Today was Tuesday, the day of the Dawn Church's Holy Prayer Festival. Xia De had promised Bishop Owen and Priest Augustus that he would appear at the church in the afternoon to participate in the event and deliver a public speech. Besides that, he also had some other matters to attend to.
Leaving Mia at home to watch the house, Xia De packed up the things in the basement and went out.
His morning outing was to buy some things.
The first stop was Old John's antique shop. Old John was waiting for customers, reading a newspaper as usual. Hearing the bell ring, he tilted his head from behind the newspaper, saw it was Xia De, and then yawned, saying:
"Are you buying something again today? Speaking of which, how was your exam week? Louisa's ancient writing, it should have passed, right?"
Old John was the black market shop owner with the best relationship with Doctor Schneider's team.
"It passed, and my alchemy assignment passed too. Old John, this time I'm planning to spend a large sum of money on things."
Walking through the familiar Tobesk after waking up, far from the wet harbor City with pirates and merfolk, Xia De was in a very good mood.
"You? A large sum of money?"
Old John looked at him suspiciously, completely disbelieving this claim, seemingly thinking it was some kind of bargaining strategy.
So Xia De reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out 100 pounds in banknotes tied with a strip of paper; then he reached into his outer right jacket pocket and pulled out another 100 pounds in banknotes tied with a strip of paper; finally, he reached into his left pocket, and there was another 100 pounds.
The largest denomination banknote currently issued by the kingdom was 50 pounds, but it was usually only used for large transactions and was rarely seen on the market. Xia De took out 5-pound banknotes, 60 of them in total:
"That relic you mentioned, worth 300 pounds, consigned by a friend, I'll take it." (Chapter 99)
The old man looked at the money in surprise, then nodded:
"It has the function of extracting energy or similar tangible/intangible entities from a living body itself and then injecting it into the user's body, that's the requirement, right? That thing is still here, if you want to buy it, I can get it for you right now... Although I knew last time you met a rich noblewoman, I didn't expect..."
He didn't continue speaking, but quickly collected the banknotes. He told Xia De to wait a moment, then left for twenty minutes, returning with a slender object wrapped in cloth strips.
"A cane? A long sword?"
Xia De was quite expectant.
"A cane isn't that long, and if it were a cold weapon, do you think it would only sell for 300 pounds? You should know how expensive weapon relics are."
The old man said, placing the object on the counter, then quickly walked to the shop door and locked it from the inside.
He removed the cloth strips, revealing a fishing rod inside.
"Document-level relic 【Soul Fishing Rod】, entirely black, the material of the rod itself and the hook is similar to fine steel. It's telescopic, extending to 5.24 feet (about 1.6 m) when fully unfolded, the fishing line is transparent, material unknown, and can be extended as needed during use."
The old man skillfully held the fishing rod in his hand, and with a click, pulled out the retractable part of the rod, then handed it to Xia De for him to inspect.
"The 【Soul Fishing Rod】, once it hooks a living person, can harvest fragments of their memory. If that living person is also a Ring術士, then it can obtain a portion of their Ling, with a very small chance of directly obtaining their Ling Rune, perfectly meeting your requirements. As for the side effects..."
Seeing Xia De swinging the fishing rod around to feel its balance, Old John tapped on the table, prompting Xia De to pay attention:
"It must be activated by fishing. And the target cannot be incapacitated; they must actively take the bait. Once hooked, the angler must read the acquired memory, cannot refuse, and the acquired memory is a random segment, cannot be chosen. And prolonged use of this method to read other people's memories, even for a High-Ring Sorcerer, will affect their personality. More dangerously, if the number of uses exceeds 13 times, then for the rest of their life, there is a chance of suddenly seeing a giant fish hook falling from the sky."
"Oh?"
Xia De looked at him in surprise:
"What is that?"
"I cannot answer you, because people who see the fish hook will actively touch it and then disappear. The news of the fish hook is what they say when they see it."
The old man shrugged:
"It's probably some strange existence fishing. Do you see the line of Tibetan script on the fishing rod? That's a fourth epoch language, and I happen to know a little. The general meaning translated is..."
We are fishermen, but we are also fish.
This fishing rod was not negotiable, 300 pounds and cash payment. Even if Xia De brought up the cane, Old John wouldn't budge, because it was consigned by a friend, and he had no right to lower the price.
So, after paying this sum, Xia De's savings dropped from 900 pounds (Note) to 600 pounds. Although his earning ability had increased, unfortunately, his expenses had also increased.
The fishing rod was for potential Divine Radiance, so this money could not be saved at any cost. After sending the fishing rod home, Xia De put on his robe and mask and went to the Black Raven Library.
The acquisition of the whisper Ling Rune 【gluttony】 was something he hadn't anticipated, and obtaining a Ling Rune meant he could master a completely new direction of power. The connection between gluttony and time and founding · silver moon currently seemed minimal, so Xia De, as per custom, only planned to learn one Miracle related to it. If there were suitable Miracles later, he would then acquire more power of gluttony.
Similar to 【gluttony】, 【greed】 also belonged to a relatively common Ling Rune, and many ancient books and relics could allow Ring術士 to acquire runes of similar concepts.
And besides his daily needs, emergency preparations, repairing his third floor, and second-year tuition, Xia De still had about 200 pounds available. Compared to his first time choosing a Miracle for 【gluttony】, this time he was very well-off.
