Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability

757 Harvest Priest

As Penitent Baynfel and the pure silver skull appeared, the doll messenger, dressed in a pale gold mini dress, instantly floated beside Lumian as if confronting the other two messengers.

The pure silver skull set down a burlap bag on the desk from its mouth amidst the surrounding darkness, then fixed its burning pale eyes on Lumian.

Penitent Baynfel dropped a folded letter and silently returned to the spirit world, vanishing from the room.

Lumian wanted to take this opportunity to chat with his messenger about his past and ask about his relationship with the True Creator, but given the circumstances, he had to suppress his curiosity and focus on the pure silver skull instead.

Lumian picked up the burlap bag, which resembled a book bag, and pulled out an aluminum flask.

Behind him, the doll messenger floated closer, curiously looking on.

Lumian unscrewed the grayish-white flask to find a golden liquid inside, brimming with white foam.

If it weren’t for the lack of a malty scent, he would have thought it was beer.

He took out a piece of paper from the burlap bag, written in ancient Feysac by Madame Hela: “It is indeed the Harvest Priest potion.

“It needs to be drunk within 15 minutes, or you will end up with a alcohol flask that could bring harvests.”

Seeing that Madame Hela had helped with the identification and there was a notarized contract in place, Lumian immediately took out the remaining 9000 gold risot from his Traveler’s Bag and the 1000 gold risot notes he had exchanged in the last two days.

“This is the final payment.” Lumian put the gold risot into the burlap bag and handed it to the skull made of pure silver.

The pure silver skull bit down on the burlap bag, merged with the surrounding darkness, and disappeared in an instant.

Lumian then turned his head and said with a smile to the doll messenger, “What’s your take?”

The doll messenger snorted.

“I will surpass them eventually!

“I will become the first, no, the second most powerful messenger in this world!”

“Quite ambitious,” Lumian replied, half-seriously, half in jest.

He wasn’t surprised by the doll messenger’s response; he already knew about the special nature of Penitent Baynfel and the pure silver skull.

The doll messenger then hurled a dark, translucent orb, resembling a crystal ball but more ethereal, towards Lumian, who easily caught it. Inside the bent, transparent barrier, a glossy black bone ring floated, its surface carved with the twisted, agonizing face of a demon, whose eyes contained two vague shadows.

After letting the folded letter fall to the surface of the desk, the doll messenger also left Lumian’s room.

It is indeed a Sealed Artifact made from Hisoka’s Beyonder characteristics… Lumian couldn’t afford to check the artifact’s effects and impacts right away, so he stored the dark transparent orb and the folded letter first, and then began to read the letter brought by his messenger.

The letter was very brief: “Seven of Wands: “Do you still remember your promise? We now need your help.

“If you don’t have other important matters recently, please meet us at the following coordinates, where I will tell you the details.”

“Knight of Swords.”

Knight of Swords needs help… Lumian came to a realization.

In the incident of the sea prayer ritual, he had asked this Minor Arcana card holder, working under Ma‘am Hermit, for help. At the time, he did not ask for a payment but mentioned that he might need a bit of help if he went to the Southern Continent, to which he readily agreed.

Fortunately, I’m relatively free lately. Lumian put away the letter from the Knight of Swords, screwed the cap back on the grayish-white flask, and walked out of the room with it in hand.

Lugano was cleaning up the plates and cutlery that Ludwig had left behind.

“Your Harvest Priest potion has arrived,” Lumian stated calmly.

Lugano froze, a look of confusion washing over his face.

After a few seconds, he pointed to the flask in his employer’s hand and asked, “This?”

“Yes, it looks more drinkable than the potions from the Hunter pathway,” Lumian chuckled as he shook the flask. “You have ten minutes to decide whether you want to drink it.”

“Ten minutes?” Lugano exclaimed, startled.

Lumian nodded.

“No, eight minutes.

“If you haven’t made up your mind in eight minutes, I’ll find a stray dog downstairs or catch a rat and feed it this potion.”

“Don’t I need to prepare mentally and physically?” Fear was written all over Lugano’s face.

This seems too casual, doesn’t it?

This is a potion, after all!

If his mental and physical state weren’t right, he could either turn into a monster or die on the spot!

“Only seven minutes left now,” Lumian reminded with a smile. “Your condition is fine; you just need to relax and remember that you are Ludwig’s nanny and family doctor.”

“Is that really okay?” Lugano still couldn’t believe it.

“Six minutes,” Lumian said coldly.

“..” Lugano was stunned.

