Chapter 54: Hello There, Gloomy Toad

As the black-haired young man walked over, Dick pressed his back against the wall and screamed as if he had just seen a ghost:
"Stay away from me!!"

Not scared?
Facing such an evil warlock, how could anyone not be scared!

Wang Xi walked straight up to the short, hunchbacked Master of the Mint and grabbed him by the shoulder.
The fellow shuddered so violently that he pissed himself on the spot, wetting his trousers as a pungent, foul stench filled the air.

"You seem a bit overheated, my lord."
Wang Xi pinched his nose in disgust and said in a muffled voice.

The Master of the Mint had no idea what "overheated" meant; he just trembled incessantly, his voice shaking as he begged:
"Please, I beg you, don't eat my brain..."

"Eat, eat, eat, eat your mother's head!"
Trembling with anger, Wang Xi threw a punch straight into the fellow's abdomen.

Bang!!

"Ugh—"
Dick’s eyes bulged wide, his mouth opening in a dry heave.

His fear reached its absolute peak...
This warlock had gone mad!
His brain was about to be eaten!
And probably even his own dear mother's head would not be spared!

Wang Xi immediately followed up with a slap across his mouth.

"Ugh!" The Master of the Mint clutched his throat, looking half-dead. He could clearly feel the evil warlock shoving something into his mouth. "Cough, cough!"
"What—what did you feed me?!"

As if realizing something, Dick’s complexion changed drastically.
"Poison! It must be poison to make my brain taste delicious!"

"Yes, you really are a big brainiac."
Wang Xi nodded earnestly.

Hearing this, the Master of the Mint felt utter despair, rolling his eyes as he prepared to faint.
Although Wang Xi couldn't be bothered to explain, he didn't want the fellow to be scared to death either. He quickly steadied the limp Master of the Mint and coaxed him like a child:
"Take a deep breath. Dizziness is normal."

"Ugh, ugh..."
The Master of the Mint continued to foam at the mouth.

Seeing that it wasn't working, Wang Xi simply slapped the fellow twice. With two sharp cracks, he slapped the Master of the Mint back to consciousness.

By this time, Dick no longer looked terrified; his face was a complete blank.

Seeing this, Wang Xi knew the medicine was taking effect.

——「Jar of Honeyed Words」
It was a blue item card he had drawn just the night before; the candies inside could scatter a person's mind and subject them to control.

Wang Xi seized the opportunity to lean in close to his ear and whispered like a demon:
"I am your father..."

Soon, the Master of the Mint’s vacant eyes regained their focus. Upon seeing Wang Xi, he wore an expression of utmost reverence:
"Father."

"Huh?"
A flash of surprise crossed Wang Xi's eyes.

Even that worked...
He had originally only wanted to test it out, never expecting that Beve's candy magic would be so terrifyingly effective at mind control.

Taking advantage of the newly taking-effect medicine, Wang Xi lowered his voice and corrected him:
"Dick Smort, although I raised you since you were a child, you don't need to address me as father. Call me... Lord Gruluy from now on."

"Yes, Lord Gruluy."
The Master of the Mint groveled on the ground, kissing the tip of Wang Xi's shoe.

This scene frightened the fat minister and the apothecary so much that their complexions shifted violently, distorting with terror.

Holy crab!
That was too damn terrifying!
If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, how could they ever believe it!

In just a few seconds, the immensely familiar Master of the Mint Dick had seemed like a completely different person under the warlock's evil magic!
From a noble kingdom official, he had been reduced to a lowly dog kissing someone's shoes on the floor!

"Demon! You damned demon!"
Anduo was both shocked and furious, raising a chubby finger and spitting droplets of saliva at the black-haired youth.

"Don't even think about making me surren—oof!"

Slap!

Taking advantage of the fat minister's furious tirade, Wang Xi flashed forward and shoved a Honeyed Words candy straight into his mouth.

"Ugh!"
The fat minister's eyes went wide as he clutched his neck.

Wang Xi did not play favorites; he immediately pulled out another candy and handed it to the apothecary.

"Are you going to eat it yourself, or should I feed you personally?"
he asked flatly.

The middle-aged man named Marco stared fixedly at the hard candy in his hand, the corners of his twitching as he squeezed out a smile uglier than a dead horse:
"Warlock my lord, could you perhaps..."

"Avada Keda—"
"I'll eat it, I'll eat it!!"

Terrified that his brain might actually get blown open, the apothecary summoned the fastest hand speed of his life, snatched the colorful candy, and tossed it straight into his mouth.

Glug.

Swallowing the hard object, his face turned ashen.

Soon, the expressions of the fat minister and the apothecary grew hazy and vacant, their faces turning completely blank.

Wang Xi smiled.

...
...

A moment later.

Wang Xi sat by the table, while the other three men, now controlled by the candy, stood meekly to the side like loyal servants.

He toyed with a green card in his hand. This was a brand-new card he had just drawn, with abilities originating from the Finger Guild Master who had been lying on the ground gazing at the stars.

「Silent Endless Night (Skill Card)」
「Quality: Green One-Star (Upgradable)」
「The signature skill of a veteran assassin. Throughout his life, he used it to assassinate countless wealthy merchants and nobles, lurking silently in the night without a sound. Yet, in the end, he died at the hands of a warlock in a direct frontal duel.」
「Upon use, you will master it, significantly reducing the noise generated during movement, with especially optimal effects at night. Each use of this card will continuously consume a small amount of stamina.」

'You call yourself an assassin, yet you play like a berserker, and you even planned to charge me head-on and take me out in one wave,' Wang Xi clicked his tongue and glanced at the floor.
'Tsk, and look where playing like that got you—dead.'

