Start with the Readers - CH 6

(gravityn0vels)

Early in the morning, Abner went to the restaurant he usually ate at for breakfast, but this time he didn’t see Hugh, who had been verifying information about him the previous day.

Throughout the day, he was busy collecting auxiliary materials for the ‘Reader’ potion throughout the day. Among them, pure water, thread ball grass powder, and calamus juice are all relatively easy to find. Needless to say, pure water can be distilled with experimental equipment. Yes, Abner has not yet fully completed the graduation process, so he can use the public school’s laboratory to complete it. Thread ball grass and calamus are not difficult to find plants, and there are many wild ones in the suburbs that can be collected. The more troublesome thing is the pure white elf flower. Although this flower is also an ordinary plant without spirituality, it only grows on some islands in the Sonia Sea. Therefore, Abner almost traveled all over Backlund before he found it. It cost him 1 soli to buy one in a herbal shop!

After dinner, after putting on the casual clothes and hooded cloak bought yesterday, Abner went out again, and took a public carriage to Iron Gate Street in the Bridge District.

After walking a few steps, he saw a bar named “The Brave”, a black wooden gate that seemed to be heavy, and a strong man with his arms folded, nearly two meters tall.

“The ‘Eye of Wisdom’ party should be held in a certain apartment in the alley behind the Bar of the Brave, but I don’t know which one it is, so I have to find the bar like Mr. Fool in the novel. The relevant person in charge of the bar will lead the way.” While thinking in his heart, Abner didn’t stop on his feet, and walked directly into the bar.

The strong man at the gate looked at him, but he didn’t stop him from pushing the door in. He just cursed in a low voice when he heard the cheers and cheers inside.

This time period is the peak period of the bar business. Before Abner entered, he felt the heat wave coming, smelled the strong aroma of malt wine, and heard the noisy voices.

In terms of atmosphere, this place is different from the modern bar Bars are no different. The smell of wine was mixed with the smell of sweat. Abner looked around, identified the direction, and then squeezed to the bar counter while protecting his belongings.

Before the bartender could speak, he imitated Klein’s tone and experience in the novel and said first: “A glass of Southwell beer.”

This is the best beer produced in the Kingdom of Loen. Of course, Abner doesn’t know whether it is true or not, because it seems from the novel. “Five pence.” The bartender replied familiarly. Abner took out the 5p he had prepared and gave it to the other party, in exchange for a large wooden cup filled with golden liquor, the aroma of beer was rich and attractive.

“In front of it, a lot of beer can’t even be called wine, it can only be regarded as a drink.” The bartender laughed.

Abner took the cup and didn’t drink it. He just looked at it for a while, looked at the fine and white foam in the cup, and then asked, “Where is Caspers Kalinin?” Li is the guide who leads the protagonist Klein to the party. The bartender stopped wiping the cup, looked up at him for a few seconds, and pointed to the side: “In the No. 2 house of cards.”

Abner nodded and took the cup before walking outside the No. 2 house of cards. He knocked lightly on the door and it creaked open. Inside, there were four people whom Abner didn’t recognize. He carefully chose his words as he said, “Gentlemen, good evening. I’m looking for Kaspers Känlinin.”

The man with the big nose and linen shirt limped over, covering his cards as he did so. He seemed a bit impatient at first, but upon seeing Abner’s face hidden under the cloak, he said in surprise, “Abner? Why are you here?”

(gravityn0velsc0m)

Abner was surprised that the old man recognized him and searched the memory of the original owner, but he still had no impression of the man. Kaspers, not seeming surprised by Abner’s confusion, led him to a private lounge and said, “You probably don’t know me, but I know you, Abner. Your father once did me a great favor and we are friends.”

“My father’s friend?” Abner wondered. He realized that this must be why he had no relevant memory. Kaspers explained, “Yes, it’s a pity that I found out about the accident in your family late. If I had known, I might have been able to help him, at least prevent him from signing that usurious contract full of traps, or at least prevent him from committing suicide. When I heard about it, all I could do was secretly help you block those debt collectors so they wouldn’t pursue unreasonable interest. It was also at that time that I saw your photo.”

Abner realized that his father must have borrowed usurious money from gangsters. It made sense, as under normal circumstances, even if the family went bankrupt, his father, as a former big businessman, would still have the resources to make a comeback. But if he had nothing and was burdened with difficult debts, he would be desperate. Coupled with the disappearance of his mother, it was no wonder he committed suicide. Abner felt grateful to Kaspers for his help.

