r18novel Chapter 23 Harvest
Chapter 23 Harvest
Upon hearing the words "survivor," Suren's heart tightened, but he remained outwardly calm and listened quietly.
"Unfortunately, that guy seems to be a high-ranking powerhouse. The Church's tracking methods didn't work. Our initial guess is that he's a high-ranking member of the 'Gate of Truth.'" Corrigan took a drag of his cigarette and said casually, "But this way, we don't need to carry out our mandatory mission, which is a good thing."
Suren secretly rejoiced that the "information barrier" of the Book of Secrets was stronger than he had imagined; otherwise, if he had been tracked down, he would have had to go on the run in advance.
Suren asked with some relief, "So, did that saint come to Loren Town because of that manuscript?"
Corrigan shook his head: "It's not just that. I don't know the specifics, but I've heard that the 'Eternal Oath Knights' have infiltrated our town and are plotting something."
Corrigan sighed helplessly. He felt that he had more troubles lately than before: "I don't know what's wrong with me lately. First it's the 'Classical Wisdom Society,' then the 'Gate of Truth,' and now even the most difficult-to-deal-with 'Eternal Oath Knights' have appeared. I don't know what's so special about this tiny place like Loren Town that makes them want to stay."
"The Eternal Oath Knights?" Suren pondered the name silently; it sounded somewhat ancient.
"It's said that this organization has existed for nearly two hundred years. Unlike other organizations, its members are very united and have close internal connections, making it the most troublesome underground organization." At this point, Corrigan nudged Suren: "Alright, go back and rest. This isn't something you should be worrying about."
Suren waved his hand and pushed open the door. He actually had another question in his mind—Corrigan was being a little too friendly to him.
Corrigan watched Suren's departing figure, exhaled a smoke ring, and a strange emotion flickered in his single eye.
Back in his familiar yet unfamiliar home, Suren tossed the canvas bag containing his spoils onto the table, not in a hurry to count them. He was more concerned about the new entries added to the Book of Secrets.
With a thought, the Book of Secret Knowledge unfolded before him, and a new line of text appeared under the original entry for "Deteriorating Secret Knowledge":
[Forced Trial: Allows for the forced trial of a target without conviction, slowing their actions and subjecting them to psychological punishment. This ability can be weakened by a strong will.]
[Source of ability: Obtained by "Mirror Demon" devouring "Red Wolf of Laws".]
Suren frowned. In the original world, the "Mirror Demon" could only devour the memories of its victims, but in this world, it could even devour abilities?
Suren felt a surge of excitement. If he could absorb more abilities and then advance to eliminate the backlash, wouldn't he no longer need to use "Mirror Demon"?
However, reality soon dealt Suren a heavy blow. Suren noticed that the text was faintly visible, as if it would disappear after being used once. Moreover, the color of the text was the same deep black as the corrupting secret knowledge, which meant that using this ability would most likely aggravate the corruption.
Although this derivative erosion is usually not as severe as using the "Mirror Demon" directly, it still significantly accelerates the deterioration of the "Mirror Demon".
There's no such thing as a free lunch, Suren sighed, and then he began to sort through his spoils.
In addition to the bounty, this harvest also included materials from two Level I evil spirits.
As for the two wolf cubs, perhaps it was because they were merely minions of the Demon King and did not possess any additional items.
Suren gave Karl a "Demon Heart" and a monster-derived material, while the remaining materials all belonged to Suren.
Suren summarized her findings as follows:
Two "Evil Spirit Dust Crystals"
A "devil's heart"
A strange snake scale
Cole's "Ghost Bridge"
The mysterious badge inside Cole's wallet.
As for the revolver, Suren had already had Professor Derwent examine it. This revolver was a "penetrating armor" enchanted revolver that was quite popular on the black market. Its bullets had an extra effect against demons with strong defenses and could easily penetrate armor. It belonged to a relatively high-end category, and this type of gun was also very expensive, with an estimated starting value of 400 pounds.
Suren thought to herself, "I guess Cole is so poor because he bought this gun, and in the end, it just benefits Suren."
According to the professor, advanced alchemists can also infuse the Demon Heart into this enchanted weapon, granting it even greater power; however, given Suren's current economic situation, this is something he can only dream of.
After thinking it over, Suren decided to use two revolvers simultaneously from now on. He would use the armor-piercing revolver normally, and transform into a dual-wielding gun god when he needed to unleash a barrage of firepower. This was also the reason why he used contribution points to exchange for a dual-wielding belt.
Just imagining having two mirrors, two guns, an ammunition pouch, and possibly other items hanging on her waist in the future, Suren really wished she had a space bag.
Placing the revolver on the table, Suren picked up the "Demon Heart" with his left hand. With a thought, his left hand turned pale again, and the "Demon Heart" slowly melted in his hand.
Suren's expression grew increasingly grave, for he discovered that the erosion had weakened only to a very limited extent this time.
He pulled out an iron box from under the bed, took out the "Heart of the Demon" from before, and did the same thing. This time, the effect was quite obvious. The Book of Secrets was restored to its original state and was no longer entangled by tentacles.
Suren shook his head. The "Demon in the Mirror" was like a picky child. The same kind of Demon Heart was very ineffective the second time, which meant that he needed to use "Demon Hearts" with different laws to feed it.
However, it might be possible for different levels. The Demon Heart of a Level II demon should have reduced its corruption even more. According to Suren's estimate, in his current state, he estimated that he could use the "Mirror Demon" ability five times in its entirety. It seems like a lot, but Suren could not guarantee that the increased corruption would not bring other side effects. He could not afford to gamble.
"I'll use it as little as possible. It looks like I need to get promoted as soon as possible," Suren decided.
However, the "Evil Spirit in the Mirror" was indeed powerful enough. Suren wondered if he would retain this devouring ability permanently if he reached a higher level.
Next was the last item. Suren picked up the mysterious badge, which was made of a metal he didn't recognize. The front of the badge had an abstract symbol on it.
This symbol is quite peculiar, consisting of three equally sized spiral patterns that extend from the same central point and connect to form a complete symbol.
Suren drew upon his memories and recalled that he had seen this symbol in several places before. It was the symbol of "Tissil, the God of Fate" in folklore, and Tissil was regarded as an evil god by the church.
Suren recalled Cole's combat style of manipulating coincidences, which did indeed fit the style of "fate," but the opponent's ability was not entirely fate.
Suren recalled Cole's dying words: "You should be killed by it, and I will be the one to end this causal chain in the end!"
Suren had a guess in her mind: perhaps Cole's ability was "causality"?