The Master of the Strange Realm

As he spoke, he bit his finger and smeared the blood on [Flexible Legs and Feet (White Basic)]. After waiting for two or three seconds, the parchment emitted a faint light. All other words disappeared, and a new method of acquiring abilities appeared on the paper.

Jenkins quickly wrote down the words as his father had just instructed, and then stuffed the paper roll back into the depression on the ground. Soon, the ground became flat again, and a brown paper bag appeared there.

These are the materials Jenkins needs to acquire abilities, provided free of charge by the church.

Father Oliver remained silent throughout the whole process until Jenkins picked up the bag and nodded, and walked out of the small room with him.

"Be sure to perform the ceremony according to the instructions. If there is anything wrong, stop immediately and report to the church."

Father did not ask anything, but whispered.

The mission to the church this time was considered to be completed. It was dark outside. Father hurried back to his shop, and Jenkins went in another direction.

I don't know what happened today, he didn't encounter any idle carriages on the street. Walking on the quiet street, all the shops were closed, and the financial resources of the Nolan Municipal Government were not enough to install kerosene street lamps throughout the city, which made Jenkins very worried that he would encounter gang fights and the like.

His luck was finally better. There were no gangs, no killers, and no octopuses before he returned home. Except for a few people who hurried into the alleys on the street, he didn't even meet many idle people.

His family naturally complained about Jenkins' late return. But Jenkins explained that he went to the church to thank the bishop, so he came back so late, and old William was relieved.

"The bishop will forgive me."

He said in his heart.

After dinner, he returned to the room, and after making sure that no one was paying attention, he carefully locked the door, and then took out the paper bag hidden under his coat.

"This is too inconvenient, and it is really necessary to move out."

As he thought, he took out several small bottles from the paper bag.

Because it is only a basic white ability, the method of obtaining it is not very demanding.

Jenkins followed the instructions, drew the curtains tightly, confirmed that the room was in a "no light or low light" environment, and then took the lead to pick up the light blue chalk.

This is not an ordinary chalk. According to the instructions, a small amount of blue silver flower and animal bone powder were mixed into it during the production. After being blessed by the church, it and the pure silver ritual dagger are the two most basic props for making and holding ceremonies.

"First draw a circle."

Jenkins muttered, picked up a pencil from the table, tied the chalk and pencil together with the thread of the sewing box, fixed the position of the pencil with a heavy object, and then gently drew a circle on the floor.

Drawing a circle with bare hands is a basic skill of the gifted, but Jenkins can't do it yet, so he can only use tools to assist.

"Then there is the prayer."

According to his memory, he wrote the words densely on both sides of the circle with chalk.

The above is the preparation work. Then, Jenkins took out items such as "ten-year tumbleweed debris", "wind-swallowing beast nail pieces", and "weathered granite powder". Some of them were eaten directly, and the other parts were applied to the joints of the lower limbs as required.

"God bless me that I will not encounter the ritual of eating feces in the future."

He put away the small glass bottles while thinking. He took out the silver dagger given by his father, and the blade was like moonlight. He gently cut open the skin on one side of his legs, and the blood slid down the wound into the glass cup beside him. Dip a small amount of blood with your fingers, flick it with five fingers, and sprinkle it in the circle on the ground at a specific position.

Open the pocket watch given by his younger brother, and you can only see the time when you put it in front of your eyes.

"Very good, the ceremony can start after 7:34 pm."

He took off all his clothes, knelt naked in the center of the circle on the ground, closed his eyes and stood still in a specific direction of west-northwest, and slowly recited the motto praising the [Inherited Sage].

This step is not necessary, but my father claimed that doing so would make the ceremony more successful.

After a while, he felt a little numb in his lower limbs. He could feel the cold air rushing through his legs, in addition to the petals still working in his stomach.

"892, 891..."

He counted silently in his mind as required, and only opened his eyes when he reached 0 - a new light spot had appeared in front of him.

The naked young man squatted in the dim room, with a childlike happy smile on his face.

He immediately realized that if his family saw this scene, he might have to go to the haunted hospital.

Section 27 Chapter 26 Means of Living

While happily putting on his clothes, he carefully wiped off the traces on the ground and hid all the bottles and jars.

The church should have made precise calculations on the issue of materials, and there was nothing left except the piece of chalk.

As for performing the ceremony naked, it was not Jenkins' special hobby, but to make himself closer to the world, which was also determined by the nature of the spirit.

The good news is that only the acquisition of abilities and some special rituals require this, otherwise Jenkins really has to consider the future of the job of the gifter.

Hiding the ritual chalk and silver dagger, turning on the light and drawing the curtains, I completely restored the bedroom to its original state. I leaned on the door and listened for a while, only the faint sound of water flowing in the wall and the strange sound caused by the unstable steam pressure.

"This is good."

