Odis and Benny arrived at the Tuna Bar in a horse-drawn carriage. As soon as they entered, Benny saw Odis drinking beer and loudly bragging to other patrons at the bar.
At the same time, Benny also saw the bar's thugs and bartenders.
The experienced Benny knew very well that going to collect a debt at this point would only result in a beating.
Even if you go to the police... haha, the police in Bayam don't handle fraud cases.
However, the "captain" seemed not to notice the thugs at all, and calmly walked to the bar: "Bidet!"
Bidis had already seen Benny and "Captain," but he was still startled by "Captain's" shout.
However, he immediately remembered that the owner of the tuna bar was a good friend of his, and this was his turf, so he smiled and said, "Oh, it's Mr. 'Captain'. Let me buy you a drink..."
Odis had already walked to the bar and interrupted Bidis: "You have two choices. First, pay me £100. Second, I'll break both your legs and then pay you £100."
Bidis paused for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Hahaha..."
The thugs in the bar also started laughing.
Odis looked at them coldly.
Bidis asked, "You...you pig-headed bastard, are you driving...?"
Odis interrupted him again with a powerful movement, ramming forward and sending Bidis flying and crashing into the wall.
This is no extraordinary person; Odis has no need to waste the scroll.
"Oh~"
Amid the gasps of the crowd, Odis continued to walk unhurriedly toward Bidis.
Benny, standing behind, was stunned: They just did it like that?
At this point, the experienced Benny realized that either the "captain" was unaware of the background of Bayam and his intelligence brokers, or he was completely overconfident in his own abilities.
However, seeing the "captain's" calm and composed demeanor, he thought the latter was more likely.
Half-dead from the fall, Bidis gasped, "You...you'll...regret this..."
Odis ignored the threat, seemingly gently bending the other's left leg into a triangle, then raising his hand and slamming his fist into the other's protruding shinbone.
Creak~
With a sound of bones breaking, Bidis's left leg bone snapped.
Then came the pig-like screams of Bidis.
Odis calmly stepped on his right hip: "Don't rush, don't rush, there's one more."
The thugs around them were about to rush to help, but the scene before them made them stop in their tracks.
Bidis struggled desperately, even crying and screaming for help.
But only his upper body was struggling violently. His left leg was broken and he couldn't struggle, while his right leg was pinned down by the guy called "Captain" and he couldn't move at all.
If this "captain" had been yelling and cursing while controlling Bidis, they wouldn't have thought much of it.
Although the "captain" was wearing a mask and his expression was not visible, his tone was so calm that it was as if he were doing something as simple as washing clothes or cooking, a part of his daily life.
This greatly deterred them, because they knew very well that such people were usually very powerful and not to be trifled with.
Odis bent down and pulled up Bidis's other leg. At this moment, Bidis finally regained a sliver of reason from the fear and pain: "I'll pay, I'll pay the 10... no, 100 pounds!"
"Too late," Odis said. "You've already chosen the second path."
As he spoke, he raised his hammer-like fist and brought it down hard, causing Bidis to let out another pig-like scream.
Odis stepped back a few paces, watching Bidis roll around on the ground, while wiping his hands with a handkerchief: "We can discuss compensation now."
"I advise you not to go too far!" At this moment, a burly man over 1.9 meters tall strode down from the second floor. He pointed at Odis with a cigarette between his fingers: "What are you all standing there for? Arrest him."
Odis folded her handkerchief: "Who are you?"
Benny immediately said, "This is Mr. Barron, the owner of the Tuna Bar."
Then he smiled and said, "Mr. Barron..."
He was about to step forward to smooth things over, after all, Mr. Barron was not someone to be trifled with.
Before Benny could say anything, the so-called Mr. Baron had already been kicked back up the stairs by Odis.
Odis ignored the bar owner and continued to ask Bidis, who was standing at his feet, "Where is your money?"
Bidis, with a mournful face, said, "In...in..."
"Kid, you forced me to do this." Barron, who was half-dead from the fall, struggled to his feet, a revolver still in his hand.
Odis lunged forward, grabbed Baron's wrist, and snapped it backward, breaking the bar owner's wrist.
As the other person grimaced in pain, Odis snatched the revolver with her other hand, unloaded all the bullets, and then threw the gun to the doorway.
Odis ignored the bar owner and returned to Bidis, who was crawling out with her hands: "My patience is limited."
Bidis quickly reached for his wallet, but he only had a little over thirty pounds in it. So he called out to Barron, "For the sake of me saving you before, lend me 70 pounds!"
