“Where are we going?”
Elias asked, squinting at the black bird.
“The old Fortville estate,” Ms. Cecil replied, her voice devoid of emotion.
The old Fortville estate?
“Does this have to do with the other half of the pendulum?” Elias asked, raising an eyebrow tentatively.
“Not entirely,” Ms. Cecil replied. “There is also the Moon Bay seal.”
Elias sighed, pointing at the endless expanse of seawater outside, utterly speechless.
“Then how am I supposed to leave this place? It’s dozens of nautical miles away. You can’t expect me to swim back, can you?”
“Mr. Rockland, you are exaggerating. It is not that far,” Ms. Cecil politely retorted. “The nautical charts are highly accurate; it is only about twenty nautical miles.”
“I still can’t swim that far!” Elias pinched the bridge of his nose. “Is there really any difference between twenty nautical miles and two hundred nautical miles to me? I’m not a siren!”
“So when the time comes, I will find a way. You do not need to worry.”
The raven fluttered its wings, and Ms. Cecil's voice came through once more. “Until then, please try your best not to die.”
Elias took a deep breath and stared back at the black bird. “Thank you for the kind words, Ms. Cecil. That sounds incredibly tender of you.”
“If possible,” Ms. Cecil said, completely filtering out his sarcasm, “it would be best if you could become a bit stronger.”
“Since I have to work overtime, we should settle the overtime pay first,” Elias said, immediately seizing the opportunity.
He began to haggle with Ms. Cecil over his compensation. As someone who had thoroughly memorized the promotion recipes, he knew exactly what supernatural materials he would need next.
“I want half a dram of moon-howler beast hyoid bone powder, and three drops of dream ash from someone who hasn't woken up for three nights.”
Elias demanded audaciously, naming two high-grade materials that were clearly expensive. Originally, he had also wanted to ask for some solid gold crowns to fatten up his deflated wallet.
To his surprise, Ms. Cecil let out a sharp gasp.
“Those two materials are already extremely expensive!” The special envoy's tone was filled with indignation over the potential budget overrun. “Those are core inventory items at the Landon headquarters! Every single one was collected by mystics risking their lives!”
No matter how Elias argued, Ms. Cecil refused to grant any additional gold crowns as a reward. Elias could only smack his lips, dropping the matter with a look of immense regret, as if he had just lost a fortune.
The black raven finally warped and faded in the air, dispersing completely into pure spiritual light.
Elias stood up and stretched his stiff joints. His expression turned slightly somber.
Investigating the old Fortville estate must not overlap with the deal he had made with that old sea dog, Crowley. Otherwise, the other half of his curse-removal recipe would remain firmly in that old man's grasp.
Just thinking about Crowley made Elias's chest tighten with irritation.
Then again, could he find a way to squeeze some money back out of that old sea dog? Elias stroked his chin, then let out a cold laugh.
It was probably impossible. How could that old swindler ever spit out money he had already pocketed?
But when he thought about it carefully, the way this information gap had been played was truly an eye-opener.
Back in Hastings Port, he had merely used the old man's name to extort a measly three hundred gold crowns from the Wayland Shipping office.
Who would have thought that the moment he turned around, the old man would use his name to squeeze even more money out of the Seventh Agency!
The amount could be easily calculated with just a little bit of thought.
Back then, when he had painstakingly killed that Scale Three mutated siren in Hope County, the bounty issued by the local Seventh Agency branch alone was a whopping three thousand gold crowns.
And now?
The one that old sea dog had delivered was Sarah!
She was a bona fide Scale Four aberration.
For her, several times that price would not be an exaggeration.
Damn it...
“Mr. Rockland, is it over?”
A cautious shout drifted over from not far away.
Jack had been standing at attention on the shingle beach some twenty meters off for nearly half an hour. Only now, seeing Elias stand up, did he dare to raise his voice and call out.
Elias did not reply at all, merely waving him over with a dismissive gesture.
Then, he sat back down on the wooden chair and flipped open 《Introduction to Mysticism》 once more.
Since he couldn't get any gold crowns, reading more professional books was never a bad idea. It would save him from mistaking a "silver-rimmed cap" for a treasure next time.
As he flipped through the pages, his gaze locked onto the chapter titled "On Spiritual Bodies."
It recorded one of the most peculiar examples of a curse—the dream demon curse.
Elias narrowed his eyes slightly.
The book stated that this method of cursing, which directly marked the coordinates of a spiritual body and then forcibly dragged it back, was entirely different from any known orthodox curse spell system.
The author of the book wrote in a skeptical tone that, according to his years of researching ancient texts, the creatures known as dream demons had suddenly appeared in large numbers in the shallow layers of the spirit world twenty-five hundred years ago.
Twenty-five hundred years ago.
That was during the Black Moon Dynasty, an era even older than the Silver Sail Dynasty.
This meant that dream demons were not extraordinary creatures that had evolved naturally at all!
As for more in-depth secrets, they were not things that could be found in an introductory book on mysticism.
When dinner time arrived, a freshly grilled fish prepared by Jack sat on the dilapidated wooden table.
Elias was still engrossed in the worn book, not even lifting his eyelids.
“Mr. Rockland...”
Jack sat opposite him, pinching a corner of a hard biscuit, and called out softly.
“What is it?”
Elias lowered the book slightly.
His eyes peeked over the edge of the pages, casting a gaze toward the young man. However, doing so immediately brought him face-to-face with Jack's flattering, fervent stare.
“What promotion materials are you still missing right now?”
The young man from Landon puffed out his chest, putting on a generous, money-is-no-object display. “If you're short on anything, I can help you get it.”
“You?”
Elias raised an eyebrow, closed the book, and lightly tapped his fingers on the cover. “There's no such thing as a free lunch. Out with it, what are your conditions?”
“No conditions!”
Jack waved his hands like windshield wipers, looking thoroughly righteous. “Serving you, sir, is my honor!”
“Are you sure?”
Elias smiled half-heartedly and slapped the book down on the table. “Once this opportunity passes, you won't get another chance.”
“Wait, wait, wait!”
Seeing his plan about to fall through, Jack immediately dropped the act.
He leaned in closer and lowered his voice, his tone as earnest as a deathbed prayer to the gods. “Actually... I just want a way to survive.”
Elias sneered inwardly.
He instantly understood the kid's train of thought.
This fellow had just overheard his conversation with Ms. Cecil and realized he had connections with the Seventh Agency.
He had clearly realized how powerful of a backer Elias was, which was why he had scrambled over to curry favor.
A Life Scholar whose family had been wiped out by a cult, and who was now hiding and fleeing all over the world, lacked nothing more than a sense of security.
And Elias currently looked like a walking safe zone.
With that in mind, the corners of Elias's mouth curled upward, revealing a warm, amiable smile.
He leaned back leisurely and clasped his hands together.
“Come on, then. First, let me see your strength.”
Rate on N.U.
