Chapter 53: Gains

Chapter 53: Gains

Above the gray fog, inside the ancient palace.

One crimson star after another flared up, forming several figures.

The Star Leonard casually swept his gaze around. Then his eyes suddenly froze, stopping on the silver-black “jewelry box” placed upon the mottled long table.

If he remembered correctly, this should be the Grade 0 sealed artifact that The World Klein Moretti had specifically emphasized during their previous private gathering: the Box of the Great Old Ones.

The Saint of Secrets Botis really controlled this Grade 0 sealed artifact? And he actually took it out and used it? In the end, Madam Hermit and Miss Justice still succeeded? Leonard’s pupils dilated slightly. For a moment, he almost could not believe his eyes.

As an orthodox official Beyonder and a Red Gloves captain of the Church of Evernight, he had a clear concept of what Grade 0 sealed artifacts were. He knew those objects could destroy a city with casual ease, make people drop dead without warning and without resistance, and that when facing them, one should not only avoid contact—one should also avoid learning about them as much as possible.

Leonard had originally believed that once Madam Hermit and Miss Justice truly encountered a Grade 0 sealed artifact, they would follow the contingency plan, withdraw from the battlefield, and think of another way to rescue Miss Magician. Who could have imagined that they had actually succeeded, and even brought back the Grade 0 sealed artifact, the Box of the Great Old Ones!

“Has Madam Hermit’s Mystical Re-enactment become that powerful? Can the Banquet of Betrayal she mentioned really make a sealed artifact rebel? Or perhaps Mr. Fool offered a certain amount of help?” Leonard muttered silently while glancing toward The World Klein Moretti seated at the very bottom of the bronze long table. He discovered that this former colleague of his was exceedingly calm.

Klein looked around and laughed hoarsely.

“Congratulations, everyone. This hunt was very successful.

“All the spoils are here.”

As he spoke, he lifted his right hand and condensed a great deal of mysticism knowledge into a ball of faint white radiance. Attached to it were also a few legends and tales from the East, such as The Peach Blossom Spring and the Rotten Axe Chess Game. He wanted Madam Hermit to try whether they belonged to mystery and whether they had any real origin.

“Madam, this is your payment.” The World Klein made the ball of pale-white light fly toward The Hermit Cattleya. Then he pointed at the Box of the Great Old Ones, the Secrets Sorcerer Beyonder characteristic, the Traveler’s Bag, Botis’s eyeballs, nine Star Worms, and a large quantity of gemstones and materials laid out on the table. “In addition, you have the right of first selection.”

After the demigod-level battle to hunt the Saint of Secrets Botis, The Hermit Cattleya truly possessed the bearing and confidence of a saint. She first received that ball of pale-white radiance, closed her eyes, and digested the mysticism knowledge contained within.

“During the Second Epoch, the ancient gods believed that the Original Creator left behind certain things. They might be ‘kingdoms’ evolved from parts of His body, or they might be objects He created…

“These things contain sefirot. There are nine in total: the Chaos Sea, Sefirah Castle, the River of Eternal Darkness, the Knowledge Moor, the Tenebrous World, the Brood Hive, the Nation of Disorder, the City of Calamity, and the Key of Light…

“The ancient Sun God came from a place called Chernobyl…

“Sequence 0 of the Marauder pathway is called Error…

“Emperor Roselle’s fairy tales may have originated from things that once truly happened…

“…”

As that mysticism knowledge echoed through her mind, The Hermit Cattleya could not help opening her eyes and looking toward The World Gehrman Sparrow.

There was far too much within it that shocked her, overturned her understanding, and opened the door to an entirely new world.

I used to be completely unable to imagine Mr. Fool’s origins. Now I can vaguely grasp a little of it… A thought flashed through Cattleya’s mind, and she formed a certain guess.

She immediately controlled herself. She did not wish to think further, nor did she dare to.

She feared she would arrive at an answer so horrifying that it might bring her close to losing control:

This place is one of the nine great sefirot, and Mr. Fool’s objective is to gather all of them and attempt to recover…

Raising her right hand, she pushed the heavy glasses on the bridge of her nose. The Hermit Cattleya forced herself to shift her attention to the few small “stories.” She decided that, after returning to the real world and completely digesting her potion, she would attempt to create magic from them and draw power using Mystical Re-enactment.

Of course, she also believed that not every attempt would succeed. Among those few stories, some were surely purely fictional. After all, they were only an additional gift from Mr. World and did not guarantee effectiveness. Furthermore, among the many fairy tales and ancient legends Emperor Roselle had once told the Queen of Mysteries, only a small portion had truly evolved into magic.

After spending a few seconds calming herself, Cattleya cast her gaze toward the center of the mottled long table, preparing to choose her spoils.

Without question, the item that most drew the eye was the Box of the Great Old Ones, now numbered 0-61. The silver-black “jewelry box” inlaid with many gemstones completely overshadowed everything else.

Cattleya was not unfamiliar with Grade 0 sealed artifacts, because the Queen of Mysteries Bernadette had more than one. It was precisely because of this that the Element Dawn, founded by that queen, could contend with the ancient organization known as the Moses Ascetic Order, which had been born in the early Fourth Epoch.

The gap between angels and saints could not be bridged by powerful, dreamlike fairy-tale magic.

