Chapter 25: Sequences and Potions

Lu Mi entered the old tavern and was surprised to find that the woman had already risen and was enjoying breakfast at her usual spot in the corner.

She had changed into a different outfit; a brown long skirt with a stand-up collar and ruffled edges, paired with a dark velvet hat resting to the side, made her look as if she had just returned from a salon in high society.

"So early?" Lu Mi calmed his state of mind and walked over.

The lady looked up and glanced at him:

"Is there a possibility that I didn't sleep at all last night?"

"Perhaps." Lu Mi was no stranger to such situations; after all, with deadlines approaching, his sister Aurora often stayed up late. He was just curious why this lady of mysterious origin and unknown purpose would suddenly bring this up.

He glanced at her "dining table" and noticed the food laid out: a cream soufflé sprinkled with a few nuts, a piece of very tempting toasted pancake, a croissant, a cup of dark coffee, and a cat-tongue biscuit.

She has quite an appetite... But these things really don't look like something Cordu could provide. Aside from Aurora, perhaps only the chef at the Magistrate's house would know how to make them... Lu Mi sat down and said casually:

"All desserts, I see."

The lady nodded with rare seriousness:

"Intis desserts are indeed delicious, and there are so many varieties that even if you had a different one every breakfast, you wouldn't repeat for a month."

After saying this, she took a bite of the cat-tongue biscuit, half-closed her eyes, and felt it for a moment before saying:

"This is one of the meanings of travel."

"You aren't Intisian?" Lu Mi took the opportunity to ask.

The lady smiled:

"I come from Loen, but given the current situation, that is not important."

That Loen, which aside from steam machinery, factories, and massive armies, only had armchairs, mint sauce, fish and chips, and beer brewed from pure snake-apples as specialties? As a pure Intisian, Lu Mi immediately recalled the jokes everyone usually made about the Kingdom of Loen.

He gave an "um" and turned to say:

"I took care of that monster with the hunting rifle."

The lady took a sip of coffee and praised him quite flatly:

"Not bad."

For some reason, Lu Mi always felt that there was some strange emotion in her eyes.

During their previous exchanges, he had actually felt something similar, believing that beyond her playfulness and amusement, there was some hidden emotion, only he couldn't distinguish what it represented.

He continued:

"I obtained a mass of abnormal deep-red matter from that monster. Holding it makes me irritable and filled with malice."

"I believe this must be something involving supernatural power, but it didn't follow me back to reality."

The lady smiled:

"After entering and exiting so many times, haven't you noticed that apart from your own state, nothing else can be brought over?"

"Didn't you say supernatural items were the exception..." Lu Mi stopped before he could finish.

He thought of the soreness in his body now, the injuries he sustained in the dream, and the fact that the corresponding memories hadn't disappeared upon returning to reality.

After pondering for a while, he weighed his words and said:

"You mean that by obtaining supernatural power through that deep-red matter and becoming a Beyonder, the corresponding state, which differs from a normal person, can be brought into reality?"

"Still quite clever." The lady didn't even look up, continuing to enjoy her cream soufflé.

"But wouldn't the corresponding power be weakened because of that?" Lu Mi frowned and pressed. "The injuries I sustained in the dream were much lighter when I reached reality."

"The state changes brought about by Beyonder characteristics won't be." The lady raised her head and looked at Lu Mi. "That is why I said supernatural items are the exception."

"Beyonder characteristics..." Lu Mi chewed on the term.

He thought of the "Beyonder" his sister had mentioned.

Obtaining Beyonder characteristics allows one to become a Beyonder? Lu Mi had a rough understanding.

And based on the lady's explanation, he had a further guess about the uniqueness of the dream:

That ruin actually exists in reality, or was originally located somewhere in reality, and later fell into the depths of some great figure's dream. That's why it has been developing naturally. My dream is essentially a special channel, a special channel formed under the influence of the symbols on my chest, connecting to that ruin?

Following this speculation, my home appearing there is equivalent to a mark left by my dream during their interaction. It is a projection of the place I subconsciously consider the safest. That is why it doesn't seem like the same kind of thing as the surrounding wilderness and the ruin, as if it were in a different world...

The monsters don't dare enter because they truly cannot. They are inside the real ruin, while my "home" is a product of the fusion between the dream and "reality." Those without the special mark cannot pass through the corresponding barrier...

That special mark only acts upon me. The state I possess is recorded and brought back to reality. In such times, things not involving supernatural factors will decay, while those that do remain unchanged. Death should be the same...

If this is true, then there shouldn't be anything terrifying hidden in the dream home, but the origin of these symbols on my chest and the source of that terrifying voice also symbolize something terrifying...

Lu Mi was silent for a long while, while the lady opposite him enjoyed her breakfast, not minding at all.