In a dim small room at the Black Raven Library, Xia De sat on the sofa, explaining his request to the person behind the wall through a small hole in the wall. To avoid missing valuable Miracles, he specifically stated that the price could fluctuate slightly.
It took the Library half an hour to provide Xia De with a list of 7 Miracles, six of which could be learned from the whisper element Ling Rune 【gluttony】.
The cheapest, 【Heart of greed】, was worth 15 pounds. This was a passive ability, enhancing one's desire for greed after learning. This Miracle was meant to be used in conjunction with other Miracles that had "greed" as a condition; a typical Ring術士 would certainly not learn it.
The most expensive was 【Valda's Life-Taking Contract】, which cost 350 pounds without learning materials and a staggering 1200 pounds with materials. This was an active ability, using a "lending" relationship to sign a contract with other intelligent beings through a handshake. Once the contract was violated, the Miracle would claim the life of the violator.
It sounded powerful, but the Miracle was useless against Ring術士 of a higher level than the caster, and it could be invalidated by textual loopholes or by the death of the caster, making it a valuable "contract" type of Miracle.
Xia De did not choose the most expensive or the cheapest, ultimately selecting the Miracle 【Treasured Possessions】, which was worth 232 pounds including materials.
This Miracle was quite simple to explain: it utilized one's greed and cherished feelings for a certain item to bestow extraordinary abilities upon that item.
The Miracle itself was only useful for ordinary items, and only one "Treasured Possessions" could be selected at a time, with replacements possible each lunar cycle. The power of the Miracle was limited by the degree of greed and cherished feelings for the item itself, as well as the caster's own level.
Different Ring術士 choosing different "Treasured Possessions" would bestow different extraordinary abilities, but these abilities would only be enhanced based on the item's appearance. For example, shoes would make the wearer run faster or see higher, eyes would enhance night vision or expand the field of vision, but it was absolutely impossible for a ring to suddenly shoot fireballs after being chosen.
According to the records provided by the Black Raven Library, most Ring術士 who learned this Miracle chose coins or banknotes as their "Treasured Possessions" because the greed for money would never diminish.
Of course, some Ring術士 also designated special rhode cards as "Treasured Possessions". As a result, the cards would possess extraordinary abilities such as extreme speed, hardness, or sharpness.
It should be known that 【Genesis · Balance】, controlled by Xia De, could not be sharp enough to be used as a weapon.
This Miracle, of course, also had very minor side effects.
First, the greed for similar items to the selected "Treasured Possessions" would be magnified. Second, once the chosen "Treasured Possessions" was lost, the user of the Miracle would not be able to use the Miracle for six lunar cycles, and during this period, their own desire for "greed" would be magnified.
But these side effects were acceptable, so Xia De chose to purchase this Miracle.
Paying the high fee caused his savings to drop to about 400 pounds. When Xia De returned home, seeing that it wasn't yet lunchtime, he used materials such as "money grass, malachite, and greedy person's bones" to complete the learning of the Miracle.
However, a small problem arose when selecting the "Treasured Possessions."
He took out all the cards, intending to select 【ancient fairy tale - match girl】. But when the spiritual light of the Miracle covered the cards, what was selected was actually the entire deck, including 【Origin · Silver Moon】 but not 【genesis - balance】.
It was likely that 【genesis - balance】 could not be selected because it was already activated and not an ordinary item. And the entire deck being selected was probably due to the amplification of the Miracle's effect by the "Divine Radiance" state.
He wasn't able to select multiple targets, but rather could consider "a set" as "one" target.
The evidence for this conjecture was that Xia De felt he could swap different cards into the deck, causing the swapped-out cards to lose their "selection" and the swapped-in cards to gain "selection." Therefore, when Xia De acquired new special cards, the new cards didn't have to wait until the next lunar cycle to be selected.
You spent so much money on Miracles, was it just to give your opponent too many cards when playing? Outsider, you truly are a greedy person.
"Don't slander me."
Xia De hooked his finger, and under the effect of 【Treasured Possessions】, fifty-four cards flew from the far end of the table to the table in front of him, stacking neatly from top to bottom.
Then Xia De took out a newspaper and unfolded it, then manipulated the fifty-four cards to cut the newspaper.
The expense of over 200 pounds was well worth it. In the Divine Radiance state, although the sharpness of these cards was not enough to break bricks or stones, it was sufficient to cut a human throat. Moreover, among the entire deck, the power gained by the special cards was far greater than that of ordinary cards, due to Xia De's greed.
If he could replace the entire deck with special cards, the effect of the Miracle might be further enhanced.
When the cards first started flying, Mia hid behind Xia De, peeking out to watch the scene. And when they stopped again on the table in front of Xia De, the cat, with wide eyes, immediately came out, jumped onto the table, and curiously extended a paw to touch the top card.
Although the cards gained the characteristic of sharpness, manipulating them to fly using 【Treasured Possessions】 was far less direct than Xia De's control over 【genesis - balance】. However, compared to the spell 【Moving Objects】, which could achieve similar effects, the control of 【Treasured Possessions】 was more precise.
For example, Xia De, suddenly having a mischievous idea, made the card Mia was batting at suddenly fly up. As Mia chased it, he manipulated the card to fly back and forth on the table, making the cat continuously wave its paws.
"Meow~"
It suddenly stopped, placed its little paw on Xia De's arm, and its large amber eyes looked at Xia De.
The Outsider smiled, letting the card stop in front of the cat, which very contentedly extended its paw.