Warm air rolled out as Shen pushed open the door of Bravehearts Bar. The smell of alcohol, tobacco smoke, and roasted meat mixed together and replaced the cold fog outside.
Inside, the place was busier than he expected.
Several round wooden tables filled the room. The wood was worn smooth from years of use, and some of the edges were scratched with knife marks or initials carved by bored customers. A group of dockworkers sat near the center of the bar, drinking loudly and arguing about something related to shipping fees.
Closer to the walls were quieter groups.
Two men in dark coats were playing cards under a gas lamp, the yellow light reflecting off a pile of coins on the table. Another man sat alone with a glass of rum, slowly polishing a revolver with a cloth.
Shen stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
The room dimmed again as the foggy daylight outside disappeared.
For a moment, he simply stood there and observed.
Some of the people here looked like ordinary workers, but others were different. Their movements were calm and measured. Their eyes carried the kind of alertness that suggested they were used to watching their surroundings.
Shen reminded himself not to stare at them.
He walked toward the bar counter with confidence.
The bartender was a middle-aged man with rolled sleeves and a thick beard. He was wiping a glass with a cloth while occasionally glancing at the room.
Shen took a seat on one of the stools.
"Cheap rum," he said.
The bartender looked at him briefly but didn't ask any questions. He poured a small glass and slid it across the counter.
Shen took a sip.
The taste burned slightly as it went down. It wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't terrible either.
He turned his head slightly and began listening to the surrounding conversations.
Most of it was normal bar talk.
Complaints about wages. Arguments about shipping routes. Someone complaining about the cost of coal.
But after a few minutes, something caught his attention.
Two men sitting at a nearby table were speaking in quieter voices.
"…telling you, those things are still down there," one of them said.
"Light-seeking bats again?" the other replied.
"Yeah. The sewer maintenance crew refuses to go near that tunnel now."
Shen kept his face neutral, but his ears perked up.
Light-seeking bats.
That matched one of the ingredients in the formula he had seen.
Eye of a Light-seeking Bat.
He slowly took another sip of rum while pretending not to listen.
"The city should just burn that tunnel," the second man muttered.
"And flood half the drainage system? Good luck convincing the council of that."
Then their conversation shifted to other topics after that.
Shen leaned back slightly in his seat.
At least now he had confirmation that the creatures were real and nearby. That meant the ingredient might not be impossible to obtain.
Of course, getting it would be another problem entirely.
Shen turned back toward the counter.
The bartender was now stacking clean glasses behind the shelf.
After a moment of hesitation, Shen spoke.
"I heard this place is good for finding unusual information."
The bartender paused but didn't look surprised.
"That depends on what you mean by unusual," he said.
Shen shrugged lightly.
"Things people don't usually discuss in public."
The bartender studied him for a few seconds.
"First time here?"
Shen nodded.
"Figured."
The bartender leaned his elbows on the counter.
"If you're looking for rumors, people here talk a lot. If you're looking for something else…" he shrugged slightly. "You'll need someone to introduce you."
Shen understood the meaning immediately.
Beyonder gatherings.
These gatherings were not something a random stranger could walk into.
"How does someone get introduced around here?" Shen asked casually while smiling mysteriously.
The bartender gave a small smile.
"Usually by someone who already trusts you."
Shen sighed quietly.
That was about what he expected.
He finished the rest of his drink slowly.
While he was thinking about whether to ask more questions, a strange feeling crept into the back of his mind.
Someone was watching him.
Shen didn't react immediately. He simply waited a few seconds and pretended to examine the bar shelves.
Then he glanced toward the side of the room.
In the far corner sat a man wearing a dark cloak.
The man's face was partly hidden by the shadow of his hood, but his eyes were clearly directed toward Shen.
Shen looked away again.
At first he decided to ignore it.
In a place like this, staring contests were not uncommon.
But after several minutes passed, he still felt the man's gaze.
Shen grew slightly cautious.
Was the man suspicious of him?
Or was it something else?
After thinking about it for a moment, Shen turned his head and looked directly at the cloaked man.
Their eyes met.
The man didn't look surprised.
Instead, he gave Shen a small, gentle smile.
It wasn't threatening.
It looked more like the kind of expression someone used when they understood something.
Then he stood up.
Without saying anything, the cloaked man walked toward the door and left the bar.
