After Wilt finished speaking, Madam D remained silent for a long time, seemingly considering whether he was telling the truth.
Finally, she asked, "What's your plan?"
"It's not my plan. It's the plan of those two Sequence 3s." Wilt once again emphasized who was backing him.
"They faked a gold mine and arranged for me to pose as a collateral descendant of a baron. They sent me to Tingen City to establish a gold company and trick the nobles into investing."
"That's the plan in broad strokes. Lanevus is essentially my assistant in the script, helping me contact and persuade the nobles."
"How much are you planning to swindle?" Madam D continued.
Wilt held up one finger.
"One hundred thousand pounds?"
"No, at least one million pounds."
Madam D's gaze suddenly flickered at those words.
Seeing his chance, Wilt hurriedly tried to entice her. "Well? Do you want to join our plan?"
"Once it's done, those two Sequence 3s will take ninety percent of the proceeds. We'll split the remaining ten percent, about one hundred thousand pounds."
"Then we'll split it thirty-seventy. You take thirty thousand pounds and Lanevus, and I'll just take the remaining seventy thousand."
Madam D glanced at Wilt. "No, I want seventy thousand pounds!"
"You..." Wilt was stunned.
"That's unreasonable!"
"You don't have to do anything or take any risks, so why should you..."
Whoosh! Madam D suddenly vanished from where she stood, using the shadows to slip instantly in front of Wilt.
Bang! A greatsword landed on Wilt's shoulder, just a centimeter from his throat.
Only then did Madam D speak as though it were the most natural thing in the world:
"I'm a Sequence 5 Shepherd. I'm stronger than you, so I get seventy thousand pounds!"
Wilt: "..."
Wilt opened his mouth, but for a long while, he couldn't get a word out. He felt there was something not quite right about this Oracle.
"I think I was mentioned in the oracle your Lord gave you," Wilt said hesitantly.
"So you can't attack me. Otherwise, you'd be defying your Lord."
"I've already asked the Lord," Madam D said calmly.
"The Lord didn't refuse. He gave tacit consent to my actions."
"You asked the True Creator?" Wilt looked at Madam D, who was standing beside him and hadn't performed any ritual at all. He felt she was talking nonsense.
But the next instant, Wilt saw the straight, dark greatsword on his shoulder. A thought suddenly struck him, and he asked in surprise and disbelief, "Are you a Blessed of the True Creator?"
She nodded. "That's right. I am indeed a Blessed of the Lord."
So that's it. No wonder a Sequence 5 like you can use abilities at the demigod level. You have a Boon from the True Creator.
A smile suddenly appeared on Wilt's face. "So you're a Blessed, miss. Please forgive my disrespect."
"Seventy thousand it is. Once it's done, you won't get a penny less."
The sword on Wilt's shoulder turned back into shadow and merged into her shadow.
Seeing that she was about to leave, Wilt hurriedly called out, "Wait!"
"Where can I find you if something comes up?"
Wilt decided that whenever something came up from now on, he would go trouble her with it. After all, she was taking so much money.
"Lanevus," Madam D replied.
"I'll be keeping an eye on Lanevus for a while. If you need anything, you can go straight to him."
With that, she slipped into the shadows and vanished.
"This really is..." For a moment, Wilt didn't know how to describe what had happened to him.
"Was I, a Swindler, just robbed by a cultist?"
But he quickly shook his head.
"Forget it. I'd better keep digesting the Monster Potion!"
"All this happened to me today because I'm too weak..."
The outskirts of Tingen City.
Wilt was performing the Dance of Attraction in front of a ritual magic circle.
The ritual magic gathered spirits, making the Dance of Attraction more effective and drawing in more mysterious existences.
"Huff, huff..." Wilt felt somewhat tired.
"What's going on this time? Why hasn't a single existence been drawn here after I've danced for half an hour?"
Just as Wilt was about to stop and see if something had gone wrong, something unexpected happened.
Buzz!!!
The ritual magic suddenly blazed with dazzling light. At the same time, Wilt's Spirituality frantically warned him of danger, and he instinctively squeezed his eyes shut.
The next instant, an incorporeal light appeared above the ritual magic circle. It seemed to be composed of vast, tangled streams of information, moving like a torrent in an illusory form.
It was none other than the Hidden Sage.
Whoosh! A stream of information flew out of the Hidden Sage and entered Wilt's mind. Then the Hidden Sage disappeared.
"Aah!!!"
Clutching his head, Wilt fell to his knees in pain. Lumps of flesh sprouted all over his body, as though he might lose control at any moment.
Whoosh! The Sarira flew out on its own, enveloping Wilt in golden light.
Three minutes later, the light faded, leaving Wilt lying weakly on the ground.
"Knowledge infusion..."
"The Hidden Sage!"
"How did I end up attracting Him?"
"And why did He infuse me with knowledge? I'm not a Beyonder of the Mystery Pryer Pathway."
Wilt began going through the knowledge that had appeared in his mind.
"Life Alchemy!"
He discovered that the knowledge in his mind concerned the ability of a Sequence 4 Classic Alchemist of the Mother Pathway. He could achieve a similar effect through ritual magic and Beyonder materials.
After resting a little longer, Wilt got to his feet and dusted himself off.
"There's something strange about this place. I'd better try somewhere else..."
Before Wilt could finish speaking, he suddenly crouched down.
Whoosh! A blade of light skimmed past his scalp.
Rumble!!!
The blade of light flew into the distance, bringing down a large swath of trees.
Wilt turned and saw a strange creature.
Its lower body resembled an octopus, with tentacles extending from it. Its upper body was a humanoid skeleton, whose hands gripped a death scythe. It was the one that had launched the attack.
Just then, the skeleton raised its scythe again and swung it forcefully at Wilt.
Whoosh!
Another blade of light, about a meter long, flew toward Wilt.
Wilt dove to the side again to avoid the attack while pulling the revolver from his pocket.
Bang, bang, bang!!!
Three bullets imbued with golden merit flew toward the Beyonder creature.
The first bullet shattered its hand. The second struck its heart, smashing the skeleton there to pieces. The last hit an octopus tentacle beneath it, piercing straight through.
But it was no use. The next instant, the Beyonder creature returned to its original state and charged at Wilt, scythe in hand.
Bang, bang, bang!!!
Wilt fired three more shots, all hitting its head and blasting it clean off.
But the creature still didn't stop. It reached Wilt and swung down its scythe.
Whoosh!
Wilt vanished from where he stood, using Dream Traversal to leave.
Two seconds later, the Beyonder creature's head returned to its original state. It looked around, and after failing to find its target, it left as well.
Elsewhere, Wilt let out a lingering breath of relief. "It was at least as strong as a Sequence 6, maybe even a Sequence 5. Luckily, I ran fast."
Then Wilt stepped out of the dream. He found himself standing beside a woman who lay unconscious on the ground, with a ritual magic circle beneath her.
A short distance in front of him was another woman wearing a long black dress. She had a round face and a gentle, sweet demeanor.
The moment Wilt saw her face, her name surfaced in his mind:
"Trissy!"