make up for it.â
With a thought, Klein said after some deliberation, âPerhaps you can find an angel from the Marauder pathway to steal time from you, allowing you to grow up faster.â
Will Auceptin was still choking as he shook his head and said, âItâs useless⌠Itâs impossible for âThemâ to accurately steal my âchildhoodâ and âteenageâ years. If itâs only a matter of time, it wonât allow me to grow. It will only reduce the age I can originally live to⌠When the time comes, Will Auceptin Ceres will die prematurely, having been born June 1350 and dying October 1350, for a ripe old age of four monthsâŚâ
âBut Iâve seen cases of aging rapidly due to the theft of time,â Klein recalled what he had seen in Amonâs mausoleum.
The chubby baby still shook his head.
âNo, thatâs just a manifestation of it being symbolized. If itâs used on me, it will just be a baby that starts to grow wrinkles while his hair turns whiteâŚ
âTo truly accurately steal the âchildhoodâ and âteenageâ years, it has to be Amon, and it has to be âHisâ true body in personâŚâ
At this point, the baby wrapped in silver silk and Klein fell silent at the same time. No one spoke for a long time.
If he were to get Amon, the years that were possibly robbed wouldnât be limited to just the âchildhoodâ and âteenageâ years.
After a while, Klein took a deep breath without hiding anything.
Then thereâs no need to consider this for now. However, I still want to know where I can find a way to accommodate the Uniqueness. If I have a chance to get it, I definitely canât miss it. Who knows when it might come in handy in the future.â
Will Auceptin put down his tear-stained palm and sniffed.
âThereâs no need to ask others. Iâve already gotten it long ago, but I canât do it. Otherwise, do you think that me being president of the Life School of Thought was for nothing?â
Klein was surprised and curious. âWhy canât you do it?â
Will Auceptin pulled the blanket in the babyâs pram and said, âThere are three ways to accommodate the Uniqueness. One is to be born naturally with it, which is equivalent to being a Uniqueness coming to life and imbuing human nature into it. The other is to make the Uniqueness come to life to a certain extent before forcefully putting it into oneâs body. By relying on the power of the Creator to suppress it, it will slowly take quite some time to slowly wear it down before one gets used to it and achieve a balance. The third is to concoct the Uniqueness into an incomplete potion and drink it with a simplified apotheosis ritual.
âThereâs no need to mention the first method. This is why those brothers are enviable. The second is impossible after the ancient sun godâs death. The third is the only viable option at the moment, but for the Sequence 1 of the Fate pathway, it depends on the machinations of fate.â
The first point was mentioned in Emperor Roselleâs diary. It was said by Mr. Door⌠Does the second point mean that, after the ancient sun god wielded so many authorities, he was at least half a level higher than the present true deities, or even one full level? The Creatorâs level? As if in thought, Klein asked, âWhat do you mean by only depending on the machinations of fate? What has this got to do with me saying earlier that I can help you accommodate the Uniqueness?â
Will Auceptinâs chubby baby face revealed a look of poignancy.
âThe apotheosis ritual for the Fate pathway might be the simplest, or perhaps itâs the most difficult.
âAs long as we find the correct opportunity in the torrent of fate, we can directly consume the potion and attempt to advance.
âBut the problem lies in the fact that the exact opportunity cannot be divined or predicted. Thereâs no way to lock onto it. I can only eliminate certain interferences and patiently search as I experience life. Iâve already ârebootedâ countless times and Iâve spent ages, but I still havenât encountered itâŚâ
At this point, the babyâs tears flowed down again.
It sounds simple, but in fact, one can only rely on fate. It really depends on how âwellâ you look⌠With a sigh, Klein asked in enlightenment, âWhen I said that I would help you accommodate the Uniqueness, did you vaguely grasp that opportunity?â
The chubby baby cried even harder.
âAlthough I didnât really find it⌠I did sense it to a certain extentâŚâ
âŚIs that so⌠Back then, when Will Auceptin came into contact with me, other than hoping to receive the help of Yesterday Once More, was it also pushed by luck? What a charlatan⌠Klein tersely acknowledged.
âThen thereâs no other wayâŚâ
âYou can only give me a few more of those charms!â Will Auceptin nodded heavily.
âAlright,â replied Klein generously. He then added, âYou have to give me a few paper cranes.â
With that said, the baby wrapped in silver silk and Klein fell silent.
