Chapter 142: The Unexpected Spinning Wheel

Chapter 142: The Unexpected Spinning Wheel



Ryan thought for a moment and merged into the bustling crowd, carefully examining the stalls.

Although Bat Market had many vendors, Ryan was hesitant to make purchases without caution.

Perhaps the items on display were more reasonably priced, but they required an experienced eye to discern their authenticity.

Currently, Ryan lacked such expertise.

Fortunately, there were also many formal shops along the street, and Ryan could easily identify their specialties from the signs hanging above.

These established shops with fixed locations were likely more trustworthy.

Ryan observed several shops and finally settled on one with a higher foot traffic. The sign above the entrance displayed herbs, beakers, and test tubes, indicating a potion shop. He stepped inside.

Behind the counter were three boys around ten years old with bright eyes, two of them attending to customers.

Upon seeing Ryan, the free boy approached with enthusiasm and greeted him, "Welcome to Patricia's Potion Shop, sir. How may I assist you today?"

"Do you have hallucinogenic poison gas?" Ryan, despite the boy's young age, did not underestimate him and directly inquired about the poison gas used by Endry in their previous battle.

Previously, Ryan couldn't detect it, but with his enhanced spiritual power, he could now gauge the boy's spiritual strength, which seemed to surpass that of an average adult male.

It was unclear if this was innate or a result of practicing basic meditation techniques.

Nevertheless, Ryan knew better than to treat the boy as ordinary.

"We do have it, sir," the boy replied with a slightly surprised expression.

"How much?" Ryan asked concisely.

"How much?" Ryan asked concisely.

"One fluid ounce of hallucinogenic potion costs 25 Imperial Gold Coins."

The boy retrieved a dark-colored bottle from behind the counter, along with a small packet wrapped in paper, presumably containing a powdery substance.

Instead of asking directly, Ryan waited for the boy to introduce the items, knowing that revealing his intentions too soon might raise suspicions. It was always better to be cautious in unfamiliar places.

"Sir, this bottle contains the hallucinogenic potion, and the packet holds the corresponding amount of catalyst. Once mixed, the potion will rapidly evaporate, creating the hallucinogenic poison gas," the boy explained.

Ryan nodded in understanding.

He had wondered if the hallucinogenic potion would evaporate like gas upon opening, making it inconvenient to store in his emerald ring.

Little did he know that a catalyst was required.

"I'd like a smaller quantity," Ryan said, eyeing the bottle in the boy's hand, which was significantly larger than the one he had taken from Endry.

The boy seemed taken aback, unsure why the customer wanted five small bottles instead of one large one, which would be more cost-effective for the same volume.

However, the boy glanced at Ryan and refrained from asking further.

"Very well, sir."

"Do you have golden sunflowers?"

"Yes, sir."

"And what about the wings of nocturnal vampire bats?"

"We have those as well, sir." The boy appeared slightly nervous, suspecting that Ryan might be a potion master specializing in negative energy potions. Such masters were known for their temperamental personalities.

While the boy prepared the requested materials, Ryan couldn't help but recall the various potions listed in the merit point exchange catalog.

He wondered if the potion masters within the Royal Alchemist Association were as ordinary as they seemed, or if their identities were more complex.

After all, exceptional spiritual power provided a clear advantage in potion-making, ensuring superior control over ingredient quality and finesse in various techniques.

Moreover, some potions, like advanced magical potions, were beyond the capabilities of ordinary individuals.

As Ryan pondered these thoughts, he realized the depth of the empire's strength, and he was merely scratching the surface.

"Here you are, sir," the boy said respectfully, placing a black linen bag on the counter.

As Ryan exited the shop, he carried the large bag in his hand.

Glancing down, he couldn't help but smirk at the thought of using such expensive materials for his dog, 'Cookie.'

He had just purchased all the necessary ingredients for the mutation growth potion, including golden sunflowers, nocturnal vampire bat wings, and carrion wolf meat.

Of course, the finished potion, if successfully crafted, would not be for Ryan himself but for 'Cookie.'

Ryan had calculated the costs, and even with a successful one-time production, each fluid ounce of mutation growth potion would cost nearly 12 Imperial Gold Coins.

(End)

Considering the probability of failure and the need for continuous use over three months, Rain bought ten sets of raw materials in one go.

This cost him 120 Imperial Gold, which immediately ate up nearly a third of the 500 Imperial Gold he had just received.

