"What? 800 pounds?"
Even though Angel had already mentally prepared for a lion's opening price, when Dominic reported the number, she still couldn't keep a straight face.
"Do you know how much the potion for 'Instigator' sells for? The formula costs at most 200 pounds, and the two main ingredients altogether only 400 pounds. I could find an ordinary person, make them drink the potion, let them lose control and die, then pick up an extraordinary characteristic—and it would still be cheaper than your price!"
Angel had tried her best to lower her voice, but many passersby still glanced toward their corner. Despite being in a chaotic underground black market, the two cloaked figures whispering secretively didn't look like serious business people.
Dominic sneered and unceremoniously retorted:
"What nonsense are you saying? A Sequence 8 potion for only 600 pounds? Just the formula costs more than 400 pounds! Even if you could buy the potion, the extraordinary characteristic you'd get through your method would only be a polluted one. You're not stupid enough to use that kind of thing to make a mystical item, right? Would you dare to use a polluted mystical item?"
Angel suppressed the impulse to pull out her polluted mystical item Bloodthirst and open a few holes in his body. She took a deep breath, calmed her mood, and shook her head.
"Then how do you guarantee that your extraordinary characteristic isn't polluted? And no matter how you put it, 800 pounds is too expensive. I can offer at most 400."
In short, cut the price in half first...
"Polluted? Absolutely not. I personally watched it appear from the dead 'Instigator.' When he was alive, he was very talkative and almost injured me. He didn't look like someone on the verge of losing control..."
While talking, Dominic took out a palm-sized delicate jewelry box from under his cloak and lifted the lid toward Angel.
Inside was an object shaped like a thin funnel, about the size of an adult's thumb. On closer look, it turned out to be a bird's beak, its surface purple with a tinge of dark red, constantly shifting between the two colors under the light, emanating a tempting aura. After staring for a few seconds, Angel suddenly noticed the bird's beak moved slightly.
That's right... This looked very similar to the appearance of the main ingredient in the Instigator potion from her memory, and it showed obvious signs of activation. Approaching it didn't cause whispers or hallucinations either...
With a "snap," Dominic closed the lid.
"You see, if it were a polluted extraordinary characteristic, how could it let you stare at it so calmly? I almost lost my life to get this. 8... 700 pounds, not a penny less."
That's already a discount... Angel rejoiced inside—seemed the other party wasn't as firm as he claimed.
She decided to fan the flames further.
"Wait, you mean this extraordinary characteristic was obtained by you killing an 'Instigator'?"
Seeing Angel's shocked face, Dominic smiled with a hint of pride.
"Of course. You think extraordinary characteristics are lying around for free? If I don't kill, would he cut it out and give it to me?"
Ignoring the irritating tone and attitude in his words, Angel widened her eyes exaggeratedly, adding a touch of panic to her expression.
"Didn't any people from the 'Witch Sect' come to trouble you? You killed one of theirs, and you're selling his extraordinary characteristic here. Aren't you afraid..."
"Witch Sect?"
As expected, hearing the notorious cult's name, Dominic's expression changed, and before Angel finished, he anxiously interrupted.
"That's right," she pressed. "They possess the potion formula and most materials for the 'Assassin' pathway. Except for a few wild Beyonders like you, most extraordinary individuals on this pathway are deeply connected with them. The 'Instigator' you killed is very likely a member of the 'Witch Sect.'"
Dominic's face changed rapidly. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth and said, "You're trying to bluff me, to get me to drop the price on the extraordinary characteristic?"
His voice lacked confidence, as if convincing himself.
Maybe that Instigator said something before dying, which made Dominic believe the Witch Sect would cause him trouble?
Seeing the bait had been taken, Angel didn't give him time to think. She quickly delivered the fatal blow:
"Think whatever you want. Anyway, I don't dare take this extraordinary characteristic. The 'Witch Sect' are experts in divination—finding someone through an extraordinary characteristic is only a matter of time. I suggest you make up another lie and sell it quickly."
Finishing this, Angel turned and left.
One step, two steps, three steps.
The expected attempt to hold her back didn't come.
Was her acting too exaggerated, causing a backlash?
Angel walked step by step toward the stairs, ears perked nervously for any sound behind. But other than the surrounding buying and selling chatter, Dominic remained silent.
When she passed between the two guards stationed at the third-floor entrance, one foot already stepping onto the stairs, the long-awaited shout finally came.
"Wa... Wait a second."
She kept walking a few more steps, pretending not to hear.
"Wait!"
Dominic hurriedly caught up, squeezed past the guards, and ran down several steps to block Angel's path.
"500 pounds!"
Won the gamble!
Angel shook her head without changing expression: "I said, holding this extraordinary characteristic is too dangerous. If they think I was the one who did it..."
"450 pounds! Any lower and I'd rather throw it away..."
Dominic said through gritted teeth.
Riding the hired carriage, watching the "Carrion Bird Bar" sign gradually fade outside the window, Angel patted the bullet box in her pocket and revealed a faint smile.
