Chandler's Scheme (5,000 words)

While waiting for a response, Lorry quantified his gains from last night.

The £7,000 Cash loan from the Breeze Bar owner replenished his pockets again, bringing the total value of his "Lucky Money Bag" to over £10,000.

The five Beyonder Characteristic extracted correspond to "Sailor," "Folk of Rage," "Seafarer," "Assassin," and "Archaeologist," respectively.

The abilities of the first four, known as the "Curse of Knowledge," have already been analyzed and have no other value besides accumulating opportunities for use.

Lorry was most interested in was actually the "Archaeologist" characteristic.

It corresponds to Sequence 8 of the "Savant" Pathway, Pathway is controlled by the Church of Steam and Machinery and is also known as the "Artisan" Pathway.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh, his eyes flickering as he muttered to himself:

"I don't know if this person is an informant for the Church of Steam and Machinery, or if he's connected to some wild ' Artisan '... If it's the latter, I'm in for a huge loss..."

Sighing inwardly, Lorry glanced at the candles on the altar and noticed they were almost Burning out, preparing to end the ceremony.

Suddenly, the cold voice of the "Vice Admiral Iceberg" echoed in my ears:

"Good afternoon.

"You've memorized the information and are planning to return to the ' Golden Dream '?"

For some reason, Lorry sensed a barely perceptible, barely perceptible, restless excitement hidden beneath the other person's calm voice.

If I said yes, would her next sentence be, "I'll give you a test paper"...? While silently grumbling to myself, Lorry added some Spirituality material:

I'd like to ask you a few questions.

After a short wait, Edwina replied:

"Please ask... Go ahead and ask."

Lorry then briefly mentioned the stories of "Wax Sculptor" Damian, "Bloodblade" Savi, and "Shadow Merchant" Chandler, asking the captain if she knew them. If possible, he hoped to obtain detailed information about these three individuals, preferably including information on Beyonder Pathway and Sealed Artifact.

Silence fell at the other end of the ceremony.

He waited quite a while this time, about ten minutes later, before he heard the distinctive voice of "Vice Admiral Iceberg" again.

Damian, the "Wax Sculptor," is the second captain of the "Blood Pirates," Intis, and suspected of having an official background... Based on the information I have, he should be Sequence 6 "Faceless" in the "Seer" Pathway. His purpose in setting sail is to seek Beyonder Characteristic or opportunities for Advancement, and his relationship with Seniol is more like a collaboration than a subordinate relationship...

"The Beyonder follow this Pathway possess rather bizarre abilities and are generally treacherous and cunning. It's possible that he has already completed his Advancement but is still faking being Sequence 6."

"You can probably guess something from Pathway name ' Seer' — Beyonder on this Pathway are extremely skilled in divination... If you want to hunt them down, you must prepare thoroughly for Anti-Divination beforehand, otherwise you'll face one trap after another..."

"Bloodblade" Savi, the First Mate of the flagship of the "Twilight Pirate Group," is backed by the Feysac Empire and the Church of the God of Combat.

He is Beyonder of the "Giant" Pathway, Sequence 6 "Dawn Knight".

"My approximate abilities are..."

"The Shadow Merchant" Chandler, one of the biggest local tyrants in Tirinius Harbor, was popular with Pirate because of his transparent pricing and fair transactions. He was also quite shrewd, donating substantial sums annually to the Military and church, leading some to suspect he was secretly working Military either.

"Bru 've dealt with him a few times before. If you want to conduct some shady dealings through him, I can give you a few coded messages."

The part about Chandler is similar to what the owner of Breeze Bar said last night, only in more detail. Am I just being paranoid?

Thinking this, Lorry cleared his throat, sincerely thanked him, and interrupted the ceremony after receiving a response from "Vice Admiral Iceberg".

There were no Sealed Artifact, and Edwina wasn't sure either—or perhaps they simply didn't have any? He murmured to himself, pondering for a moment before speaking to the air in front of him:

"Old Gentleman, what are your thoughts on what happened last night?"

Sebastian pondered for a moment and asked:

"You mean Chandler who approached silently, and didn't attack even though you were already aware of him?"

"Hmm." Lorry nodded slightly as he tidied the table.

The air was silent for a few seconds. Sebastian's tone sounded somewhat puzzled, "If it were a ' Demoness,' perhaps it could be explained by her charm, but this Chandler is a man. In my current knowledge of Mysticism, I've never heard of any similar ability."

He paused briefly, then offered two uncertain guesses:

"It could be some extraordinary, naturally formed object, or it could be something left behind by a primitive God once worshipped by the indigenous people."

"Speaking of the ' Demoness ' Pathway..." Lorry threw the ritual waste into the trash can, sat down at the table, and looked out at the bright sunlight in the window, saying in a deep voice:

"That guy's ability to spy in the shadows last night seemed different from an ' Assassin's' Invisibility, but I can't quite put my finger on it."

"It's just a feeling, after all, I once possessed the ' Shadow Ring '."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly smiled:

"Old Gentleman, did you forget to mention the third scenario?"

Sebastian hummed in surprise, then asked with a hint of doubt, "You mean, Believer of Evil God like Altair?"

Lorry nodded slightly and said to himself:

"After returning from Breeze Bar, I thought about this matter carefully and realized that there were many strange things involved, and it wasn't as simple as it seemed on the surface."

"First of all, according to the Bar Owner, Zamir and his gang are notorious parasites in the industry, with a history of successfully hunting Sequence 6 Beyonder multiple times. You should know what kind of wealth that is, but the five of them, how should I put it, give me the impression of being destitute."

"The Sequence is not high, and there is only one Sealed Artifact. It's a bit hard to explain using gambling and extravagant spending in brothels as the only excuses."

"Furthermore, don't you think his appearance is somewhat coincidental?"

The image of an old man depicted on the Mask the White Bone Ring has a slightly furrowed brow.

Seeing this, Lorry asked quietly:

"If Chandler hadn't shown up, what do you think I would have done?"

Before Sebastian could answer, he chuckled and gave the answer himself:

"Spirit Channeling!"

As he spoke, Lorry poured himself a glass of water, took a few sips, and glanced at the White Bone Ring:

But what about now?

"Because of his sudden appearance, I missed the best time for Spirit Channeling."

"And because of that baffling transaction, the release of Beyonder Characteristic, and the excessively long duration of the process, I completely abandoned my plan to Spirit Channeling."

"Tell me, was all of this an unintentional coincidence, or an intentional one?"