Negative Effects of the Ring of Prediction

Hearing the offer of 200 pounds, everyone in the secret chamber was tempted. That sum was enough to buy the main ingredient for a Sequence 9 or even Sequence 8 potion, and all they had to provide was a piece of information.

It was not that no one had considered making up false intelligence to swindle the money. But those who had such thoughts glanced at Mr. Gaston in the seat of honor, recalling that among this gentleman's many Beyonder items, there was surely something capable of verifying whether information was true or false. They promptly abandoned the idea.

The reason Abner had named such a high price was actually to attract the tall lady's attention. It would be easier to gain her trust if she came looking for him rather than the other way around.

He had previously concluded through deduction that the lady would seek revenge against the Dragon-Eyed Giant Python. The specialized weapon she had traded for at the gathering was clearly far from satisfactory, with far too little room for error. Furthermore, having just gone through a failed expedition, she was probably in no position to raise money to assemble a new team.

At a time like this, a "sucker" who wanted to find the Dragon-Eyed Giant Python and was willing to pay a high price would obviously catch her attention and "favor."

Of course, this was also related to Abner having made an easy 500 pounds and feeling a little carried away for the moment. Before this, even if he wanted to cast some "bait," he would never have been willing to offer 200 pounds.

Sure enough, after the secret chamber had fallen silent for a moment, the tall lady lowered her voice and said, "I have exact leads on the Dragon-Eyed Giant Python, but this is not a convenient place to discuss them!" She then looked toward Mr. Gaston in the seat of honor and asked, "May I request a safe place to speak with this gentleman alone after the gathering?"

"That is a small matter!" Mr. Gaston nodded naturally. Pretending not to know Abner, he asked, "My friend, do you agree to speak with this lady alone?"

Abner was naturally even more reassured. With Mr. Gaston watching, if he had wished to rob the lady after killing her, no outsider would have known. Of course, he would not do anything so tasteless, and Mr. Gaston certainly would not tolerate it either. As for Xio, with her strong sense of justice, she would probably turn hostile on the spot.

"I have no problem with that." Abner nodded at the tall lady.

After that, Xio proposed buying the right paw of the Silver-White War Bear. Her offer was also quite generous, but unfortunately, no one responded...

Time passed bit by bit. Seeing that no one else proposed any trades, Mr. Gaston announced the end of the gathering and began arranging for everyone to leave one by one, doing his best to avoid unnecessary conflicts.

More than half an hour later, apart from Gaston in the seat of honor, only three gathering members remained in the secret chamber: Abner, Xio, and the tall lady.

Mr. Gaston looked over the three of them and deliberately simulated an elderly voice.

"Follow me. I will take you to a safe place."

The tall lady frowned and instinctively glanced at Xio.

"She is my companion," Abner explained.

Because Abner and Xio wore similar outfits, the tall lady had clearly expected this. After only a slight hesitation, she nodded, tacitly accepting Xio's presence.

Mr. Gaston led the three of them downward through another concealed exit from the secret chamber. After turning an unknown number of corners, they finally arrived at a spacious underground cave, where he stopped.

It seems Mr. Gaston did quite a bit of digging beneath this town back when he was searching for that Dream Door! Abner joked inwardly before asking the lady, "Can you tell us about the Dragon-Eyed Giant Python now?"

Seeing that Mr. Gaston had discreetly entered another cave beside them, the lady organized her thoughts and said, "I know the Dragon-Eyed Giant Python's exact whereabouts. I can even give you detailed intelligence... but I have one condition. When you deal with it, you must take me along, and I want its python skin! In exchange, I will only charge you 100 pounds for the information."

Getting two vengeful enforcers for free and making another 100 pounds off them... This lady was quite the schemer! But who could blame her? It was a seller's market. Abner had already agreed inwardly, but he still put on a hesitant act. After feigning reluctance for quite some time, he finally agreed "against his better judgment." "Fine. Let us find Mr. Gaston to notarize it."

"Wait!" The lady interrupted again. "I also need to know your strength. That python is dangerous, and I do not want to go there to die!"

"What? Do you want to test us yourself?" Abner smiled and shook his head. According to Gwen's Cave Adventures, this lady was only Sequence 9. Setting everything else aside, the Sea Breeze Hat on his head alone would be enough to crush her.

"It would be best if we exchanged a few blows!" Sensing the confidence in Abner's words, the lady clenched her fists and refused to back down in the slightest.

Xio stepped forward at that moment. "I will exchange a few moves with you." After saying that, she sat down on the spot and removed the height-increasing insoles from her shoes. They would affect her performance.

