My setting is above yours!

Chapter 42 Investigation Commission (6k5)

A clandestine gathering?

Ron immediately became interested.

Actually, Idrila had mentioned the rally when she was trying to fool Charles.

However, it wasn't explained in detail at the time, so Ron didn't know what the gathering was all about and naturally didn't care much.

But now that he knows the gathering is a secret meeting of the extraordinary individuals of Evening Bell City, Ron can no longer ignore it.

Whether it's converting the Minotaur's heart into money or purchasing a [Death] Sequence Seven potion, all these goals can be achieved within this secret gathering!

However, you can't just blindly rush into this gathering alone...

It's obvious that in the "Potion Age," such secret gatherings of extraordinary individuals must have had many special rules.

After all, these superhumans are plagued by loss of control and have to try to acquire secret knowledge and advance their ranks—Ron doesn't think they are all law-abiding good people.

In this situation, threatened by pollution and loss of control, they must have exerted every effort to maintain a semblance of peace...

Without strong rules to govern the superhumans at the gathering, this would probably not be a secret gathering of superhumans, but a scene of bandit fighting!

Everyone will resort to force for the extraordinary items they desire... Ron didn't really want to go that far.

Although he wouldn't mind using some violence to secure his promotion, that would always be a last resort.

These thoughts flashed through his mind, and he inquired of Idrila:

“Gathering…Miss Idrila, if I want to participate in this ‘academic salon,’ are there any ‘rules’ from the academy that I need to know?”

"There are indeed some..."

Idrira said, "In the Fran Empire, due to the Secrecy Law, secret gatherings of extraordinary individuals are not actually allowed to occur."

"However, the Secrecy Law only has a keen sense of what is outside the 'door'—within the 'door' that severs the connection between mystery and the mundane, such secret gatherings are commonplace."

"Many extraordinary organizations hold similar secret gatherings regularly, and the academic salons of the Society are one of them."

"As long as we're openly conducting academic discussions, MI7 won't bother with us much—"

Therefore, at the society's salons, everyone needs to use "academic points" as the currency to transform "secret transactions" into "academic exchanges" within the framework of occultism.

"Only after the transaction is completed can they exchange the [Academic Points] back for Gold Pounds..."

[Academic Points]? Is that the currency that Idrila just used to exchange for extraordinary items from the secret manual?
Can this really be considered an academic discussion? It feels like someone just wants to skim off the top...

Ron pursed his lips, not directly criticizing the school for its obvious commission-taking tactics.

After all, they are the organizers of the gathering, so it's normal for them to take a cut. Otherwise, why would the association provide such a trading venue that is isolated by a "door"?

"Besides currency, are there any other rules that I should be aware of?"

He pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked, "For example... about after-sales service?"

"After-sales service?" Idris was stunned for a long time before she realized what Ron meant.

"You mean post-transaction guarantees...? That's something to be concerned about."

Idris sighed:

"Indeed, many people will attack another superhuman after a transaction, either because of money or other issues..."

"The academy can't completely prevent this from happening. They can only restrict them from doing it within the academy, but once they leave the academy, no one can control them."

"But you don't need to worry about that."

As she spoke, she pointed to the ground beneath her feet:
"Learning to estimate where you'll be living for the foreseeable future—"

"Before resolving Suer's problem, I doubt you yourself would consider finding a hotel and living alone, would you?"

That's certainly true...

I never expected to be able to snag a safe house to stay in for free at the school, so upon reflection, there's nothing to worry about.

After all, it's impossible for anyone to dare to directly attack Ron at the academic conference of the society.

However, considering that [Academic Points] will be used as currency for transactions at the gathering...

It's likely that not many of the extraordinary guests from other organizations are as wealthy as Idrila, the saintess who has close ties to the Society of Truth.

The Minotaur's heart and the "Overseer" potion recipe from Sequence Seven of the War series...

I reckon you can only get the biggest premium from Idrisla!

Then there's no need to wait until tomorrow.

I need to think about what method I can use to make the most profitable deal with Idrila...

Ron pondered for a moment, tapped his fingers on the table, and suddenly revealed an extremely serious expression.

He suddenly clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and began to mutter to himself in a murmur that even he couldn't understand.

But to outsiders, Ron suddenly began praying to a higher being, even uttering ancient, unrecorded secrets!
He murmured to himself, tilting his head back with a devout and solemn expression, as if an ancient deity was listening intently to the nothingness he faced...

Idrisla immediately sat up straight.

She looked at Ron, and for a moment she felt uneasy.

