Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Returning to the Violet Inn, Evan took a bath first. The warm water streaming down from above seemed to wash away the fatigue and pressure clinging to his body. He closed his eyes, feeling the caress of the water, a sense of peace washing over him. After changing into clean clothes, Evan ate a simple meal. The taste of the food spread in his mouth, bringing him a sense of warmth and satisfaction. Then, Evan collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep. His body was utterly exhausted and needed proper rest.

When Evan awoke, the sky outside the window was already dark, with stars hanging in the night sky. Those twinkling stars were like dazzling gems, shimmering with a mysterious light. Evan was dazed for a moment, his eyes revealing confusion and disorientation. Soon, he became fully alert. He got out of bed, left his room, and went down to the first floor. Some people were already having dinner there. Their cheerful laughter echoed in the air, giving the place a lively atmosphere.

Evan found an empty table and sat down. A waiter immediately approached. "I'll have a well-done steak, macaroni, and a large glass of milk," Evan ordered directly. His voice was clear and loud, carrying a hunger-driven eagerness. He was very hungry. To safely reach the examination site, he had only eaten simply to fill his stomach. After killing, he had eaten even less. Now that the negative emotions had subsided, hunger immediately washed over Evan.

Soon, the food was served. The steak emitted an enticing aroma, the macaroni was brightly colored, and the milk was pure white and rich. Evan barely minded his manners, stuffing the food into his stomach as quickly as possible. His movements were swift and decisive, as if racing against time. Leaving payment and a tip, Evan walked out of the Violet Inn. Having been in Backlund for so long, Evan had not yet properly explored this bustling capital.

As the capital, Backlund was a city that never slept. Every street had lamp posts with large kerosene glass lanterns hanging from them. The lights flickered in the darkness, seemingly guiding people forward. Special night watchmen lit these kerosene lamps before dark and patrolled all night, ensuring the lamps wouldn't go out or be knocked over, which could cause fires. As long as one avoided the slum-ridden West District, other areas were relatively safe.

On the train, Evan had exchanged the Sea God's faith gold coin for supernatural knowledge. In the Sala Empire, there were only two paths to obtain supernatural power. The first was the Knight's Path: learning the Knight Breathing Technique, combined with related medicinal baths, to strengthen the body, ultimately breaking physical limits to possess superhuman strength. The advantages were safety and stability; with enough wealth, one could cultivate many. The disadvantage was that breathing techniques were held by major nobles and powerful factions. For commoners, if they didn't want to join those factions, the only two choices were to gain admission to the Imperial Knight Academy or join the military and accumulate military merits to exchange for a breathing technique. This was the empire's traditional supernatural path.

The second path was to ingest relevant potions to become a professional. The benefits were speed and diverse abilities. The drawback was the risk of losing control. From the day they became professionals, they were contaminated by the mysterious. When that contamination exceeded a certain limit, professionals would lose control and mutate into monsters. This was the supernatural path inherited from the mysterious.

The Knight's Path was the most stable, with almost no risk of losing control. More than half of the military generals followed the Knight's Path. However, most of the high-end combat power were professionals.

If Evan successfully gained admission to the Imperial Knight Academy and learned a breathing technique, it would take at most five years, exactly the duration of study at the Imperial Knight Academy. Graduates of the Imperial Knight Academy were all knights. However, to advance further on the supernatural path, or even to touch that legendary realm, one had to take the professional's path.

The mythical creature had been very generous, giving him a complete potion formula sequence from Sequence 9 to Sequence 0.

Sequence 9: Cartographer; Sequence 8: Puppeteer; Sequence 7: Marionettist; Sequence 6: Artificer; Sequence 5: Analyst; Sequence 4: Planner (Legendary); Sequence 3: Regulator (Demigod); Sequence 2: Establisher (Mythical Creature); Sequence 1: Reincarnator (Angel); Sequence 0: Creator (God).

At the moment he received the memories, to protect himself, Evan hypnotized himself, allowing the potion formulas for Sequence 6 to Sequence 0 to sink deep into his memory, temporarily forgotten until he reached Sequence 7, at which point he would remember the next sequence's potion formula.

And the potion formula for Sequence 9: Cartographer was: a three-inch branch of a thousand-year-old wisteria tree, the torso of an adult blue-heart jellyfish, a five-carat blue sapphire with purity grade A, one liter of milk from a twist-horned goat, and one egg of a fire-spider scorpion. Four-year-old wisteria trees didn't exist in the Sala Empire, but they were definitely in the colonies. This type of tree was special, growing one ring every ten years; one wouldn't mistake it by looking at the rings. The torso of an adult blue-heart jellyfish might be somewhat difficult to find in Backlund, but it was easy to find in Sheffield. One liter of milk from a twist-horned goat could be obtained by posting a task in a town on the outskirts of the Black Mist Forest, where bounty hunters could get it for him. The same applied to the fire-spider scorpion egg. The only trouble was the five-carat blue sapphire with purity grade A. If bought from a jewelry merchant, it would probably cost all the money he had.

Evan strolled along the street, his eyes revealing curiosity and a desire for exploration. He looked at the surrounding shops. With street lamps and the glass oil lamps hung by the shops themselves, Evan could clearly see the words on the signs. Some shops were noisy and bustling with activity; others were empty and very quiet. Evan calculated the money he had left after deducting tuition and living expenses and felt he needed to find a way to earn money. Although he could ask his parents, eldest brother, or second brother, and they would be happy to support him, Evan considered himself an adult and didn't want to trouble them.

Evan stopped in front of a building and looked at the nameplate above: "Backlund Curiosities Newspaper." The Sala Empire had many newspapers. *The Imperial Daily* was a nationwide newspaper, while Backlund also had locally circulated newspapers. *The Backlund Curiosities News* was one of them. It published curious stories, interesting imperial capital rumors, and colonial indigenous myths, not involving politics. It was reading material for many wealthy young ladies and gentlemen to pass the time.

In his previous life, Evan had been active on Green River Fiction Website. He had plenty of creative ideas and writing skill. He felt the novels he could write would be more interesting than any in this world.

Thinking this, Evan walked into a nearby stationery shop and bought a bottle of black ink, a quill pen, a fountain pen, and a stack of letter paper. Then he returned to the Violet Inn.

Author's Note:

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Please add to your collection, I beg for collections.