Chapter 159: The Circus May Be More Fitting Than the Ringmaster
Klein remained silent, seemingly waiting for Alice to continue.
Alice looked at Klein with a bewildered expression.
"Is that all?" Klein asked, puzzled.
"What else were you expecting?" Alice muttered.
"...The timing? Even if not exact, you should have a general idea, right? It's your ritual after all. Didn't you sense anything?" Klein probed cautiously.
After pondering for a moment, Alice replied, "...I might have initially, but then Adam greeted me, and it was gone."
"Ah, I see," Klein gave Alice a sympathetic look. "Look on the bright side - at least He didn't greet you in His mythical creature form..."
Alice fell into deep thought as she gazed at Klein, who had a glorious history as a divination deity.
Noticing Alice's unspoken thoughts in her eyes, Klein decided to say something to get back at her:
"I should remind you though, before my transmigration I wasn't a psychologist or a high school teacher. I'm not very familiar with counseling minors. In the past, when I encountered such situations, I'd at most wish them luck on their college entrance exams. But you don't need to take those anymore..."
"Next time you have similar issues, you can go directly to Miss 'Justice'. After all, her Sequence 7 is called 'Psychologist'."
"If you really need help, I can try to recall if I remember any practice exam books from my high school days..."
Before Alice could curse at him, Klein swiftly cut off her connection.
"?" Alice was left dumbfounded in the real world, her mouth agape.
...Wasn't he different at the beginning? Alice deeply reflected on her own behavior for the first time, wondering if she had gone too far.
...It must be Klein who's more excessive. I'm definitely not the problem, or at most just a tiny bit. Yes, that's right. Alice quickly convinced herself.
...Wait, wasn't there something she had forgotten?
Alice blinked in confusion, realizing something she had been overlooking all along.
The advancement ritual for the "Fate" pathway seemed to have a strong time sensitivity, and Klein obviously couldn't wait for her on the gray fog forever to perform the bestowal ritual.
However, given the state in which she saw that "Winner" characteristic, it seemed impossible for her to carry such a thing around, right?
...
Klein had also thought of this issue.
Being far more experienced than Alice, he quickly came up with a potentially useful method - sealing and isolating it with a spirituality barrier, just like he did with other items.
Almost simultaneously, layered female prayers echoed in Klein's ears. He walked four steps in reverse, arriving above the gray fog, and asked Alice if she wanted to try the method he had just thought of.
...
With mixed feelings, Alice picked up the pre-sealed iron cigarette case and other auxiliary materials, then began to tidy up the ritual site.
Now, she could peacefully await the arrival of the ritual.
...
Klein walked restlessly through the streets of the East Borough.
As he had told Alice, if possible, he would actually try to prevent disasters or at least minimize their losses.
But...Adam.
The fear brought by 0-08 seemed to linger as if it were yesterday. Klein looked at every ordinary person in the East Borough struggling to survive, and finally let out a deep sigh.
He couldn't divine that plague, or he'd likely receive a greeting from Adam like Alice did...
Without knowing the specific time of the plague, with even its scope unclear, there was no way to prevent it from happening...
As for mitigating the losses caused by the plague...who would believe his words?
Klein pondered for a moment and decided to write a report to the Church of the Night.
...
On Friday evening, in the kitchen at 15 Minsk Street.
The long-awaited potion ingredients were finally in place. Klein felt both nervous and excited as he dug out a newly bought large iron pot, filled it with clean water, and scrubbed it thoroughly several times.
Afterwards, looking at the iron pot, he suddenly mused, "If Alice saw this, she'd definitely criticize how crude this potion-making setup is..."
This thought almost completely destroyed his previously tense mood. In this private moment when he didn't need to disguise himself with the "Clown" ability, the corners of his mouth turned up involuntarily.
Klein shook his head, shaking off the jumbled thoughts in his mind, and shifted his focus to the potion preparation.
There was no pure water among the auxiliary materials for this potion... Klein contemplated as he tossed a few matchsticks inside and snapped his fingers with a crisp sound.
Crimson flames rose up, quickly drying the remaining water droplets under his control without damaging the iron pot's surface.
Looking at his handiwork, Alice's circus theory suddenly popped into Klein's mind.
...Damn it.
He cursed under his breath, quickly emptying his thoughts and recalling the "Faceless" potion formula in his mind.
After carefully preparing the potion according to the formula, Klein took a deep breath, lifted the iron pot with one hand, and poured the potion inside into a pre-prepared glass bottle.
How nice, no need to wash the pot... He silently marveled, suddenly feeling that this way of thinking had a strangely familiar quality.
...Well, no need to guess who it reminds me of.
Klein pinched the bridge of his nose and reached out to use the pendulum method to divine the potion's level of harm.
There was danger, but very small, within an acceptable range...
Klein breathed a sigh of relief, understanding that his potion preparation had likely succeeded.
Holding that bottle of "Faceless" potion, he returned to the second floor with steady steps, entering the bedroom where the curtains had already been drawn.
Klein locked the door, sat on the edge of the bed, and used meditation to calm his mind. After sitting upright for a dozen seconds, he unscrewed the bottle cap, raised his right hand, and suddenly poured all the potion into his mouth.
A slightly tingling sensation echoed in his mouth and esophagus, eventually fermenting into a numbing feeling that made one lose sensation.
Klein's spirit seemed to detach from his own body, watching as an observer as his mouth melted, his nose melted, his ears melted, his eyes melted, his entire face melted!
If Alice were here, she'd definitely come over and poke it... Oh wait, I can't keep thinking like this!
The untimely thought successfully jolted Klein awake, and he began to struggle through this advancement crisis.
...
When Alice saw Klein on the gray fog, he had already adjusted his state and tested his new abilities.
After introducing the abilities of "Faceless", Klein looked at Alice, who hadn't spoken and seemed to be pondering something serious, and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Alice looked at Klein, pondered for two seconds, then said:
"I think calling your Sequence 4 'Ringmaster' is still too hasty.
"It should be called 'Circus' instead."