Lu Yuan hesitated slightly before asking the middle-aged man.
“Can I take a look at the gold-plated enchanted bullets?”
The middle-aged man was taken aback for a moment, then a smile quickly spread across his face.
“Certainly. For consumables like these, I have samples here for display.”
After saying that, the middle-aged man turned and entered the small room behind him. A short while later, he returned with a bullet that shimmered with a golden luster.
Lu Yuan took it; it felt heavy in his hand, at least half again as heavy as a silver-plated bullet.
At the same time, greyish-white text quietly emerged.
【Target Detected: gold-plated enchanted bullets (Nightwatchers Special Edition)】
【A composite structure of refined holy gold and a silver-plated warhead, it has a clear suppression effect on the eerie. Although the duration is limited, the instantaneous damage is extremely high.】
Seeing this, Lu Yuan did not hesitate.
“One box of these.”
The middle-aged man made a note in his ledger.
Next was the materials page.
Lu Yuan flipped through it quickly.
First, he found advanced holy water.
He needed a large amount of this stuff.
He had a Holy Water Cup back in Gelimu Port that could continuously produce holy water, but he hadn't had the chance to bring it with him.
The Nightwatchers' exchange list didn't have items on the level of the Holy Water Cup.
There was only bottled advanced holy water.
It wasn't expensive, but it was limited.
Each person had a maximum monthly quota.
“Max out my quota for advanced holy water.”
The middle-aged man flipped through the regulations.
“Captain Lu, at your rank, you can exchange for eight bottles per month.”
“I'll take them all.”
Eight bottles of advanced holy water—if that wasn't enough, he'd come back next month.
Then there were the eerie materials.
Lu Yuan calculated in his head.
Although he hadn't officially finalized his Inscription direction, he had already made his choice.
Eerie Inscription.
Materials were the lifeblood of this path.
It wasn't too early to start hoarding now.
He checked off items on the catalog one by one.
Brain-eating worm tentacles.
Greyish-white and soaked in preservative fluid, they looked like a clump of curled-up fine threads.
Flesh-eating grass teeth.
Pale yellow spikes with fine barbs on the surface; their reflection was very sharp.
Soul-sucking whale bones.
Palm-sized bone fragments, very light in texture, emitting a hollow hum when tapped.
The unit price for all three items wasn't low, but Lu Yuan didn't hesitate.
Then he flipped down a page.
A section for newly added stock.
Ghoul materials.
Lu Yuan's hand stopped.
Ghoul brain cores: 1 point for 3 units.
Ghoul breastbones: 1 point for 5 segments.
Ghoul eyeballs: 1 point for 10 units.
These were brought back from the pipe network cleanup operation, and logistics had stocked them in bulk.
Supply far exceeded demand.
They were ridiculously cheap.
Looking at these prices, Lu Yuan's expression was subtle.
This stuff can actually be exchanged for points?
‘If I'd known, I would've picked up more while I was in the pipe network.’
Lu Yuan took one set of each of the three types of ghoul materials.
Since they were cheap anyway, he'd hoard them first; they would come in handy for Eerie Inscription experiments later.
Finally, he flipped through the miscellaneous category in the catalog.
His gaze fell on a book.
《Illustrated Guide to Transcendent Weapon Exchange》, 5 points.
It contained basic structures and enchantment principle diagrams for various types of imperial transcendent weapons.
More importantly, it provided detailed introductions to the functions and classifications of weapons.
For instance, Lu Yuan was very curious about Kraus's ring, but he had never been able to find specific information about it.
Of course, it would also be valuable as a reference for Inscription research.
“I want this book too.”
After the middle-aged man finished recording each item, he calculated the total.
“120 for the customized weapon, and a total of 95 for the materials and ammunition. That's 215 points in total.”
“Remaining: 186 points.”
Lu Yuan nodded.
The middle-aged man stood up to go to the back to prepare the goods.
