"What's so special about that magical item from Qilangos?" Audrey asked with a hint of confidence.
She had just given it serious thought and surprisingly realized that she possessed a decent ability to find people in Backlund.
First, her father was a top-tier wealthy man among the nobility, with a good reputation and connections, and she herself was very popular among the younger generation. Therefore, she had a lot of resources at her disposal in the upper echelons of society.
Secondly, her two Beyonder friends each have their own circles. " Apprentice " Fors was originally a clinic Doctor, and is now a rising Author. She knows many people in the literary world, the publishing industry, and among middle-class Doctor.
Xio Derecha, the " Arbiter," has long been known for mediating and arbitrating cases for the lower and middle classes. He is quite well-known in the East Borough Backlund, among the working class, and in many gangs, and has many Concealment channels.
In addition, their contact with other Beyonder, and the circles Beyonder have expanded into, make their ability to find people considerable.
Faced with the question of " Justice," Alger, the " The Hanged Man," answered almost without hesitation, as if without needing to think:
"The true name of that magical object is unknown, but those who know a little about it call it ' The Creeping Hunger.' Qilangos must satisfy it with the soul and flesh of a living person every other day, or it will take its own master in its place."
"This is an important clue that can be used to find Qilangos," Audrey said, frowning slightly.
She felt a deep unease and disgust towards those evil objects that craved the blood and souls of the living.
"Yes, but in a metropolis with at least five million people, the disappearance of a few homeless people goes unnoticed," Alger cautioned, then added, "Ever since acquiring ' Creeping Hunger,' Qilangos has become incredibly difficult to deal with."
"He was originally just a ' Wind-blessed,' possessing remarkable abilities in the realms of water, wind, and weather. But later, people discovered he could drive his targets Frenzy, enter others' dreams, summon light to Purification the Death, enhance himself with song, and transform into different people's appearances... almost omnipotent," Alger described in considerable detail. "We suspect all of this is due to the magical item ' Creeping Hunger '..."
Before he could finish speaking, Derrick Berg, who had been quietly the Sun, blurted out in astonishment:
" Shepherd!"
" The Shepherd "? " The Mystery Pryer "Listener pathway, Sequence 5? Hmm, there's a newly promoted elder in the City of Silver's " Council of Six " who is the " Shepherd," supposedly powerful enough to resist Sequence 4 powerhouse, uh, Evil Spirit of the same rank... Klein's facial expression changed slightly, but it was all concealed by the grayish-white mist. At this moment, the Spectator wasn't paying attention to him either.
" Shepherd?"
" Shepherd?"
" Justice " and " The Hanged Man " spoke at the same time, one completely bewildered, the other slightly surprised, as if they had heard the name " Shepherd " somewhere before, knew some things about it, but didn't know the specific details.
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Derrick suddenly panicked. No matter how silent, reserved, sad, and depressed he was, he was still just a boy.
He hurriedly stammered an explanation:
"What I mean is that the characteristics listed by ' The Hanged Man ' are very similar to the extraordinary abilities of the ' Shepherd ' Sequence. Every ' Shepherd ' can devour the souls of others, including Wraith and Evil Spirit, and use them in a unique way, employing certain abilities accordingly, just like Grazing lambs for the gods."
Therefore, no one knows exactly how much power the ' Shepherd ' possess; it only depends on how many extraordinary souls they have devoured, which makes them extremely terrifying, almost equivalent to High-Sequence powerhouses.
"However, some suspect that the number of souls the ' Shepherd ' can devour and Grazing is limited, but that they can be replaced."
So that's what " Shepherd " means... The Sequence Pathway mastered by the " Aurora Order " are as bizarre as ever... No wonder they worship the " True Creator," no, the " Fallen Creator "... Klein suddenly realized, but didn't nod, pretending he already knew.
At the same time, he sighed inwardly:
" The Sun," you really are just a child. This is very important news, very important intelligence, something that could be exchanged for something valuable, and you just blurted it out! You blurted it out...
Hmm, the abilities displayed by the sealed artifact " Creeping Hunger " are very similar to those of Sequence 5 " Shepherd "... Could it be that many Sealed Artifact are also similar to a certain Sequence Class, like the one in a state of being out of control...? I wonder which Sequence Class the Sealed Artifact "2-049," that Puppet of the Antigonus Family, will resemble...
After hearing the explanation of " the Sun," Alger, the " The Hanged Man," seemed to have solved a mystery and nodded, then fell silent for a moment.
" Justice " Audrey asked with even greater curiosity, "Which Sequence Pathway does the Shepherd belong to? What Sequence number?"
"The ' Mystery Pryer ' pathway, 5." Klein seized the opportunity to subtly hint at this, indicating that he knew everything.
