Phew, I finally passed... So that means I passed...
Hearing Crestet Sesima's announcement, Klein, who was already mentally prepared, first let out a sigh of relief, then felt a bit bewildered, as if this wasn't real, like a dream.
In his estimation, the examination should have been more difficult and longer, but on second thought, he felt that the current state was how it should have been. If he hadn't digested the "Fortune Teller" potion in a month and sought promotion, but instead waited three years as usual, the examination might not even have alerted the Holy Church, and would have been handled solely by the captain of the
I thought there would be a check on family background and relationships... Hmm, maybe Mr. Sesima arrived in Tingen a couple of days ago and secretly completed this step... I thought the examination would include completing designated tasks, ha, I really overthought it. The purpose of the examination is merely to confirm the degree of digestion of the potion, as well as whether there are hidden dangers, whether I have a clear understanding of the "Acting Method," and whether I have shared experience with others... Thoughts flashed through Klein's mind, causing him to show a sincere smile:
"Thank you, Mr. Sesima."
"Praise the Goddess!"
Crestet nodded slightly: "Promotion is to better serve the Goddess and better protect the good believers. Remember this, believe me, it will also help you resist the temptation of losing control. Remember, it is temptation."
"Temptation..." Klein savored this word.
Crestet looked at him with his dark green eyes and said very seriously:
"The 'Acting Method' can help you digest the potion and reduce the risk of losing control, but it is not a panacea. At times, it might even cause you to confuse the role you play with your own existence. As you know, such opera and drama actors inevitably develop serious psychological problems, and to a certain extent, you will truly go mad."
"Remember, you are only acting" — this is the only precaution derived from the Silver City, and it is basically consistent with what Deacon Sesima described... Klein nodded thoughtfully, agreeing with his point.
"Additionally," Crestet emphasized again, "losing control is not only related to the potion but also closely tied to your emotional state and mental health. Hmm, the most important thing for a Beyonder is to be able to control oneself. Only then can you resist the temptations of evil gods and demons, and resist the corrosion of emotions and desires like jealousy and greed. Of course, I don't mean to completely eliminate such emotions and desires. Even humans, or even demigods, cannot achieve that. Hmm, perhaps only some special sequences can attain such a state."
"So it's about keeping these emotions and desires within a reasonable range, not being controlled by them, and not doing irrational or abnormal things?" Klein suddenly remembered old Neil and couldn't help asking in return.
Crestet nodded solemnly:
"Yes."
After answering, he smiled, with wrinkles appearing at the corners of his eyes:
"This is what I wanted to caution you about. Next, I will give you the recipe for the 'Clown' potion and the corresponding ingredients."
He bent down, lifted the silver-white box to the long table, then turned around, took a few steps, and blocked Klein's view.
When the light around him mysteriously disappeared again, and Klein stood in pure darkness, he suddenly understood that the recipe and ingredients were in that box containing the holy relic, but his gaze had been completely attracted by the pure white bone sword earlier, and he hadn't noticed or couldn't notice whether there were other items inside.
After a few minutes, the gas lamp light illuminated the alchemy room again. Crestet stepped back with the box, revealing the items on the long table to Klein's eyes.
Among them, the most eye-catching was a gray goat horn the size of a palm. It seemed to have shrunk from a normal size, was crystal clear, with light flowing inside, and faintly visible layered strange patterns.
Next to the horn was a blue rose. On its petals were red veins that connected with each other, apparently forming a grinning face.
Haha, wuwu, haha, wuwu... Klein heard illusory laughter and crying intertwined around him, and saw gray specks floating in the air.
"Adult Hornacis gray goat horn crystal, complete face rose. Hmm, the main ingredients for the 'Clown' potion are ready!" He nodded imperceptibly and walked a few steps to the long table.
"80 ml of pure water, 5 drops of mandrake juice, 7 grams of black-edge sun powder, 10 grams of golden cloak grass powder, 3 drops of hemlock juice..." Klein looked at the spread parchment and compared the written content with the recipe in his memory.
After confirming it was correct, he recalled old Neil's demonstration.
Taking a breath and slowly exhaling, Klein calmed his emotions and used the equipment in the alchemy room to distill the pure water needed for the potion.
— In potion recipes, pure water refers to water that has been repeatedly distilled.
Then, he cleaned the black iron pot and put in the auxiliary ingredients one by one, as skillfully as when he did the most chemistry experiments in high school.
Since there was no catalyst from the extraordinary materials yet, he didn't notice any significant change in the liquid in the pot, except for some powder impurities floating in it.
After completing the preparations, Klein looked at the two main ingredients and sincerely rejoiced in his heart:
"Neither the Hornacis gray goat horn crystal nor the face rose have quantitative descriptions... Perhaps the adult goat horn or the complete face rose are no different in quantity from others of the same kind, and just meet the requirements... Hmm, in the mysterious and extraordinary world, this is absolutely possible!"
"This way, I don't need to worry about adding too much main ingredient!"
After pausing for a few seconds, Klein picked up the face rose and dropped it into the iron pot.
As soon as this strange flower touched the liquid, a sizzling sound was heard, and the illusory laughter around became shrill:
Hahaha, hahaha!
Klein didn't delay, grabbed the crystal and mysterious horn, and threw it into the pot as well.
Plop!
The hair-raising laughter suddenly disappeared, and the gray specks floating around quickly retracted into the iron pot.