If one wished to become a true major figure, one had to either advance to Sequence 2 or possess a Grade 0 sealed artifact. Cattleya was not without desire for the Box of the Great Old Ones. But when she thought of the hints The World Gehrman Sparrow had received from Mr. Fool, when she thought of its terrifying negative effects, its extremely dangerous third layer, and its mostly uncontrollable Beyonder powers, she felt a burst of fear.

Although she possessed Fleeting Luck, she currently lacked the ability to seal the Box of the Great Old Ones.

After a fierce struggle of thought, The Hermit Cattleya pointed at the dreamlike crystal and said, “I want the Secrets Sorcerer Beyonder characteristic.”

If she could find a suitable, high-Sequence Artisan, it could be made into a rather decent sealed artifact whose negative effects would still be barely tolerable. The Queen of Mysteries Bernadette had such resources, although whether Cattleya could successfully request them was another matter.

Even if the final product had only one Teleport ability, that would be enough. And clearly, a Secrets Sorcerer would not only possess Teleportation…

Even if the negative effects cannot be endured, I can ask the Queen to shatter it and try multiple times, or sell it to Miss Magician… Hmm, she did say her teacher would prepare materials for her… Cattleya then nodded to The World Gehrman Sparrow, indicating that she confirmed her choice.

Choosing the Secrets Sorcerer Beyonder characteristic? Hearing Madam Hermit’s answer, a scene inexplicably surfaced in Klein’s mind:

A lady wearing a purple-patterned black robe and dark hood used Flash to leave behind dense clusters of “avatars,” and then all of them struck a match at the same time.

…The Little Match Girl has turned into countless Match-Selling Witches… This is practically a horror-version fairy tale… The World Klein suppressed the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth and gave a soft “Mm.”

“Very well. This is your right.”

He then turned his gaze toward Miss Magician.

“It is your turn to choose.”

“I—I didn’t do anything…” Magician Forsi said rather guiltily.

Klein gave a low chuckle.

“You completed your role as bait perfectly.”

“…” Forsi did not know what expression she should use in response, but she seemed to hear Mr. Star laugh.

Slowly inhaling, she cast her gaze toward the spoils upon the bronze long table.

To be frank, she wanted a little to choose the Box of the Great Old Ones, because this was an item stolen from her teacher’s family.

She did not intend to use it herself, but planned to return it directly to her teacher.

However, when she considered that she had truly only acted as bait once, Forsi felt she was not qualified to take an item of that level.

Through Mr. Star’s explanation, she had already gained a deep impression of how rare, precious, and dangerous Grade 0 sealed artifacts were. She knew that the value of the Box of the Great Old Ones was absolutely not comparable to a saint’s Beyonder characteristic.

Thinking that she was choosing under the gaze of The World Gehrman Sparrow, Magician Forsi finally gave up her impulse and pointed at the pair of eyeballs.

“Those, then.”

She wanted to bring those eyeballs to her teacher and tell him: Botis was dead, and all hatred had come to an end.

Apart from that meaning, Botis’s eyeballs could be made into a powerful cursed item, or used as media for curses. They were also rather valuable.

Klein nodded gently. He did not try to persuade her otherwise. He simply pointed at the gemstones, materials, and Star Worms, and said calmly, “You also used the Moon Paper Figurine, so you may choose a few more things as compensation.”

“All right.” Forsi agreed almost reflexively.

Because many charms and rituals of the Apprentice pathway required gemstones as materials, and because these things could also be admired in normal times, Forsi took a portion of the gemstones and waited to receive them through the bestowment ritual after the gathering ended.

Klein then moved his gaze and said to Miss Judgment, “It is your turn.”

Judgment Xio likewise knew that she had not made too great a contribution, and she also understood that she had no ability to resist the negative effects of the Box of the Great Old Ones. Therefore, she did not even glance at 0-61. Pointing at the black pouch, she said, “I choose the Traveler’s Bag.”

This way, she would be able to carry some heavy weapons with her. At a critical moment, perhaps she could even drag out a cannon.

As for the problem that the hidden space had to be reinforced every so often, she had already considered it. It could still be used for roughly a year in the early stage. Afterward, she could rent a sealed artifact from Madam Hermit to maintain it. And by that time, perhaps Forsi would already have become a Secrets Sorcerer.

The World Klein nodded, then looked toward The Star Leonard.

“Your turn.”

Leonard was not polite. He swept his gaze around, then pointed a few times.

“Three Star Worms, twenty gemstones, and that portion of materials.”

This gives me the feeling that I’m paying protection money to an official force… Klein lampooned his poet classmate inwardly, then turned to Miss Justice.

“The mission was very successful. I am very satisfied. Although you have already received your payment, you may still choose a little more.”

Justice Audrey could interpret the sincerity behind Mr. World’s words. She did not decline. She chose one Star Worm and one-third of the spiritual materials.

At this point, as the commissioner of the mission, The World Gehrman Sparrow’s gains were five Star Worms, the Grade 0 sealed artifact Box of the Great Old Ones, one-third of the spiritual materials, and nearly thirty high-quality gemstones.

He smiled and looked toward Magician Forsi.

“Remember to tell your teacher about this matter. Say that this is my goodwill, and that I wish to make a transaction with him.”