"So good to see you, Mr. Holmes!"

Seeing Lorenzo walk into the tavern, Heracles behind the bar cheerfully exclaimed.

Due to the location of the tavern, there were usually not many customers during the day. Lorenzo glanced around and saw only a few drunk-looking patrons on the side.

"It's rare for someone to be happy to see me."

Lorenzo casually remarked on Heracles' cheerfulness. He considered himself a walking trouble, a moving Death God, always bringing disaster to those around him. Yet, unexpectedly, he was welcome today, although this guy in front wasn't an ordinary person either.

"To be precise, I'm happy for the secrets in your mind."

Heracles didn't leave Lorenzo much room for fantasy as he spoke directly.

Though they hadn't known each other long, Lorenzo felt he was getting used to Heracles' behavior. He sat down beside him and said:

"Start here?"

What they were about to exchange were those unknown secrets. Lorenzo always felt such discussions should take place in some dark corner, not sitting openly here.

"Of course, here is a good place. Want something to drink?"

Heracles obviously didn't care much as he responded directly.

Lorenzo looked at the bottles and jars behind him, where liquids floated with strange colors.

"Have you seriously studied mixology?"

"More or less... just mix a bit of this and that, as long as it doesn't kill anyone," Heracles said earnestly.

"I actually quite enjoy the process."

Heracles skillfully opened the caps, mixing liquids of various colors together. He spoke with a hint of regret:

"You should know about my quest for these secrets to avoid suddenly exposing myself to those people, I've put in a lot of effort."

"But in this aimless pursuit, I've also discovered many interesting things."

Lorenzo stirred his drink with a spoon, killing time.

"Like what?"

"Like Alchemy," Heracles said, "This thing is quite popular. You might even say... it's close to reality."

Lorenzo stopped his meaningless stirring, his gaze slightly lifting.

"Some charlatans always like to use it to deceive, as a gimmick. Therefore, true Alchemy is rare. In my long pursuit, I've found many like this — fake ones — but there are always a few real ones," Heracles said.

"I'm not an Alchemist and know little about those secrets, but through the comparison of existing cases, I've found many interesting aspects."

Heracles pushed the glass over. It was a pale blue, looking drinkable, but as he dripped an unknown liquid in, the pale blue sea began to boil, quickly churning and turning blood red within seconds.

"A lot of basic Alchemy is related to chemistry and physics," Heracles said.

"Sounds interesting."

Lorenzo wasn't an Alchemist and didn't understand Alchemy. He was a Demon Hunter, responsible for using weapons created by Alchemy to defeat enemies. It was that simple.

Heracles shook his head helplessly, "This thing should bring innovation, but I don't know why it gradually faded away, eventually becoming a street trick."

"Because it's human nature," Lorenzo said after taking a sip of the peculiar drink. It tasted just like ordinary beer, no big difference. He couldn't tell what all the previous fuss from Heracles was about.

The ultimate goal of Alchemists is the pursuit of Truth, but for them, the Truth is limited. If one person gains it, another loses it. This is the curse of knowledge. It curses these greedy scholars; the more they gain, the more it magnifies their inner vices."

Heracles stopped what he was doing, carefully listening to Lorenzo's speech. These secrets were hard to collect.

"So Alchemists are competitive with each other, even hostile. They don't easily share their knowledge, fearing someone else might get the Truth before them. It's a pathological system, with the ultimate end taking their knowledge to the grave."

"Is this the reason for the severance?"

"To some extent, yes," Lorenzo said.

"You sure know a lot, Mr. Holmes," Heracles said, appearing more delighted upon hearing this.

In some ways, Heracles was very similar to those Alchemists, obsessively pursuing knowledge. However, compared to those questers who had already perished, Heracles was much more normal.

He looked at Lorenzo with fervent eyes, something Lorenzo couldn't help but notice. Lorenzo always felt that if given the chance, Heracles would surely love to pry open his skull to see what unsolved mysteries lay within.

"Let's put this aside for now. I need some information, and of course, there's a price for it." Lorenzo set down his glass, having been considering his next moves since leaving the Stuart Mansion.

Various forces had infiltrated Old Dunling. Their goals were unclear, but Lorenzo knew very well they were just waiting for an opportunity to ignite everything.

But before the explosion, the calm dead water left Lorenzo at a loss. He wanted to do something but couldn't find a lead, until Oscar appeared.

Lorenzo couldn't have imagined he would be connected to Nordro, who in his previous impression had always been an interesting but obscure writer. Though more than that, he was now more interested in those Exiles.

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