Getting the Instigator's extraordinary characteristic for the low price of 400 pounds—although it emptied all the gold in her pocket, it also meant she was just one step away from advancing to Sequence 8.
Dominic finally gave in to her mix of coaxing and trickery. Of course, while receiving the money, he was still resentful, muttering things like: "Just wait till the Witch Sect finds you," and "When they torture you, keep your mouth shut and don't name me."
Is there a Sequence called "Provoker" besides "Instigator"? Its acting method is putting barbs in every sentence to make others want to beat him up?
Kicking the annoying Dominic out of her mind, Angel couldn't help pulling out the bullet box, lifting the lid to look at the extraordinary characteristic lying quietly inside—as if staring at a potion already prepared.
Unfortunately, to truly turn it into a potion, one more step was needed.
A step that only Kave knew.
Returning again to Golden Avenue in the Oak District, Angel could already see the half-ruined "Kave Clock Shop" from afar.
Several hours had passed since the attack on Kave. The wood chips, stones, and shattered glass blown from the shop into the street had all been cleared. But the wide-open doors and windows, along with the warning tape that did nothing to stop entry, still made the clock shop stand out like a crane among chickens. Passersby occasionally peeked inside curiously.
Angel had intended to ask about Kave's whereabouts at the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, but unexpectedly saw the craftsman standing at the shop entrance, looking desolately at the half-collapsed sign.
Seeing her arrival, Kave gave a self-deprecating smile.
"Didn't expect the most famous moment for my shop would be now. On normal days, not a single customer all day. Now the whole street knows it—really blew up in popularity."
"You can tidy up and reopen. Or take the chance to get a bigger place."
Angel didn't know whether Kave's sorrow was due to his teammates' betrayal and deaths, or because his shop had been destroyed—so she could only offer general comfort.
"Forget it. I've long wanted to leave here. That bastard Thomas helped me make the decision. I've already submitted an application. Once approved, I'll transfer to Backlund to see the bustling world, make money, retire. Never want to smell the sea breeze and industrial fumes again in this life."
Kave kicked a leftover glass shard missed by the cleaners into the doorless shop and muttered.
"And you? Why did the Tingen City Nighthawks come looking for me?"
Looks like "Mechanical Heart" already telegraphed the Nighthawks in Emmat Port to inquire about me...
Angel had originally organized her words, but facing the low-spirited Kave, she hesitated a moment before speaking.
"It's just... that 'extraordinary characteristic' you mentioned before, for advancement—can you explain it in more detail? I mean, I saved your life this morning..."
She had never done this kind of favor-demanding thing before, and her speech stumbled. Her face was already red after just a few words.
Looking at the awkward Angel, Kave couldn't help but laugh.
"Alright, I can see—you're not used to talking like this."
Stepping over broken glass to the shop's entrance, Kave pushed aside the police seal and entered through the doorway, Angel following behind.
"Anyway, I already let it slip. And thinking back now, Thomas probably learned it from me too. My vow is long broken."
Deep in the shop, Kave put away his smile, his expression turning serious. He glanced outside, confirming no passersby were watching, then lowered his voice:
"I'll say this only once, and you must swear not to repeat our conversation... Never mind, oaths don't mean much unless there's a mystical item that can witness the vow."
"But you must never say I told you."
Angel bit her lip nervously and nodded.
Then, in this messy, war-torn ruin of a clock shop, Angel learned an important law in the field of mysticism:
"The total amount of extraordinary characteristics remains constant—it does not decrease, nor is it destroyed. It only transfers from one carrier to another. This is the Law of Extraordinary Characteristic Conservation."
"The power of Beyonders comes from potions, and potion power comes from its main ingredients. During the concocting and drinking process, the extraordinary characteristic transfers into the Beyonder's body. When they die, this characteristic will precipitate. The higher the Sequence, the longer the time needed to precipitate. But regardless of time, the characteristic will always contain the full power of the deceased."
"This extraordinary characteristic can serve as the main ingredient for the potion of the corresponding Sequence. As long as you add auxiliary ingredients, you can concoct a proper potion."
"This is also why Thomas came to kill me despite being on a wanted list. He's already a Sequence 8 Archaeologist. If he got my extraordinary characteristic, even without knowing the potion formula, even if he just swallowed it raw without auxiliary materials, he'd still have a high chance to advance to Appraiser. If done by formula with auxiliary ingredients, the success rate is no different from a regular potion. He probably thought I lacked combat ability, so I'd be easy to take."
Appraiser? Weren't you an Artisan...?
Angel instinctively wanted to question this, but her mind was no longer on that—her thoughts spun rapidly, and she suddenly understood many things.
Why the Church wanted to reclaim Beyonders' remains...
Why Beyonders under the same Church usually follow the same potion pathway...
Why extraordinary characteristics can become mystical items with matching Sequence powers...
And...
Right now in her pocket—there lay the Instigator's extraordinary characteristic, enough to let her advance to Sequence 8!