After getting permission, Xia De took the candle out of the wooden box and confirmed that it was indeed a relic upon contact.
He sniffed it lightly; the candle had no scent, and although its surface appeared smooth, he could feel fine lines on it. However, only the last section of the candle remained, and even if there were words on it originally, Xia De couldn't tell what they were.
“The Poet Grade relic, the Bordo Candle, was discovered by Zaras Academy in the sixth epoch, common era 201, from the 'Ghost City' of Bordo in the central continent. At that time, there were a total of twelve candles, arranged in a certain ritual, each inserted into the mouth of a corpse. The twelve candles had the same effect: the person who lit and held the candle would enter an invisible state. In this invisible state, their temperature, disturbance to the air, sound, etc., all disappeared, and conventional and unconventional detection methods could hardly detect the invisible person. You can assume that the candle's invisibility is almost impossible to detect.
“Note that no extraordinary power can be used during invisibility; otherwise, the candle will automatically extinguish. However, the influence of extraordinary power received before lighting the candle will not disappear (Note). Remember, this is invisibility, not entering an unknown space, so the invisible state can still be attacked.”
Many spells and Miracles can achieve so-called “invisibility,” and the invisibility ability of this candle, which sounds almost impossible to detect, is very useful to Xia De:
“Can I carry items in the invisible state? Or do I need to be naked?”
“Substances whose weight is less than twice your own weight and are in skin contact before entering the invisible state, including living beings, can also become invisible when the candle is lit. However, after entering the invisible state, you cannot make contacted substances invisible. Once the candle is lit, no method can affect its burning speed, so you can estimate the remaining usable time based on its remaining length. What's left can be used for about 7 minutes and 23 seconds.”
The old man looked at the candle, recalling past events, and couldn't help but sigh:
“This was on a rainy night twenty-two years ago; a Hexacle correspondence student from Zaras Academy, whom I knew well, used it as collateral here. I didn't expect to never see him again after that, so this candle has been stored with me all these years. I think instead of selling you a relic with major side effects, I might as well give you this one; at least it can be used to escape.”
Xia De couldn't judge the truth of the story. Although a small part of him thought it was made up by the other party to raise the price, the story's authenticity was highly probable:
“What about the negative characteristics?”
He hadn't forgotten that.
“The candle must be extinguished once every 47 seconds of use; otherwise, the candle will drop directly, and the user will completely disappear from this world. Zaras Academy has verified this many times during its containment. Additionally, during invisibility, some auditory and visual hallucinations may occur, but ignore them. The most dangerous thing is that during invisibility, you might hear someone calling your name; do not answer at that time, or you will also disappear. As for containment, keep it dry and do not immerse it in water for more than 10 seconds. Zaras Academy used a candle to prove that doing so would cause an incident more severe than the Tobesk Armory explosion.”
Old John said, seemingly able to recall the specific information of all the relics in his possession, never needing to flip through a notebook when selling things to Xia De.
“The negative characteristics are so minor?”
Xia De was quite surprised.
“Because the effect is also minor; it's just invisibility, and so many ways can achieve that. This candle just makes the invisibility more complete. But if the enemy you encounter has mastered large-scale destructive Miracles, then complete invisibility is not as good as running fast enough.”
The shopkeeper patiently explained, but then added at the end:
“Of course, although the effect isn't very great, the price is not low. You have to understand that when escaping and during stealth assassinations, this thing is quite useful.”
“How much?”
“43 pounds, no bargaining.”
He paused and then immediately said:
“Don't mention that cane; this time, there's really no bargaining.”
This price was reasonable. Excluding the time key, the only relic Xia De truly bought from Old John was the Silver Moon Orb. That orb had an even smaller effect but still cost Xia De over 13 pounds. Relatively speaking, a candle with 7 minutes and 23 seconds left was indeed worth the high price of 43 pounds.
Xia De tried to bargain again, confirmed it was truly non-negotiable, and then paid for the candle. Old John asked Xia De again what he intended to do, and seeing that he didn't want to answer, suggested that other members of his group could help.
“If I ask you for help, how much would it cost?”
Xia De asked jokingly, and Old John said with some self-satisfaction:
“Me? Oh, young man, just pounds aren't enough. I am a very powerful Ring術士.”
“How powerful?”
“Very powerful.”
After leaving Old John's Pawnshop, he went straight home. After having lunch with Mia, he patiently waited for Miss Jialinna's reply.
At home, Xia De also experimented with the newly acquired candle's effect and, based on the length-time conversion formula Old John provided, calculated that he had used 7 minutes and 23 seconds down to 7 minutes and 01 seconds.
But at least it allowed him to grasp most of the candle's characteristics. First, the lighting method: the spell 【Ignite】 could light the candle. And in the invisible state, no matter how much the candle was shaken, it wouldn't extinguish, which meant that many large movements could be performed while invisible.
The experiment of making a wisdom life invisible with him was also successful. He held the cat and stood in front of the mirror. When the candle's flame lit up, the moment the person and the cat in the mirror suddenly disappeared, the strange phenomenon even startled Xia De.
Mia was a relatively alert cat, so Xia De also used her to test the effectiveness of the candle's invisibility. He put Mia on the floor, lit the candle himself, and then, while shouting loudly and jumping around, he circled the confused cat squatting on the floor.
She indeed couldn't notice Xia De; otherwise, Xia De's bizarre movements would have made the cat's fur stand on end long ago.
Although it is not offensive, this “complete invisibility” function is powerful enough. Not only can it be used for escape, but a sudden disappearance during a direct combat, followed by a sneak attack from behind with Laleg's Leap, is also a very good use.
Even lending the candle to the more powerful Miss Bei Ya Si and Miss Annette could play an extraordinary role in combat.
“This way, I have auxiliary abilities like invisibility, healing, life extension, illusion, tracking, eavesdropping, and spirit summoning. Although my one-ring attack power isn't strong enough, at least my abilities are quite comprehensive.”
His direct combat ability is not strong and cannot be compensated for in a short period. After all, he is only a One-Ring, and the Ring level is currently the biggest obstacle limiting Xia De.