The lady looked at the girl whose face was covered in paint and who barely reached her chest. Kindly, she reminded her, "I am a Sequence 9 Warrior. Be careful."

Xio stood back up, nodded, and said succinctly, "Arbiter."

Since this was only a spar, neither woman used a weapon. Xio took one step forward and reached the female Warrior's left side with incredible speed. Lowering her body, she drove her elbow straight at the other woman's knee! Xio normally used this move against the ribs or kidneys, but the female Warrior was too tall, so she had to settle for the next best thing.

The female Warrior had not expected Xio to be so nimble. Though somewhat flustered, she still responded effectively, lifting her left leg to meet Xio's elbow in an attempt to kick her away directly.

But at that moment, as though she had known the woman would do that all along, Xio twisted her body into a strange and awkward posture to evade the attack. Her elbow, meanwhile, tilted slightly upward and struck the woman's lower abdomen.

The blow was not especially powerful, but it had clearly decided the victor.

"I lost!" The tall lady was not someone who could not accept defeat. Lowering her head, she spoke with some dejection.

After backing away a short distance, Xio looked at her and thought for a moment before saying, "You probably never received systematic knight training. Although the Potion directly instilled technical knowledge into you, your combat awareness still falls short of that of a properly trained knight. Otherwise, I would not have won so easily."

I never thought Xio could lie without batting an eye... Abner had clearly seen what happened from behind. The other woman was indeed probably self-taught, but she had gone through quite a few adventures. Her combat awareness might have been somewhat lacking, but there was no way it was poor enough for Xio to nearly defeat her instantly! Xio had likely used the Ring of Prediction in her previous attack in order to win quickly and intimidate her opponent.

Whether it was her superhuman burst of speed, her prediction of the attack, or the exaggerated twisting of her body as she dodged, all of it had borrowed the Clown's power. Only the other woman's panic when facing the charge might have been caused by the Arbiter's Majesty.

The Warrior lady was only downcast for a moment before adjusting herself. This time, she forthrightly called Mr. Gaston over with Abner to conduct a Contract Notarization. Only after they had detailed and clearly agreed upon both parties' rights and obligations did she speak.

"The Dragon-Eyed Giant Python is in an underground cave on a small island I explored before. The island lies more than 200 nautical miles southeast of Damir. It is a deserted island, and no ships travel there." At this point, she glanced at Abner and said somewhat awkwardly, "I hope you can advance me 30 pounds of the payment. I need to recruit sailors again... After the last expedition, the combat team I assembled was completely wiped out. The sailors who stayed aboard the ship were frightened out of their wits and refuse to follow me anymore."

She did not immediately reveal the island's exact coordinates, lest Abner leave her behind and find others to handle it on his own.

"So you are a captain as well..." Abner suddenly understood. Without her own ship, it would have been impossible for her to adventure everywhere.

"Yes. Although my Arenheim is only a small sailing ship that has fallen behind the times, one day I will become a great adventurer who roams the Five Seas, just like Miss Edwina!" the tall lady said with longing.

"Since it has already been notarized, advancing you 30 pounds is no problem." Abner drew out three ten-pound notes and handed them to her, casually asking, "Where will we meet afterward?"

"Six o'clock tomorrow evening, at the Stone Platform west of Damir," the tall lady answered after thinking for a moment.

After the tall lady left the underground cave with the 30 pounds in cash, Abner and the other two finally made their way back to the school dormitory.

After removing his disguise, Mr. Gaston said unhurriedly, "Although this lady has only been around Damir for about two weeks, she has a good reputation. Aside from the previous accident, those who have worked with her have all been quite satisfied."

By then, Abner had already cleaned the paint off his face and changed back into his formal attire. Smiling, he flattered the man, "With the force of your Notarization behind it, even if she truly has other intentions, she will have to be wary."

"Notarization is not omnipotent. Demigods, and even some Sequence 5s, can withstand its power by force." Mr. Gaston shook his head.

As they spoke, Xio emerged after cleaning herself up. But the moment she appeared, Abner froze. He struggled to control his expression, barely stopping himself from making a rude face.

"What is it?" Xio asked in confusion.

Abner said nothing. Instead, he pulled her over to a half-length mirror in the room.

Xio looked up at it, and her mind instantly went blank.

Because the Xio reflected in the mirror had one eye slanted and her lips curled into a bizarre expression. She looked exactly like the "smirking face" meme from Abner's previous life!

This was the negative effect of using the Ring of Prediction. It had not been obvious while her face was painted, but now that she had washed it clean, her "true appearance" had been revealed.

Please bookmark and recommend~~~

Xio had been bullied again. My Conscience hurt.

(End of Chapter)