Baron gave Odis a cold look, then, supporting his broken hand with his other hand, went back upstairs and quickly brought back 70 pounds.
As Odis took the money and examined its authenticity, he said, "You're probably trying to find out more about me so you can take revenge with despicable means, aren't you?"
He pocketed the money and laughed, "Welcome to your death!"
Then, Odis bent down, snatched the wallet from Bidis's hand, and counted out 30 pounds.
After tossing the wallet back to Bidis, Odis said, "You've been disqualified from participating in the intelligence exchange meeting."
After saying that, he took Benny and left.
Barron first called a doctor to put a splint on his wrist and took some painkillers.
During this time, he had already obtained the address of the intelligence exchange meeting from Bidis.
However, Barron was still a little worried, so he went to report the matter to the boss himself.
In Bayam's bars, the businesses are either run by gangs or pirates, or the bartenders or owners are gang leaders themselves.
Baron works for Bayam's largest gang, the Skull and Bones Society. He arrives at the Skull and Bones headquarters and soon meets the boss.
To his surprise, after the other party explained the situation, the boss suddenly cursed, "You pig brain! What do you think having the protection of the Church of Peace means?"
"That means if you go looking for trouble with him, even I could get arrested without any explanation!"
Baron opened his mouth, not expecting things to be so serious!
"You brain-dead idiot!" The leader cursed, increasingly terrified, realizing he'd almost been killed without even realizing it. "If you dare mess with that guy, I'll kill your whole family!"
Baron wiped his sweat as he said, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare go."
...
On the carriage back.
Odis took out 10 pounds and handed it to Benny: "I'll only help you this once. You'll have to pay me next time."
After all, we're at Sequence 6 now, and appearance fees are very high.
Benny thanked him profusely, and after expressing his gratitude for a long time, he asked, "'Captain' sir, if there's anything I can't resolve outside of the intelligence exchange meeting, can I ask you for help as well?"
He had just witnessed the "captain's" strength, which made him realize that now was a good time to find a powerful backer.
Odis said, "It depends on what it is and what you can pay."
Benny said happily, "I understand."
Back at the wizard's office, there were already people who had acquired false information waiting there, seeking the "captain's" help.
Without saying a word, Odis went out and got into another fight.
These intelligence brokers are generally not good at fighting; at most, they are "low-sequence" extraordinary individuals, and are no match for Odis.
By nightfall, Odis had launched three attacks in total. However, he was quite satisfied that the transactions he had verified had not gone wrong, and at least no one came forward to say that he had traded false information.
None of the three people who sought help had Odis verify the authenticity of the information when they were trading it.
I believe that in just a few days, his reputation as "Captain" will spread throughout Bayam. First of all, he is a good fighter, and he can provide assistance when encountering situations involving false information in trade.
The three people who provided false information had at least two of their back molars knocked out.
Secondly, he has a strong ability to discern information; he can usually tell the truth from falsehood at a glance.
That's what professionalism is all about.
In the evening, Bazel went to a nearby grilled fish restaurant and ordered a grilled fish, asking the waiter to bring it over along with a pitcher of fruit wine.
Odis also took off his mask, tossed his cloak aside, and took a bite of grilled fish before sighing, "Grilled fish is still the most comfortable food."
He took a sip of fruit wine and smiled, "These seats might not be enough for the next gathering."
This time he only set out 50 chairs.
Bazel nodded as he ate the fish, having no doubt about it.
Next, Odis began to explain to Bazel how to distinguish between true and false information. He planned to observe Bazel further and, if possible, entrust him with managing the transactions here in the future.
For now, Odis is quite satisfied with Bazel; he is earnest, loyal, and reliable, though not very talkative.
Odysseus was in a good mood today and drank a few more cups of wine. Around nine o'clock in the evening, seeing that no one else was coming to ask for help, he returned to the Emerald Palace and had a good night's rest.
The next day, a new week began. Odis first checked the work of some scholars, and then took them to the shipyard to discuss the issue of laying more magic arrays on the ship.
The large ship being built for Bernadette is now basically complete, and it's ready to be used to set up other magic arrays and install the new weapons designed by Odis.
Meanwhile, the bottom layer of Odis's small boat was completed, and it was time to begin laying some of the magic arrays.
There's a lot of work to be done this week; Odis alone certainly can't handle it all. He needs to make good use of these scholars.
The problem is that they haven't finished learning about magic arrays yet. Some scholars are already somewhat desperate. They can even foresee that they will have to attend classes and work on the ship at the same time this week, and may only have four or five hours of rest each day.