Why did they suddenly start praying? Weren't they just discussing the gathering...? Did that sir summon Mr. Ron?
How could there be no warning signs at all? Isn't it said that if a hidden being wants to summon mortals, they will bestow various extraordinary signs?
Could it be because Mr. Ron, as a hidden being, doesn't need to go through this cumbersome summons process at all...?

Was the gaze of that hidden being constantly fixed on him?

Or……

Although Idrila was nervous, a hint of doubt inevitably arose in her heart.

But Ron quickly dispelled her doubts.

She saw Ron finish his devout prayer in that incomprehensible language, and then suddenly pull out a cold, spherical object encased in iron filings from his pocket.

He placed it on the table, and the iron filings on the spherical object suddenly dispersed, revealing its contents—

A phantom, bright red heart is beating vigorously, seemingly brimming with the vitality of life.

Above this heart, one can faintly smell the bloody stench of war—a scorched smell, like hot blood mixed with soil and dried by fire.

This is... an extraordinary material?
As Idrila looked at the heart on the table in front of her, a heart caught between illusion and reality, an indescribable longing welled up within her.

That burning desire flowed from her blood, scorching her heart like a flame.

Huh... why am I suddenly having this feeling...?

She stared at the heart on the table, her eyes widening as she suddenly felt an indescribable sense of familiarity.

Although it had an incomprehensible, semi-illusory appearance, as if stuck between existence and non-existence, Idrila clearly recognized what it looked like.

Could it be that this is...?

She exclaimed in astonishment, "This is... the heart of the Minotaur?!"

Seeing Idrila's shocked expression, Ron slightly curled the corners of his lips, then reverted to his serious demeanor and said earnestly:

“That’s right, the heart of the Minotaur, the main ingredient for the [War] Sequence Seven potion…”

He drew out his words, emphasizing:

"This is a 'reward' bestowed upon me by that lord, which I can dispose of entirely on my own."

As he spoke, he gave Idrisla a friendly smile:

“Miss Idrila… if I remember correctly, you happen to be Sequence 8 of [War], right?”

"Your help has been indispensable in enabling me to reach this point in that person's trials, and perhaps that person has witnessed all of this—"

"That's why he gave me these potion ingredients and then told me the potion recipe for Sequence Seven of War."

He pushed the Minotaur's heart toward Idrila, making an extremely generous expression:

"I will not keep the glory bestowed upon me by that lord to myself!"

Sure enough, the Minotaur's heart was constructed directly by a hidden being using extraordinary abilities; otherwise, it wouldn't have such a semi-illusory appearance!

Unexpectedly, that person also turned their attention to me?

I've actually attracted the attention of a mysterious being...

Even, even... even His gifts!
This series of shocks might be relatively immature in Ideal City, but in the "Potion Era"...

At least Idrisla is now a bit confused by the hype.

"This...this won't do..."

Idris instinctively shrank back, waving her hands repeatedly:

“What did I do? If it weren’t for Mr. Ron saving my life, I’d still be locked up in the Sanctuary’s tower…”

How virtuous and capable she is!

Seeing Idrila's reaction, Ron couldn't help but smirk.

Sure enough... they took the bait.

He looked at Idrila, but his expression was no longer as friendly as before; instead, it became serious, and he lightly tapped the table with his fingertips.

"Miss Idrila... do you mean you want to refuse that gentleman?"

He tapped the table lightly, drawing out the sound:
"'She doesn't need your blessing'—are you sure you want me to reply to that sir like that?"

No, that won't do!

Even if she was completely confused by the hype, Idrila's vigilance in the field of occultism brought her back to her senses instantly.

In an instant, various dangerous scenarios flashed through her mind, and cold sweat instantly soaked her back.

This is a very secretive entity...

Refuse His blessing?

Whether what followed was a blessing or a curse is hard to say...

At least in the scriptures of the Society, there are quite a few unfortunate souls who were cursed by the Enraged Ones for opposing the Hidden Beings!
Moreover, it was clear that this blessing bestowed by this lord was not intended for her...

The Minotaur's Heart and the War Sequence 7 potion recipe were clearly rewards given to Mr. Ron.

The reason for giving such a reward is clearly worth pondering.

...Perhaps, in the trials set by that great man, she really did occupy a certain position.

In that case, she couldn't just blindly refute him here and cause the trial bestowed by a hidden being to be affected... "No... of course not."

She regained her senses, pondered carefully for a moment, and said thoughtfully:

"I just really don't know what right I have to receive this blessing..."

“But that doesn’t mean I really want to oppose that person’s will—Mr. Ron, I will accept that person’s blessing with utmost respect.”

