Backlund South District, Folk Herb Shop.
Klein, in meditation, suddenly broke free from his half-asleep, half-awake state, instantly realizing that a power had invaded his dream.
Was it Will Auceptin? Or… Maintaining his confused state, Klein subtly observed his surroundings, finding himself on a desolate beach, ravaged by artillery fire.
Aided by the crimson moonlight, Klein gazed into the distance and vaguely saw the wreckage of a giant ship shimmering with metallic luster. He paused, quickly recalling a photo he had seen in the Backlund Morning Post.
That was Oak Island in Pritz Harbor, the destroyed Royal Navy base! As this thought emerged, Klein noticed the water on the sea surface beside him rippling, quickly outlining a line of silver-white words:
"Great Master, your humble but loyal servant Arrodes is late and failed to keep up with your pace. Can you forgive me?"
Looking at the familiar and fawning words, Klein had roughly determined Arrodes' identity and knew that the mirror was likely referring to the summoning earlier that night. He maintained his The Fool demeanor and nodded steadily:
"Where can I obtain the Bizarro Sorcerer Pathway Sequence 3 Scholar of Yore's potion formula?"
The sea surface instantly rippled, and as the water swayed, silver-white words reappeared:
"Church of the Evernight, Zaratul being hunted by Amon, Blasphemy Card, Duke Aaron!"
Zaratul is being hunted by Amon? Klein's eyes narrowed slightly, noting the information Arrodes intentionally revealed.
Without giving Klein more time to ponder, the original words faded, and after a few seconds of isolation, a few words were outlined in an extremely "hesitant" manner:
"Great Master, Duke Aaron asked me to relay a message to you. He wishes to meet you here now."
Klein tilted his head up, asking with some surprise:
"Now? What does he want with me?"
The swaying sea surface stilled for a few seconds, and pale words reappeared, directly conveying the mirror's self-reproach and helplessness:
"The weak and humble Arrodes cannot answer your question, but I know Duke Aaron decided to meet you after exploring Calderón City deep within the Spirit World and then heading to the Hornacis Mountain Range."
Not making things difficult for Arrodes, Klein, lacking information, couldn't find the connection between these two locations. However, the latter did make him think of the Antigonus family treasure hidden in the main peak of the Hornacis Mountain Range.
Pulling his wandering thoughts back, Klein took a deep breath and nodded:
"I'll depart now!"
With that, Klein actively ended the dream, sat up from his bed, glanced at Backlund enveloped by the night outside his window, and poured his Spirituality into the "Creeping Hunger" on his right hand.
The surroundings instantly deepened, and even the crimson moonlight shining through the window vanished.
Aztk's sealed power was stirred, and pale, eerie, complex, and bizarre symbols emerged in the darkness.
Strange symbols and patterns detached from the "Creeping Hunger," intertwining and combining in mid-air, forming a mysterious and illusory pair of bronze doors.
Klein straightened his black trench coat, took his top hat from the coat rack and put it on, took a deep breath, and abruptly pushed open the bronze doors.
His figure traveled through the richly colored, abstract Spirit World. Klein divined the direction and corrected his position, soon stopping before a vibrant patch of color. Before he could stop his Spirit World traversal, he felt an irresistible force dragging him downwards.
His most prized Spirituality warning seemed to fail. Klein's expression changed drastically. He instinctively took out the Sea God Scepter, and just as he was about to counterattack, he found himself on the beach shown in his dream. The only difference was the addition of a figure.
Casually smoothing the Spirit World's fluctuations, Aaron, who was toying with the magic mirror Arrodes, clicked his tongue and teased Klein, who had visibly relaxed:
"Quite alert, Mr. Fool."
Hearing Aaron's jibe, Klein choked slightly, coughed lightly, and silently put away the ready-to-strike Sea God Scepter, stiffly changing the subject:
"Long time no see. Uh, now, can you tell me why you were in such a hurry to find me?"
Aaron smiled, and his right hand, not holding Arrodes, retrieved a strange heart entwined with wisps of white mist and a frost crystal emanating coldness from the Nation of Disorder.
These were precisely the main ingredient, the Transformed Heart of a Fog Demonic Wolf, and the auxiliary Ingredient, White Frost Crystal, for the Sequence 3 Scholar of Yore.
Although Fog Demonic Wolves, as high-level Demonic Wolves, were almost extinct in the outside world, they had been preserved in the unique perpetual night environment of the Forsaken Land of the Gods.
The previous hunting operation against the Dark Demonic Wolf Kotar in the Forsaken Land of the Gods had failed, allowing his true body to escape and vanish through resurrection, but his lingering puppets didn't have that ability, and among them were several Fog Demonic Wolves of the same race.
Looking at the two items suspended in Aaron's palm, Klein didn't know what they were, but he could clearly feel his Spirituality stirring. Before he could speak, specks of light converged before him:
"Sequence 3, Scholar of Yore;"
"Main ingredient:..."
"Advancement Ritual: Completely detach from reality for at least three hundred years. Consume the potion after you have become history and no longer belong to the current era."
This… Klein couldn't help but blink, staring intently at the final advancement ritual. For a moment, he didn't even consider what price this undeniable gift might secretly entail.
"You've completely digested the Bizarro Sorcerer potion. The advancement ritual for Scholar of Yore should be no pressure for you."
Glancing at the mixed emotions on Klein's face, Aaron continued on his own:
"I only have the materials related to the Fog Demonic Wolf here. As for the Root of the Dog, you can take this material directly into the depths of the Spirit World. Hmm, you should get a surprise."
A surprise? Klein took a deep breath, looking at the two Beyonder materials floating before him with a wry smile.
After a moment of silence, he looked back at Aaron, still asking the question that had puzzled him for a long time:
"The potions, the materials, even the care you showed me when I first awoke as Klein Moretti—what is the reason for all these gifts?"
"After leaving the Fog Town, I always convinced myself it was because we were both survivors of that era, but I knew that couldn't be the whole truth."
Looking at the solemn Klein, Aaron sighed softly:
"Some things, until you reach Angel, even knowing them will bring unbearable calamity."
"You've read many of that fellow Roselle's diaries. You should know about the corruption from the Cosmos, which is also why the Gods no longer appear in reality after the Fifth Epoch."
Feeling Klein's still burning gaze, Aaron's lips suddenly curved as he added:
"However, I do have a way for you to bypass this restriction. Although it's a bit troublesome, it will allow you to think more rationally about what I want to do."