'A Faith Collection Point?'
Wei'en was not unfamiliar with the word "faith."
Most residents of Caster City State were followers of either the Dawn Church or the Storm Church, and their faith was placed in the Dawn Radiance and the Storm Ocean.
'Does "collection point" refer to this area?'
'This must be the Eternal Life Association's proselytizing site that Lisi and the others were talking about!'
Wei'en frowned at the panel. 'These mysterious things are the worst,' he thought. 'They're all gaps in my knowledge.'
But after seeing the rewards on the panel, he felt a little better.
'I wonder what would've happened if I'd fired a shot at that shadow just now?'
'Maybe it wouldn't have just been a "gaze assist" then?'
'I'll have to try it next time!'
Wei'en then glanced at his current attributes and saw that his Spirit Level had already surpassed 25.
Name: Wei'en Loft
Bloodline: Salute Descendant
Class: Wizard Apprentice (Beginner)
Toughness Level: 20 (21-1) (Temporary)
Spirit Level: 25.64
Source: 3 (4) (1 point of Source sealed)
Talent: None
Companion Contract—Calamity Species: Increased wound healing speed, increased body recovery speed.
Skills: Ghost Meditation Technique Lvl. 2 (0/100), Gonzalez Language Proficiency (0/100)
Rune Tree of Knowledge: Runic Studies Introduction, Soul-Devouring Rune Lvl. 1 (0/1)
Survival Points: 47
'There's a new entry: Companion Contract—Calamity Species.'
'Is Tina's talent self-healing?'
Wei'en recalled the recent battle, the dark perspective named "Tina's Vision"...
'Could that be the world through her eyes?'
'A void of darkness, where only the people close to her glow with light, while everyone else is just a black silhouette?'
'If that's really how it is, that's just too tragic.'
"Wei'en?"
Wei'en snapped out of it and looked into Lisi's concerned eyes. "What is it?"
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Wei'en said, waving his hand quickly. "With you and Captain Ariana here, I knew everything would be alright."
"Damn right,"
Captain Ariana walked over, saying smugly, "Who cares which nobody from the Eternal Life Association it is? As long as I'm here..."
THWACK!
Lisi drove a fist into his face. "Save that crap for the people in your Department Two."
Ariana staggered from the blow, clutching his face as he glared at her. "Lisi!!"
"Hm?"
"I meant to say, when do we get moving again?"
Ariana shouted, flustered and annoyed, "The Eternal Life Association actually dares to set up shop here! I can't wait to wipe them out!"
Wei'en: "..."
'Nice one, Captain Ariana.'
'He used the fiercest tone to say the most cowardly thing. Impressive.'
"Now."
Lisi looked to the other side. "Marco, leave this to the City Guard to handle. We should get going."
"Alright,"
Marco dropped the body he was holding and grinned at the City Guard. "Big Brother Guiseppi, I'll leave this to you guys. I've got to go on a mission with my superior."
"Right. Don't forget what you promised. We've been waiting for that party of yours for a long time."
"Shh!"
Marco quickly clamped a hand over his mouth. Turning to meet Lisi's icy glare, he chuckled sheepishly. "Superior, he—he was just kidding."
Lisi snorted, "Get your ass over here!"
With that, she turned and walked deeper into the Laos District.
'Now's not the time to deal with this,' she thought. 'I'll make him pay when we get back.'
'This time, there won't be a contract with Tina to heal his injuries...'
"Coming, coming."
Marco let go of the City Guardsman and trotted over, muttering under his breath, "I'm done for, I'm done for, I'm so dead. It's all that bastard Guiseppi's fault."
Wei'en waited for him to arrive before following Lisi and the others together.
As for Tina, she was just as before, her small hand clutching the corner of his shirt, unwilling to take a single step away from him.
Wei'en hadn't figured out how to handle his relationship with her yet, so he could only let her follow him like this for now.
"Marco, Lisi probably won't get physical with you out here, but it's hard to say what will happen once we get back."
"You know, you don't have to be so kind as to remind me,"
Marco shot him a wounded look. Knowing Lisi, something like that was very likely to happen...
That mood only lasted for a moment, however. A grin quickly returned to his face, and he asked slyly, "That fight just now didn't scare you, did it?"
"No,"
Wei'en shook his head. "I was just a bit surprised. I didn't expect to encounter something like this on my first mission."
"It's true, we haven't seen anyone from the Eternal Life Association in a long time."
"Who are they, exactly?"
"A bunch of lunatics. A bunch of lunatics obsessed with 'eternal life,'"
Marco thought of the records about the Eternal Life Association in the Secret Investigation Department and said with trepidation, "Many of the strange, unsolved cases in our Investigation Department were later found to be their doing."
'Obsessed with eternal life, huh?'
Wei'en said thoughtfully, "The name of the Eternal Life Association was on that parchment I translated this morning. A long time must have passed between the Third Era and now, right?"
"I'm not clear on that. The changing of eras erased many traces. Perhaps only a behemoth like the Dawn Church would have relevant records."
'The Ghost Soul School should have some, too.'
Wei'en remembered that in the handbook distributed by the school, there was a piece of advice left from the Third Era.
[Knowledge is power! But remember, when you chase knowledge, knowledge also chases you! (Left by the founder of the Ghost Soul School, Liszt Wizard, in the year 138 of the Third Era.)] (Chapter 3)
'The school was founded in the Third Era, so it stands to reason they'd have records of what happened during that period.'
'I should ask someone from the school if I get the chance.'
"What about Clelia?"
"A rather active and dangerous figure within the Eternal Life Association,"
A rare, serious expression crossed Marco's face. "I heard she was active in the Klande City State for a while, causing the Secret Investigation Department over there to completely lose face."