Preparing for advancement

"Them..." Lorry agreed, "You're right."

As they were talking, a white seagull flew past them. He pretended to be unconsciously attracted and tilted his head slightly, revealing a somewhat strange expression.

Madam, do you think it's possible that they've caught up with us...?

But an unexpected incident occurred...

As this thought flashed through his mind, the memory of his clone appearing simultaneously naturally appeared in his mind, and a slight smile appeared in his eyes.

In fact, more than half a month ago, on the evening of the second day after the "Golden Dream" set sail overnight towards the northwest of the Fog Sea, Burns Solomon arrived at Tarakha Island and successfully reunited with his nephew Mumulik Solomon, and set sail with the members of the Shadow of Order to search for the Ghost Ship.

Thanks to a faint, unseen connection, they were not slow.

Unfortunately, they were incredibly unlucky. Just as they found the Ghost Ship on the "Golden Dream," they encountered the "Black Emperor," which had also been gathered together.

This is the chariot of Nast, the "King of the Five Seas"!

Because the Blood-Devouring Worm Mother used the Ghost Ship's order to seal off space, Nast lost his connection to the "Black Emperor" card and had to switch targets.

So the unfortunate uncle and nephew ended up taking the blame for Lorry for no reason.

Even though Burns Solomon was a top-tier Sequence 5 Beyonder, having defeated Demigod while at the Mid-Sequence, he was still no match for the "King of the Five Seas." Among Beyonder of the same Pathway, a higher-ranking Beyonder completely crushes a lower-ranking one!

Burns Solomon abandoned all his followers and nearly died to manage to escape with his nephew.

The Ghost Ship at the Mid-Sequence level and a large number of members of the Shadow of Order all became sacrifices for the survival of the uncle and nephew.

However, the "King of the Five Seas" did not seem to intend to let them go.

They are still relentlessly pursuing him.

Lost in thought, Lorry couldn't help but reach out and touch the "Lucky Money Bag," silently sighing to himself, "Luck is truly unpredictable."

"It usually goes unnoticed and seems like a useless thing, but at certain crucial moments, it might just be a matter of a bit of Luck."

"If the Ghost Ship had sealed off the space even a little later, I might have been the target of Nast ' King of the Five Seas '."

"Of course, I have the ' Calamity Bracelet,' so I'm not afraid of him when I have home-field advantage. But that will definitely affect our plans to explore the Ghost Ship."

Composing himself, he changed the subject:

Do you sell your whistle?

The whistle he mentioned was Mystical Item used by "Vice Admiral Iceberg" to Soothing the Pirate when he encountered "King of Immortality" Agalito. According to her, it was a relic left behind by an out-of-control "Hypnotist," and she bought it as a collector's item because she found its negative effects quite amusing.

Edwina glanced back with her clear, spring-like eyes and nodded:

"Can."

"Okay... does this mean you don't want to sell, but agreed because of relationships and saving face?" Lorry remained silent for a few seconds before taking the initiative to explain:

"I have no need for this Mystical Item, but I know a way to sell it. I hope to do someone a favor and earn some extra money on the side."

Therefore, there was absolutely no intention of taking advantage of the favor.

"If you're reluctant to part with this collectible, you can simply refuse."

Edwina smiled and said:

"I know, but I don't think you're taking advantage of my kindness."

"This Mystical Item was indeed quite useful before I Advancement Sequence 5, but for me now, it's just an ordinary collectible."

You're overthinking it.

As she spoke, she flicked her wrist and took out a bronze whistle from the top pocket of her blouse—a whistle with engraved patterns and a subtle shimmer of gold. Then she said, "Six thousand pounds."

Six thousand pounds, that's a bit of a premium... but the price is actually normal. Judging from what "Vice Admiral Iceberg" said, the negative effects of this Mystical Item shouldn't be too strong, and it's quite interesting... Speaking of which, what's with the "interesting negative effects"...? Thinking this, Lorry nodded slightly.

"No problem."

He was just about to reach for the "Lucky Money Bag" when he suddenly remembered his Luck experience, and his movements paused slightly. He asked:

Can I pay for part of it with something else?

After he finished speaking, he briefly mentioned the Beyonder Characteristic of the product that he planned to sell.

Edwina thought for a moment and said:

"I want the ' Conspirer ' trait, one ' Hunter ' trait, two ' Lawyer ' traits, and one ' Barbarian ' trait."

