"The potion formula of the 'Seer' path." ... Cain leaned back against the chair, attempting to commune with the spirit using the technique of 'dream divination.' In the hazy, unreal world, a gas lamp suddenly lit up, illuminating the stone floor and the wooden desk where a scroll of vellum was laid out. As the formulas for both the 'Seer' and the 'Clown' successively appeared, Rosagó stood beside him, dressed in a shirt with full, flowing sleeves, listening to a voice that seemed to come from somewhere unseen. "Before your promotion, I'd like to remind you of one thing—you've been overly reliant on divination lately." "Divination offers insights and outcomes, but not the process itself. For instance, when you divined that a railway stock would be profitable, you received a positive answer and thus invested all your capital. However, the true meaning of that insight is that, over the long term—specifically, thirty years from now—the stock will indeed prove profitable. In the interim, it will likely underperform compared to gains." Destiny is not easily grasped; often it cannot be defined or measured quantitatively. Divination is not a panacea. Moreover, divination can be disturbed or misdirected. There are so many things in this world that remain incomprehensible. If you rely entirely on divination, you will inevitably die as a result. Divination offers inspiration, but it must be complemented by one's own vigilance, caution, and self-restraint. "Rosagho died at my hands precisely because the 'impure words' pertained to the mysterious realm above the mist, and thus could not foretell the corresponding dangers—otherwise, with his peculiar abilities, neither I nor the lady guard would have survived today. This also serves as a reminder: even though the mist isolates me from interference, I must remain vigilant; even the most confident actions require room for contingency. From these words, it appears they were still unaware of the 'role-playing' technique; otherwise, many of these expressions could have been simply framed as reverence for fate. As my thoughts spun, I heard Rosagho respond and unfolded the parchment: 'Sequence 7, "The Magician":' 'Main materials: one genuine root of the mist-tree person, and the entire spinal fluid of the demonic-patterned black leopard.' 'Accessory materials: 60 milliliters of pure water, 30 milliliters of mist-tree person's sap, 3 grams of water-shaped gem powder, and 4 drops of essential oil from the enchanted grass.' "The magician..." Ah, so the circus also has one—this could easily make the trio of the circus with the seer and the clown. Claudio first muttered this, then recalled the tailored-clad clown he had encountered earlier: He seemed to be the very embodiment of the "magician," with abilities such as creating air bursts by snapping fingers, making flames leap, and drawing sheets of paper into battle units—quite impressive indeed. Simply the ability to cast spells swiftly could significantly enhance my combat effectiveness. As his thoughts flickered, Claudio noticed the scene had changed: This time, it was a magnificent room, adorned with various golden sculptures and decorations. The same voice, offering the same subtle guidance: "Based on my experience, after consuming this 'Faceless One' potion, remember this: you can impersonate anyone, but you can only be yourself." Faceless One? Is the Sequence 6 path of the Seer the 'Faceless One'? This must be the extraordinary ability that allows Rosagho to transform into Detective Fashin—then, perhaps, the fictional Detective Zerel is also a role he has assumed. "The creeping hunger" enables Zinglugs to take on the appearances of different individuals, which aligns perfectly with this remarkable ability. It seems a "Faceless One" perished at his hands. While this ability does not enhance direct combat prowess, it proves more useful than ninety percent of all extraordinary abilities in various situations. That is precisely why Rosagho dared to come and kill, unafraid of falling into a trap. This ability holds great significance for me! As this thought struck him, Caine unconsciously widened his eyes, observing Rosagho lift a thin golden sheet of parchment inscribed with numerous Hermes scripts: "Sequence 6, 'Faceless One':" "Primary materials: the pituitary gland of a Thousand-Faced Hunter, exhibiting the properties of human skin shadows." "Supplementary materials: 80 milliliters of the blood of the Many-Faced Hunter, five drops of black mandrake juice, 10 grams of dragon's tooth powder, and three strands of deep-sea Naga hair." The Many-Faced Hunter? This seems like a type of dragon—not particularly powerful, but quite rare, approaching extinction... It's not a mind-based dragon, yet still exceptionally uncommon. Cain instantly recalled the corresponding esoteric knowledge. At that moment, the scene before him remained unchanged, but Rosagó's attire and position had shifted. He now wore a white hairband and a deep black tailcoat, with a dense beard covering his face. "This promotion is no longer as straightforward as before. The potion must be consumed in conjunction with a ritual. Upon successful completion, you will gain one of the most difficult-to-counter extraordinary abilities below high sequence." The speaker had changed, his voice now more weathered. Rosagó, anticipating this, asked: "What ritual?" "Go to the sea, find a mermaid, and consume the potion while listening to her song." The elder spoke, opening an ancient codex adorned with countless mysterious symbols. Suddenly, radiance surged from its surface, casting lines of ancient Hermes script into the air: "Sequence 5, Master of Secret Pairings:" As soon as克莱恩 saw this, he felt a sudden headache—signs of his spiritual reserves nearing exhaustion. During the previous battle, the mere incantations of the "Impurity Tongue" had drained most of his spiritual energy. Subsequently, he had invoked and responded to three more divine sigils of the Night Goddess, and by sustaining himself thus far, he demonstrated significant progress—particularly in the digestion of the Clown's potion. As the image flickered and trembled, on the verge of shattering,克莱恩 strained to hold on, finally catching the remainder of the recipe: "Primary ingredients: dust of ancient spirits, and the core crystal of a six-winged stone gargoyle." "Supplementary materials: 80 milliliters of golden spring water from