Chapter 44: The Gathering of Transcendent Beings!

"What a nice reflection!"

Zorn, standing under the shade of the trees, watched the steam car carrying Madam Mabel away and rubbed the space between his brows.

"It's just not very polite, staring at me the whole time."

"Clearly, this is a reflection that has yet to be beaten down by extraordinary power."

"When it gets burned by the terrifying gaze of an evil spirit, it should learn how to remain polite and humble—oh, and courteous, too!"

"According to the original trajectory, Ogran City should have already started circulating terrifying legends about evil spirits."

"Extraordinary beings would all harbor fear toward those evil spirits."

"At present, although there are many evil spirits in Ogran City, the current trajectory seems to have undergone some changes."

Zorn took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and couldn't help rubbing his brow again.

"Without a certain fellow to utilize the power of evil spirits to unleash a catastrophe and raise the curtain,"

"All the other evil spirits seem extraordinarily low-key."

"In just a little more time..."

Zorn murmured silently in his heart.

"To let the terrifying power of evil spirits step onto the stage right now is pure suicide."

"Once I am able to conceal my true identity so I am not perceived by those secretive existences,"

"At that time, it will be time to make Ogran City remember the fear of being dominated by evil spirits!"

"That node in time... is coming very soon."

Amidst his thoughts, Zorn stroked the golden card in his hand.

Certain details concerning the Clover Club surfaced in his mind.

"That place... is where the high-stakes games begin."

"I am not yet qualified to go to the Clover Club. Only after the rat plague is resolved and more of the black mist is pried open will I barely be qualified to go there in a low-key manner."

"After all... the Duke of Screenfire is also a member of that club."

Amidst his thoughts, Zorn's gaze swept past Gallow Long Street, where carriages passed by from time to time, and fell upon the bushes opposite.

That was the entrance for Zorn to descend into the sewers.

Even without Madam Mabel mentioning it, Zorn would have wiped out the rat swarm anyway.

Zorn could not afford to miss the flesh and blood of the evil spirit knight.

That was the key to an evil spirit catastrophe.

It was just that the heretical organization known as the Taboo Bloodline had pried open the taboo blood of the Double-Ringed Serpent.

The power of the catastrophe was altering the underground passageways.

Once it stabilized, that place would become the boundary zone between the "realm of darkness" and "reality."

Although Zorn had advanced to Tier 2, he still needed to make thorough preparations.

He had to wait until the catastrophic power below became more stable before descending to reap greater rewards.

When countering a catastrophe, timing is everything.

***

The next morning, at dawn.

After enjoying breakfast, Zorn took a carriage to the boundary zone between the Fog District and the Bay District.

Paying the twenty-four copper ler for the fare, he stepped out of the carriage and looked around.

Carrying his gray monster suitcase, Zorn entered a secluded, shadowy alley.

A few minutes later, Zorn had completely altered his original appearance.

His stature grew slightly taller, and his shoulders broadened slightly.

He wore a brown-black trench coat and a wide-brimmed brown woven hat, which covered the greater part of his face.

His features also transformed from those of a naive youth of sixteen or seventeen into those of a cold, lazy young man in his early twenties.

The extraordinary artifact used to alter one's appearance was the Witch's Mask.

This was an unexpected harvest Zorn had gained from Bishop Teresa.

The last time Zorn went to the monastery to purchase some necessary ritual materials,

he had brought up a request to purchase a Witch's Mask.

For the witches, crafting a Witch's Mask was no difficult task.

Moreover, a Witch's Mask was not overly expensive, costing roughly between fifty and eighty gold pounds.

Therefore, Bishop Teresa had simply gifted one to Zorn.

By using the Witch's Mask to change his appearance and employing internal energy to alter his voice, he could conceal his true identity near-perfectly.

Gatherings of extraordinary beings were crowded and mixed with all sorts of people, so one had to be cautious and careful.

Following the gloomy, silent alleyway, Zorn quickly found his target.

He silently pushed open an iron door.

"Good afternoon, sir!"

A well-dressed middle-aged man in his early forties, guarding behind the door, greeted Zorn in a steady tone.

Zorn nodded slightly.

