After both sides had tacitly displayed their abilities, goals, and intentions, Iver and the Shadow Demon temporarily reached an agreement.
As the Shadow Demon slipped back into Iver's shadow, the shadows that had spread through the entire bar like sludge were drawn back beneath Iver.
Like a swimming pool with its drain opened, that shallow lake of shadow soon became "dry."
Warm winter sunlight streamed in once more, filling the bar.
It was as though being covered by those damp shadows just now had been nothing more than an illusion.
--Good.
Iver breathed a sigh of relief.
The four most important things were done.
He had completed his revenge and killed the "friend" who had betrayed him; successfully destroyed the evidence of his own crime; obtained clues for the next investigation; and awakened and pacified the Shadow Demon.
Now it was time to happily open the loot boxes! Iver listened carefully and found that Hai Na was still searching below and had not come upstairs.
--Time to loot the corpse!
He rubbed his hands impatiently and began searching through his spoils.
Iver soon found a small round box about the size of a thumb. It looked like a tin of medicated balm. Etched on its surface was a crescent moon with a human face, and beneath it was a line of small text: "1886-03-071, Living Silver Workshop."
He was very familiar with this thing.
It was a dose of Drunken Dream Tincture, a specialty of the Stibium Kingdom.
"Good stuff. A great start."
The corners of Iver's lips lifted slightly as he casually slipped it into his pocket.
Drunken Dream Tincture was a potion that stabilized dreams and anesthetized the body, making it less likely to be jolted awake. It was an alchemical product of the Equilibrium Path. It could also be used as a surgical anesthetic, but its main purpose was as an auxiliary drug that increased the success rate of advancement.
In a Xianxia novel, it was roughly equivalent to a Foundation Establishment Pill. At lower levels, the increase to one's breakthrough success rate was quite substantial.
Among players, Drunken Dream Tincture was commonly known as a "Little Advancement Drug." It could increase the success rate of an advancement ritual. It was somewhat like the potions in classic MMORPGs that increased the success rate of strengthening or crafting equipment.
According to the setting, advancing one's class level required entering a dream and performing a complicated dream ritual with an extremely high failure rate. In the game, however, it was determined by a cold percentage representing the advancement success rate. Preparing certain rituals or materials could increase that rate.
Upon success, one advanced after a burst of special effects, raising the class-level cap by ten. Then three traits would appear, and one had to choose one of them.
This was the Path Trait obtained upon successfully advancing this time.
Failure meant being knocked back to Level 19. For players, it only meant losing their materials and preparing the ritual again. For NPCs, however, a failed advancement meant waiting through a cooldown that grew longer as their level increased. At minimum, they had to wait over half a month.
Veronica was currently a Level 19 Demon Scholar and was also about to advance. Alternatively, she might have failed several times, which was why she had prepared Drunken Dream Tincture.
Judging from the number of ritual spells she had mastered, she had probably remained at the Second Level for quite some time. When the level cap was locked, skill levels could still rise normally, but one's class level would no longer increase.
Iver currently faced little difficulty advancing from the First Level to the Second Level and was almost certain to succeed. He had no need for it yet.
He could use it when he later advanced from Level 19 to Level 20.
Moreover, because Iver was advancing along two Paths simultaneously, he would need to take two doses.
Drunken Dream Tincture itself was not a particularly rare potion, so there was no need to treasure it excessively. Its price in Stibium was not high either, costing only forty-six White Crown Coins. However, it was entirely handmade by alchemists, so the supply was insufficient. It had to be reserved in advance and was subject to purchase limits.
More importantly, the potion was currently difficult to buy in Avalon.
That was because, starting two years ago, the Stibium Kingdom had become an enemy nation of Avalon.
All alchemical products from the Stibium Kingdom were restricted from being exported to Avalon. Correspondingly, Avalon also prohibited the import of alchemical products from the Stibium Kingdom and likewise banned the export of its own minerals and timber to Stibium.
The Drunken Dream Tincture currently circulating in Avalon, aside from a small amount that had been preserved... should consist almost entirely of scalpers' hoarded stock, available only at prices starting ten times higher.
Even five hundred White Coins was merely the starting price.
That was a price Hai Na would not even dare imagine. It was roughly ten years of an ordinary worker's wages.
Iver could afford it, of course.
He simply did not want to let the scalpers earn so much money so easily.
Nor did he plan to leave the item for the Bureau of Supervision. Even if the Bureau of Supervision got it, they would only resell it at a high price. Most likely, they would sell it to the Moriarty Family.
After all, everyone knew that Young Master Iver had recently embarked upon the supernatural path and become a priest. He also needed to stock up on Drunken Dream Tincture in advance.
--There was no need to let an intermediary profit from the difference.
Unfortunately, after finding the Drunken Dream Tincture, Iver failed to turn up anything else of value.
He only found some ritual materials.
But they were all human-body materials, such as placentas and babies' scalps. Not only were they practically worthless, but he had no use for them either.
Iver had already sworn never to use materials from his own kind in rituals--and he genuinely disliked such cruel behavior. So he did not take them. Instead, he left them on Veronica as evidence of her crimes.
The red robe she wore was valuable too.