Sunya Island, 10 grams of bark from the dragon-veined tree, the residual spirit of the ancient spirit of resentment, and a pair of eyes from the six-winged stone gargoyle." "Ritual of advancement: Consume the potion while listening to the song of the mermaid." Click—Caine no longer forced himself, allowing his dream to dissolve into countless shimmering points of light. He pressed his forehead, nearly unconscious, as both the remnants of Rosagó’s spirit and the faint traces of madness faded away, and was gently pushed back into the real world. Before him lay the blood-soaked ground, splattered with brain matter, hair, and various fragments. He bent down, dry-heaving twice, and gradually regained some awareness. No spirit would simply withdraw from the mysterious space above the gray mist... Caine looked around and found the guard still asleep. He quickly extinguished the candle, gathered up the ritual items, and then, breathing heavily, paused for a moment, finally allowing the spirit to begin to grow and recover. At that moment, a cold breeze brushed against his neck, making him shiver and his thoughts grow sluggish. Kline suddenly turned his head, looking again at the bulging window area, and saw the female bodyguard, dressed in a black Gothic court gown, now awakened and floating. Her golden hair and pale complexion had dimmed slightly, and her overall appearance seemed more ethereal, her skin slightly translucent. Kline hurried to explain, as he had rehearsed: "After I shattered his head, I noticed his body still moving. Fearing he might undergo a postmortem transformation, I immediately activated all the talismans on my person. I was extremely nervous and disoriented at the time—perhaps that affected you as well." This must have been the risk foretold in the earlier divination... If she were dissatisfied and believed I had attacked her, then I would be in serious trouble. Kline thought, a little uneasy. This genuine emotion only enhanced the perfection of his performance. The bodyguard lady glanced down at herself, spoke with a slightly wavering, even tone: "What was the first symbol or charm?" "I bought a black earring at the gathering for 400 pounds," she said. "It was said to allow me to hear the voices of the great beings. If I was lucky, I'd gain many benefits; if unlucky, I'd die on the spot. At the time, I hadn't managed to secure a bodyguard, and with such a risk, I decided to take a gamble—and it turned out to be quite good." Clary answered with absolute truth. "After I heard the voices of the great beings, the black earring shattered on its own, transforming into this very charm." The bodyguard lady with her deep blue eyes slowly scanned over him. The room fell silent, as though time itself had stilled. Finally, the lady in the black court gown nodded: "You'd better find a psychiatrist." Meaning, am I already becoming a potential madwoman? Well, she’d guessed it was an artifact of the Listener’s, and she understood that Rosagó’s spirituality had undoubtedly been tainted by the True Maker—she wouldn’t doubt that I’d deliberately put her into a deep sleep, so I could commune with her spirits… This also explained why I’d recovered from the murmuring faster than she had, since I was, after all, a potential madman forged by the True Maker. Caine gave a slight smile. "Let’s get the scene cleaned up quickly—perhaps MI9 will come by to take a look." He pointed to Rosagó’s lifeless, headless body. As he spoke, Caine donned his gloves, moved closer, and knelt down, swiftly searching for the remains. He soon found several pounds in cash, some essential oils and powdered herbs, two crudely cut paper figures, and a strange sheet of paper. The paper was a warm, orange-yellow hue, with sun-related symbols and magical sigils encircling a blank rectangle. Simply holding it in his hands, it felt warm and reassuring. "What is this?" Caine asked, without hiding his curiosity. The bodyguard had already floated to his back at some point, simply stating, "The magical item corresponding to the Notary." "Notary?" Kline was first startled, then recalled that Rosagho was an intelligence officer from the Republic of Intis, a nation that revered the Eternal Sun, Steam, and the God of Machinery—Eternal Sun being also the God of Contracts. Was this the Sequence 6 or Sequence 5 of the "Hymn-Bearers" path? "The notary is valid; extraordinary abilities are briefly enhanced. If the notary is invalid, the extraordinary abilities are forcibly dispelled." The bodyguard offered no further explanation, merely giving a brief description of the effect. As Kline was about to speak, he suddenly noticed faint, deep glimmers emerging from Rosagho's lifeless form and from within the blood and brain matter, drawing together and coalescing into a single, fully black eye devoid of pupils. "What is this now?" Kline asked, feigning ignorance once again. "Something without value," the bodyguard said, maintaining her characteristic tone. "Without value?" Klein furrowed his brow, asking in query. He actually understood the bodyguard's implication—normally, if Rosagho ultimately lost control, it would leave behind a strange and terrifying seal; if no such seal were present, then his exceptional traits would serve as the primary ingredient for a Sequence 5 "Master of Secret Figures" potion, thus holding considerable value. Yet the issue was that Rosagho neither lost control nor remained untouched by the True Maker's contamination—instead, he became a primary ingredient tainted with a divine entity's mark. In Klein's view, using such material to craft a "Master of Secret Figures" would be akin to poisoning himself to death. The bodyguard gazed at the entirely black eyes, speaking softly and with a gentle, drifting tone: "Tainted by the divine beings—now, it has no value." Should this material truly be of high value, then I would worry whether you might not take the opportunity to settle matters with me personally. Klein pointed to Rosagho's belongings: "These are our shared spoils of war. Each of us takes what we wish—start with you, first." The bodyguard girl glanced at him briefly, said nothing, and drifted past to take the "certificate of ownership." Just as I expected... I'll have to seek out and learn about the mysterious knowledge needed to cleanse the divine pollution... Caine produced a metal cigarette box and bent down to pick up the entirely black eye.