She was quite thoughtful... The value of the roll call feature combined was almost exactly six thousand pounds... Lorry thought to himself, feeling grateful, and returned the favor:

Do you know the "Conspirer" Formula?

Edwina hummed in agreement.

"I understand." Hearing this, Lorry nodded slightly. "Deliver it to your room before noon."

He keeps most of his things in the space of his books. He can pretend to take out small things occasionally, but it's absurd to pull out several items from his pocket.

Edwina shook her head slightly, as if to say it was okay.

She then tossed the Copper Whistle to Lorry.

Lorry reached out and caught it, then looked down to examine it closely. At the same time, he heard the voice of "Vice Admiral Iceberg" introducing this Mystical Item:

Its name is "Dieter".

Dieter? Lorry looked up abruptly, his face full of question marks.

Edwina smiled with her lips pursed:

"It has three abilities: ' Psychological Suggestion, ' ' Soothing, ' and ' Psychological Invisibility.' You should be clear about their specific effects."

Although it was a question, she clearly knew the answer and continued without pausing, "Its negative effects are twofold."

"First, similar to what you saw last time, people who receive ' Psychological Suggestion ' and ' Soothing ' will experience nausea and vomiting."

Even Beyonder are no exception. The lower the Sequence, the more severe the reaction; conversely, the symptoms will be very mild.

As she spoke, she glanced at Lorry from head to toe:

"However, judging from your previous performance, perhaps this description is not very accurate. A more accurate description would be that it has a negative correlation with Spirituality."

It seems that's true; my reaction was milder than most Pirate '... Lorry recalled his previous experience thoughtfully and nodded slightly.

Seeing this, Edwina continued her introduction:

"Second, the carrier will remain in a state of loss of Appetite, and even if there is a lot of delicious food in front of them, they will find it difficult to be interested."

"After each use, you will experience anorexia for one hour; even if you are extremely hungry, you will not have the urge to eat."

Uh... Lorry fiddled with the Copper Whistle, his lips twitching slightly.

So that's how you diet...

To be fair, this negative effect is indeed quite interesting; for some women, it can hardly be called a negative impact...

From this perspective, the £2000 premium is indeed not high... However, as long as you have enough self-control, you won't need it to maintain your figure...

No wonder "Vice Admiral Iceberg" said she didn't need it now... As Mid-Sequence Beyonder, she certainly didn't lack this trait... Hmm? Wait, what's the subtext of that sentence...? A thought flashed through his mind, and he subconsciously glanced at the captain's flat stomach, successfully earning a stare.

Lorry casually looked away and abruptly changed the subject. "How's your study of those magical symbols and Incantation on the altar going?"

Edwina slowly exhaled, a fleeting look of distress crossing her eyes. She shook her head and said in a flat tone:

"It's too obscure and too profound; there's been no progress so far."

"However, I have sketched them down and found that some of them are very similar to a Ritual Magic I had seen before, specifically used for converting energy."

Other aspects require further research.

"But it's unlikely there will be any breakthroughs until we gain more access and can request information with higher security classifications."

As she spoke, her tone became less calm.

Especially towards the end, the regret and remorse in his words were quite evident.

She truly lives up to her reputation as a devout Believer of the "God of Knowledge and Wisdom"... Her expression and tone become much more lively whenever she mentions research and experiments...

Feeling a surge of admiration in his heart, Lorry smiled and comforted her:

"Take your time. After all, this is the work of an Angel."

As the "Vice Admiral Iceberg" nodded slightly, he put the "Dieter's " Copper Whistle into his pocket, and suddenly a mischievous idea popped into his head.

Klein really enjoys good food...

If you conceal the negative effects and then have him carry this Copper Whistle with him, and then set out a table full of delicious food, I wonder what his reaction would be...

Unfortunately, he was a "Seer," destined never to witness this scene...

Southern Continent, East Balam.

Streets near the Oak Inn in Gurain City.

As evening approached, the afterglow of the setting sun painted the sky a fiery red.

Deancia stepped off the Hired Carriage, and instead of heading straight back to the Inn, she looked around for a moment as if searching for something, before entering a Restaurant facing the street.

He sat by the window, leisurely finishing a bowl of the specialty corn chowder. Only after confirming that no one was following him did he feel at ease paying the bill and leaving.