In the rental apartment, after waking up from his dream, Klein got out of bed and walked to the room outside. He took out pen and paper and began to write to Leonard:
ââŚI obtained charms that originate from High-Sequence Beyonders of the Seer pathway. It allows someone to borrow power from their former selvesâŚâ
Klein didnât mention that it might be something his dear poet needed, as if he was simply describing it.
After folding the letter, he took out a gold coin and a rectangular diamond-like charm and blew into the adventurerâs harmonica.
Reinette Tinekerr, who was wearing a dark and complicated long dress, walked out of the void with four blonde, redeyed heads in hand. All eyes were cast towards the Yesterday Once More charm.
âMore of these charms?â The comer of Kleinâs forehead twitched as though he had experienced the pain of tearing his soul apart.
âThreeâŚâ Reinette Tinekerrâs head who had failed to join in the final sentence shook.
Klein smiled and answered, âNo problem, but it will take one to two weeks.â
Firstly, he had recently separated many Worms of Spirit and made quite a number of Yesterday Once More charms. It made him feel like he was nearing his limit and needed some rest. Secondly, he felt that it would be another one to two weeks before he could digest the Bizarro Sorcerer potion and attempt to advance to Scholar of Yore once Miss Magicianâs new book was published. When the time came, he might have a simpler method.
Reinette Tinekerrâs four heads began to bob with the help of their hair, indicating that that wasnât a problem.
Klein then pointed at the letter and gold coin.
âSend it to the mailbox at 7 Pinster Street.â
He had previously divined that Leonard wasnât at home. Apparently, he had gone south of the bridge.
One of the heads of Reinette Tinekerr tilted up as she sucked the letter, gold coin, and Yesterday Once More charms into her mouth.
As he watched Miss Messenger enter the void and vanish from his room, Klein pondered for nearly a minute before beginning to set up a sacrificial and bestowment ritual.
Since the Bizarro Sorcerer potion was about to be completely digested, there was no doubt that he had to prepare the various ingredients for Scholar of Yore in advance.
Among them, the Demonic Wolf of Fogâs transformed heart and White Frost Crystal could be obtained from the Evernight Goddess.
And with the Demonic Wolfs transformed heart, he could go to the spirit world to âbaitâ a Hound of Fulgrim.
After a series of tasks, he finished setting up the altar and took two steps back to inspect the surroundings.
Itâs still considered clean⌠In addition to the wall of spiritualityâs seal, it satisfies the requirements of a ritual⌠I havenât made any contribution recently, so how should I ask for a bestowment? Could it be that Iâm telling the Goddess that I plan to take a credit loan and pay it in installments⌠Will this be a little sacrilegious⌠Hmm, Iâll try to sacrifice something of value. If the Goddess is willing to accept it, âSheâ will do the corresponding bestowmentâŚ
Something of value⌠As he thought, his thoughts moved to the junk pile above the gray fog.
He really wanted to pack up the items he couldnât sell for the time being, such as the Biological Poison Bottle, the Interrogator Beyonder characteristic, Lunatic Beyonder characteristic, Blathererâs Aura, Thousand-faced Hunterâs blood, six-winged gargoyleâs eyeball, Spirit World Plunderer powder, and other items to sacrifice to the Goddess to exchange for the materials needed for Scholar of Yore. However, he felt that this would make the Goddess seem like a rag-and-bone man; hence, he could only give up the idea.
It has to be of roughly the same value⌠I canât use Groselleâs Travels; it hides quite a bit of secrets. Perhaps it will be of great use. Yes, the next time Little Sun and the others explore the Giant Kingâs Court, I can give them Groselleâs ashes. This time, I wasnât sure how far they could go in the expedition, and was worried that they were unable to return after entering the Groselleâs TravelsâŚ
Sea God Scepter? Thatâs even more important. Not only is it my most powerful Sealed Artifact, but it also involves the believers of the Sea God. It will be my anchor for some time. When I have other things, more anchors, it can be given to Mr. Hanged ManâŚ
Hvin Rambisâs Beyonder characteristic⌠This has already been promised to Miss Justice⌠After some thought, he realized that he didnât have many choices left. One was Lifeâs Cane, and the other was the Flaring Sun Charm, the Fate Siphon charm, Yesterday Once More charms and Control Spirit Bullets.
The latter are all disposable items. Even if theyâre combined, their actual value wouldnât be comparable to the main ingredient of a Sequence 3 potion⌠Besides, once my ability to âtransfer woundsâ improves, it can take over a portion of the Lifeâs Caneâs effects⌠After hesitating for a while, he finally made a decision.