At the same time, Abner had a strange sense of familiarity with this situation. He had just helped Hugh reason and analyze the situation the day before, so he said to the old man, “Thank you for your generous actions… Can you tell me who my father borrowed usurious money from?”

“It was the ‘two-faced man’ Rosen. You don’t have to thank me. Firstly, I’m repaying your father’s favor, and secondly, I just made them waive the unreasonable interest and principal. They took the normal interest from the auction price of your villa,” Kaspers replied.

It was indeed Rosen. Abner didn’t expect to have such a “fate” with him. He resolved to help Miss Hugh fix Rosen more after becoming an Extraordinary.

Kaspers wasn’t surprised by Abner’s silence after hearing Rosen’s name and asked, “By the way, Abner, how did you find me here? What brings you to me again?”

Abner came back to his senses and, thinking about the reason for his visit, straightened his expression as he said, “I’m here to find a party organized by the Extraordinary. I heard you can lead the way.”

“How do you know Extraordinary?! Why are you looking for them? Could it be…?” Kaspers looked at him suspiciously.

“Yes, I’ve been involved in extraordinary incidents, and we can only solve them by finding them!” Abner saw what Kaspers meant and said evasively, not mentioning how he knew Kaspers was the guide.

Kaspers pondered for a moment before saying, “Today happens to be their meeting, and I will take you there. The people there are quite powerful, but whether you can gain anything from them is another matter. Just remember not to provoke them, or you may not see the sun tomorrow. Understand, Abner?”

Abner nodded and said, “I will not be reckless.” He then asked sincerely, “Do you need to be paid for leading the way?”

Kaspers nodded, satisfied, and said, “You know the rules well. For the sake of our acquaintance, I’ll give you a 50% discount. Just one pound.”

Abner handed over a one-pound note without hesitation, and then took an iron mask from Kaspers that could cover the upper half of his face.

Kaspers led Abner, limping, to the kitchen of the bar and from there into a back alley and to a dark house. After Abner put on his mask, Kaspers knocked on the door with a specific pattern: 8 heavy and 1 light, 7 long and 1 short.

Seven or eight seconds later, a small wooden panel on the door was suddenly pulled open, revealing brown eyes behind it. After scrutinizing them for a while, the door swung back and a man wearing an iron mask stood there, saying in a hoarse voice, “The party will start in a minute or two, hurry up.”

The man closed the door, turned around, and led Abner through the dark living room and into the living room on the first floor. A candle was lit on the coffee table, casting a faint yellow light throughout the room.

There were already about a dozen people sitting on the sofas and chairs around the coffee table, all dressed in iron masks. Abner found an empty chair and sat down, looking around the room. He soon noticed an old man on the single sofa. The deep nasolabial folds on his cheeks and slightly dry skin suggested to Abner that this must be the “Eye of Wisdom” detective Isinger.

As Abner thought this, the suspected “Eye of Wisdom” old man looked at the wall clock and said in an old voice, “It’s time. Let’s start. Don’t wait for friends who are late.”

A woman immediately spoke up, saying, “I want to sell a weapon. It’s a dagger that can immediately strip superhumans below Sequence 7 of their supernatural abilities and reduce the effects of supernatural abilities for those with Sequence 7 and above. It’s also sharp and strong. What do you want to exchange it for?”

Someone asked, “What are its negative effects?”

The woman replied, “Every time it successfully seals the enemy’s extraordinary ability, the user will feel as if currents are rushing through their mind, forming a thorny whip that constantly lashes their soul, causing pain and numbness. But as long as you’re prepared in advance, the pain is bearable.”

“What do you want to exchange it for?” someone asked, obviously interested in the weapon’s winning effect in battles between Extraordinary people.

“550 pounds or the ‘Barbarian’ formula of Sequence 8,” the woman replied.

It turned out that the woman at the bar was the one who had been changing the “Barbarian” formula in the original book. Although Abner had the formula in his memory, he had actually come to the bar to sell other formulas and didn’t want to draw too much attention by bringing out the “Barbarian” formula. Besides, he didn’t know any fighting skills, so melee weapons weren’t really suitable for him.

After watching the interval between transactions, Abner took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “I want to sell potion formulas.”