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If the mutated eyeball were to fall into the hands of official Beyonders, it might be used as an ingredient for some poison or simply destroyed.
Hobert had never been an official Beyonder, nor would he think about things from their perspective.
In his view, in this metropolis of five million people, one more mutated eyeball wouldn't make the city more evil, and one less mutated eyeball wouldn't make it better.
For him, exchanging these things for cash to strengthen himself, allowing him to be a bit safer in this world, was enough. With his current strength, there was no need to overthink it.
Seeing that Hobert was an expert, Gal didn't haggle too much. After a friendly negotiation, they settled at 85 pounds.
Hobert took out 5 pounds and placed it in his wallet as his "cut" from fencing the goods, then wrapped the remaining 80 pounds in paper. He planned to split the money with Xio after selling the Beyonder characteristic of the Secrets Supplicant.
Hobert hadn't planned to sell the Beyonder characteristic of the Secrets Supplicant to Gal. He intended to wait for the gathering, where he would sell it. First, there was the protection of the golden-masked individual, and second, it would serve as his entry ticket to that circle.
Most participants in that gathering were military personnel, who had a natural foundation of trust. People like Hobert, who hadn't served, were rare. To fully integrate into their circle, he needed to complete a few trades at the gathering to prove his reliability.
After completing the deal with Gal, Hobert went to the message wall on the third floor and asked the attendant to leave a message: "I currently have a batch of jewelry and gold for sale, roughly valued at 1,500 pounds."
Hobert planned to sell those assets and hand over the cash to Mr. Robin and his cousin. If they were to sell it themselves, they could easily attract unwanted attention.
And with the backing of the Mercenary Club, no one would dare disrupt transactions here.
After leaving the message, Hobert saw that it was still early, so he ordered a cup of tea and rested in the lounge area.
He had been rushing around for the past two days and was beginning to miss his days on the Backlund University campus. Back then, he had promised to treat two classmates to a meal, but he still hadn't fulfilled that promise.
Hobert remembered that one of those classmates had a family of judges, and the other was from a wealthy merchant family. Their connections would surely come in handy in the future, so he needed to maintain those relationships.
He held a newspaper in his hand but didn't read a single word, his mind occupied with various concerns.
After a while, Hobert realized he had gradually adapted to the lifestyle of this era, where every opportunity was used to build connections.
Life on Earth—no, life in the Common Era—was becoming more distant.
As he was lost in thought, he overheard two soldiers nearby discussing, "The battle in the Southern Continent should have started by now, right?"
"How could it have started so soon? They left on Sunday night, and it's only Wednesday afternoon!"
"Heh, you don't know? They're heading to the Southern Continent in a military airship!"
"What? A military airship?"
"I bet those Feysac bastards will be just as surprised when they're ambushed by our men!"
"The military sure spared no expense this time!"
"Their resolve is undeniable!"
"The rewards for this mission will definitely be rich..."
Hobert pretended to be focused on his newspaper, but his mind was racing: This must be part of the retaliation against the Feysac people. Though the military hadn't acted directly, they were providing many conveniences for the mercenaries.
Around five o'clock, Hobert finished the last sip of his tea, used the washroom, and then hailed a cab back home.
Dinner was as lively and pleasant as usual. After the meal, the family enjoyed some tea and conversation before each retired to their rooms.
Tonight, Hobert had two experiments to conduct. After locking his door, he first set up a Wall of Spirituality, lit candles on the table according to the "Binary Method," and drew a simple throne symbol with a circular sigil representing distortion on the table.
The simple drawing and sigil together formed the symbol of the Black Emperor. Hobert had noticed this symbol on the back of the chair during the Tarot Club meeting.
Because of the uniqueness of Sefirah Castle, this symbol theoretically represented his own mark, which is why he had designed this experiment.
Finally, Hobert placed the Beyonder characteristic of the Secrets Supplicant in the center of the simple altar.
Once everything was prepared, he chanted in Hermes:
"Creator in the Shadow of Order;
"You are the beginning and end of all order;
"You are the ruler of the Bell of Order.
"Your loyal servant prays for your attention;
"I pray for you to accept his offering;
"I pray for you to open the door to your kingdom."
Inside the Wall of Spirituality, a strange wind suddenly stirred, and a patch of darkness that seemed to swallow everything appeared on the ceiling.
Hobert didn't expect such a large reaction, so he quickly used reverse walking to enter the Nation of Disorder.
Seated on the Iron Throne, Hobert saw two bronze doors appear in the air at the end of the pool in front of him, and he vaguely heard his own prayer.
This first confirmed that his three-segmented honorific could indeed point to himself on the Iron Throne, something he had long wanted to test but hadn't had the time for.
Next, Hobert noticed a white-glowing star had appeared in the pool before the Iron Throne. Extending his spirituality toward it, he saw himself standing before the simple altar in his bedroom.
Using the real sight of the Nation of Disorder, Hobert carefully examined himself. Yesterday's mediumship subject, Zachary, was already showing signs of losing control and had been noticeably tainted.
Hobert's Astral and Spirit Bodies were protected by the Nation of Disorder, so he didn't need to worry about being polluted by Zachary. However, he feared that the pollution might use his spirituality as a bridge to contaminate his Mind and Ether Bodies, as Zachary had clearly been tainted in those two layers.
Under real sight, the colors of his body appeared normal, though he did look a bit tired.
It seemed he had overused his spirituality yesterday, leading to physical exhaustion.
Hobert withdrew his spirituality from the Iron Throne. The first experiment was a success; his self-designed honorific was effective. He then proceeded with the second experiment.
His spirituality extended toward the bronze doors, which opened slightly, revealing a glimpse of the altar.
With a grasping motion, the Beyonder characteristic of the Secrets Supplicant vanished from the altar and appeared before the Iron Throne.
Success!
He rubbed his forehead—his spirituality had been somewhat drained.
In the future, whenever he acquired Beyonder materials or characteristics, he could store them in the Nation of Disorder without worrying about them being discovered or stolen.
Elated by the experiment's success, Hobert returned to his bedroom, intending to rest and restore his spirituality before proceeding with the granting ceremony to retrieve the Beyonder characteristic of the Secrets Supplicant.
Just as he re-entered his body, there was a knock on the door, followed by Christian's voice: "Hobert, are you alright? I sensed an unusual force in your room!"