309 Choosing One Out Of Two

The illusory feeling passed, and Klein saw the strange candle in his hand again, along with its black wick and palish-white flame.

The damage of the Dawn Paladin—the shattered ground, broken pews, and the sliced candles—had been restored to their pre-battle state. It was hard to tell where they had been damaged.

At some point, Bishop Utravsky, who had been standing opposite him, had taken a seat in the front pew, his back bent forward and his head buried in his hands. His hands were pressed to his temples.

Drip!

Drip!

Sweat trickled down his face and spread out from his feet. The ground was already completely wet.

When he sensed that the strange candle had been extinguished by Klein, he shuddered and raised his head to meet Klein's eyes.

His slightly turbid eyes were filled with tears, and his wrinkled face was streaked with tears.

However, his eyes were filled with emotion, joy, and clarity.

If it was said that this "giant" bishop previously appeared tall and heavy, then all that was left of him now was the heaviness of his body but without the heaviness of his spirit.

At this moment, Klein felt like he was looking at a newborn baby.

Those tears were proof of new life.

The corners of Utravsky's mouth curled up slightly as he smiled kindly.

"You're much better than I expected."

"No, this is because I gained sufficient understanding in advance and made the appropriate preparations. As for the past you, not only were you unsure of your opponent's strengths, you were also greatly weakened. If I were to fight against you in the real world, I would be considering how to escape," Klein calmly replied.

A prepared Magician and an unprepared Magician are very different concepts… He added silently in his heart.

Bishop Utravsky didn't dwell on this problem. Brimming with relief from head to toe, he said, "Thank you, my friend.

"According to our agreement, I'll give you the Apothecary formula. I'll also give you an additional mystical item."

As he spoke, from his pocket, he took out what looked like a combination of a needle, a tube, and a container.

"You have two choices. This is one of the two choices you have. When I got it, I didn't know its name, and I never thought about naming it either. You're able to use it to draw out a tube of blood, your own blood. At a critical moment, you can transfuse it back into you. That way, your fatigue will disappear. Your ailments and injuries will be alleviated, and your strength, speed, balance, and other attributes will all be greatly enhanced." Bishop Utravsky pointed to the object in his hand.

"What about its limitations and latent dangers?" Klein asked rationally.

Utravsky looked at the mysterious patterns on the needle and tube and explained in detail, "After drawing out a tube of blood, you'll be weakened for a full twelve hours, and during those twelve hours, transfusing the blood back into you wouldn't have any effect. Of course, the specific time limit isn't that precise; it increases or decreases according to your body's condition. In addition, it's best not to use it too often; not more than once a week. Otherwise, not only will the transfusion bring you power, but it will also temporarily make you lose your rationality, and the short period when you have your blood drawn and turn weak will become your characteristic.

"In addition to these, it also has a problem. If you carry it around for more than half an hour, you'll become a little neurotic."

Fortunately, Bishop Utravsky didn't previously draw his blood. Otherwise, if the past him can transfuse his blood, my chances of winning would've been very, very low… This was the first thought that flashed through Klein's mind.

He frowned and was rather worried about the negative effects of the mystical item.

Regardless of whether it was a temporary loss of rationality, a twelve hour period of weakness, or a change in his mental state, these were all hidden dangers that didn't seem too problematic. But after seeing Rampagers and hearing the ravings of an evil god, Klein believed that a Beyonder's mental state was very important. If one's mental state remained at a nadir for an extended period of time, or if there were frequent anomalies, it would easily cause the phenomenon of losing control to happen. This was the same even if a Beyonder had grasped the acting method!

"What's the second choice?" Klein said after two seconds of silence.

Bishop Utravsky took out a simple brass key from his other pocket and smiled.

"This is called a Master Key. It can help you open any lock which doesn't contain mystical powers, as well as a small number of locks that are augmented with Beyonder effects. And in a place without any locks or doors, it can open a passageway that doesn't belong to reality. Heh heh, the premise is that there are no restrictions by Beyonder powers and the barriers aren't too thick.

"Its spirituality is completely restrained. When it's not being used, Beyonders cannot see any difference between it and a normal key."

Utravsky stood up again, leaving Klein no choice but to look up.

The "giant" bishop increased his pace and came to the wall at the side of the cathedral hall and pressed the Master Key against the brick.

He twisted gently, and his entire body seemed to sink into water as ripples were produced. He went through the wall and arrived outside.

In the same way, Bishop Utravsky returned to the cathedral hall and entered Klein's line of sight again.

"Have you decided on the mystical item?" the tall priest asked with his head lowered.

"Hmm, what are the latent dangers of the Master Key?" Klein asked after some deliberation.

Bishop Utravsky smiled warmly and said, "The person carrying it will occasionally get lost.

"According to what someone told me, one gets lost at random."

