Start with the Readers - CH 7

Chapter 7 The Test of the Eye of Wisdom

“I want to sell potion formulas.”

“Sequence 9 ‘Seer’ and Sequence 8 ‘Joker’ of the ‘Seer’ sequence. The former is 250 pounds and the latter is 450 pounds.”

Abner had carefully chosen these formulas as the ones he thought were most suitable for sale. Although he had many potion formulas in his memory, he only knew the main ingredients for “Spectator”, “Singer”, “Reader”, and “Pharmacist”, and the auxiliary materials were not recorded in the novel “Lord of the Mysteries”.

Abner didn’t want to sell the “Spectator” formula because it involved the Psychological Alchemy Society, a secretive organization that was still active in Backlund and had ties to Adam. Abner was aware of Adam’s terror and didn’t want to expose himself just yet. The “Reader” formula was also not suitable for sale, as the host of the party was likely the “Eye of Wisdom” organization connected to the Church of Knowledge, and Abner didn’t want to provoke them. The “Singer” formula was also a possibility, but Abner didn’t want to rob the protagonist Klein of his wealth, as he was still living in poverty as an “evil god”. In the end, Abner decided to sell the “Seer” formula, as it was a low-sequence formula that had already been leaked, and the Secret Order’s leader, Zaratul, was currently imprisoned by the goddess in the Kingdom of the Night.

“The Seer sequence… I just need it. I’ll offer a total of 650 pounds. If you agree, I’ll make a deal!” After a long period of silence, a woman in the corner of the room spoke.

This price was within Abner’s expectations, and he confirmed that no one else was interested in bidding before replying, “Yes, but you can’t sell these two formulas at this party in the future.”

“Okay, Mr. ‘Eye of Wisdom’ is a witness!” The woman replied.

Abner knew that the “Eye of Wisdom” had a sealed item that could verify the authenticity of the formula, so he handed over two formulas that he had written previously to a waiter. The waiter brought the folded paper to the “Eye of Wisdom” and placed it on the small round table next to him.

The old man unfolded the paper and, without looking at it, took out a handkerchief and wiped his right palm. He then produced a ring with many fine diamonds from his pocket. The ring was intricately designed and had a green gemstone that looked like an eye. Just looking at it from a distance, Abner’s pure white eyes almost opened on their own. Fortunately, after two nights of training, he could somewhat control the activation of this ability, so he didn’t pass out on the spot.

“I remember that this thing is also formed by the extraordinary characteristics of the reader sequence. If you have the opportunity to analyze it with the pure white eye, don’t you have to worry about the follow-up formula?”

As Abner was thinking to himself, the “Eye of Wisdom” old man solemnly put the ring on the middle finger of his right hand and closed his eyes, as if he was thinking about something. Suddenly, the emerald on the ring burst into a brilliant, sun-like golden light.

The old man “Eye of Wisdom” quickly stretched out his right hand with the ring and touched the potion formula with the gemstone. The golden light became more and more pure and eventually evolved into a seal-like projection.

“True and effective!” The old man, “Eye of Wisdom,” announced in a deep voice as he removed the ring. He didn’t dare wear it for a second longer.

The transaction was quickly concluded after the “notarization” process. Abner received a thick stack of cash, all 10-pound banknotes. “650 pounds is a lot of money… it’s a pity it will be spent soon,” he thought to himself.

He then asked, “Who has the Galo minnows and the brain slices of the Manhas monkey? You know, I can give you a satisfactory price!”

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room was silent for a while. Finally, the woman who had bought the Seer’s sequence formula said, “The Manhas monkey is a monster that only exists in the dream world. It’s not easy to hunt. However, I do have brain slices available for sale. They are 100 pounds for 10 grams. No counter-offers.”

Abner gritted his teeth at the high price, but he counted out 20 10-pound banknotes and said, “This is 200 pounds. I need 20 grams.” He handed over the gold pound and received two tin boxes in return. He was a bit dazed, as he had forgotten to bring a container for Extraordinary materials.

The woman in the corner chuckled and offered him the tin box, saying, “The tin box is worthless. I’m giving it to you.” Abner felt embarrassed but took the box and looked around, hoping to get news about the Pupil of the Galore Fish.

(orginal translation gravityn0vels//c0m)

Unfortunately, no one spoke up. Disappointed, Abner returned to his role as a spectator, listening to others sell or request goods and materials, and watching the success or failure of each deal. There was nothing he was interested in, aside from the Pupil of the Galore Fish. What he really needed at the moment were some ritual magic arrangement methods and related mystic knowledge, as these were essential for a ‘reader’.