To their surprise, Odis did not continue teaching them on Monday, but instead gave them a half-day off. This gave the scholars a bad feeling, and some speculated that this was the calm before the storm.
After lunch, Odis immediately returned to work, went back to his room, lay on his armchair and entered the "wilderness of knowledge" through meditation to continue his previous research on "extracting knowledge".
By this time, he had already found a medium for temporarily storing knowledge through numerous experiments. It was a purified "star crystal," an extraordinary material that was used by extraordinary individuals through several pathways, such as "diviners" and "apprentices."
Odis discovered through research and experiments over the past two weeks that only spiritually rich crystal materials can temporarily store knowledge.
However, he simulated many kinds of crystals in the "wilderness of knowledge," but the experimental results were not ideal. The extracted knowledge was always somewhat chaotic and incomplete after being stored.
At this moment, Odis suddenly thought of the knowledge stored in the "Fighting Scholar" characteristic. After comparison, he found that storing knowledge with extraordinary materials was more stable and more complete.
However, a new problem arose: the extraordinary materials contained some knowledge, and those crystals not only contained knowledge, but also some extraordinary qualities.
If knowledge is stored in these crystals and then instilled, it's easy to only instill the knowledge contained within the crystals.
Those extraordinary qualities would prevent Odis from using his spirituality to perform actions such as "selection" or "deletion".
Fortunately, Odis is now Sequence 6, which allows him to use angelic-level power in certain situations. So he tried to use angelic power to temporarily seal the extraordinary qualities within the crystals and complete the "formatting" of the knowledge within them.
The experiment was successful last week. Although the process was a bit cumbersome, Odis felt that having this procedure was a kind of insurance.
Requiring angels to perform certain operations adds a chasm that is difficult for ordinary extraordinary individuals to overcome, thus fundamentally preventing the misuse of this technology.
Also last week, Odis requested a 70-gram "star crystal" from Bernadette.
Today he plans to fully simulate the entire process of extracting and imparting knowledge in the "knowledge wilderness".
First, he took out the treated "star crystal," then simulated a helmet with a knowledge extraction array, placed the "star crystal" in the groove at the top, and put it on his head.
This helmet is similar in shape to a "smart helmet," and it's also tall, which looks a bit strange.
The only difference is that the helmet has two Amanda crystals embedded on the top, while the "smart helmet" only has one.
Using his spirituality, Odis activated the magic circle in the helmet, and the two crystals embedded in it lit up. After entering a meditative state, he began to carefully recall the magic circle inside the great ship and all the related knowledge.
This is what Odis thought of as the safest way to "extract knowledge." If you use a magic circle to extract knowledge directly from the target's brain, you can't distinguish which knowledge is needed. It's easy to extract some unimportant memories or some secrets.
Using this method of meditation and recall is equivalent to "outputting" knowledge outward, which is relatively more targeted and safer.
The "extraction helmet" is responsible for receiving the signal. This working principle is actually the inversion of the "wisdom helmet". After it is "in sync" with Odis's brain, the magic circle in the helmet transforms the knowledge that Odis is meditating into "spiritual signals" and stores them in the "astral body".
After recalling everything, Odis removed his helmet, took off the "Star Crystal," and placed it in his palm to sense it spiritually. The knowledge inside was relatively complete and did not feel chaotic.
Next, Odis simulated the "Intelligence Helmet," placed the "Star Crystal" in the same position as the "Fighting Scholar" trait, and then simulated one hundred test subjects, instilling the knowledge he had just extracted into them.
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
Currently, Odis can simulate test subjects in the "Knowledge Wilderness" without having to summon helpers from the underworld to capture test subjects, unlike when he experimented with the "Intelligence Helmet".
After using the "smart helmet" on each test subject, Odis questioned them one by one to confirm that they had basically received the knowledge completely.
However, Odis also discovered a problem during the experiment.
One of the test subjects was affected by the extraordinary properties of the "Star Crystal" and showed signs of contamination.
Odis recalled his previous experience using the "smart helmet" and realized that there were still too few "use cases".
Strictly speaking, it was only used once, equipping more than twenty gang members with the corresponding knowledge of combat.
At the time, there were no signs of extraordinary contamination, but that did not necessarily mean it would not be contaminated.
After all, both the "Fighting Scholar" characteristic and the "Star Crystal" contain extraordinary qualities. Theoretically, there should be no problem with brief contact with this level of quality, but there is also a probability of "extraordinary leakage".
After some thought, Odis decided to add another layer of magic array to the "wisdom helmet" to isolate it from pollution.
After completing the experiment, Odis brought the "Star Crystal" to the real world.