Lu Yuan stood at the counter waiting, flipping through the newly purchased guide.
The paper was yellowed and the ink was somewhat dim; he didn't know how long ago it had been printed.
However, the enchantment structure diagrams inside were drawn very precisely, and the annotations were quite thorough.
It was well worth it; he would take his time looking at it when he got back.
The preparation was quick.
The middle-aged man walked out carrying two wooden boxes—one for ammunition and one for materials.
The gold-plated enchanted bullets were individually wrapped in soft cloth and placed at the very top of the material box.
Eight bottles of advanced holy water were stacked neatly, their bottles bearing the Church's wax seals.
The eerie materials were each sealed with clear labels.
As for the ghoul items... they were just tossed into a cloth bag, looking quite loose.
Lu Yuan glanced at the cloth bag but said nothing.
He signed for them and hauled them away.
He didn't buy any medicinal herbs.
It wasn't because he lacked money.
It was because he had a better way.
Margaret had said last time to "come and help when you're free."
He could help prepare medicine and fleece some basic medicinal herbs along the way.
Killing two birds with one stone.
Lu Yuan moved the two wooden boxes back to the second floor of his residence and put them away one by one.
The ammunition was tucked into the storage cabinet.
The gold-plated enchanted bullets were placed separately in the most accessible spot.
The eerie materials were arranged on the empty shelves by category.
The brain-eating worm tentacles, flesh-eating grass teeth, and soul-sucking whale bones were placed side by side.
Next to them was a small pile of ghoul brain cores, breastbones, and eyeballs.
Lu Yuan stood before the shelf and glanced at these items.
He now had the starting materials for Eerie Inscription.
He placed the 《Illustrated Guide to Transcendent Weapon Exchange》 on the experimental table, next to the toolbox.
Then, he fished the Dwarf's stone slab out of his pocket.
The four symbols floated quietly on the surface of the slab, no longer glowing.
Lu Yuan's finger paused over them.
‘It's time to decide.’
Lu Yuan fished the thumb-length copper whistle out of his side pocket.
It was crudely made, its surface pitted and uneven, hanging from a worn, white-rubbed leather cord.
The item left behind by Duo Hawke.
“Blow it, and any nearby Dwarf will hear. Of course, whether there's a Dwarf nearby depends on your luck.”
Lu Yuan stood by the second-floor window and hesitated for a moment.
Then he put it to his lips and gave it a blow.
The sound wasn't loud.
It was like a copper pipe being tapped—short, dull, and then dissipating into the air.
There was no reaction outside the window.
The Nightwatchers patrol in the branch's inner courtyard continued as usual, their footsteps steady and unhurried.
Lu Yuan waited for a minute.
Nothing happened.
Two minutes.
Still nothing.
‘It seems my luck isn't very—’
Behind him, the door to the storage cabinet was pushed open from the inside.
Creak.
A small figure crawled out of the cabinet, which physically should not have been able to fit any living creature.
A wrinkled face, a grizzled beard, and an old leather apron of indistinguishable color, hung with all sorts of clinking small tools.
Duo Hawke patted the dust off his apron and stood boldly on the floor.
He stomped his two short legs a few times, as if confirming the sturdiness of the floor beneath him.
Then he looked up and scanned Lu Yuan's new residence.
“Better than that dump last time.”
He sniffed his nose.
His gaze swept over the bottles and jars on the experimental table before finally landing on the row of eerie materials on the shelf.
His eyebrows twitched.
“Brain-eating worm tentacles, flesh-eating grass teeth...” he muttered, his voice low, “You certainly know what to buy.”
Lu Yuan didn't respond.
He took the stone slab from his pocket and placed it on the experimental table.
The four symbols floated quietly.
Seeing the slab, Duo Hawke's expression tightened.
The Dwarf's professional instinct instantly switched him into business mode.
“Have you made up your mind?”
Lu Yuan nodded.
His finger did not hesitate.