Coming back to his senses, Lu Mi asked:

"Then how should I use that deep-red matter? Is it the Beyonder characteristic you mentioned?"

At this critical moment, he couldn't help but use an honorific.

The lady put down her coffee and glanced at him:

"I can give you a potion formula; you just need to follow it."

The generous gift made Lu Mi feel somewhat uneasy:

"Why are you helping me like this?"

The lady laughed:

"If I said it was the arrangement of fate, would you believe me?"

I don't believe it... Lu Mi answered subconsciously in his heart.

The anomalies in the village, the pressure like an approaching storm, and the desire for supernatural power suppressed his inner unease, and he said in a deep voice:

"I believe it."

Once an opportunity appears, one must make the attempt decisively, grasp it with all one's might, and not have the slightest hesitation or overthinking!

The lady smiled, and the strange, indescribable emotion in her eyes seemed to grow a bit stronger.

She took a stack of memo paper and a round-bellied fountain pen with a silver casing from her black lady's handbag and began to write rapidly.

Soon, she stopped, tore off the top sheet of memo paper, and handed it to Lu Mi.

Lu Mi quickly took it and read it:

"'Hunter' Potion Formula:"

"Main ingredient: One portion of 'Hunter' Beyonder characteristic;"

"Supplementary ingredients: 80ml of red wine, one red chestnut flower (can be a specimen, or replaced with 10 drops of corresponding essential oil), 5g of poplar leaf powder, 10g of basil;"

"Method of use: Drink directly."

Lu Mi firmly memorized the contents, folded the memo paper, and placed it in the inner pocket of his brown jacket.

Only after doing all this did he ask curiously:

"What does 'Hunter' mean?"

A hunter in the supernatural sense?

"It is the name of the corresponding sequence." The lady took another sip of coffee. "I know you have no understanding of mysticism, so let me explain it simply. The common supernatural powers in our world are divided into twenty-two pathways, obtained by acquiring materials containing the corresponding Beyonder characteristics to concoct potions. Each pathway has 10 sequences, from Sequence 9 to Sequence 0. The smaller the number, the higher the rank and the stronger the ability."

"The Beyonder characteristic you obtained belongs to the 'Red Priest' pathway and can only be used to concoct the corresponding Sequence 9 'Hunter'."

Lu Mi listened very intently and blurted out:

"Then which pathway and sequence does my sister Aurora belong to?"

"She is a Sequence 7 'Witch' of the 'Secrets Supplicant' pathway." The lady answered nonchalantly.

She didn't mention how she knew.

Aurora is already Sequence 7? That's right, she's had supernatural powers for several years... I'll only be Sequence 9 after drinking the potion, still quite far behind her... I just hope I won't drag her down when we escape Cordu later... Lu Mi couldn't help but ask:

"Can one drink a high-sequence potion directly, or drink Sequence 9 today and Sequence 8 tomorrow?"

"Theoretically, yes." The lady added only after Lu Mi's face showed joy. "But the vast majority of people who do this end up dead or as monsters. Not even one in ten million succeeds."

"Become a monster?" Lu Mi was startled.

The lady chuckled:

"Didn't your sister tell you that the path of the supernatural is very dangerous?"

"After drinking the potion, if you don't master that power, you will either die from physical collapse or mutate into a monster. Why do you think the one you encountered was humanoid?"

No wonder... Lu Mi finally understood what danger his sister was talking about.

But he was willing to face it.

"Is there no way to reduce this danger?" he asked.

The lady looked at him for two seconds and said:

"Yes, a firm will, a good physical state, and luck that isn't too bad. As for the rest, you don't need to know yet, because this is only your first potion."

"A good physical state..." Lu Mi, who had intended to go back to catch up on sleep and drink the potion, frowned.

He was still in a state of significant injury in the dream.

The lady opposite him nodded gently:

"No need to rush. Wait until night, until the soreness in your body has basically eased, before going into the dream."

"Uh..." Lu Mi asked thoughtfully, "As long as my body in reality is mostly healed, the injuries in the dream will be completely recovered?"

You have to know, his body in reality was only slightly sore, which was completely disproportionate to the injuries in the dream!

"Yes." The lady confirmed Lu Mi's speculation.

She continued:

"There is still a lot of common knowledge regarding potions and the divine pathways. Once you drink the potion and become a 'Hunter,' I will tell you more."

Divine pathways... Lu Mi asked suspiciously:

"Why not tell me now?"

The lady laughed:

"If you die from drinking the potion or become a monster, wouldn't telling you so much now be a waste of my time?"

"..." Lu Mi had nothing to say.

He stood up and took his leave.

Before taking a step, he asked one more question:

"Do you know that there are anomalies in the village?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 26 =====