Chapter 2069: Chapter 2069: [Dragon Feast Cult] and [Light Worshipper Training Association]
After a somewhat leisurely Saturday ended, time came to the second last day of the Sunlight Moon. After having breakfast at home in the morning, Shard considered that he would meet with the Witch in the afternoon and might not return at noon, so he asked Dorothy to help take care of the cat.
And on this morning, Shard had some gains in the black market of Moon Bay City.
In a big city like Moon Bay City, there is of course more than one place for Circle Sorcerer transactions. The black market introduced by Mr. Coroner Albert was also located in the Lower District by the Taton River. Walking south along Herring Street, entering the alley at the entrance of Herring Street and Millie’s Alley—the alley was named in memory of a kind woman who lived here a hundred years ago and adopted dozens of orphans. Then, passing through the alley, at the complicated five-forked road in the Lower District, choose the uphill road to continue forward, and soon you can see the unremarkable "Duke’s Beehive Shop".
The Moon Bay Region is full of hills, so the honey produced by bees artificially raised by beekeepers is also considered one of the local specialties. This "Duke’s Beehive Shop" specializes in the business of selling honey, and even though high-end sugars are still expensive and rare commodities, the honey business is a good one even in the Lower District. Of course, honey is not only a high-end condiment but also considered a fairly versatile medicinal material.
Shard entered the store filled with a sweet and greasy smell, first spent a high price equivalent to half a pound to buy a jar of the most expensive honey here, intending to take it home to share with Mia. But after the jar was sealed and tied with a string, Shard stated that he wanted to temporarily store this commodity at the counter, and then recited the password given by Mr. Coroner Albert:
"I was introduced by an old customer. I know there’s better honey in the basement, so don’t hide it."
The middle-aged man behind the counter raised an eyebrow:
"You’re a guest from out of town, aren’t you? So, do you know the rules?"
"I do, I’ve brought a mask. This is the deposit, please give me a coin."
He handed over a small silver coin of 1 ore, and then saw the middle-aged man take out an opaque enamel jar from the bottom of the shelf behind him that displayed many jars of honey. He then took out a golden identity coin from it and handed it to Shard.
The front of the coin had a bee pattern, while the back was completely blank.
The middle-aged man led Shard around to the yard at the back of the store and opened a door leading to the cellar. Walking down the stairs, Shard saw a place laid out like a tavern, but somewhat deserted.
Due to the developed sewer system in the area, there are actually three public entrances to this black market, with the Duke’s Beehive Shop being one of them. This black market is considered one of the largest in the Lower District, so when Shard found a corner counter and approached the fat man in charge of receiving guests, and stated his commission to acquire special relic coins, he immediately got a response:
"There’s a customer selling such coins right now, just not sure if they meet your requirements."
He asked Shard to sit down and wait for a moment. Twenty minutes later, he brought in a short man wearing a jester mask.
The latter conducted business with Shard at the table. He took out a total of two coins, both of the same type of relic:
"Scribe Level Relic [Feeble Healing], you might have heard of this relic. It heals one’s own injuries, then randomly gives the treated person one of the following diseases: cold, severe insomnia, scurvy, leprosy, aphasia, syphilis. In very rare cases, diseases related to mysticism, such as hemoptysis, undead plague might occur, but it’s not a big deal... probably."
His last few sentences were obviously somewhat vague, but he had no intention of negotiating with Shard:
"Although the healing has a price and is a one-time use item, it’s still a rare healing type relic, and the containment method is simple, just keep the surrounding environment clean. A flat price, two crowns per piece. You should know it can even heal soul-type injuries."
"Yes, but I also know the healing effect of this relic is not unlimited, most soul-type injuries cannot be completely healed."
Shard also knew this relic, [Feeble Healing] was discovered in the mid-Fifth Era, first discovered and contained by the Church of Nature and Malice.
This relic originally came from an unknown hospital in the distant Third Era, used during times of rampant plague to distinguish normal patients from plague patients. But later it became a currency within the hospital for plague patients to temporarily gain a "healthy" identity and move about freely.
As for why it has such a significantly different function after becoming a relic, that’s not something Shard could know.
As for the price of two crowns per piece, it’s equivalent to 22 to 24 gold pounds each, which aligns with the reasonable price for a one-time Scribe Level relic. Therefore, Shard negotiated a bit with the other party, by offering that he was an out-of-towner and wanted the other party to provide some information, he bought these two coins at a total price of four crowns.
Adding the two [Wrath of the Thunder God] found in Laplace Howard’s private collection, Shard now had four special coins.