As the party ended, the old man “Eye of Wisdom” began to escort people out, one person every three minutes. There were at least five exits, and the waiters of the “Eye of Wisdom” took different people through different passages, diverging as much as possible to extend the time.

Half an hour later, there were only two party members left in the living room, Abner and the “Eye of Wisdom”.

Sensing the playful gaze of the “Eye of Wisdom,” Abner became nervous. He had already guessed that the old man had noticed him, as the ‘reader’ pathway was mastered by the Church of Knowledge and Wisdom. As the hidden stake of the Church of Knowledge in Backlund, the “Eye of Wisdom” would have known about the Sequence Nine potion formula for the ‘reader’ pathway.

“Don’t be nervous, young man. You should know that if I wanted to harm you, you’d be dead by now. After all, you’re just an ordinary person,” the “Eye of Wisdom” said, smiling and waving to Abner. “And I have what you want here.”

Abner was stunned and then overjoyed. He actually trusted the character of the “Eye of Wisdom,” and had only been nervous because the old man was so powerful compared to him.

“Do you have the pupils of the Galore fish?” Abner asked with hope.

“I can see that your body has been polluted by Extraordinary characteristics. No wonder you’re in such a hurry to collect potions… Well, it should be the ‘reader’ characteristic of Sequence 9. If it was Sequence 8 or above, you would probably be dead by now,” the Eye of Wisdom said as he observed Abner.

“I was actually polluted by Sequence 8. You guessed wrong… no, you must have guessed right because the original owner is indeed dead,” Abner thought to himself before nodding hesitantly.

Satisfied with his correct assumption, the Eye of Wisdom answered Abner’s previous question. “I do still have the pupils of the Galore fish in my hand. A pair,” he emphasized. He didn’t know that Abner already knew this information and was trying to win Abner’s trust by pretending to know the potion formula.

“How much do you want for them?” Abner asked, trying to contain his excitement.

“Do you know how to speak Ruen?” the Eye of Wisdom asked instead of answering.

Surprised, Abner replied, “I can speak Hermes… I also know a few words in ancient Feysac.”

“Not bad… have you mastered any rituals?”

“Yes, I have mastered the ritual for creating the ‘spiritual wall’.” I also know some others that I learned from the novel, but I haven’t tried them yet, Abner said.

The Eye of Wisdom nodded in satisfaction and said, “It seems you are a young man who enjoys studying. That’s good. As for the price of the Galore pupils, how about we make a bet?”

“What kind of bet?” Abner asked warily. He didn’t like gambling because he rarely won.

“You only need to pay 100 pounds today and I’ll give you the pupils. But, I’ll also give you a copy of the ‘Old Feysac’ material. If you can thoroughly understand it before the party next Wednesday night, I’ll reward you with some books that contain mystic knowledge. If you can’t, you’ll have to pay me another 100 pounds in cash at the party next week. How about it, young man? Do you want to take the gamble?” the Eye of Wisdom said with a smile.

Abner considered the offer. “It turns out he has already set a meeting time for next week… well, today is Thursday and there are still nearly six days before next Wednesday night. I, with my pure white eyes, should have no problem finishing learning the ‘Ancient Feysac’ material… Besides, his actions seem to be testing me. There should be no conspiracy or danger.” He nodded and agreed to the bet, knowing he had no other choice if he wanted to obtain the potion ingredients.

After receiving the banknotes, the Eye of Wisdom also took out a few small metal boxes. “The box on the left is the Galore pupils you want, and the other two are for you to store the brain slices before you bought them. The owner of that material is unknown, and I don’t think you want to take home an item from a lady who bought the ‘Seer’ recipe,” he said.

Remembering that Klein, the protagonist of “Lord of the Mysteries,” could locate and catch a traitor just by using one of their buttons, Abner nodded in agreement and quickly transferred the brain slices of the Manhas monkey into the box. Although the Eye of Wisdom was also a stranger to him, the old man’s character was much more reliable than the lady’s, as he knew the details.

After hearing Abner’s comment, the Eye of Wisdom gave him a meaningful look and said, “You have to believe that if I really want to find someone, it will be much easier than a fortune-teller.”

“That’s not necessarily the case. Your reasoning in the original book is a few blocks behind Klein’s fortune-telling…” Abner thought to himself, but he had no choice but to accept the “Ancient Feysac” information handed over by the other party. After all, the man in front of him was a Sequence 7 Guardian who had a “2” sealed item and was also a well-known great detective.