The Wonder" literally means an item with extraordinary power, but Isaac knew nothing about its classification, grade, or purpose.
Carlo came to his rescue. "Sigh, you ask him what kind of Wonder he wants, but he doesn't even know what you have. How can he ask? Isn't that just taking advantage of his naivety?"
Vilka said to the innocent and naive Isaac, "Then it's settled. I will prepare the Wonder I can sell, and you can choose from them."
Isaac breathed a sigh of relief; this arrangement was more reasonable than having him order on the spot.
"Then it's settled." Carlo clapped his hands. "And there's my favor to consider..."
"Let's make this clear beforehand: if you use this favor to blackmail me into doing anything excessive, I will not admit it."
"Oh? This definition of 'excessive'..."
You know my bottom line.
"Alright, I know my limits anyway."
"It's hard to say."
"Tsk, they really don't give me any face." Carlo clicked his tongue. "When are we leaving?"
"I'll be waiting for you at the East Gate at six o'clock tomorrow morning. I'll have a carriage and necessary supplies ready."
After Vilka finished speaking, she nodded to say goodbye, walked towards the alleyway exit, and turned the corner.
Isaac watched her leave. "Boss, that Wonder you mentioned earlier..."
"What, are you moved by my actions in fighting for your interests?"
"Uh, it was a bit of a surprise." Isaac rubbed his nose. "However, I don't even really know what the Wonder is."
"Are you illiterate? The name is easy to understand, isn't it? Wonder with extraordinary powers."
"... I mean, are there any specific types?"
The two walked back along the street, Carlo said, "The types are naturally varied. It's impossible for them to be fixed as a certain accessory like equipment, giving you roughly the same buff."
"The types of Wonder are related to how they are created, and most are associated with gods, calamities, or extraordinary beings. Some are Holy Relic blessed by gods, some are Cursed Object contaminated by calamities, and some are Relic formed by the power of extraordinary beings after their death."
Holy Relic, Cursed Object, Relic... Isaac memorized these categories.
Carlo continued, "Judging from the way they are produced, the types of Holy Relic blessed by the gods are relatively stable. After all, they are basically made by clergy under rituals. The process is standardized, and the products are also well-organized. They are mostly amulets, holy symbols, and weapons, and their functions are relatively clear and controllable."
" The Holy Silver bullets produced by the church can strictly be classified as Wonder, but because they are mass-produced and consumed quickly, they are generally not discussed as genuine Wonder."
"But the latter two are different. Cursed Object contaminated by calamity, and Relic formed after the death of extraordinary individuals—the way these two types are created determines that their forms are incredibly diverse. It could be a broken sword, a finger, a stone, or even a pile of dried dog poop."
"... Is the last one for real?"
Carlo shrugged. "After all, Wonder are formed when extraordinary power attaches itself to something. When that power attaches itself, it can't just yell, 'I don't want to turn into dog poop!' and jump onto another vessel. Whatever the closest available vessel is, that's what it becomes."
Isaac smirked. If someone showed him a piece of dried dog poop and said it was a Wonder, he'd probably think they were insulting his intelligence.
He decided not to delve into the existence of this Wonder: "Is there a clear classification system for such Wonder?"
"Grading is quite difficult, considering factors such as effectiveness, side effects, and scarcity. It's not very meaningful to compare the strength of functional and offensive Wonder together. Some Wonder are powerful but costly, some are safe and stable but not very useful, and some can play a huge role in certain specific situations."
Therefore, most Wonder are not classified, but only briefly described in terms of their type: Holy Relic generally mean safety and stability, but usually restrict the user's faith; Relic often require the obsession remaining within them to function; and Cursed Object, as they are, are often accompanied by a price for use.
"However, there is one type of Wonder that has been separated and classified as a special level— Mythic Grade."
" Mythic Grade... that sounds pretty impressive."
"Actually, it's quite powerful. According to common belief, these kinds of Wonder are the manifestation of divine power in the mortal world. The holder can use them to wield power far beyond the realm of reason, and may even be able to rival a demigod."
A being comparable to a demigod, a pinnacle existence that tore the earth apart and burned cities during the War of the Churches, unmatched by humankind? Isaac felt that this description alone already demonstrated the immense value of Mythic Grade Wonder.
"However, there probably aren't many of these Mythic Grade Wonder."
"That's natural. Each one has a name, is recorded, has a clear ownership, and is controlled by various churches. The dominant one in the Western Territory is naturally the Church of the Golden Bough, which, as far as I know, holds at least six Mythic Grade Wonder."
Considering that Vilka went it alone, and with the two of them going to deal with " Shepherd " Mary, Isaac guessed, "As a cardinal, can Vilka command those Mythic Grade Wonder?"
In his mind, since the Church of the Golden Bough possessed such a powerful Mythic Grade Wonder, then Vilka's confidence must stem from this.
"Each of those six items is of great importance, and using any of them requires the joint approval of the Pope and the Grand Duke. She can mobilize them, but there is no need to."
Vilka's confidence in her strength didn't actually stem from Mythic Grade Wonder? Isaac was taken aback. "Then she..."
"She herself is a walking strategic deterrent, far more useful than Mythic Grade Wonder."
Isaac was somewhat surprised by this assessment. Vilka's swift draw of the gun did demonstrate her considerable skill, but that alone seemed insufficient to match the description of "a strategic deterrent more effective than Mythic Grade Wonder."
Clearly, Vilka possesses far greater strength.
Carlo waved his hand. "Anyway, with that guy's strength, we don't need to worry too much about tomorrow's operation. Even without the two of us, she can kill Mary single-handedly. Her hiring bodyguards is mostly just an excuse."
Isaac understood. "So, all I have to do is show up tomorrow?"
"That would be for the best. I'm not prepared to risk my life to protect her. If things really go wrong, I'll turn around and run."
Isaac was speechless. Although he also found it hard to imagine that Carlo would go through fire and water for Vilka, the words were too blunt and showed a complete lack of professional ethics.
"Besides, she approached us for another reason," Carlo said.
"Um?"
"We also have the Section Nine Division identity. When we kill ' The Shepherd,' even if our operation completely bypasses the Joint Investigation Bureau, the official report can be ' Joint Investigation Bureau secret operation kills Calamity,' instead of 'Cardinal displays the power of the Goddess.'"