Chapter 83: Carving

Inside Lawson's Folk Herb Store.

As the boss watched Bogda leave, he turned and shouted at the door where there was a pile of herbs, "Scharmaine, stop purchasing herbs from today."

"W-why, Master?" A handsome-looking youth with disheveled hair walked out.

The boss smiled and said, "This is the sixteenth customer that has come because of my fame. If this carries on, I believe the Nighthawks, the Machinery Hivemind, and the Mandated Punishers will notice me. When the time comes, I'll need to consider heading to other cities."

"Then, do we need to sublease this store?" Scharmaine asked with concern.

The boss chuckled. "If you wish to stay, you can be the boss of this store. You are already capable of identifying herbs and concocting medicine. Of course, remember to deposit half of your monthly profits into my anonymous Backlund Bank account."

"But I haven't learned what you are really good at." Scharmaine was sick of never staying in a city for more than a year, but he was unwilling to give up learning the magical formulas that his master was good at.

The boss leisurely said in his seat. "That's not something you can learn just because you want to."

...

A blackish-green bubbling liquid appeared in front of Bogda's eyes. It smelled of stinking socks, and the color that makes one want to puke made him suspicious.

When the rooster blood was dropped into the medicine, Bogda's father looked at his son worriedly and said, "I think surgery is the best option."

The few drops of rooster blood bubbled with the boiling liquid before vanishing. Bogda took a deep breath. "If this medicine is useless, I'll consider surgery."

"The Lord will watch over you." Bogda's father gestured a triangular Sacred Emblem across his chest.

By the time the boiling liquid had cooled down, Bogda had no intention of wasting the ten pounds. He raised his right hand and closed his eyes, gulping down the medicine in one go.

The pungent aroma that had the noxious smell of blood swished around in his mouth as he nearly spat out everything he had just drank.

That night, Bogda had an upset stomach. He went to the bathroom six times, and by the time the crimson moon vanished, he fell asleep grossly.

After an unknown period of time had passed, he jolted awake, having dreamed that he was being reprimanded by his boss at work.

"Thankfully, I took three days of annual leave. I don't have to rush to work." Bogda breathed a sigh of relief when he discovered that he felt a lot more spirited.

This was in stark contrast to the sluggish state he was in for the past few weeks.

Bogda reached out and pressed the right side of his abdomen and noticed that the region that previously hurt when under slight pressure felt normal.

"Don't tell me it was really effective." Bogda got out of bed. He stretched himself and felt his health returning to him.

He fell silent for a very long while as he muttered, "According to the apothecary, I still need to drink it twice."

...

Inside the civilian staff office of the Blackthorn Security Company, from his prior request, Klein received a space where no one would disturb him.

He held a carving knife that emitted his spirituality and seriously carved the incantations and symbols onto two silver accessories.

The incantation was a request to avoid disaster and was written in Hermes. The two mysticism symbols symbolized the Evernight Goddess as well as the Empress of Disaster and Horror.

Aside from that, Klein also added the Path Number that corresponded to the Goddess, 7, and the magical characteristic.

In addition to that, charms and amulets had to be engraved on both sides, and each side's symbols, incantations, and characteristics, their exact locations, or special formats were in the realm of mysticism. The ones that were spread amongst the ordinary populace were filled with mistakes.

At that moment, Klein had a lot of damaged materials to his right. Through repeated practice, and only after he confirmed that he had enough, did he dare to begin creating the amulets.

As he calmed his mind, his spirituality spewed out from the tip of the carving knife. The number 7 appeared on the surface of the silver accessories.

He had already finished carving the incantations and symbols on the other side of the accessory. All that was left was to finish the remaining side.

After putting down his knife, all his spirituality chained together as Klein suddenly felt a strange and majestic energy surge throughout the room.

The commotion quickly vanished as the incantations on both sides of the accessory became complete with Klein's Spirit Vision. It emitted a serene blackness.

He put down his carving knife and gently polished the silver accessory that was formed from a circle and a vertical piece.

"It's done!" He placed the finished amulet and another one into his pocket, planning to find an opportunity to give it to Benson and Melissa.

Amulets created by Beyonders possessed a certain level of effectiveness. They allowed the wearer to unknowingly avoid disasters to a certain extent, but it was nothing too ridiculous. Furthermore, their spirituality would wane bit by bit. Unless one used high-level ritualistic magic and created a prayer set, a year was the maximum one could use them for. As for high-level ritualistic magic, there was a terrifyingly high spirituality requirement. It wasn't something Klein could endure at the moment.

When the time comes, I can use my spirituality to make another one. Klein thought as he began tidying up the messy table.

He didn't make one for himself for the moment because an amulet of that level had limited effects on him. Therefore, his goal was to gain a deeper understanding of incantations before trying to pair them with ritualistic magic. That way he could create a few defensive amulets that could be activated specifically with sound.

After everything was finished, Klein walked out of the office and prepared to hand over the damaged materials. That was when he saw Captain Dunn walk over in his black windbreaker.

"Klein, the Holy Cathedral has approved it. You're now an official member." Dunn said.

"Really? That's great!" Klein expressed his delight.

Dunn nodded. "You can now receive a make-up pay of three pounds for this week. You'll receive 4.50 pounds every subsequent week until the advance payment is cleared.

"By the way, did I mention the Nighthawks' ritual? Dunn continued. "Every official Nighthawk has to independently complete a mission. Only by doing so will you gain the recognition of your partners. In consideration of the outstanding performance you showed, I believe I can assign you an ordinary mission instead. When that happens, I'll formally introduce you to all the Nighthawks in Tingen City."

Klein replied, "Alright!"

Three pounds plus his compensation of seven pounds. Getting a new suit wasn't a problem anymore. Furthermore, he would still have plenty left over.

Well, who knows when my mission will arrive... Klein waited all the way till Sunday, the day of Selena's birthday banquet.