Shen blinked.
That was unexpected.
For a moment he considered ignoring it.
But curiosity slowly pushed him to stand up.
He stepped away from the counter.
Just as he was about to head toward the door, the bartender spoke again.
"Wait."
Shen turned back.
"If you're serious about finding what you're looking for," the bartender said quietly, "there's sometimes a gathering near the east docks. Not every week."
Shen listened carefully.
"Where?"
"Old warehouse district. Someone usually spreads the word a day or two beforehand."
Shen nodded.
"Thanks."
Then he pushed open the door and stepped outside.
The fog had grown thicker again.
Shen looked around.
The cloaked man was already walking down the street.
After a brief hesitation, Shen decided to follow him.
His footsteps were quiet against the damp cobblestones.
The man turned into a narrow alley between two brick buildings.
Shen's steps slowed.
A small voice in his mind reminded him this could be dangerous.
The man could easily be a Beyonder.
Following him might be a mistake.
But Shen continued anyway.
As he reached the corner of the alley and looked inside,
The space was narrow and dim.
Crates were stacked against one wall, and the ground was covered with damp gravel.
But the cloaked man was gone.
Shen frowned slightly.
The alley ended in a brick wall.
It was a dead end.
"How…"
"Was that a Beyonder of the Apprentice pathway?"
He stepped forward cautiously.
Then he noticed something on the ground.
Six books and a wallet.
They were placed neatly near the wall.
Shen glanced around again.
No one was nearby.
He slowly approached the items.
The books looked ordinary.
He picked up the first one.
It was a detective story.
The second and third books were similar—stories about detectives solving cases and explaining how they analyzed clues from many cases.
The fourth book was a fantasy novel about a magician.
The fifth book was about observation techniques and how people reveal small details through their behavior.
The sixth book was different.
It discussed occult knowledge and the basics of mysticism.
Shen stared at the small pile, taking a sharp breath.
"This is…"
Do these books belong to the cloaked man?
And what is this with detective and fantasy books?
Looking at it again, if these books belonged to the cloaked man, then the man might not be as dangerous as Shen first thought.
Or maybe the books didn't belong to him at all.
Shen reached for the wallet.
Inside he found a folded note.
He opened it.
The message was short.
"Take these. You may need them."
Shen blinked.
That confirmed the items belonged to the cloaked man.
He checked the wallet again.
Inside were several bank notes.
Shen counted them.
Five hundred pounds.
He nearly dropped the wallet.
Five hundred pounds was a huge amount of money.
With that kind of money, he might be able to buy all the ingredients for his Sequence 9 potion.
At least he hoped the ingredients wouldn't be too expensive.
And with some left over, he could also help Arthur with the family expenses.
Shen scratched his head.
"Am I really this lucky…?"
For a moment, he even thought quietly to himself.
"Maybe I should walk the Monster pathway, looking at how lucky I am."
But the joke faded quickly.
As he realized there was no such thing as a free lunch.
How did the cloaked man know he wanted to become a Beyonder?
And how did he know he had no money? Was he a stalker?
Shen looked at the note again and turned it over.
There was writing on the back.
"You don't need to worry about the money or the books. You'll understand later."
Shen continued reading.
"And if you're wondering how I knew you were looking for the Beyonder circle and needed money, know that… you're too green. Acting mysterious and pretending to understand how the Beyonder world works doesn't fool anyone."
"And no, I am not a stalker or reading your mind. Just my guess and seeing how you were behaving there."
Shen froze when he saw this.
Then his face slowly turned red from embarrassment.
He felt an intense urge to dig a hole in the ground and bury himself.
So that's what it looked like from the outside.
He stood there for a moment in silence before finally calming down.
After reading the note again carefully, Shen picked up the books and the wallet.
If the man said he would understand later, then there was no point in refusing the items now.
Shen tucked the wallet into his pants and took the books in his arms.
Then he left the alley.
As he walked back through the foggy streets, another problem appeared in his mind.
How was he going to explain this money to his family?
Arthur in particular would definitely notice something strange.
Arthur had an unusual talent for noticing small details other people often missed.
Sometimes Shen even thought to himself that Arthur would make a good Spectator.
He had that kind of sharp observation.
Shen sighed quietly.
"Well… I'll think of something on the way home."
The fog swallowed the street as he continued walking home.