She spoke, but her eyes were fixed on Ron, and she said nervously:

"However... it's hard for me to accept all of this for nothing..."

“Mr. Ron, I will purchase the materials you have at market price…”

As she spoke, her pace slowed, and after a moment's thought, she immediately changed her words:
"No, that's not right. Mr. Ron, when the gathering starts tomorrow, if there's any chance, I will definitely try to help you buy the potion recipe and main ingredients for [Death] Sequence Seven..."

If we directly help Mr. Ron buy the potion, it would probably be more effective in advancing his trial, right?

That way, it should be more likely to please that person...

Idrila thought to herself, while Ron, seeing her like this, almost couldn't suppress the smirk that curled up on his lips.

His prediction was indeed correct.

Someone like Idris, who is clearly serious and upright about everything, is best approached with this kind of push-and-pull tactic to get her to willingly pay the highest price...

If it were someone else here, Ron wouldn't have pretended to be so generous.

After all, if the other party really accepted it as a matter of course, it would be Ron who would feel bad about it.

Ron was only so generous because someone like Idrila, who would never accept such a gift for nothing and completely believed that Ron was a hidden being's chosen one.

...In this way, Ron won't even need to personally handle the matter of purchasing the [Death] Sequence Seven potion tomorrow.

As a semi-member of the Society of Truth, Idrila was obviously more familiar with the ins and outs, making it much simpler for her than for him to search for it on his own.

With this sense of peace in mind, Ron carefully explained the potion recipe for the [War] Sequence Seven "Overseer" to Idrila, watching as she diligently wrote it down.

"Thank you so much... Mr. Ron. If I can take advantage of this opportunity to become a Sequence Seven, I might have a better chance when facing Sull later."

Idrila sincerely thanked Ron, placed the Minotaur's heart and the paper containing the potion recipe into a small tin box, and then said to Ron:

"It's getting late. I think President Elvis should be back by now. Let's ask him to arrange a room for you while we wait for tomorrow's academic salon..."

She said she was taking Ron to Elvis's office again, but the result was no different from before.

Elvis's office door remained locked; clearly, no one had returned.

Idrisla paused slightly, clearly somewhat confused.

"Why hasn't President Elvis returned yet...?"

She muttered to herself, then quickly ran away, circling the spiral staircase back to the bookstore.

Mr. Charles was still there, jotting something down with a quill pen. Idris rushed to his side and asked:

"Professor Charles...when did President Elvis leave?"

But the reply she received left her extremely confused—

"Left? Oh, that's been a while..."

Charles spoke slowly in the tunnel:

"Elvis said he would be away for half a month, and he has been gone for thirteen days now. He should be back soon."

"What's wrong? Do you need to talk to Elvis? Don't tell me you want to continue the argument you two had earlier..."

Who's in the mood to argue right now?
Idrila returned to the underground hall dejectedly, and Ron, who had been by her side the whole time, couldn't help but comfort her:

"There's no need to rush... After all, Charles said that Elvis is only going away for half a month."

“Now that you’ve left the Scorched Earth Sanctuary, there’s not much danger as long as you stay in the Academy—you might as well just wait patiently.”

"It can only be the."

Idrila said in a muffled voice, "There are still half a month left before the start of the Fire Chasing Ceremony. If President Elvis doesn't return before then, we won't even be able to rescue that messenger from the academy..."

Her eyes were full of worry, and after returning to her room, she sighed helplessly.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Ron... because Chairman Elvis hasn't returned yet, we can't even find you an empty room."

She explained, “In the academy, each of these rooms belongs to a single academy member.”

“All the rooms are locked with magic locks, and only President Elvis’s golden key and the room’s owner can open them.”

"I'm afraid you'll have to stay in this room with me for the next couple of days..."

As she spoke, she rummaged through the closet in the room and pulled out two sets of bedding:

"Although I've never stayed here before, thankfully President Elvis has expanded each member's room, and there's more than enough room for two beds..."

That's pretty good...

Doesn't this mean the Truth Society is essentially providing each of its members with a fairly spacious safe house?
Thinking about it that way, it's actually a really good organization that treats its members well...

Ron shrugged as he looked at the bed Idrila had made for him, then lay down on it, occasionally fantasizing about the wonderful future of buying the [Death] Sequence 7 potion at the academic salon the next day and drinking it down to become a Level 3.

Idrila also lay down on the bed, trying to sort out her chaotic thoughts, her mind filled with the Fire Chasing Ritual and the matter of the hidden existence...

Silent all night.

the next day.

