Mystery: The Silver Key

Chapter 32 The Magician

In the Backlund Bridge area, in an empty hotel room, two figures, one tall and one short, emerged somewhat disheveled from the void.

They didn't linger; instead, immediately after the teleportation ended, they used their "door-opening" ability to pass through walls and open doors.

They didn't stop until they had run several blocks and arrived at the nearest dark church.

Fors cautiously glanced behind her: "That spirit creature didn't chase after us, did it?"

Hugh cautiously looked around, then shook his head slightly: "No."

"That's good." Fors patted his chest and let out a long sigh of relief.

"This is really unlucky. I've traveled through the spirit world so many times, and this is the first time I've ever encountered a situation where I'm being chased by spirit creatures."

"Generally speaking, weaker spirit beings will stay away from humans who can travel through the spirit world, while the powerful ones will look down on weak extraordinary beings like us."

Hugh frowned, removed the disguise from his face, and looked at the dark church in front of him, saying:

"Let's go to church and pray. It might not help, but it'll give us some peace of mind."

Fors looked at Hugh in surprise: "You suspect this isn't a coincidence?"

After a moment's thought, she agreed to the other party's suggestion. In the survival rules of the mysterious world, caution is always the top priority.

...

In the room, Sirion gently rubbed his forehead, pondering what had just happened.

Although he didn't know why Hugh and Fors had suddenly barged into his house, his actions of entering the mirror world earlier had allowed him to digest the last bit of his "Apprentice" potion.

but...

"Would simply entering the mirror world really produce such a great acting effect?"

"Furthermore... setting aside the reason they broke into my house, it's really unbecoming of a bounty hunter for Hugh, as a seasoned bounty hunter, to just barge in like that in broad daylight without sufficient intelligence."

"Especially Fors, who was following behind her, didn't even bother to disguise himself. He looked like he had just decided to attend a party with friends on a whim."

"This far-fetched, third-rate script couldn't possibly be Adam's work. It's so subpar. A mediocre author like 0-08 shouldn't even be in Backlund yet. So, who did it?"

"Never mind, at least digesting the potion is a good thing for me."

Thinking about the series of events and people he had recently encountered, Cyrien's thirst for power became even more urgent.

If he didn't need to pay anyone, he'd just like to have as many of these third-rate scripts as possible; it wouldn't be shameful to make easy money.

In this dangerous world, one needs to become an angel to feel a certain level of security, and the quickest way to become an angel is...

He shook his head, interrupting his thoughts: "I can't think about this anymore. What if Amon appears and grants my wish?"

After sitting quietly for a while, he got up, grabbed his coat, and prepared to go out.

Now that the "Apprentice" potion has been digested and I have the main ingredient for "Master of Tricks," I can start preparing for my promotion.

Fortunately, the auxiliary materials for this sequence are relatively common, and you can easily find them at any herbal medicine shop.

After Sirion left, a meticulously groomed gentleman in an unnoticed carriage parked at the street's crossroads repeatedly glanced at his retreating figure, then muttered to himself:

"Was my planning really that bad?"

"Knowing about Amon and 0-08, this newcomer is indeed not as simple as he seems on the surface."

"Judging from his reaction, I suppose I've succeeded in making my move, Mr. Hermes. What do you think?"

In the empty carriage, no one answered his self-talk.

He smiled nonchalantly. Although he didn't receive a reply, he knew the other person must have heard his voice.

He deliberately left a trace of his voice in the nearby collective unconscious when he spoke, and those traces naturally disappeared as soon as he finished speaking.

If Cyril could turn around and see this place, he would immediately recognize the gentleman talking to himself in the carriage as none other than Baros Hopkins, the "King of the Black Seat" who had previously helped him collect the potion ingredients.

Unfortunately, he won't see this scene. Even for high-ranking individuals, it's difficult to notice a high-ranking "spectator" who is trying to hide himself.

After muttering a few words to himself, Barros Hopkins calmly turned around in the carriage and reached out to tear a wide gap in the air, large enough for a person to pass through.

Beyond the rift lay a series of bizarre and fantastical dreams. Because it was daytime, few people were sleeping, and the dreams were noticeably sparse. However, this did not stump a "dream weaver."

If he wanted, he could make people on the street take a break at any time, creating bridges or stepping stones for his dreams to travel through.

He paused slightly, tilting his head as if listening to some sound, before stepping directly into a dream within the rift, his figure disappearing silently into the carriage.

.....

In the evening, Xi Ruien closed the doors and windows, drew the curtains, and sat down at her tidy desk.

On the table in front of him were the auxiliary materials for the "Master of Tricks" potion that he had spent half an afternoon collecting, as well as the main materials he had traded earlier.

After adjusting his state through meditation, he took the pre-prepared glass and placed the ingredients in front of him one by one into it:

The stomach of a Soul Eater, the blood of a deep-sea marlin, essential oil made from hornbeam, powdered sedge, blooming red chestnut flowers, and pure water.

After gently shaking the glass, the clump of materials inside melted rapidly, eventually turning into a bright, colorful, mushroom-like liquid.

Looking at the potion he had just prepared, Sirion couldn't help but gasp. The potion looked increasingly "poisonous."

"If I hadn't concocted it myself, who would have thought this stuff would be the 'Master of Tricks' potion..."

He muttered a complaint under his breath, brought the glass to his lips, and with mixed feelings, downed the brightly colored liquid inside in one gulp.

The potion melted instantly upon entering his mouth; he only felt a cool sensation before losing consciousness.

At the same time, his mind was surrounded by various senses, as if he saw colorful abstract colors and the reality of the world.

Outside the houses, the orange sky of Backlund at dusk suddenly darkened, and stars twinkled, making their presence felt in the sky.

The next second, the tranquil night fell, and both the orange sunset and the stars that suddenly appeared and kept twinkling were covered by the night and disappeared into the sky.

Then suddenly a strong wind picked up and brought in large swaths of dark clouds, as if a storm was about to break.

The pedestrians on the street were no longer curious about why it got dark so quickly today. It's normal for it to get dark faster during a storm. Now they just wanted to get home before the rain started. They weren't afraid of getting wet, but getting a cold or sick after getting wet could ruin a family that was barely making ends meet.

Inside the room, Cyril, who was leaning back in his chair, opened his eyes at this moment. The intense, dazzling, and frenzied colors in his eyes quickly faded, and he returned to calm.

This promotion was easier than expected. During the promotion, he could sense the presence of a "high-dimensional observer" in the infinite distance, but it did not interfere with him. It even allowed a very small portion of its authority and qualities to flow to him, just like an observer detached from the world.

"The Observer..." Sirion murmured.

His spirituality was suddenly stirred, and the "observer" that flashed through his mind seemed to be something very important, but he did not grasp this fleeting inspiration.

He gathered his thoughts, temporarily suppressing the idea, and began to observe the changes within himself.

The "Master of Tricks" potion grants a certain degree of physical agility enhancement, as well as a large number of flashy but low-strength spells and spell-like abilities.

There's a "flash" that's similar to a flashbang, a "black curtain" that's like a magician's prop, a "loud bang" that makes an explosion, an "electric shock" that can manually electrocute someone, a "freeze" that can act as an ice machine, and a whole bunch of other useful and useless abilities like blowing wind, igniting fire, creating fog, and transferring gas.

Then there's the seemingly most useful "escape trick," which is a lower-tier version of the teleportation ability. It allows you to quickly move your figure after attracting the target's attention.

"This is probably the sequence that grants the most power from all the methods, but unfortunately it's incredibly weak."