Chapter 164: Chapter 106: A Truly Black-Hearted Master

And on the rifle’s frame, near the trigger, at the heart of the Rune Array, he had also reserved a node for channeling his core power.

This way, in future combat, he could use Rune Power through the pilot. It was also a preliminary test for outfitting the Type-Zero with a weapon.

If this method proved feasible, the Mechanical Puppet’s external weaponry could be fully integrated, making it much more convenient for the pilot to operate.

After finishing, Wei’en checked the materials he had left from building the Mechanical Puppet.

’Hmm, I’m short on quite a few materials.’

He especially needed to buy more Sare Metal, which was used for engraving the Rune Array.

’Counting the 10 gold pounds from the deal with Clelia, I have 14 gold pounds and 5 shillings left.’

A pound of Sare Metal alone cost 18 shillings, and he estimated he would need about five pounds of it. On top of that, there were other metals and miscellaneous materials...

The cost to build this sniper rifle would be 15 gold pounds, which was already a quarter of the price of a Mechanical Puppet.

With this in mind, Wei’en took out the blue-and-white box and spent all his gold pounds on materials for Enlightenment Potions.

He could only make eighteen Enlightenment Potions, but if he managed to brew them all to perfect-grade, he could earn nearly 60 gold pounds, which would be enough to support him for some time.

’Time to make some money!’

Wei’en didn’t waste a second, immediately starting to brew the Enlightenment Potion. It was all for the sake of that new sniper rifle.

"Oh, so diligent this early in the morning. You’re so terribly dull~"

The sudden voice made Wei’en’s hand tremble. He glanced at the concoction in the crucible, now showing a slight imperfection. "Lady Clelia, please don’t just pop in while I’m working."

"My apologies, my apologies,"

Clelia sat on his workbench, legs crossed, watching his movements with keen interest. "I must say, you’re quite charming when you’re brewing Magic Potions~"

"You don’t say,"

Wei’en pouted, inwardly lamenting the lost two gold pounds. ’Now the quality of this potion can only reach ’Excellent’ grade at best.’

"You seem to be in a much better mood."

Clelia’s smile faltered. Clearly recalling her injury from the previous night, she said with a hint of displeasure, "You’re not the least bit endearing."

"So you do remember getting hurt last night."

"Of course! That detestable old man... I’ll make him understand the consequences of messing with me. I’ve already..."

Clelia stopped mid-rant, her indignation replaced by a sly look. Her bright eyes locked onto him as she asked coquettishly, "Are you worried about me?"

"..." Wei’en gave her a weary look. "Forget I said anything." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

’Concern? I’m just worried, that’s all.’

’Worried that if she suddenly drops dead, I’ll lose the sucker who’s willing to spend 5 gold pounds on a case file.’

’Yep. That’s it.’

"I’m sure of it now. You’re not endearing in the slightest," Clelia huffed. "That relic tome, have you read it?"

"I’ve looked at it..."

Recalling the previous night’s events, Wei’en replied irritably, "Where in the world did you get that relic? I could barely recognize any of the Gonzalez language in it."

’Not only could my Master-level Gonzalez proficiency not translate it, but its contents even managed to attract the attention of the Demon Clown.’

’It cost me Survival Points, and now I have to worry about a sudden visit from the Demon Clown... no, a sudden *attack*.’

"Were you able to make out any of it?"

"I could only make out that it’s a piece of history from the early Third Era, concerning a vast empire called the Turing Empire."

"The Turing Empire..."

Clelia murmured the name, her eyes growing brighter and brighter. "I knew this tome was no ordinary relic!"

"You know of this empire?"

"Nope."

Wei’en: "..."

’What the hell? How could you be so certain if you don’t even know?’

"I just know that any relic dating back to the early Third Era is never simple. It’s bound to hold a great treasure."

"Treasure?"

"Mhm. Lost knowledge, or legendary equipment that only exists in tales, things like that."

Wei’en was somewhat interested, but not overly so. ’No matter how much knowledge it contains,’ he thought, ’could it possibly be as systematic as the inherited knowledge I gain from upgrading Runology and Potioneering?’

’As for equipment... hmm, it probably can’t compare to forbidden items with their inscrutable powers.’

"You still haven’t told me where you got this relic."

Clelia was taken aback. She hadn’t expected Wei’en to have such a lukewarm reaction.

"Never you mind about that. In short, I guarantee that once you finish translating it, the rewards will be far beyond your imagination—perhaps not even that much less than what I’ll get."

"Many Extraordinaries in this era have relied on such things to grow stronger. You don’t really think everyone can just improve their strength by studying, like a Wizard, do you?"

That sounded familiar.

Oh, right. Marco had said something similar before.

Wei’en asked suspiciously, "You guys also have to eat fleshy foods with special, corrupting properties?"

He had assumed the Eternal Life Association was more like the Dawn Church, following a faith-based Extraordinary path.

"...Don’t even mention that," Clelia said, a look of disgust flashing across her face. "Those Inheritors of Extraordinary Bloodlines are truly vile in their pursuit of strength."

"Oh? So you’ve seen it firsthand."

"The Eternal Life Association has quite a few elites from the various Extraordinary Clans, and they all... Huh? Are you trying to pump me for information?"

"Suit yourself." Wei’en’s hands never stopped moving as he poured the ’Excellent’ grade Enlightenment Potion into a glass vial.

Seeing his indifferent attitude, Clelia licked her lips. "You’ll find out sooner or later anyway, so I might as well give you some basic knowledge now. Do you know where Extraordinary Bloodlines come from?"

’Where do they come from?’