Part-time alchemist?

It's too costly in the early stages!

Moreover, without adding skill points, Rain had no idea what his success rate would be.

After purchasing the materials he needed, Rain's mood improved.

Since he was already at the Bat Market, he decided to take a leisurely stroll to get a feel for the place and see if he could find any books related to sorcery for sale.

Soon, he saw many vendors setting up stalls, selling various unknown herbs and raw materials.

Occasionally, customers would stop to carefully examine the materials and have hushed conversations with the vendors.

Rain tried once, pretending to examine the materials while attempting to eavesdrop, but the moment the vendor noticed Rain, they immediately stopped talking.

However, Rain wasn't discouraged.

He had anticipated this. Since the Bat Market was a place for apprentice mages to gather and exchange resources, it was obvious that most of the customers here were apprentice mages.

Even a Level 1 Apprentice Mage has far greater mental strength than an ordinary person, so it would be impossible for Rain to overhear them easily.

After walking around, Rain discovered that the Bat Market wasn't very large, only about a hundred meters long, the size of a single street.

Additionally, the items sold here were all strange and bizarre, including eyeballs of certain creatures, dried lizards, and various strange plants, most of which Rain didn't recognize.

Thus, Rain naturally couldn't find anything valuable here.

For the sorcery he was particularly interested in, Rain searched around but couldn't find any shops that sold sorcery alone. However, he did see some similar ancient tomes in a few general stores, like the ones Jenny brought over.

At first, Rain was quite excited, but after flipping through a couple of pages, he found that these ancient tomes were either pure travel diaries or incomplete diaries of an apprentice mage, with too many missing pages, making them unreadable.

This couldn't help but disappoint Rain.

Additionally, the prices the vendors quoted were also quite absurd. These ancient tomes written in Arcadian cost several hundred gold, and the incomplete apprentice mage diary was priced at 900 Imperial Gold.

After checking the time, Rain decided to return to the Crowley Family Manor.

When Rain came out of the Bat Market and entered the carriage, the driver couldn't help but ask curiously:

"Sir, are we returning now?"

"Yes."

"By the way, Sir, why did you spend so long at the bakery? The baker in the manor's kitchen is much better than any bakery in town," the driver hesitated but still spoke up.

This made Rain pause.

He saw a divination shop, not a bakery. Could it be that...

In an instant, Rain seemed to have an idea.

Indeed, the bat emblem seemed to hold some secrets, visible only when certain conditions were met.

After a moment's thought, Rain believed the criteria was likely mental attributes.

Probably, one's mental attributes needed to reach a certain level to see the bat emblem and the door of the divination shop, thus entering the market.

Ordinary people would likely not see the bat emblem and thus wouldn't find the entry to the Bat Market.

Rain nodded slightly, thinking that this automatic screening mechanism was quite useful.

While Rain was riding back to the Crowley Family Manor in the carriage.

In the Maister County.

At the Norman Baron Family Manor.

Dennis, who has already reached the Knight Cadet level with the help of divine blood, is currently trying on formal attire with the help of the servants.

Looking at his handsome reflection in the copper mirror, he was quite satisfied.

Soon, he would attend the Crowley Family's banquet.

The theme of the banquet is to celebrate the addition of a Guardian Knight to the Crowley Family.

Although Dennis doesn't know where the Crowley Family invited a formal knight from, he isn't very concerned.

Because he knows the Crowley Family's biggest problem is finding a suitable marriage alliance, after all, no formal knight would choose to live in.

Dennis is also preparing to advance to the Extraordinary realm, taking about a month or three months, and then he plans to challenge the Extraordinary realm.

Once he reaches the formal knight level, he almost has a guarantee of securing a marriage alliance with the Crowley Family.

As for theCrowley Manor.

Thinking of Lady Jenny, she was far less appealing to Dennis than BaronessCrowley, the beautiful widow.

Thinking of that voluptuouswoman, Dennis couldn't help but have some romantic thoughts.

Although she is not as important to him as Kayla, she is more than enough for a short-term mental comfort.

As for Tina, her status is too low, and frankly, Dennis is a bit tired of her.

At this moment, the door to his room was suddenly pushed open. Just as Dennis was about to scold at the servant, he saw Baron Norman enter in hunting attire.

"Dennis, you can cancel your banquet plans.

“What?” Dennis was taken aback, momentarily at a loss.

