I Loaded the Mysticism Panel

Aries retrieved a palm-sized iron box from a hidden compartment beside his chair’s armrest and set it on the Round Table.

The iron box opened. Inside, cushioned by black velvet, lay six bullets.

The warheads had extremely fine etchings, arranged on the conical surface to form complete, miniature Inscription Rings.

’Enchanted Bullets.’ Richard’s heart began to race.

He’d seen this sort of thing before, at Old Big’s.

Silver casings, lead-silver alloy warheads, with Exorcism Inscriptions carved into their surfaces.

But the Enchanted Bullets in Old Big’s box only had a single Inscription Ring.

These six that Aries had produced had a full three layers of Inscription Rings.

Embedded between the three Inscription Rings were two circles of extremely fine silver wire, forming three concentric circles, each one filled with Inscriptions.

"Three-Ring Enchanted Bullets," Aries’s voice rumbled from behind the Red Copper Mask.

He tapped a warhead with his index finger.

"The first ring is a standard Exorcism Inscription. Upon impact, it inflicts direct burns on an Ether Body.

You all know this. The Single-Ring Bullets on the market have this effect."

"The second ring is an Enhancement Ring. It amplifies the burn effect of the first ring and extends its duration."

"The third ring is a Special Effect Ring..."

He paused for effect.

"Its effect is ’Anchoring.’

Upon impact, the target’s Ether Body is nailed in place for ten seconds. It cannot be displaced or phase-shift on the Ether Layer."

"In layman’s terms, once it hits, there’s no escape. A Spirit Body won’t be able to retreat behind the Curtain or disperse into mist."

Richard coveted them.

The effect of an Enchanted Bullet comes from the Inscription on the warhead itself, not the shooter’s Ether.

You just need to be able to pull the trigger and hit the target, and the Inscription will activate automatically.

This meant that even a Newcomer, armed with such ammunition, could take on a Spirit Body target far exceeding their own Level.

’Assuming you can land a shot, of course.’

As Aries set the iron box on the table, Richard’s gaze naturally fell upon his hands.

He noticed a slight hesitation as Aries opened the box.

It was a tiny detail, but it spoke volumes.

Old Big had acted the same way back at the underground firing range when he’d taken out his little iron box to show him the standard Single-Ring Enchanted Bullets.

Carefully displaying a treasured possession he’d saved for a long time and was reluctant to part with.

’Richard began to calculate.’

’If Aries were a Minor Mastery Level Hunter, Three-Ring Enchanted Bullets shouldn’t be such a rare commodity to him.’

’For someone at the Minor Mastery level, Enchanted Bullets are more of a "convenience" than a "necessity."’

’A Minor Mastery trading Three-Ring Enchanted Bullets for information should have the air of someone casually tossing aside a few trinkets.’

’But that wasn’t Aries’s attitude at all, which was very interesting.’

"I have six of them," Aries said, pushing the iron box toward the center of the Round Table.

"Whoever has the latest survey report for the ’Ashen Zone’ in the Northern Glasgow Wilderness, or can provide information about a safe route through it, can have these Enchanted Bullets."

The name "Ashen Zone" meant nothing to Richard.

The Northern Glasgow Wilderness was out toward the Gael Highlands, a long way from the Imperial Capital.

He hadn’t read anything about it.

But from Aries’s tone, this "Ashen Zone" was clearly a dangerous area—so dangerous it required a "safe route" just to enter.

’Aries wants to go in.’

’But to do what?’

Richard didn’t know, and he had no intention of asking.

Dionysus set down his wine glass.

"I don’t have a survey report for the Ashen Zone."

He retrieved a flat tin box from a hidden compartment in his own chair, a size larger than the one from Aries.

The tin box opened to reveal a piece of parchment, folded with extreme precision.

He unfolded the parchment. Its surface was densely covered with symbols and diagrams.

"This is a complete ’Perception Shielding Technique,’" Dionysus said.

"After Casting, the target cannot be locked onto by any remote perception-type Technique for six hours.

That includes Destiny Fingerprint Tracking, Ether Residue Retrospection, and the targeted positioning of a Spirit Realm Messenger—all of them will be rendered useless."

He tapped a symbol on the parchment with his index finger.

"This Technique can be used on a friendly target. The components are three drops of the Caster’s own blood, a strand of the target’s hair, and a sufficient supply of Ether.

Casting takes about fifteen minutes, requires no special location, and can be completed independently by a Practitioner."

"What I want in exchange..." Dionysus picked up his glass, swirling the liquid inside.

"A temporary access pass for the floors above the third floor of the Imperial University Library. Or, a lead on a contact who can get me one."

Richard’s ears perked up.

’The floors above the third floor of the Imperial University Library.’

’The last time he was there, the old woman at the entrance had said that "the floors above the third require special permission."’

’He had only explored the first and second floors then and hadn’t tried to go any higher.’

’Now it seemed that even this "Dionysus" couldn’t get access to the floors above the third through normal channels.’

’What exactly was hidden up there?’

Richard started to assess Dionysus’s power.

He couldn’t recognize every part of the Technique on the parchment, but he could grasp its general structure.

’Dionysus himself had said a Practitioner could perform it independently.’

