Kvedo heard Erich's words and felt something was off, then immediately reacted and said, "Oh, right, I forgot! Our Extraordinary Gathering also sells potion formulas. I remember one is called 'Sleepless,' and wasn't there also 'Sailor'? If you like these two potions, you can come with me to that Extraordinary Gathering."
Erich wasn't surprised that he had let something slip. He merely added calmly, "Kvedo, without strong guarantees, you should know that the potion formulas sold at the gathering might be fake. If you drink those fake potions, hey, instant death is the lightest outcome. At least the potion we gave Karl won't harm him."
Patting his forehead, Kvedo said remorsefully, "Oh, yes, those potion formulas I've only seen people buy them, never heard anyone say they became a Beyonder after consuming them. I was careless."
Fulen also added, "However, a truly effective potion, if brewed correctly, will be like a solid, all connected. After it's prepared, not a single drop will be left in the brewing container. This should also serve as a basis for judging whether a potion is real, right?"
Kvedo and Erich, however, said in unison, "No." The two exchanged glances, and after a brief eye contact,
Kvedo continued, "We can't conclude that based solely on this. If a wrong formula could also produce such an effect, then Karl would be scammed to death. We can't take that risk. Anyway, the three of us each have a different potion formula; three potion formulas are sufficient."
Fulen now realized his mistake. After all, although he knew many high-level secrets of the potion Sequence, he truly didn't know the specific rules of those potion Sequences. If he were to actually try, there would definitely be countless loopholes. So he also said remorsefully, "You're right, I was being a bit too hopeful."
Then, the three of them looked at Karl, who was deep in thought. After quietly listening to their conversation, Karl understood the Beyonder world a bit more, and also realized that he could only choose one of the three. So, when the three looked at him, Karl closed his eyes, pondered silently in his mind, and then chose the potion he liked most.
Subsequently, Karl turned and bowed to Erich, then said, "Mr. Erich, then I'll trouble you to give me the 'Reader' potion formula. For me, 'Reader' is more suitable." Erich merely nodded, then gestured with his eyes to his two friends who seemed superfluous at this moment.
Kvedo and Fulen had already started walking towards the room's main Door, but Kvedo was still grumbling something with dissatisfaction: "Oh, it's all because Erich has such a good relationship with Karl; otherwise, how could he not choose 'Savant'? 'Savant' is unparalleled in the world, the entire Steam Church, every single person, approves of it with both hands and feet. 'Reader' isn't broad enough, he's been fooled, Karl, he's been fooled..."
Fortunately, Kvedo wasn't at the Luzhen Hotel, otherwise the atmosphere would have immediately become lively. But alas, it couldn't be. Not only were they not in a hotel, but they were outside a private room in a coffee shop, so no decisive blow was struck. Fulen was furiously complaining internally about his outgoing friend's somewhat childish words and actions at this moment.
Kvedo never expected that not only his potion would be disliked, but he himself would also be furiously complained about internally by the person walking out with him, otherwise his mentality might have directly collapsed, of course, the above is purely Fulen's malicious conjecture. Fulen actually knew that Kvedo only behaved with such simplicity, even childishness, when he considered everyone present to be his close friends.
It is only when one truly sees others as people with whom they can be completely unreserved that they reveal their vulnerabilities and little-known aspects. Of course, this is merely Fulen's simple view; it doesn't rule out Kvedo having a talent for acting, but Fulen never wanted to think of people in such a negative light.
Silence was like the continuously falling leaves of autumn; though it touched one's heart, it was fleeting. Soon, Karl pushed Open the Door, nodded to the two people outside, and returned to the room.
After an initial soft grumble, Kvedo fell silent. When a lively person suddenly becomes quiet, it draws more attention than those who are usually reticent. Perhaps this is a kind of talent. And this silence made people uneasy; Fulen initially had this thought.
However, seeing Kvedo become optimistic again after Karl nodded, Fulen suppressed this feeling of unease, taking it as his own paranoia acting up, and then followed him inside.
The four gathered in the room again. At this moment, Karl's face showed no joy or excitement from gaining Beyonder abilities. Perhaps he was naturally aloof, and Fulen didn't mind. Karl merely shook a bell to summon a waiter, whispered a few words, and then fell silent.
And Kvedo, as expected, took on the important mission of being the atmosphere's energizer: "Although you didn't choose 'Savant,' Karl, I believe 'Reader' is also good. Hmm, where was I? Oh, right, I hope you can enter the Beyonder world with me and become Beyonder."
"Speaking of which, when I first entered the Beyonder world, I was led by others. However, most of those gatherings were just in name only. Hey, but there are always people from the Beyonder world who enter such gatherings and then give me an unexpected encounter. That's right, that's how I became a Beyonder back then. Speaking of which, I wasn't afraid of death; I actually dared to gather the materials and brew it directly, then chugged it down in one go! My goodness, only later did I realize how foolish my actions were..."
Kvedo rambled on for a while, mostly talking about the difficulty of his initial journey to becoming a Beyonder, and some embarrassing incidents from back then. Because of this, in front of two deadpan faces and one person with mild autism, the atmosphere was surprisingly not overly awkward.
Before long, a knock on the Door interrupted Kvedo's autobiographical epic. Aside from his initial act of consuming the potion, Kvedo had actually started bragging, talking about escaping searches by the Steam Church, beating up Beyonder of the Eternal Blazing Sun, and arm-wrestling with dragons extremely Beyonder-esque statements that made Fulen internally laugh and cry, as if he had entered the fourth epoch or the Third Epoch.
The four stopped talking. Karl said loudly, "Please come in." Besides the waiter who had just left, three more waiters entered, each carrying a tray. On the trays were some things Fulen had never seen before.
After the four waiters sequentially placed the items on the table, without waiting for Karl's instruction, they bowed and then left in order.