When Ince Zangwill returned to his residence, he was filled with rage.
He instantly understood that everything he had just experienced was the work of the Sealed Artifact, the Quill of Alzuhod. It wanted to write its own holder to death, which was also one of 008's negative effects.
Ince Zangwill strode to the table, grabbed the Quill of Alzuhod, which was still writing, and slammed it onto the table.
Bang!
008 fell silent at once, lying motionless on the table like an ordinary quill.
After stopping 008, Ince Zangwill hurriedly picked up the notebook to see exactly what it had written that would harm him.
It read:
"Ince Zangwill walked into a small alley. Just then, an Amon avatar happened to appear at the other end and recognized Ince Zangwill as the former Archbishop who had defected from the Church of Evernight."
"Ince Zangwill likewise realized that the other party might recognize him. To prevent his identity from being exposed, Ince Zangwill attacked the Amon avatar. He succeeded in killing the Amon avatar, but also drew Amon's attention and was subsequently hunted by numerous avatars..."
This passage had been crossed out.
"The ruthless Ince Zangwill actually didn't attack immediately. This is truly strange, but it doesn't matter..."
"The Amon avatar's behavior made Ince Zangwill realize who the other party was. Out of fear, and because his constant use of Sealed Artifacts had left him poorly rested, Ince Zangwill subconsciously attacked and killed the Amon avatar..."
Once again, it had been crossed out.
"How surprising!"
"As a defected Archbishop, Ince Zangwill actually thought of the Church of Evernight's instructions for dealing with an Amon avatar at a critical moment. What tremendous irony!"
"Ince Zangwill ultimately did not attack. He pretended not to recognize Amon. Although his poor acting made him look like a Clown in Amon's eyes, he ultimately managed to walk away step by step under Amon's gaze."
"Ince Zangwill once again escaped danger."
"But that doesn't matter, because Amon has already set his sights on him, and he has successfully piqued Amon's interest. The Amon avatar decided to follow him and see..."
The story ended there. Ince Zangwill's pupils suddenly contracted. He hurriedly picked up 008 and continued writing:
"The Amon avatar will not follow him!"
"Although Ince Zangwill has piqued his interest, Amon's personality dictates that he will not intervene in the script Ince Zangwill has set in Tingen City. He will quietly watch from the sidelines, enjoying this drama of fate."
"For the sake of amusement, the Amon avatar will even help Ince Zangwill at certain times, allowing his plan to proceed more smoothly."
"This is a reasonable development!"
Only after writing all that did Ince Zangwill breathe a sigh of relief. He rubbed his forehead, which ached slightly from the excessive consumption of his Spirituality, a ruthless and determined look in his eyes.
"It seems the plan needs to be accelerated."
Elsewhere, only after confirming that Ince Zangwill had truly left did Wilt remove the monocle from his right eye. He too breathed a sigh of relief.
"It worked!"
"It seems an Amon avatar really is quite a deterrent, especially to certain people in the know."
A mischievous smile then appeared on his face.
I wonder what interesting things would happen if I put on a monocle and went to put on a show in front of Leonard now. That should let me digest the Swindler Potion right away, shouldn't it?
But Wilt soon shook his head and abandoned the impractical idea.
A lot happened today. I'll find an inn and get some rest first. Everything else can wait until I wake up.
Wilt then found a nearby inn. After paying for a week, he flopped onto the bed and fell fast asleep.
He slept from the afternoon until noon the following day.
After waking up, Wilt went out to buy food and some spiritual materials, then returned to his room at the inn.
He sat in a chair, eating the food in his hands as he considered his next steps.
What should I do first?
Just then, Wilt felt the temperature in the room suddenly drop. It even seemed a little chilly. He suddenly realized something and hurriedly activated Spirit Vision.
Through Spirit Vision, Wilt saw something indistinct flash past, and then a letter appeared on the table.
A messenger?
Who would send me a letter through a Spirit World Creature?
After a few seconds of silence, Wilt finally opened it.
"Dear Mr. Wilt,
Greetings! I am a member of the Twilight Hermit Order, entrusted by Mr. Adam with handling your affairs.
Considering that you are currently in Tingen City, your assessment for external membership will take place there.
Your task is to secretly stir up conflict between Tingen City's Conservative Party and New Party, making the two parties completely opposed to each other.
Once you have completed the assessment, remember to come to Backlund. I will be waiting for you here."
Wilt: "..."
There's an assessment for external membership?
Wilt truly hadn't expected that.
He then turned the letter over several times and found that it contained nothing else.
They didn't even leave a name. I don't know who wrote this letter to me, either.
Wilt took out a pen, turned the letter over, and wrote: Digest the Potions!
First and foremost, I need to digest the Potions. Everything else comes after that.
Wilt then wrote on the letter: Monster, Swindler, Cryptologist!
The Monster Potion takes priority, because I need it to resist corruption. The Swindler and Cryptologist Potions come next.
After sorting out his main tasks, Wilt wrote a secondary task below them: Make money!
He took all the money out of his pockets. "Only 10 pounds, 7 soli, and 4 pence left."
"I need to get money as soon as possible, or even eating and staying at an inn will be a problem."
"Hmm... I can combine this task with the one above. I'll act as a Swindler to cheat people out of money, solving my immediate problem while digesting the Potion."
With that thought, Wilt wrote down a name: Lanevus!
"Ordinary people don't have much to take, and nobles all have official Beyonder backing. I might as well swindle another Swindler!"
"I'll use Lanevus to rake in money and let him take the blame."
"And since I'm doing this, I might as well do it on a larger scale. I'll not only swindle people out of money, but also stir up opposition between the two parties. A storm of swindling will sweep through all of Tingen City, completing the third task as well."
"How can I make Lanevus's scam more appealing, so those nobles become hopelessly entangled in it..."
After thinking for a while, Wilt wrote a few words on the letter: Avatar No. 037!
"He's in charge of all the Amon avatars in the Rorsted Archipelago. He must be short of funds if he's rebuilding the avatars' forces. I might as well bring him in."
"With that Mentor of Deceit's help, swindling those nobles should be easy."
Finally, Wilt wrote one more name on the letter: Sharon!
"According to the established course of fate, her presence in Tingen City will inevitably cause the two parties to oppose each other. So I don't need to put much thought into that task; I only need to consider the first two."
"So that brings me back to the original question: how do I digest the Monster Potion?"
Wilt began to think about how to act as a Monster.
"Do I have to be like Ademisaul..."
But he quickly shook his head.
"No, that's too conspicuous. I need to think of some other way."
Suddenly, inspiration struck Wilt, and he had an idea. "Dancer Pathway abilities!"
"I can use them to act as a Monster!"