"Knight Rain is the newly appointed Guardian Knight of the Crowley Family."

"Rain? I don't know any knight named Rain." Dennis frowned, deep in thought, yet still in shock.

In Dennis’s mind, he hadn’t connected Rain with the title of a formal knight.

"That’s the farmer’s son from Shangjin Town, Rain." Baron Norman solemnously stated.

"What, you mean this commoner has already advanced to Extraordinary and become a formal knight?"

Hearing this news from his father, Dennis was utterly surprised, his eyes suddenly widening, the open mouth almost capable of swallowing a whole apple.

After a stunned daze, Dennis finally came to his senses and asked, “Father, wasn’t he supposed to have died already?”

Realizing others were around, Dennis immediately stopped talking.

Baron Norman waved his hand, and instantly, the two maids assisting Dennis in dressing for the ceremony exited the room.

At that moment, only Baron Norman and his son were in the room.

"The Black Sails just sent word yesterday. Due to the lack of an appropriate opportunity to attack Shangjin Town, they failed to kill Rain." Baron Norman explained.

"The despicable Black Sails pirates are too untrustworthy! If they had followed the agreement to kill Rain, none of this would have happened." Dennis said, barely able to contain his anger.

"We can’t blame the Black Sails pirate gang. I’ve investigated the situation. A few of the Black Sails pirate gangs have some sort of pact with the Black Flame Church, which is why they decided to simultaneously attack several small towns."

"However, I heard a few days ago that Security Officer Hamilton had thwarted an attack on the Black Flame Church. This is probably the reason why the Black Sails pirates didn’t continue attacking Shangjin Town."

"However, Dennis, as you said, their progress is too fast, almost abnormal." Baron Norman thought for a moment and continued.

"Seems we need to quickly deal with them!"

"After all, if Rain passes the imperial examination and becomes an official noble, killing him would bring many complications."

"Once a noble dies under abnormal circumstances, it’s difficult for the imperial investigation force to cope with the situation."

"Father, are you finally planning to take personal action?" Dennis’s eyes lit up, looking at Baron Norman with great anticipation.

You see, his father in his heart, had been an invincible existence since childhood.

He firmly believed that as long as his father took personal action, Rain wouldn’t last past tomorrow.

"No." Baron Norman shook his head.

"I need to seek help from an old friend."

Maistre County.

In the Bat Market, a shop with a sign of stars, moons, and a sun, welcomed a tall customer in a black robe.

"Old friend, it’s been a while!" Baron Norman took off his hood, revealing a smile, greeting warmly.

"Ah! Norman, you are a rare guest. What brings you here today?"

In the shadows at the other end of the room, an old man with graying hair and eyebrows, looked rather surprised at the sudden appearance of Baron Norman.

A young boy serving nearby immediately hung a "Closed for Business" sign and shut the door. "Old friend, you came this time for a favor," he said to the white-haired old man earnest.

"Norman, you know, I haven’t taken action for a long time."

"Of course, Adams, as a rare magic practitioner, I know the price to ask you to take action." Baron norman said solemnly.

"This is the target, hoping you can quickly deal with it."

Baron Norman handed a thin scroll to the old man.

After returning to the Crowley Family Manor, Rain, wearing silver-gray chrome iron plate knight armor, ended the appointment ceremony amid the crowd’s cheers.

Immediately after, a banquet ensued with toasts and glasses.

But at that moment, Rain’s mind was preoccupied with thoughts of returning home as soon as possible. After all, he had a lot to do, such as forging bloodstreak steel warhammers and advancing his blacksmithing level.

Additionally, he needed to familiarize himself with the crafting process of the mutation growth elixir.

Although Rain had gathered all the raw materials and understood the Akad script, before practical crafting, he still needed to study the process in detail.

Thus, Rain hurriedly dealt with the banquet, then under the resentful gaze of Baroneess Crowley and Jenny, he left early, returning to his home in Shangjin Town.

Before leaving, Jenny told Rain a piece of good news, that her friend Agatha seemed to have discovered an ancient grimo with Akad script, but Agatha had no means to retrieve the valuable ancient grimo from the family’s library.

It seemed the only feasible solution was for Rain to follow Jenny and go directly to the library to look through it on the spot, which Agatha ensured could be achieved.

Rain immediately agreed there was no problem, and tentatively planned to go with Jenny in three days to the Wiggins family.

On the return carriage to Shangjin Town, Rain silently pondered.