How could time pass so quickly?

Gritting his teeth, he replied, “Alright!

But I need to drink it in Underground Trier.”

“Hmm?” Lumian raised an eyebrow.

Lugano quickly explained, “I feel that standing on the earth helps me maintain my state while drinking the potion.”

“The Earth pathway, huh…” Carrying the grayish-white flask, Lumian turned and walked out of the room.

Lugano followed, pulling out a bunch of banknotes from his pocket.

“This is all my savings, 15,000 verl d’or.

“You said before, the rest would be covered by you.”

Lumian nodded nonchalantly and accepted the 15,000 verl d’or without hesitation.

He still had 86,000 verl d’or, including a few coins and gold bars.

Once on the street, Lumian headed directly to the nearest entrance to Underground Trier. A stray dog passed by, barking as if to threaten them.

Lumian chuckled and “tested” Lugano, “Can you understand what it’s saying?”

With his mind full of thoughts about the Harvest Priest potion, Lugano asked in astonishment, “Y-you can understand? Do you have a mystical item from a Beast Tamer?”

Lumian laughed to himself. “It says, ‘I heard you’re going to feed me a portion of the Harvest Priest potion; why haven’t you given it to me yet?”

“..” Lugano then realized his employer was joking.

On second thought, Lugano felt like he was being mocked by his employer.

He’s implying that I’m a stray dog!

I was indeed wondering why he hasn’t given me the Harvest Priest potion yet…

Once in Underground Trier, Lumian expertly navigated to a deserted tunnel and tossed the grayish-white flask at Lugano.

As Lugano fumbled to catch the flask, Lumian coldly reminded, “Two minutes left.”

Lugano took a deep breath, unscrewed the cap, and saw the potion inside that looked like beer.

He began to recall how he had cared for and treated Ludwig, using this memory to slightly relax his tense spirit.

After a few seconds and two deep breaths, Lugano raised the grayish-white flask and gulped down the potion.

Lumian, who made a ball of bright white flame as a light source, silently watched, observing the various changes in Lugano’s body.

He had not forgotten that his “servant” was quite unusual; he could stay conscious during the Dream Festival!

Lugano’s face quickly twisted in agony, as if experiencing the pain of Ludwig biting off his arm again.

Lumian saw his feet slowly sinking into the soil, the hairs on his exposed skin visibly thickening and lengthening, and his brown hair doing the same, his brown eyes losing focus.

After a while, the transformations stopped, and Lugano’s expression gradually eased.

It went smoothly… He fits the Planter pathway well… I’m not sure if this is due to his own anomalies… Lumian muttered silently, watching as Lugano’s eyes slowly regained clarity and reason.

He asked in a relaxed posture, “What abilities have you gained?”

Although it was frowned upon in the mystical world to inquire about the details of someone’s Beyonder abilities, who could be blamed because the person across from him was his “servant”?

Lugano saw no problem with this, checking his condition while savoring the acquired mystical knowledge.

“My healing capabilities have expanded. I can now cure diseases in plants and fields…

“I can also catalyze seeds, making them grow or reproduce faster.

“This divides into two scenarios: the first is placing both hands on the earth, which allows seeds and plants within a thirty-meter radius to grow or reproduce much faster than normal, though not instantaneously complete their lifecycle from gestation to returning to the land in a few seconds or minutes. The second is directly holding some seeds or plants and fully catalyzing the life contained within them.

“The latter scenario allows me, in a very short time, to create a large amount of vines, which can be used to entangle and control enemies.”

Hearing this, Lumian thoughtfully asked, “So you can only fully catalyze the life contained within plants, and it can’t be used on humans?”

“No.” Lugano shook his head.

Lumian continued, “If you encounter a creature that is essentially a plant but has intelligence, could you, by direct contact, cause all of its life to burst forth in seconds or tens of seconds, completing its entire life cycle?”

“First, I’d need to be able to touch it…” Lugano indicated that this was dangerous and not something he, not specialized in combat, could manage.

He added, “Plus, I’m not sure it would have the effect you’re imagining.”

Lumian nodded almost imperceptibly, signaling Lugano to continue.

Lugano gathered his thoughts and said, “If I could obtain seeds of different mutant plants, my catalytic abilities could play a significant role in combat.

“I can also command plants and insects within a thirty-meter radius to provide me with appropriate support, as long as it does not exceed their species limitations. However, intelligent ones won’t work.

“I’ve also gained a few ritual spells, mainly for summoning rain or clearing the skies.”