In the basement of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery in Backlund, several members of the Machinery Hivemind team sat around a round wooden table.
Seated at the head was Ikanser Bernard, the captain of the Backlund Machinery Hivemind team, whose brown hair was perpetually bushy and messy, stubbornly sticking out. His face had hard, clear lines, and his expression seemed somewhat complex.
He held an ancient silver mirror with strange patterns, and on either side of the mirror were black gems shaped like "eyes."
Ikanser's palm gently stroked the surface of the silver mirror. After a slight delay, ripples appeared on the mirror's surface, followed by bloody Loen words emerging:
"What is your question?"
"Captain, Arrodes seems a bit slow today?"
A Machinery Hivemind member with gold-rimmed glasses, sitting to Ikanser's right, mused and asked.
After a ripple on the silver mirror's surface, new words appeared:
"Do you want to play a Q&A game with me too?"
The Machinery Hivemind team member who had asked the question shrank back, saying nothing more.
Ikanser raised his hand, pressing it down in the air, signaling his teammates to be quiet. Then, he lowered his gaze to the magic mirror in his hand, took a deep breath, and said:
"Great Arrodes, I want to ask about the 'Trickster' that appeared in Backlund. Who exactly is it? Where is it now?"
After a ripple on the silver mirror's surface, several bloody words appeared: "These are two questions."
Ikanser nodded lightly, his voice low as he said:
"I understand. Please tell me the answer."
As his words fell, the silver mirror's surface instantly became deep and dark, as if it were in some dim, eerie place. After a long while, faint yellow light spots began to emerge.
The scene in the mirror gradually became clear, showing a dimly lit basement where several exquisitely dressed young boys and girls were gathered, performing some kind of ritual.
From the dense shadows they didn't notice, a somewhat dazed, translucent rabbit emerged from the spirit world and threw a grayish-brown book into the ritual. The book transformed into pale light spots and quickly vanished.
The scene rapidly flickered, as if accelerated. When the image in the mirror became clear again, the ritual performed by the group of young boys and girls had received a response. A trace of pale fire spread across the ground, outlining Loen words:
"Who is praying to me?"
"You have disturbed a lonely soul."
"You awaken me from my slumber. What do you wish to gain? Following the principle of equivalent exchange, every favor you pray for requires a corresponding price."
On the ground in front of the ritual were scattered pieces of jewelry and banknotes ranging from a few pounds to a few solidi, seemingly the most valuable things the young boys and girls had managed to scrape together.
The scene quickly shifted, moving into the richly colored and layered spirit world. A somewhat dazed, translucent rabbit was wandering in a certain direction.
In its hand was a folded grayish-brown book. On the cover of the book was an ancient, mottled twelve-section clock, surrounded by many mysterious symbols representing mind, time, and deception.
The grayish-brown book quickly flipped through a few pages in the hand of the rabbit-shaped spirit world creature, revealing deep red, distorted Hermes words:
"Those little fellows are so easy to fool, don't you think? You, the Eyes of Mystery Prying who casts your gaze through the spirit world, I smell a hint of omniscience on you, which is truly repugnant to the book."
The scene on the silver mirror flickered a few times, then quickly dimmed as if due to a poor signal. After a brief silence, silvery-white ripples appeared on the mirror's surface, outlining several silvery-white Loen words:
"That book has some peculiarities in certain aspects. It possesses some characteristics of a High-Sequence Audience pathway, allowing it to perceive my gaze."
"Alright, it's my turn to ask."
Ikanser took a deep breath, staring at the magic mirror in his hand with a sense of resignation, awaiting the almost pronouncement-like question.
Although the surrounding Machinery Hivemind team members were curious about the characteristics of a High-Sequence Audience pathway and what that rabbit-like spirit world creature was, no one asked at that moment. Everyone looked curiously at the silver mirror's surface, but dared not show their gaze too obviously.
The water light on the silver mirror's surface rippled for a while before crimson words began to form:
"First question: In that aspect of life, how often do you release?"
All the Machinery Hivemind team members present instinctively lowered their heads, like feigning death quails. Only Ikanser's face alternated between red and white.
Gritting his teeth, he stared expressionlessly at the silver mirror in his hand and answered in a low voice:
"Once every three days. If I'm busy with missions, it might be once every four or five days."
Ripples appeared on the silver mirror's surface, and soon new crimson words emerged, like flowing blood, dripping downwards:
"Correct answer."
"Now for the second question:
Please tell me, when you usually release, do you fantasize about someone you know and can normally interact with?"
Arrodes, as if with a mischievous twist, specifically enlarged the words "know" and "interact with."
The surrounding Machinery Hivemind team members buried their heads even lower, their gazes fixed on their own toes. As bystanders, they were somewhat eager for their captain's answer, yet also somewhat worried about it.
Ikanser's face flushed for a moment, then he lowered his head as if resigned to his fate, saying in a hoarse voice:
"I choose to accept the punishment."