The two got up with tired dark circles under their eyes. Idrisla took Ron back to the bookstore and had brunch with Charles.

They chatted with the old man for most of the day until the sun set and the bright moon rose, at which point the entire association gradually became lively.

All sorts of extraordinary individuals entered the bookstore, skillfully stepping through the "door" formed by the bookshelves, and arrived at the lowest level, the academic hall.

Charles was also seated in the center of the hall, serving as an observer and defender of the Society at this "academic salon."

At this moment, Ron and Idrila had already changed into black robes, put on hoods, and concealed their faces.

Although they won't leave the academy and are unlikely to be attacked, protecting their privacy is still necessary.

Otherwise, if they were to be targeted by some extremely greedy superhuman, sooner or later they would leave the academy and be attacked by such hyena-like creatures.

Ron didn't mind this little trick of concealing himself, thinking it was better to avoid trouble.

And they weren't the only ones with this idea; Ron could see that in the academy's hall, the vast majority of people concealed their true appearances in various ways.

Only a very few people openly revealed their faces, but just looking at them, Ron could feel a faint sense of threat...

Their willingness to reveal their faces may not be out of recklessness, but rather out of pure confidence in their abilities.

Ron observed these people with great interest, but found that he couldn't see anyone produce any extraordinary materials or magic books that recorded secret knowledge...

"How...will they conduct the transaction?"

Ron asked with some curiosity, and Idrila pointed to the secret text in the center of the round table, as well as the quill and white paper placed beside the table:
"In the secret gatherings of extraordinary individuals, transactions are always conducted anonymously..."

"After all, no one wants others to know what they have or what they have sought."

“They would write down what they wanted or what they were selling on a piece of paper, and then the secret book would record them and categorize them one by one in the secret book.”

“You can see those entries by using your spirituality to touch the sutra.”

That's a real missed opportunity to get a free potion recipe...

Ron was a little disappointed. He had originally hoped that if he had the chance, he could at least look at and touch the extraordinary materials sold by these extraordinary individuals without buying them.

Perhaps, like before, the spellbook will generate corresponding potion recipes from those extraordinary materials, and Ron will get a windfall...

But now that everyone is using such advanced methods to trade anonymously, Ron's fantasy of touching all sorts of extraordinary materials in the market has naturally been shattered.

But it doesn’t matter.

As long as we can find the potion recipe for Sequence Seven of Death, whether or not we get the other recipes for free is not important...

With this thought in mind, Ron touched the cryptic text with his spiritual sense and saw entries jump out in front of him:
[A fragment of a finger bone belonging to someone who died unjustly, 100 points.]

【Nightshade Grass 25g, 70 points.】

[Life] Sequence Nine 'Apothecary' Potion Recipe, 300 points.

……

There is no potion recipe for Sequence 7 of Death...

After carefully flipping through the pages, Ron couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

However, this is to be expected; such high-end items are obviously not readily available for sale with clearly marked prices...

Ron glanced at Idrila beside him, and Idrila immediately understood what Ron meant. She picked up a quill and quickly wrote down her requirements on a piece of white paper:
Seeking either the [Death] Sequence 7 potion recipe or the potion itself, price is not a limit. — Idrisla

After writing all this, she leaned close to Ron's ear and whispered:

"Something like a Sequence Seven potion recipe, if you don't have the right person to possess it, even if someone does, they won't consider selling it..."

"However, as a nun from the Scorched Earth Sanctuary and an honorary member of the Society of Truth, I am somewhat well-known in Evening Bell City, and I expect someone will come looking for me soon."

"After all... those guys from the Church of the Lost are usually tight on money, and those who can come to the salon are relatively 'open'."

Sure enough, without a qualified identity, even the seller won't bother communicating with you...

However, are the members of the Lost Church all in a tight financial situation?

It seems this church that believes in "death" isn't living a very peaceful life...

Ron was deep in thought when, not long after, he suddenly felt a chill creeping up from not far away.

He looked up and saw a tall, thin man in black robes walking towards him.

Ron was slightly taken aback, but immediately recognized who he was.

Isn't that the man in black who always leans against the cast iron heating pipe to keep warm?
He walked up to Ron and his companion, and only then did Ron see a gaunt, pale face through the shadow of the hood.

"You... want the potion recipe for Sequence Seven of Death?"

As he spoke, his voice was shrill and hoarse, as if it had been cut by a blade:
"I can give it to you, but you have to do something for me..."

"Completed a... well, an 'investigation request' from the Church of the Lost."

　The classic update schedule has been restored; this chapter is 6,500 words long.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)