He learned a lesson from this fellow, reminding himself never to grow careless, lest he capsize in the gutter one day.

Wang Xi thought for a moment, tossing this card directly into the crevice of his mind, and sent "Amphibious" and "Heartbeat Listening" in along with it.

'Caos, synthesize.'

Hum—

The three green cards spun within the fog-filled crevice.
Soon, they intertwined into a mass.
Finally, a deep green radiance burst forth.

「Gloomy Sneaking Frog (Skill Card)」
「Quality: Deep Green One-Star (Non-upgradable)」
「A frog that dwells in gloomy places. It moves furtively and possesses acute senses. It has a penchant for prying into the lives of glamorous women, croaking in the mud by day and diving by night—truly a gloomy creature.」
「Upon use, you will gain the abilities of underwater breathing, silent movement, and environmental insight. Each use of this card will continuously consume a certain amount of stamina.」

‘...’

Holding this brand-new deep-green card, Wang Xi didn't even know where to begin complaining. He felt the description had a rather profound subtext.

Overall, however, the synthesized card was clearly much stronger. Although it had become non-upgradable, sacrificing a bit of potential, its various abilities were vastly enhanced.

Puting the card away, Wang Xi fell into deep thought.

Through the fat minister, the Master of the Mint, and the apothecary, he had just acquired extremely valuable intelligence.

First, Calvin had indeed tampered with the Magic Workshop, and Anduo, as the Grand Minister of the Artisan Guild, was crystal clear about it. However, he had long since been bought off by Calvin and had dirt held over him by the man, which was why he betrayed the Queen and willingly acted as a lackey for the prospective prince consort.

Second, the funds Dick embezzled were not entirely kept for his own private use—or rather, he didn't even dare to. The vast majority of this money was taken by Calvin.

Third, Marco’s mentor had once been the Chief Court Apothecary, but had been secretly executed two years ago. Only a few people knew about this, and Marco was one of them.

Originally, Wang Xi hadn't paid much attention to this apothecary and had merely controlled him on a whim. He never expected that a casual question would unexpectedly unearth this court secret.

Connecting this to two years ago—which happened to be the time of the old king's death—Wang Xi realized this was most likely no coincidence.

He pressed Marco for more details.

As he dug deeper, even with the enhancement of the "Bloody Knight," the muscles at the corners of Wang Xi's mouth were barely able to suppress a grin.

'Calvin truly has enough ambition, but he's far too eager for quick success...' Wang Xi thought to himself.

From the apothecary Marco, he learned that the old king's true cause of death stemmed from a "malignant disease."

During the onset, the eyes turned scarlet and the victim became immensely manic and bloodthirsty, impervious to any potions.
In the end, they died violently in bed with blood pouring from all seven orifices.

The entire court apothecary corps could diagnose no name for the illness, but Wang Xi had guessed the answer: the polluted Black Lake in the Forest of Magic.

The old king's condition bore a striking resemblance to corruption.
Yet he was no magical beast, merely a decrepit old man who naturally could not withstand the pollution and perished.

The incident was ultimately defined as a curse, and through Calvin's instigation, it was pinned on the wicked witches of the Forest of Magic.
At the time, it directly triggered panic throughout the court.

And the young Queen Thiana had been forced to wear the crown precisely amidst such grief, confusion, and helplessness.
Yielding to the wishes of the ministers and nobles, she came to view the Forest of Magic as humanity's mortal enemy. Under Calvin's leadership, she launched a vigorous magic-tech reform...

Upon learning these secrets, Wang Xi couldn't help but marvel.

That Calvin truly had some extraordinary luck, seizing every advantage of heaven's time, geographical convenience, and human harmony. He was about to marry the Queen, secretly build a mecha-puppet legion, take control of the kingdom, and reach the pinnacle of his life.

In any other novel, he'd practically be a protagonist of destiny. Truly terrifying; he simply could not be left alive.

Click.

At that moment, the door pushed open.

Pinocchio walked in looking battered and bruised, dragging the unconscious demon hunter Colin behind him.

Wang Xi turned his head for a glance and noticed that several other people were sprawled out across the floor outside—all elite members of the Finger Guild from downstairs.

"Pinocchio, are you hurt?"
he asked with concern, looking at the boy's disheveled state.

"I'm fine," Pinocchio said, scratching his head sheepishly. "Just that this fellow slashed me a few times, and my clothes got torn."

Wang Xi noticed that beneath the tears in the boy's clothes was smooth, tender skin, without even the trace of a scratch.
It showed just how astonishing his defense truly was.

He cast another sympathetic glance at the unconscious Colin. No matter how battle-hardened and monster-slaying this warrior was, he probably had never encountered an invulnerable iron boy before...

"I'll take you to a tailor's shop later to get a new set of clothes, though they certainly won't compare to this one," Wang Xi comforted.

Pinocchio wasn't picky; he just smiled shyly and nodded in agreement.
In his heart, he felt more and more that Gaius was truly good to him.

...
...

Over the next few days.

Using the special pass and token he obtained from Anduo, Wang Xi swaggered into the magic workshop district on the east side of Daphner under the guise of an inspector, bringing Pinocchio along with him.

Originally, in the 「Seclusion Preview」, he had gotten stuck at this very step, wasting a massive amount of time and failing to expose Calvin's conspiracy before the Queen's wedding.
Resulting in the events devolving into the worst possible ending.

'But starting from here, the trajectory of events will be rewritten by my own hands...'