By this time, night had fallen. Deancia walked slowly along the shadows cast by the shops on both sides of the road, went around to the third floor through the back door of the Oak Inn, and knocked on a door.

Tap, tap.

Two long and one short footsteps followed quickly from inside the door.

With a creak, the suite door opened from the inside. Deancia looked up at the bodyguard who was more than two heads taller than her and nodded sheepishly.

Tego silently Lorry aside to let the other person enter first, then locked the door and turned to walk towards the large Single Sofa in the Living Room.

Deancia glanced at him hesitantly.

Joe smiled and said:

Just say it directly.

"According to the agreement, Mr. Tego has a certain right to know."

--This content was specifically added by Lorry at his request, because he was worried that Joe might bypass the clone and take some actions in private, which would make the mission more difficult.

The reasons are quite valid. Even ordinary bodyguards, let alone Beyonder, will weigh the benefits and risks when accepting a mission.

Making money is certainly important, but it's definitely not as important as your own life. Hearing this, Deancia no longer hesitated and lowered her voice, saying:

"As you instructed, I bribed a small businessman who was struggling financially but whose wife was a believer in the Evernight Goddess and who used to donate money regularly. I taught him the rhetoric of 'spending his last savings to hire bodyguards and prepare to go to sea to start a business and turn his life around,' and sent him to the Church for help."

According to him, he was personally received by a bishop he knew.

"After clarifying the situation, the bishop agreed to help mediate the matter. If those adventurers had nothing to do with the Evil God's Believer, they could be released soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, Joe's face, etched with deep wrinkles, broke into a wide grin, and he clenched his fists in excitement. "That's wonderful!"

His aged body trembled slightly, and his eyes gleamed with eagerness, as if he couldn't wait to see the adventurers and inquire about the results of their investigation.

"Call!"

Joe exhaled forcefully and gently closed his eyes.

In a daze, he seemed to see his son, on whom he had placed so much hope, standing numbly on the edge of the tall lighthouse, leaping off with a look of Despair in his eyes; he saw his wife lying on the hospital bed, her heart gradually stopping, yet her face bearing a relieved expression; he saw the bank staff sealing the door...

After a moment, he forcibly suppressed these images in his mind, calmed himself down a bit, and poured a cup of tea for the promising young man:

"Did anything happen on the way back?"

Deancia shook her head. "No."

"The people at the Church had no idea I existed, but after I parted ways with that small businessman, two locals secretly followed me."

"However, Mr. Tego's method worked very well. I easily got rid of them, and then went around to finish dinner before coming back."

Qiao gave a satisfied "hmm" and handed the teacup to the other person. "From today onwards, you should not get involved in this matter."

Next, you and the two of them work together to arrange the purchase of the iron ore mine.

"This kind of experience of building something from scratch is the most challenging. If you can successfully operate the mine, your abilities will be greatly improved."

"With this resume, you can easily find a managerial position in Backlund with an annual salary of no less than three hundred pounds."

While gathering information, he had already found a good iron ore mine for his boss and registered the relevant import and export qualifications.

During this period, apart from keeping Deancia by his side to assist him, he had already sent the other two young men to the mine.

Three hundred pounds! Deancia's eyes visibly lit up.

With such an annual salary, one could even move to Hillston District or the West Borough, rent a nice house, and live a truly decent life.

Part of it will be used for daily expenses, part will be saved, and the rest will allow me to learn shooting and horseback riding like a nobleman in a novel... If I'm lucky enough, maybe I'll even meet a lovely girl along the way and walk down the aisle with a priest as our witness...

He couldn't help but purse his lips as he fantasized about a wonderful Future.

at the same time.

A dried-up riverbed hundreds of miles away from Gurain.

In the shadowy darkness, a figure sprinted through the forest until it had completely shaken off its pursuers, then stopped under an ancient tree.

Recently, the "Rose School" has intensified its pursuit... Even with "Malice Perception," transferring them is proving extremely difficult...

Coincidentally, at this critical juncture, the main body sent a "Messenger" to deliver something. Does he know something but haven't told me...?

Pali Beria Lorry raised her hand to wipe the fine beads of sweat from her forehead, staring blankly at the layers of shadows in front of her, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Immediately, her gaze sharpened, and she took the bundle off her back, retrieved the materials she had prepared, and threw them into the already deflated water bag in order.