His thoughts were now very clear.

The path to knighthood was now clear, and his progress was steady and methodical. However, when facing the bizarre enemies of this world, relying solely on his knightly abilities would still be too one-dimensional.

Take Endry, for example. If his mental power was just a little stronger, and he could cast a couple of low-level sorceries, then Rain and Hamilton would have likely met their end in the Elim Mine.

Or consider that black flame apostle with a rubber-like body, who could suddenly stretch his limbs. If Rain hadn't grasped his weakness and relied solely on his greatsword, he wouldn't have stood a chance.

It could be said that if it weren't for Rain, any other experienced knight would have likely perished on the spot!

On the other hand, it was evident that the Black Flame Cult had more than just an Apostle-level expert. In other words, they likely had someone or something stronger than an Apostle.

Therefore, Rain decided to rapidly level up other profession panels, such as Blacksmith and Trainer, to accumulate skill points and attribute points, thereby enhancing the combat power of his Sorcerer Apprentice class.

After all, the power of a basic contact-type sorcery like 'Scorching Touch' left Rain in awe.

As for sorcery, Rain believed that with constant gathering, he would eventually find some.

So, preparing skill points in advance was not a contradiction.

When he returned home, it was already ten o'clock.

After some thought, he decided to contact Lagre to forge a warhammer and began organizing the materials he had purchased that day. Then, as usual, he started his daily practice of the Mammoth Breath Technique and Basic Meditation Technique.

As soon as he finished his training, Rain quickly fell asleep.

Suddenly, not long after entering dreamland, Rain jolted awake with a start.

Just then, his level 3 senses had alerted him to a potential danger approaching.

Rain immediately got up to investigate, and as he looked out the window, he noticed a thin mist rising slowly over Shangjin Town.

At first glance, the mist on a Frost Moon night seemed normal, but Rain's keen senses detected that the mist had a faint black tint and was thickening at a visible rate.

This instantly sent a chill down Rain's spine.

Without hesitation, he began to don his Chrome Iron Plate Armor and strapped the Radiant Greatsword and Bronze Warhammer to his back.

As soon as Rain was fully geared up, he noticed that the mist outside had become so dense that he couldn't see more than ten meters ahead.

Something was wrong with this mist!

At the same time, Rain's sense of danger intensified.

After some thought, Rain rushed to his sister Mint's room, scooped her up from her sleep, and brought her downstairs.

He quickly knocked on his parents' bedroom door.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Who is it?" his mother, Emma, asked drowsily. His father, Old Rain, was sleeping soundly, snoring away.

"It's me, Mother, Rain."

"Hmm?" Emma opened the door, startled by Rain's fully armed appearance. She was initially groggy, but now she was wide awake.

"Rain, what's going on?" Mother Emma's eyes widened in surprise as she saw Rain holding his sister.

"Mother, wake Father. And you two stay in the room and keep Mint safe." Rain handed Mint to his mother, Emma, and pointed to the thick, almost pitch-black mist outside the window.

Emma took a look and agreed that something was amiss. The mist seemed to be constantly changing, like tendrils seeping through door cracks and window gaps. And it had that faint black tint.

Suddenly, Rain's alarm bells went off!

"Boom!!!"

A pair of giant metal spinning blades, each a meter in diameter, directly pierced the wall on one side of the kitchen and began to rapidly cut through it.

The structure of Rain's house couldn't withstand such an intense attack, and in an instant, two large holes appeared, with dirt flying and dust rising!

"Ahhh!" Mother Emma screamed in terror.

"Quick, hide!" Rain pushed his mother, Emma, into the room and quickly locked the door.

Then, Rain unsheathed the Radiant Greatsword from his back and charged out of the room.

Although the thick mist outside made combat in the cramped house even more challenging, Rain needed to see what was attacking them.

As the enemy's spinning blades cut through the thick mist, a clearing emerged, allowing Rain to get a good look at the attacker.

Rain's eyes narrowed.

Before him stood a giant metal puppet, nearly three meters tall, with a closed-eyed, twin-tailed girl's head and a lower body shaped like a wide-bottomed cylindrical skirt. Its feet were on two rapidly spinning wheels, burning with black flames.

Where its arms should have been, there were instead two rapidly spinning metal blades, the very blades that had just pierced Rain's house.

"Windfire Wheels and a twin-tailed head?"

Rain was shocked!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end