’The fact that he could write out the entire process for the Technique meant he was at least a Senior Practitioner.’

’But the more crucial clue was what he wanted in return.’

’A temporary pass for the floors above the third in the Imperial University Library.’

’This request, in turn, exposed the fact that he had no other way in.’

’Someone at the Minor Mastery level shouldn’t be in such a bind.’

Prometheus moved as well.

He took a cloth bag from the hidden compartment in his chair.

The small bag was tied shut with a Hemp Rope and made a soft clinking sound as he set it on the Round Table.

He untied the Hemp Rope and emptied the bag’s contents onto the table.

Five small glass vials.

Each vial was only about the size of a thumb, its mouth sealed with wax, and each contained a strange, dark liquid.

Richard’s keen Perception picked up the aura of the substance in the vials.

Heavier, colder, and more... ancient than Ether.

"Deep Ether Condensate," Prometheus said, his voice a deliberately raspy whisper.

"This is a highly concentrated Condensed Liquid that precipitates naturally from the depths of the Curtain. Each vial contains about 0.3 milliliters."

"It has many uses: accelerating meditative breakthroughs, acting as a catalyst for Techniques, repairing physical damage. But each vial is single-use. Once it’s gone, it’s gone."

"Five vials."

He put the bag away, leaving the five small vials arranged neatly on the table.

"I want to trade for the internal records regarding the ruins of the ’Silent Monastery’ in Carmarthen County.

Any format will do: journals, letters, survey notes, even transcribed oral accounts."

Richard had never heard of the "Silent Monastery" either.

But he did notice a detail: Prometheus had specified "internal records."

’He must have already seen the public records for the Silent Monastery and found them insufficient.’

’He wants what hasn’t been made public.’

’What could possibly be recorded in the internal records of an abandoned Monastery?’

’He’d heard far too many dark stories about monasteries.’

Richard committed this information to memory.

’Applying the same logic he used on Dionysus, he deduced that Prometheus probably hadn’t reached Minor Mastery either.’

’He wanted to trade for the "internal records" of the Silent Monastery.’

’Any format would do—journals, letters, survey notes, transcribed oral accounts—he wasn’t picky.’

’This attitude suggested he only had a vague idea about the Monastery, with no concrete leads to follow.’

Now, all three had laid out their "stalls."

Everyone had something they wanted, and everyone had something to trade. This was how the Round Table truly operated.

The three of them had exposed their needs to each other, and those needs were, in themselves, the most valuable intelligence.

And the most important piece of intelligence he had gleaned was the approximate power level of these three individuals.

The stone of anxiety in Richard’s heart slowly began to settle.

The three most vocal core members, who had made the most substantial offers, were likely all Practitioners, at best just reaching the threshold of Minor Mastery.

That meant the true distribution of power at this Round Table was a tier lower than he had initially estimated.

Hecate was another matter entirely.

Her role was that of "host." She was at least at the Minor Mastery level, possibly higher, but she wouldn’t necessarily get personally involved.

The ones who did get involved were these members.

Richard adjusted his posture slightly.

He had originally planned to present himself as a humble Newcomer with potential, the kind others would be willing to "cultivate long-term." Now, he could adjust that strategy slightly.

They were stronger than him, but not overwhelmingly so.

At most, they were a group who had gotten started earlier, had better equipment, and possessed broader access to information. A far cry from the figures he’d imagined who could crush him without a second thought.

Dionysus spoke first.

"Aries, I truly don’t have a survey report for the Ashen Zone."

He set his glass on the chair’s armrest.

"But I heard a team of Hunters returned from the edge of the Ashen Zone last month. Five went in, three came out alive.

They sold the route to a middleman in Edinburgh named Lauren, who runs an office in the old district."

Aries nodded, then hesitated.

"Lauren," he murmured, repeating the name. "The old district of Edinburgh."

"Correct. But I’m not well acquainted with him, so I can’t guarantee he’ll be willing to sell."

Aries nodded and didn’t press further.

He closed the lid of the iron box but didn’t retrieve it.

Leaving it on the table signified that the deal was still open.

"I’ll count this lead as a favor," Aries said to Dionysus.

"Next time you need fire support, you can look up our team."

Dionysus raised his glass in acknowledgment.

He then turned his gaze to Prometheus.

"Prometheus, about those five vials of Condensed Liquid.

If you’re willing to split them up, I’ll trade my Perception Shielding Technique for two."

"I can split them."

Prometheus’s voice remained just as raspy.

"But I don’t need a Perception Shielding Technique. I’m not afraid of being found."

The words were spoken plainly, but Richard heard the confidence behind them.

’Not being afraid of being tracked means one of two things: either your own power or your faction’s is so strong that trackers are helpless even if they find you;

or you’re already in a state where "being found doesn’t matter anyway."’

’Looks like I’ll have to move my assessment of Prometheus’s power into the "undetermined" category.’

"Then what do you want?" Dionysus asked.

"The records of the Silent Monastery," Prometheus repeated. "That’s all I want."

"I don’t have them."

"Then we won’t trade for now."

Prometheus pushed the vials of Condensed Liquid back to the center of the table.

"I’ll leave them for now. Whoever can get me the records of the Monastery can have all five."