[Feeble Healing] was once used for hanging, hence each coin has a hole, and its size is slightly larger than a 1 Krone coin. One side of the coin bears the emblem of that unknown hospital, a blend of cherry blossom and daisy; the other side has the ancient rune numeral "1", with a line of small text below:
[Healing requires a price, this has nothing to do with skill.]
"So, Mr. who calls himself an Outlander, what do you want to know? Allow me to compliment you first, your Casenric language is more standard than this local person who has never been abroad."
This is because Shard’s Casenric pronunciation was corrected by the Blonde Princess when Margaret visited Tobesk under the pretext of "learning a foreign language."
"What do you want to know?"
Shard ordered a drink, and the masked man held his glass and asked. Thus, he thought for a moment:
"Are there any Circle Sorcerer forces here that one should not provoke? You don’t have to mention the Church, I know not to provoke the True God Church."
"You have a good sense of humor, but there really aren’t any noteworthy Circle Sorcerer organizations locally. Moon Bay is not a rural area; in such a large archdiocese, the Church of the Five Gods does not allow prominent Circle Sorcerer groups to exist, unless the other party is completely neutral and has a reason to exist."
For example, the "Prophet’s Society" works closely with the Church of the Five Gods, and Velindale’s "Rosicrucian Society" is a product of the tacit understanding between the Royal Family and the church. As for Tobesk, there really aren’t any well-known independent local Circle Sorcerer groups.
"It seems Moon Bay is indeed a peaceful place... So what should an Outlander like me be cautious of when walking locally? I’ve already heard about the recent local serial headless murders."
"Moon Bay City has been fairly peaceful these past few years, even though the so-called ’Chosen One Ceremony’ is disrupting the order of the entire material world, at least here it hasn’t been disturbed yet."
The masked man said, and Shard nodded, but the former added:
"However, there are still some things worth noting. The local area is home to vampire clans; they don’t really like interacting with us human Circle Sorcerers, but they’re not to be trifled with on their own. Also, I’ve heard rumors that external organizations are infiltrating this area..."
He deliberately stopped here, then snapped his fingers at Shard, who knowingly pulled out a 1 Ore silver coin and pushed it to him.
"This information is absolutely true, and very few people know about it. As for the source of the information, let’s leave that unsaid. The specific content refers to the appearance of members of the infamous cult group ’Dragon Feast Cult’ in the Moon Bay region. However, they originally didn’t have their own force locally, so they didn’t come rashly this time, but cooperated with the well-known illegal group in the central and western Carsonrick areas, ’Light Worshipper Training Association.’ Are you familiar with this?"
"Of course, I know."
Although the name contains "light," of course, the name doesn’t signify righteousness. This organization calls itself a "Training Association," and its members gather not because of a shared faith but to transcend the human form, to elevate themselves into "light" through research.
Their notorious reputation isn’t just because they favor human experiments, but because they like to go to remote countryside areas and make an entire village or town’s residents become their "believers," worshiping these Circle Sorcerers as their masters, praying, experimenting, serving, and even willingly sacrificing for them.
If the "Truth Society" is a group of geniuses who are mad yet calm scientists, then the "Light Worshipper Training Association" is an evil religion formed by priests who are mad and have abandoned faith and humanity.
Of course, although the name sounds similar to the "Guiding Light Hermitage," the two have no relation whatsoever.
As for the "Light Worshipper Training Association" being very well-known, it’s because they have a legitimate Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer "The Mad Light Chaser," which, like the "Weeper" from the "Blood Spirit School" and the "Winter Singer" of the "Winter Choir," are rare Thirteen-Ring Sorcerers outside church and academy factions.
Even large illegal organizations like the "Truth Society" don’t have a Thirteen-Ring.
"The Mad Light Chaser" is the title inherited by each generation’s highest leader of the Training Association. In fact, the book "The Mad Light Chaser," which Shard studied in lower grades for the "light" spirit rune, was part of this organization’s secret collection.
"Wait a minute, you said the ’Dragon Feast Cult’ isn’t familiar with the local area, so they collaborated with the ’Light Worshipper Training Association.’ Does this mean that the Training Association is very familiar with the area? They already had people in the Moon Bay region long ago?"
As he thought about it, Shard posed his question, but this time the masked man couldn’t give a definite answer:
"I’m not a person from illegal organizations, so I don’t know about that. Since last summer, the whole world has become extraordinary, just look at this year’s summer weather... Whether you’re an Outlander like you or a local like me, it’s best to be cautious. Don’t provoke trouble easily, and then trouble won’t come to provoke you easily either—that’s been my life’s guiding principle for many years."
Comments