"' The Mystery Pryer '... the Aurora Order..." Audrey suddenly thought of Mr. A, who was suspected to be the " Aurora Order's " messenger, and her mood suddenly became a little heavy.
She began to seriously consider what price she could pay to get Mr. The Fool to take action and easily get rid of that disgusting guy, but after thinking it over, she still couldn't come up with a way to persuade Mr. The Fool.
Sure enough, powerful figures who are close to the divine are not so easily moved... They don't have many things or items that interest them... Audrey sighed inwardly.
Temporarily abandoning her impulsiveness, she nodded gratefully to " the Sun," thanking him for giving everyone new insights into " the Creeping Hunger," which would allow for a more rational and effective response.
"Mr. The Hanged Man, I'm willing to accept this commission, but I can't guarantee that I can find ' Admiral Hurricane ' Qilangos," Audrey said, turning to look at the person opposite her.
"There's no better answer than this. Whether you succeed or not, as long as you try, I'll pay you a certain reward afterward, such as some Concealment knowledge and intelligence. And if you succeed, perhaps I can directly provide you with the main materials on ' Mind Reader,' provided, of course, that we know what they are," Alger promised with unusual generosity.
"Deal." Audrey pursed her lips and answered with a slight smile.
Next, with Klein's permission and assistance, Alger materialized the portrait of Qilangos.
One of the seven pirate generals had a distinctive broad chin, brown hair tied up in an ancient samurai bun, and dark green eyes that seemed to hold a smile, yet were unusually cold.
After discussing what needed to be discussed and sharing the information that needed to be shared, the Fool Klein, who sat high above, smiled and announced that the day was over. Then he saw " Justice " and " The Hanged Man " quickly rise and bow, and " The Sun " imitate them a beat slower.
He pressed his right hand forward, severing the connection, but did not leave immediately.
The City of Silver, the Berg family.
Derrick looked around at the familiar surroundings and at the dark sky outside where lightning flashed, and for a moment he felt a little dazed.
But he quickly came to his senses, found some parchment and a quill pen, and quickly wrote down the " Bard " formula that he had forcibly memorized.
He looked at it several times and finally confirmed that there was no problem.
Derrick wasn't worried that possessing the " Bard's " recipe and becoming an Beyonder being would arouse suspicion from the City of Silver's upper echelons, because in each previous exploration mission, the elite team members had obtained recipes, materials, and Monster from Monster and from abandoned and destroyed cities.
During this process, it's quite normal for someone to keep some things to themselves. As long as it doesn't involve anything too important, the team leaders and higher-ups tacitly agree not to investigate.
Over time, certain recipes began to circulate through unofficial channels in City of Silver, while others became the foundation of a family's generations of prosperity. The characteristics of the dark things around City of Silver are relatively fixed; some materials are easy to obtain, while others can only be encountered by venturing deep into the Forsaken Land of the Gods.
After placing the parchment, Derrick remembered the mysterious the Fool's instructions, so in his simple bedroom, he bowed his head and offered a simple prayer:
" The Fool That Doesn't Belong to This Era."
" The Mysterious Ruler Above the Gray Fog."
" The King of Yellow and Black, who holds the key to good fortune."
--Jotun is a very ancient language, inherently possessing mystical qualities related to sacrifice, prayer, and spellcasting, so Derrick did not need to convert Ancient Hermes.
" The Fool That Doesn't Belong to This Era."
Silently seated at the head of the ancient bronze table, Klein heard the prayers lingering in his ears and saw the crimson star corresponding to the " The Sun " expanding and contracting.
However, he did not attempt to contact him, planning to respond ten minutes or so before the next gathering, thus allowing the City of Silver boy to prepare for being alone.
Most importantly, this allowed him to avoid the conversion of time and dates, reducing the possibility of the Fool's powerful image being tarnished.
Having confirmed this, Klein enveloped himself in Spirituality and plummeted downwards.
Back in his room, Klein dispelled the Wall of Spirituality, rested briefly, and then prepared to go out again.
He no longer needs to Acting Seer, so there's no need to make going to the Divination Club a regular part of his schedule. He can just go there occasionally to earn some extra money and fulfill his supervisory duties as Nighthawks.
Klein had originally planned to laze around for the afternoon, but then he remembered there was something he hadn't done yet, so he had to pull himself together again—as agreed, he had to go see Detective Henry today to get the final report on the Red Chimney investigation.
"Sigh, I heard that important people are all quite busy... I still need to find some time to go with Benson and Melissa to the ' Tingen City Help Domestic Servants ' Association to find a good maid for odd jobs..." Klein struggled to change his shirt, put on a black tailcoat, picked up a half-high silk top hat and a silver-inlaid cane, and walked out the door like a gentleman.
On Besik Street, below Henry Private Detective Agency, Klein put on a mask, pulled his hat down, and quickly crossed the street into the stairwell.