...But Iver felt that he probably could not strip it off her.
Leaving aside the fact that it was women's clothing and he could not wear it, Veronica was not wearing anything beneath it. Taking the clothes right off her would be somewhat perverted...
Of course, even if he obtained the red robe, it would not be of much use.
In the game, players had no identities, which was why they could use the red robe to infiltrate the society. But now he was Iver Moriarty, and he could never pass the Noble Red Society's screening.
If he really succeeded in joining, the society would instead threaten him. Once the matter came to light, Iver would no longer be able to remain in the Avalon Kingdom. His adoptive father, elder brother, and Yulia could even suffer because of it.
"...Huh?"
Iver suddenly turned up a brass ring shimmering with dazzling golden light.
Carved upon it was a fist covered in scars, clenched tightly as blood dripped through the gaps between its fingers. The glittering "blood" was actually crushed ruby powder. Under the sunlight, it reflected a dark-red, viscous sheen like real blood.
The next moment, a light screen popped up:
Noble Red Supernatural Accessory (Light Purple) Jewelry - Ring Trait: Weak Law-Speech Resistance (Triggered only by the Path of Transcendence) Spell: Violent Choking Technique (Once per day, 1/1) Requirement: Dark 2 Gesture, medium range, takes effect immediately
"--We are all wounded fists, blood-clenching hands, scale-less blades."
Yes! He had found something good! Iver's eyes lit up.
This was the best loot that could drop from the big purple enemy! Weak Law-Speech Resistance could nullify the interference and control effects of First-Level Law Spells, as well as the Path of Authority's Law Combat Technique--Shout, and weaken control effects below the Third Level by one level.
The Path of Authority was Avalon's most common Path ability. If Iver wore this, control skills released by Supernatural beings up to Level 10 would not be able to suppress him, while control skills up to Level 30 would have their strength reduced by roughly ten levels. Its only flaw was that it was too conspicuous. Wearing it normally could easily make those in the know mistake him for a member of the Noble Red Society.
But its effect was genuinely excellent and extremely useful in the early stages... Besides, Iver followed the Path of Transcendence, so he could trigger its passive effect. It was suitable for carrying in his pocket and putting on only when needed.
As for the spell attached to the ring, "Violent Choking Technique," although it sounded somewhat idiotic, it was actually quite practical.
The fact that it had to be cast through the ring as a medium and still required two points of Dark Attribute Mana showed that it was not some low-end spell.
"Choking Technique" was a First-Level Path of Transcendence spell. Its effect was to put a person into a state of choking as if drowning. If Iver obtained the corresponding occult book now, he could learn this spell.
"Violent Choking Technique" was its Second-Level upgraded version. Its effect was to make a person immediately enter a state of violent choking. In textual terms, it was like having chili oil or seawater poured straight up one's nose--one would probably have to cough uncontrollably for several seconds before recovering.
When someone was coughing violently, it was difficult for them to exert force.
Because they could not breathe normally, their strength would weaken somewhat. The in-game effect was "damage -10%, accuracy -10%, attack and movement speed -10%, lasting three seconds," but Iver felt that these values were definitely conservative.
If it were real life, being caught off guard by this spell could easily expose a fatal opening.
Likewise, someone in a state of violent choking could not speak, much less shout at anyone.
They might not even be able to speak clearly for some time after the effect ended. Their mucous membranes had already been injured, making it easy for them to start coughing again if they were not careful.
The Law-Speech abilities of the Path of Authority all required the user to shout them aloud.
From that perspective, this piece of equipment was specifically designed to counter the Bureau of Supervision's abilities. Once discovered, he could use it to hinder the enemy and immediately escape.
Iver could not help feeling relieved.
--Fortunately, he had exposed an opening and lured Veronica into choosing Hai Na as her breakthrough point.
She must have thought that this shot was too weak to penetrate her defenses. It would be better to take the shot head-on, pretend to die immediately, and then, when Hai Na relaxed her guard, throw out her spell and kill her first.
That was why she did not want to display too great a threat--what she needed was for Hai Na to underestimate her.
Those of the academic school were very prone to revealing openings in their state of mind.
But Veronica knew this... and of course Iver knew it too.
He knew that Veronica would definitely look down on Hai Na, so he had deliberately laid the groundwork by pretending he was about to shoot her, giving Veronica a chance to carry out her plan. As Veronica watched her plan gradually approach success, she had also let down her guard.
Fortunately, he had dug a pit and chosen the righteous method of ambushing her while burying her in it!
Otherwise, if they had truly fought head-on, even if Veronica's continuously channeled spell missed, she could have clenched her hand in return and used "Violent Choking Technique" to weaken Hai Na.
Moreover, this ring itself was proof of membership in the Noble Red Society. Only formal members could obtain one; peripheral members such as the "Villainous Bartender" did not have them.
Although in the game it was merely a piece of equipment...
But Iver thought.
In reality, it might have other uses as well.
Just as Iver normally did not dare wear it for fear of others misunderstanding his identity, perhaps the reverse could also work.
I had not adjusted to it yet. I thought I would write a little less, but these two chapters still ended up being over six thousand words...
Almost time to get recommended, so please keep reading~
Before you continue