Lost? I'm a Seer with spiritual intuition… Klein mumbled, and his mind gradually came to a decision.

After a few seconds, he said, "I want the Master Key."

He didn't want his mental state to be affected, and he didn't want to accumulate the risk of losing control.

What a pity, what I want the most is that weird candle… It's akin to the deepest part of a soul, the lowest level of a dreamland. That's equivalent to my home ground… He sighed in his heart.

"Alright." Bishop Utravsky handed the simple brass key to Klein and took back the strange candle wrapped in human skin.

While Klein was examining the mystical item, Utravsky pointed at the back and said, "The Apothecary formula is in that room. I'll go get it. Wait here for a while."

Klein nodded in response. Taking advantage of the moment when Bishop Utravsky's figure disappeared from the hall, he took out a penny and divined if he had been lying about the Master Key.

After receiving an acceptable answer, he walked to the wall in front of him where a row of candles were placed and pressed the ancient brass key against the hard wall.

As he injected spirituality and turned the key, Klein's vision suddenly blurred and then became clear.

At that moment, there were no longer burning candles filling his vision, nor were there neat pews and straight walls. There were only withered grass and muddy land strewn with a bit of garbage. To the side, it led out to where a gas street lamp stood.

I really came out. Klein smiled, nodded, turned, and once again using the Master Key to successfully return to the cathedral's hall.

After more than ten seconds of waiting, Utravsky walked in with heavy footsteps, a roll of yellowish-brown goatskin parchment in hand.

"You can get an appraisal for this. If there's a problem, you can always find me at the Harvest Church. The "giant" bishop handed the Apothecary formula to Klein.

Main ingredients: Horn of an adult Flying Unicorn, 3 grams of a Royal Jellyfish's venom crystal… Klein swept his gaze, smiled and replied, "I will confirm its authenticity."

For example, divine it above the gray fog… He added inwardly.

Bishop Utravsky nodded slightly, and without another word, he turned around and walked to the Mother Earth's Sacred Emblem of Life.

He spread his arms wide and chanted in a low voice, "Thank you, Source of Life!

"Praise you, Mother of All Things!"

…

Klein put away the Master Key and the Apothecary formula. After Utravsky stopped, he said half-jokingly, "Could it be that my visit was arranged by Mother Earth?"

Why else would you be thanking Her for? The false believer of the Evernight Goddess, Klein, chuckled inwardly.

"Yes, everything is arranged by Mother Earth. Otherwise, my request for help wouldn't have reached your ears. I wouldn't be here in Backlund either. Nor would I have obtained this Mental Terror Candle," Backlund Utravsky said with a gentle smile without any signs of anger.

Complete and self-consistent believer logic, but… Klein suddenly felt that it was impossible to communicate with him. He pressed his hand to his chest, bowed, and said, "Thank you for your generosity. I should leave now."

He straightened his body and quickly retreated. He then rapidly disappeared from the main hall of the cathedral and from Rose Street.

Ten minutes later, he saw the golden façade of the Harvest Church from another direction, and he couldn't help but twitch his mouth.

I can't go back without divination? he silently muttered to himself. He really wanted to stubbornly rely on his own ability to overcome the fact that he was lost.

But his hand, which was faster than his voice, had broken the branches of a tree and made a makeshift dowsing rod.

Dowsing Rod Seeking could be used to seek people, as well as items and directions!

This time, Klein was able to return home without incident, and he even confirmed the authenticity of the formula and the latent dangers of the Master Key.

…

The next morning was a Sunday morning.

After waking up, Klein ate breakfast, took out a pen and paper, and wrote a letter to Isengard Stanton, asking him to seek help from the police to confirm the current status of the few suspects for the serial murder case from four years ago. Back then, the targets were single prostitutes with a child.

After folding the letter and stuffing it in an envelope, Klein put on a black stamp which was one penny in denomination. Putting on his clothes, he took his hat and cane, and he walked out of his house to post the letter at the mailbox at the end of the street.

Then, he saw Mrs. Stelyn Sammer and her husband, Mr. Luke dressed to the nines.

A rental carriage was stopped by their door.

"Good morning. Why are you attending a banquet so early in the morning?" Klein asked with some surprise.

Luke chuckled and said, "It's not really a banquet. It's more like us helping out."

Mrs. Stelyn raised her chin slightly and added, "Mary has successfully entered the National Atmospheric Pollution Council. There will be a grand ball tonight, and we have to help out in advance."

Mrs. Mary's wish has been fulfilled? Impressive… Klein sighed and said with a smile, "Please pass on my congratulations to Mrs. Mary for me."

Luke Sammer nodded and said, "You haven't read this morning's paper, have you? All the members of the National Atmospheric Pollution Council have been published.

"The Chairman of the council is Sir Ders Shaw and the First Secretary is Mr. Hibbert Hall."