The middle-aged man opened the slanted downward stairwell for Zorn.

Throughout the entire process, he merely glanced at Zorn's suitcase without making any extra movements.

From Zorn's perspective, it could be considered quite professional.

Passing through the darkness-shrouded corridor, his vision suddenly opened up.

This was a relatively spacious area resembling a castle's basement.

Gas lamps were mounted on the arched pillars, making the underground area quite bright.

At this moment, in this wide basement area, there were quite a few stalls laid out on the ground on both sides.

Hand lanterns cast an orange glow, resting upon stall cloths made of canvas or thick blankets.

The items sold on these seemingly simple stalls were by no means cheap.

Even the most ordinary items required the salary of an ordinary resident of Ogran City for a whole month just to purchase.

As for those of high value, needless to say, they were even more exorbitant.

Ritual materials, alchemical potions, special items, extraordinary weapons, and so on.

The vast majority of the people who came here were just like Zorn.

Using masks, or simply extraordinary spells, to conceal their appearances.

While concealing their identities, they all carried monster suitcases, large or small, in their hands.

Compared to ordinary suitcases, the capacity of a "monster suitcase" was five to six times greater than that of a standard suitcase of the same size.

Once camouflaged, it looked no different from an ordinary suitcase.

After a brief moment of thought, Zorn began searching for the specific stall owners he needed.

Extraordinary gatherings.

Some came to exchange information, some to seek help, but the majority came to trade resources.

Among them were quite a few Artificers capable of forging many special items.

Soon, Zorn found his target.

Four relatively exquisite lanterns pressed down upon the four corners of a white canvas.

The stall was dominated by all kinds of small gadget-type equipment.

For example, eyeball hats, specially crafted clocks, weapon canes, and other equipment with special uses.

Behind the stall stood a woman dressed in an orange women's blouse and brown summer gray trousers.

She wore a women's gauze velvet hat, through which one could barely make out a fair face, though no further details could be distinguished.

However, Zorn could roughly guess the other party's identity.

This young girl named Lydia Daniel, who came from a remote artisan town, had a certain probability of becoming a Legendary Artificer in the future.

At this current point in time, Ogran City possessed quite a few important figures of the future.

"Do you take custom-made equipment and items?"

Zorn paused for a moment and asked.

"Ah!"

The other party started slightly, clearly not expecting this young man to make such a request.

"May I ask what kind of custom item you are looking for?"

She asked tentatively, clearly unwilling to let go of such an opportunity.

The extraordinary beings of Ogran City did not seem to care much for the items she crafted, which had left her income unimproved for quite some time.

"An invisibility cloak centered around the spirituality-infused crystal core of a Night-stalking Ratman."

"I have three sets of spiritual ratman crystal core materials. If possible, I hope to also incorporate a 'spiritual rat-king crystal core' into it."

"If you can pull it off, the reward will be even higher."

"No problem!"

After pondering for a brief moment, Lydia gave a very firm response. She needed this item commission to supplement her income.

Otherwise, her landlord would kick her out next month.

"In addition, I also need to forge a spiritual statue, also using the same three sets of spiritual ratman crystal cores. That shouldn't be too much of a problem for you."

Compared to the invisibility cloak, the latter was much less difficult.

Lydia had entirely no reason to refuse.

Once this extraordinary item was completed, she would not have to worry about rent and daily expenses for quite some time to come.

After agreeing on the time and place for the transaction, Zorn handed the materials in his hand to this Tier 2 Artificer.

Zorn was not worried that Lydia Daniel from the artisan town would scam him and take his things.

For one, this female artificer had excellent moral character.

Secondly, he knew Lydia the Artificer's background inside and out.

After handing the items over to her, Zorn breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The invisibility cloak could help Zorn operate with greater stealth.

The "spiritual statue" crafted by the Artificer could replace the simple spiritual statue Zorn had constructed himself, allowing the power of his authority to be better manifested.

Waiting in this underground area for about half a room of time—around half an hour—the crowd gradually walked toward the far end of the basement.

This area was merely a temporary trading zone.

At the far end of the basement, that... was the true gathering place among extraordinary beings.