Information Wall

Hobart showed his Badge to the guard at the entrance before he was allowed into the Information Wall room.

The room was large, nearly as large as the Living Room at home. One wall was made up of windows, while the other three walls were Blackboards.

Lines of information had been written on the Blackboards in Chalk. Several club members stood with their hands behind their backs or their arms crossed, reading the information one entry at a time.

The handwriting on these notices was elegant. They had likely all been written by the staff member seated in the center of the room.

Several tables and chairs stood in the middle of the room, along with beverages such as Coffee and Black Tea, presumably providing a place for club members to rest after tiring themselves out reading.

A staff member sat at one of the tables. In front of him were a box of Chalk, as well as paper and pens for writing.

Hobart guessed that if someone wanted to "post" information, they would first write it down with a Fountain Pen and hand it to the staff member, who would then copy it onto the Blackboard.

Only then did Hobart belatedly realize that ever since drinking the Potion, he had become especially sensitive to rules and more adept at summarizing the rules of a particular area or matter.

Was this what a Lawyer was? Someone skilled at summarizing Rules.

Hobart smiled and Shook her head, then began browsing the information on the walls.

After looking for quite some time, he began summarizing the pattern again. The wall on the right after entering primarily contained mission postings and notices seeking teammates. The middle wall was mostly for buying and selling various items, while the wall on the left contained information for exchange and discussion.

The missions posted here included both official and unofficial ones. Some were in the Northern Continent, while others were in the Southern Continent.

For example, one official mission called for sabotage and attacks against Fosac Empire colonies in West Byerlang, in retaliation for the losses the Fosac Empire had previously inflicted on the Loen Fleet at sea. Someone else had discovered a vault in the Southern Continent where the Intis Republic stored plundered gold and was looking for teammates to pull off a heist.

There were the most notices for sales and purchases. Hobart spotted several requests to buy and sell Extraordinary Items and various Extraordinary Materials. There were even people seeking common Sequence 9 Potion Recipes.

However, they did not explicitly state that they were Potion Recipes. Since the notices were open to all members, words like "Extraordinary" never appeared. Instead, terms like "Magical" were used as substitutes, though those in the know understood perfectly well.

There were also people who sold Deep Sleep Flowers, Dragon Blood Grass, Golden Mint, and other common Extraordinary Materials on a long-term basis.

This stirred Hobart's thoughts. Although a Lawyer was not skilled in soul-related Extraordinary Abilities, as a Sequence 9 Beyonder, his Spiritual Body and Astral Body were enough to support operations such as conducting Spirit Communication through a Ritual.

For other Beyonders, the greatest problem with Spirit Communication was that they did not know how to conduct the Ritual. Such knowledge was basically monopolized by churches and ancient secret organizations.

Hobart's advantage, however, was Old Neil's "explanations" and the "demonstration" from that cult leader, Mr. Fool. Knowledge that ordinary Beyonders regarded as unattainable was no secret at all to Hobart.

The other Extraordinary Items also successfully caught Hobart's attention, but their prices ranged from 300 Pounds to 3,000 Pounds, placing them beyond his current reach.

As for the exchange information, it covered all sorts of topics. There was news of a cult organization appearing in South Wales County of the Loen Kingdom, reports of bizarre murders in military camps in Eastern Baylam, and even gossip about a certain Intis Republic parliamentarian having an affair.

Two notices left a particularly deep impression on Hobart. One stated that not long ago, the Fosac Empire fleet had ambushed the Loen fleet along a Stormy Sea route, sinking one Loen warship and damaging three others to varying degrees.

The other was about General Anthony. Though he was publicly a warlord in West Byerlang, he seemed to be secretly backed by the Fosac Empire.

Hobart paid attention to the first piece of information because he had not expected the two nations to have already engaged in small-scale military clashes. Perhaps this was groundwork laid by powerful figures such as Adam and George III for the great war to come.

He paid attention to the second because he remembered that his first Believer, Elliot Burke, was in the territory controlled by the warlord General Anthony.

Most of the other notices were also secret intelligence concerning the Southern Continent or other nations, such as various countries' infiltration of Eastern Baylam or their open and covert struggles in West Byerlang.

To some people, this was all highly valuable information, but it was of little use to Hobart at present.

After organizing some information that might prove useful, Hobart asked the staff member to leave a notice: Buying Emperor Rosell's Notes, 5 Pounds per page. Note: I already possess many of Emperor Rosell's Notes, so I will only purchase Notes that are not already in my collection.

Since there were notices for buying and selling Extraordinary Materials here, it showed that the Mercenary Club was a club with Beyonders. It was only natural, then, to purchase some things related to Mysticism.

As for the note at the end, Hobart was somewhat reluctant to spend money. Once he received the Notes, he would Glanced over them. If they contained no important information, he would simply say that he already had that "collectible."

Of course, buying Emperor Rosell's diaries was a business guaranteed to turn a profit. Hobart could first read the knowledge in the diaries and expand his own reserves of knowledge. That was the first gain.

Then he could take the diaries to trade with dear Mr. Fool and fleece Mr. Fool. That was the second gain.

He could also use the knowledge in the diaries at the right time to trade with Justice and Hanged Man. That was the third gain.

Hobart grinned. The more he thought about it, the more worthwhile the deal seemed.

Finally, Hobart also asked the staff member to contact the club member selling Extraordinary Materials such as Deep Sleep Flowers and Dragon Blood Grass, stating that he intended to buy some and hoped to complete a transaction at the club tomorrow afternoon or the afternoon after.

He intended to purchase some common Extraordinary Materials and try out the Rituals in his memories.

After giving the staff member his correspondence address, the highly satisfied Hobart unhurriedly went to the Dining Room for lunch.

In the Dining Room, Hobart did not run into Christine or Bruno. They had perhaps already left the club.

Lunch was buffet-style and very lavish, with beef, lamb chops, and seafood. It tasted fairly good as well, though there did not seem to be many people dining there.

After eating and drinking his fill, Hobart took out his Pocket Watch and checked the time. It was not yet one o'clock.

He went to a sofa in the hall, reading a Newspaper as he waited for the gathering to begin.

After reading the Newspaper for a short while, Hobart noticed that many people were entering the Basement, some leisurely and others at a brisk pace. More than ten minutes passed, yet none of them returned.

Moreover, Hobart clearly heard some of them Discussing "this gathering." He was rather puzzled. Had the gathering location been changed to the Basement? Good news! Starting tomorrow, the book would be recommended, so there would be extra chapters from tomorrow through next week! Getting recommended for the first time was crucial for a book, so if everyone still had votes, please give them to the author! Recommendation votes and Moon Tickets were both welcome; the author was not picky! ╰(°▽°)╯