He tapped directly on the fourth symbol.
Eerie Inscription.
Duo Hawke's movements stiffened.
He looked up, his eyes, somewhat cloudy with age, staring at Lu Yuan for several seconds.
It wasn't disappointment.
It was surprise.
“Are you sure?”
“I'm sure.”
Duo Hawke fell silent.
He leaned closer to Lu Yuan, his nose twitching.
This was the Dwarf's habitual action for judging an aura.
He had done the same thing last time in the alchemy workshop.
But this time, after sniffing, his expression changed.
“The aura on you... it's thicker than last time.”
It was as if he were confirming something.
He looked into Lu Yuan's eyes—more accurately, he looked at Lu Yuan's left eye, lingering for an extra moment.
Then he withdrew his gaze.
“Fine, then. It's your choice.”
Duo Hawke hopped onto the stool at the edge of the experimental table and leaned over to look at the stone slab.
His short, thick finger pressed on the symbol for “Eerie Inscription.”
The other three symbols—Weapon Inscription, Large-scale Inscription, and Ancient Inscription—simultaneously dimmed.
The light contracted and the outlines blurred, like ink being sucked back into the paper.
After a few seconds, they disappeared completely.
Only one symbol remained on the stone slab.
It emitted a faint but steady dark red light.
The material of the slab was also changing.
The originally smooth surface gained a layer of rough texture, as if it had resonated with some kind of aura on Lu Yuan's body.
At the edge of his vision, greyish-white text flickered.
【Inscription (Advanced) direction confirmed: Eerie Inscription】
【Inscription (Advanced · Eerie Inscription): 2.4/50】
【You have stepped onto a rare and dangerous path... but perhaps, you are more suited to walk this path than anyone else.】
Lu Yuan looked at the last line of text and said nothing.
Duo Hawke hopped down from the stool and rummaged through his apron pockets.
A clinking sound lasted for quite a while.
Then he pulled something out.
A small bone fragment.
It was about two fingers wide, its surface carved with dense miniature symbols.
The incisions of the symbols were deep, and the edges had faint dark red residues, as if they had been stained with some special liquid.
“An entry-level guide,” Duo Hawke said, placing the bone fragment on the experimental table. “A Basic Eerie Inscription Symbol Table. There are thirty-six basic symbols in total.”
He paused.
“As for the rest, you'll have to figure it out yourself.”
Lu Yuan picked up the bone fragment and flipped it over.
Thirty-six symbols.
Each one was completely unfamiliar.
They were entirely different from the Large-scale Inscription taught by Bolen, and they didn't match the inscription system on the copper pillar either.
These symbols were more... distorted.
The lines were irregular and the paths were eerie; some symbols even caused a momentary sense of discomfort just by looking at them.
‘Eerie Inscription. It certainly lives up to its name.’
Duo Hawke continued.
“Eerie Inscription is unlike other directions; there are no systematic textbooks. Most of the existing Eerie Inscriptionists in the Empire figured it out on their own.”
“There isn't much more I can give you.”
He held up a short, thick finger.
“However, since you've chosen this path, you can still take orders from my side.”
“Although Eerie Inscription is niche, there is no lack of demand among the Dwarves.”
“There are some things that only those on this path can make.”
There was a hint of something Lu Yuan couldn't quite place in his tone.
“What things?” Lu Yuan asked.
Duo Hawke gave a chuckle.
“We'll talk about that later.”
The old man's usual tactic.
“By the way.” Duo Hawke's nose twitched again, and his gaze suddenly turned toward the material box next to the experimental table.
He approached, his short legs kicking twice to climb onto the stool, and stuck his head into the box.
Then one of his hands fished out a small bottle of advanced holy water.
“Good stuff.”
He pulled out the wax seal and tilted his head back, draining it in one gulp.
Lu Yuan: “...”
‘He has to fleece something every time he comes.’
Rate on N.U.