Jenkins sat back on the bed with satisfaction. The ability of [flexibility of legs and feet] is also triggering. During use, his legs can produce faster reactions, have stronger muscle and nerve structures, and have speed potential that exceeds human limits.

It was not suitable for experimentation in a small space, so he decided to go to his father's backyard to test it again tomorrow.

"Maybe it's time to move out."

He was thinking, not only because he needed to cross Nolan City twice a day, but also because the night time would be limited here. If he was living alone, he could go out now and find a deserted alley to test his abilities.

Thinking of the alley, Jenkins naturally remembered "legitimate party."

"How should we go out that day?"

He was troubled.

If you want to move out, you can directly search for a place to live in newspapers or go to a housing agency, but you still don't have enough money in your pocket.

"Mr. Binsey's three weeks' salary in advance is 12 pounds, Jenkins's savings are 7 pounds 13 shillings, and dad's salary is paid once a week. Adding in the expenses of the past few days, the cash I have at my disposal now is less than 20 pounds. ”

Jenkins stacked the banknotes and coins on the table according to type. The former queen on the coins was smiling under the light of the gas lamp, but Jenkins could not smile.

"I don't need to rent a whole house, a studio apartment like Holmes is enough. It needs to be decent and hygienic, and then a rent deposit of at least half a year..."

"Still poor, poor before time travel, still poor after time travel!"

He reluctantly accepted this reality, and then prepared to find some ways to make money within legal means.

"I am a time traveler!"

He comforted himself in his heart, and then suddenly realized that in this era where the power of steam was becoming increasingly powerful, he, a poor student who had just entered graduate school, seemed really unable to come up with any inventions.

Moreover, he had no time, no energy, no reason, and no place to explore the civilizational creations that were vague in his memory.

"I believe in [Inheriting the Sages], and the church also supports believers in publishing books that are beneficial to the public, so - Wenzhao Gong?"

He sat back at the desk again. He would definitely not be able to write serious literature because his grammar foundation was too poor. I can write some knightly novels and legendary adventures that are less demanding. It's no secret that the original owner likes these things. Although it is strange to suddenly take out a book, it can be explained.

But after much deliberation, I gave up. The adventure novels of this era are still in a relatively primitive stage. In addition to the classic plots of adventure, princesses, treasures, and evil dragons, there are also large sections that are gorgeous but insignificant. Useless short poem.

Jenkins couldn't write these things, so he wrote according to the routine he knew well in his previous life, and he was worried that because his writing style was too unique, others would find out the truth about time travel.

"Short story, slightly less demanding on grammar."

Jenkins nodded, wrote these two requirements on the paper, and then added: "Be able to publish normally."

This sentence is necessary because unhealthy novels suitable for restless teenagers, solitary dock workers, etc. are also very popular. In order to take care of the common reality of low literacy rates, they also deliberately weakened the text and used more large pictures. Jenkins also had a few of these under his bed.

"No, no, it may be very profitable, but if someone finds out, it's over."

Jenkins circled the last words he wrote, and then fell into thought again.

As he recalled his experience after time travel, the little flower seller unconsciously appeared in his mind.

He still hasn't figured out why he was so unlucky, why the [Eye of Truth] suddenly activated, and why he knew it was a [Trick], but this is not important for now.

"The poor little girl selling flowers, selling little matches for girls, fairy tale?"

He wrote the word, frowning and thinking for a while.

"Most fairy tales are short stories. Although Jenkins is not a childlike guy, it won't be surprising if he writes some casually. Grammar issues also need to be practiced, and it should be okay to control them as much as possible. The publishing house affiliated with the church seems to have some knowledge in this regard. business."

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this path was very good and suitable for him now. Although the cycle of making money by writing a book is a bit longer, the advantage is that it can be done slowly and steadily, and it can also accumulate a certain social status, which will be very helpful in the future.

"Okay, I will carefully craft a fairy tale every day, and when I have collected twenty fairy tales, I will show them to the bishop. But I have to reveal some of them to people I know well in advance, and it can't be too abrupt."

Whatever he wanted to do, he picked up the pen, turned the knob of the gas lamp hanging on the wall, turned up the light, and then leaned in front of the table to conceive of a new "Little Match Girl" that fit the characteristics of Fidictle's kingdom.

The next day, Jenkins got up very early again. He had been in good spirits since time traveling. I don’t know if it was because he had mastered extraordinary powers.

The cook woman was preparing breakfast. After Jenkins washed up a little, he chatted and laughed with his family and had breakfast together. Then he picked up a copy of Old William's newspaper and set off again in the carriage.

Old William was very satisfied that his second son could enjoy reading newspapers, but Jenkins felt sorry for the money for the carriage ride—this was his biggest expense of the day.

Newspapers of this era were still mimeographed, so they didn’t have a strong taste but still had some flavor.