Boom!
A silvery-white bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere and struck Ikanser directly.
When the dazzling silver-white light dissipated, Ikanser, who had been sitting in his seat, was now covered in a layer of char. His hair stood on end, and wisps of white smoke rose from his body, carrying a burnt smell.
On the table in front of him, crimson blood flowed across the surface of an ancient patterned silver mirror, outlining words:
"Q&A game over!"
Lasting less than half a minute, the words on the mirror's surface gradually dimmed, turning into an ordinary silver mirror with a dim, dark surface.
Across the round table, a young Machinery Hivemind member tried hard to compose his thoughts and expression, seriously discussing the content displayed by the "Magic Mirror" Arrodes:
"Captain, that rabbit-like spirit world creature doesn't seem powerful. There are likely other Beyonders behind them."
Ikanser exhaled, blowing out a grayish-black smoke ring, and rubbed his somewhat charred face, saying:
"That spirit world creature can take that mystical item, which likes to deceive, through the spirit world and appear anywhere. The involved area is too vast. This incident needs to be transferred to the Machinery Hivemind team specializing in mobile incidents."
"Repp, organize the information we've collected into a file. I'll report it to Church headquarters tomorrow. I need to deal with the marks on my body first."
"Understood, Captain." The team member with gold-rimmed glasses, sitting to Ikanser's right, nodded with a serious expression.
Nas, the capital of the Gargas Archipelago, known as the "City of White."
The houses built here are primarily made of a local white rock. From a distance, the entire city appears grayish-white, which is why it's called the "City of White."
As the easternmost colony of the Feysac Empire, the Feysac military and the Church of the God of Combat have very limited defensive forces they can deploy here. The Bishop of the Church of the God of Combat in the Gargas Archipelago is only a Sequence 5 Guardian, accompanied by an Executioner from the Tribunal, as well as a Brigadier General from the Feysac military and a Baron from the Royal Family; there is no Saint presiding.
The weakness of official power has also led to this place becoming a paradise for pirates. As long as the pirates don't cause too much trouble here, affecting the main whaling industry and "Gray Amber" trade, the authorities turn a blind eye to them.
In the Dock District, inside a relatively popular local restaurant, Leyton sat quietly by the window, enjoying the "City of White's" specialty whale meat and roasted whale blubber with skin.
He quickly finished most of the food on his plate, then picked up a napkin to wipe the oil from the corners of his mouth.
A figure wearing a double-breasted long formal suit and a semi-tall silk top hat walked directly over and sat in the chair opposite the dining table.
Leyton chuckled without raising his head:
"You arrived quite fast. I thought you wouldn't reach this port until at least the afternoon."
"Want to try the local specialty whale meat? The people here are quite skilled at processing whales; they don't waste any part."
Klein, maintaining the appearance of Gehrman Sparrow, nodded lightly. Then, he picked up a piece of roasted whale blubber with skin, put it in his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed it directly.
It wasn't particularly greasy; instead, it had a fragrant taste, and the attached skin was also well-processed, not too difficult to chew. The people here are indeed very skilled in processing whales. No wonder some people were protesting whaling and advocating sustainable development earlier; with the development of shipbuilding, the whales in the White Whale Sea are indeed in precarious danger.
After mentally evaluating the whale blubber with skin he had just eaten, he calmly spoke:
"Depart at eight tonight."
Leyton looked at the expressionless Gehrman Sparrow with some surprise and chuckled:
"You've already contacted Cattleya? It seems you must have already explored around here."
Klein nodded without much expression, responding indifferently:
"The voyage was quite smooth."
So much so that the passenger ship arrived in Nas, the "City of White," several hours earlier than expected.
Adding a mental note, Klein began to enjoy the remaining half of the food on the table.
When he was almost finished eating, he opened his mouth with some doubt:
"You foresaw when I would arrive, which is why you ordered a double portion of lunch?"
"No, it's just because I'm very curious about every food item here, so I ordered a bit more. A Clairvoyant's intuition generally isn't triggered unless actively sought or when it doesn't involve oneself."
Leyton leaned lazily against the back of the chair, shaking his head slightly as he explained.
Klein was silent for a brief moment, resisting the urge to scold the other party for wastefulness. This didn't fit Gehrman Sparrow's persona.
Taking a sip of the Southville beer that the restaurant waiter had just brought, the greasy feeling in his mouth instantly receded significantly. He then continued:
"Well, at least it seems my luck isn't bad. I just arrived in Nas and got a free, rather hearty meal."
"I just went to a bar and met the captain of the 'Black Octopus,' 'Bone-Stripper' Basil, who has a bounty of 150,000 pounds."
"What? You want to hunt him?"
Leyton looked at Klein, who was sitting opposite him and expressionlessly stating the bounty amount, with a hint of curiosity. This demeanor indeed had the style of a mad adventurer.