The "Nolan Daily" he picked up is the official newspaper of Nolan, and middle-class gentlemen order a copy in the morning as a symbol of status.

Jenkins was flipping through the rental information in the carriage. It was definitely not a small cubicle in the slums that could be published in a newspaper with such a large circulation. But even the cheapest apartment in the gap between the newspapers was definitely not something Jenkins could afford to live in now.

"I should change the newspaper. This kind of newspaper that doesn't even leave space for short jokes is a newspaper with no future."

He gave up the advertising area temporarily in disappointment. Seeing that the journey was still long, he flipped forward.

Section 28 Chapter 27 Troubled Times

There were a total of 4 pages of newspapers, and the largest headline was the news of the steam pipeline renovation released by the Nolan City Hall. This is indeed very important for ordinary citizens, but Jenkins had heard about it at the party a long time ago.

"Mr. Black Cat may have an official background."

He guessed casually and looked back. The reward offered by the police station, the small conflict on the border of the kingdom, and the strange rumors off the coast of Nolan City, there was no valuable news or news that was enough for Jenkins to kill the remaining half an hour.

This is an official newspaper after all. If you want to read the gossip of the nobles, I'm afraid you can only think about it.

"Good morning, old man."

"Good morning, William."

The two greeted each other and started the day again.

Jenkins' copying today was still not going well. The dizzy feeling continued until the lunch break, but fortunately the copying time was shortened.

The learning content is still reading books. The difference is that in addition to history books and antique appreciation published by local universities, there is also a book "Basics: Introduction to Gifters". In addition to the introduction of basic knowledge, it also teaches several simple rituals.

"This is written within the church, but it is also circulated among other gifters of the Orthodox Church and unregistered guys."

Dad Oliver explained it this way, which is indeed in line with the teachings of the [Knowledge and Books] Church. But the question is, doesn't the circulation of this kind of thing indirectly contribute to the number of unregistered gifters?

This is very strange. Is the church against the [Registration Law]? Or is there another hidden secret?

Jenkins didn't ask, he knew that even if he asked, Dad would definitely not have an answer.

Regarding yesterday's events, Jenkins also asked about the follow-up results. In addition to learning that the old Mr. Smith was the church's "secret keeper" in the Nolan Parish, he also learned that the matter of A-01-2-0198 had been reported to the other four churches.

Dad planned to stay out less in the next few weeks. Nolan City is now in a rare period of trouble.

"Can't the five major church's gift-givers think of a solution? The matter of the octopus has not been resolved yet, right?"

Jenkins complained deliberately.

"The octopus matter has been put on hold for the time being."

Dad shrugged, "Last week, a big thing happened in the Broken Islands off the coast of Nolan. Two-thirds of the church's combat forces went out to sea. Otherwise, with the level of the incident yesterday evening, Binxi would not be qualified to participate."

Big thing?

Jenkins inexplicably thought of the "strange rumors" mentioned in the newspaper, but his father obviously didn't want to continue on this issue. He just monotonously told him to "talk less and do more. Don't look around when walking outside. If you encounter a fight, just walk around."

During the lunch break, Jenkins borrowed his father's backyard to test his new ability. The result was not bad. When the spirit was infused into his legs, he could burst out a speed that surpassed the top track and field athletes in his previous life. At the same time, this ability also enhanced his balance ability, which is a passive effect of improving basic qualities.

Only two customers walked into the old father's antique shop all day. One of them was just browsing around, but looked more like a thief. The other bargained with the old father for a long time before buying a small beetle sculpture made of gears.

It was more like a work of art than an antique.

No unexpected things happened in the next few days. Jenkins ran back and forth between home and his father's antique shop, which further strengthened his idea of ​​moving away from home.

He became more and more proficient in copying the text, and his physical discomfort was also alleviated. This is a good sign, because Jenkins can finally feel the subtle cold air flow from his fingers and head while copying.

He thinks this is related to the flowers in his stomach that are still emitting spirits, which strengthen his perception of spirits.

This accumulation is still a bit slow. The flowers and copying combined are temporarily not as many as the number of spirits he got when he passed through the strange realm. But the strange realm does not appear often, and it is extremely dangerous. After laughing at Jenkins's idea, Dad told him to continue to accumulate down-to-earth, which is the right way.

Jenkins also "unlocked" a new scene in Nolan City, the [Mr. Ink Club] located in the dock area. This club only holds regular reading salons on the surface, but in fact, the underground is a gun training ground.

In Nolan City, you need a gun license to carry a gun, which is obviously illegal here.

Dad introduced Jenkins to this place because low-level gifters have a single means of attack, and using guns is the most common situation. He told Jenkins to rest assured that although it is illegal here, the boss has a relationship with the municipal government, and the police station knows the situation here but never asks.

"Tsk tsk, this is the norm in this era."