Although the "extraction of the helmet" was simulated in the "Knowledge Wilderness," only the "helmet" was simulated. The "star crystal," which had been "formatted," had indeed stored the knowledge.
This is the second "anti-counterfeiting design" prepared by Odis. For the time being, the "extraction helmet" will not be made, and knowledge extraction will only be carried out in the "knowledge wilderness".
Then Odis took out the "Helmet of Wisdom" and made the final modification to it.
This process is somewhat tedious because it requires opening it and adding an "isolation array" inside.
During the renovation, Odis seemed to sense something and glanced at the wall clock; it was already 2:58.
So he got up, stretched, and lay down in the armchair.
At exactly three o'clock, Odis's vision was covered by gray mist, and the next second, he had already appeared in a classical giant's hall, sitting on one side of a long bronze table.
Odis noticed a new member on the other side of the bronze table. From the other person's penetrating gaze, Odis judged that it was Cattleya!
Then Odis felt a little guilty, not knowing what the code name of "Admiral of the Stars" Cattleya was.
The arrival of the new member caused Audrey "Justice" to greet people a second or two later than usual: "Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."
"The Fool" Klein smiled slightly and nodded gently in response.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Hanged Man..." The greeting proceeded as usual, which was also a way of introducing the code names of the existing members to the new member.
After responding to Justice's greeting, Alger the Hanged Man cautiously began to scrutinize the new member: a woman wearing a black robe with many patterns, whose hair was barely visible as black, but whose somewhat purplish eyes were quite prominent.
Suddenly, his heart sank, and the image of "Star Admiral" Cattleya, whom he had seen at the pirate convention a few months ago, flashed into his mind.
Alger immediately became very cautious: Could it be her?
Alger, also on the high seas, was very wary of the pirate general.
Meanwhile, Cattleya was also observing the other members: "The Hanged Man," a middle-aged man in his thirties with messy, unusually dark blue hair, wearing a robe with storm and wave patterns... a member of the Church of Storms?
"Sun" is young, and her clothing style is unusual, with a rustic beauty.
"The world," not an old man... wait? He has a kind of inhuman feeling.
"The Magician," a young woman, wears a common Rue-style dress and looks somewhat languid.
"The Hermit," dressed in an Intis-style suit, looked very easygoing... Sigh, I actually wanted to choose the "Hermit" card, but he had already chosen it first. I wonder what kind of extraordinary person he is?
"Moon," a young man with red eyes, wearing the priest's robes of the Earth Mother Goddess—this combination suggests only one possibility: a vampire.
"Justice," priceless jewelry, a simple yet beautiful fitted long dress, like the work of a master fashion designer, a nobleman of Ruen.
Caldelia observed quietly. It was her first time attending a party, and she planned to listen and observe more, and speak less.
At this point, Klein introduced, "This is our new member, the 'Priestess,' whom you can call Lady 'Priestess.'"
Audrey smiled and said, "Good afternoon, 'Priestess' lady."
Caldelia replied simply, "Good afternoon."
After the greetings, Audrey turned to the head of the bronze table: "'Fool,' I only managed to collect one page of Russell's diary last week."
Russell's Diary?
Caldelia struggled to suppress the urge to turn her head away, recalling the tall, beautiful figure who had once exclaimed, "That's not a notebook, it's his diary."
She was somewhat shocked: Did the members of the Tarot Club all know that Russell's Notebook was a diary?
But Cattleya hid it well, calmly observing how the "Justice" manifested in the diary, and how it instantly appeared in the hands of Mr. Fool.
With her extensive knowledge of occultism, she had a general understanding of how "justice" was "expressed" in that page of the diary.
At this moment, the "Magician" also sacrificed three pages of his diary to the "Fool," and then Cattleya saw a scene that surprised her once again: the Fool was reading those diaries!
He collected these diaries not to decipher them, not to study them, but to read them!
What is His/Her origin?
An indescribable sense of horror and fear welled up inside Cattleya.
She quickly averted her gaze and looked at the bronze table, as if the ancient patterns on its surface were a captivating novel.
This...this doesn't seem surprising.
With her exceptional mental fortitude, Cattleya quickly calmed down: this was an ancient deity, and no matter what astonishing things she did, they seemed unremarkable.
Calm down, Cattleya noticed the silence within the majestic palace and immediately realized that this was not the first time; Mr. Fool had a habit of reading Russell's diary during Tarot gatherings.
The experienced Cattleya did not raise any questions, but simply continued to observe.
A few minutes later, "The Fool" Klein said, "You may begin."
At this moment, Alger was still carefully examining himself, wondering if he had revealed his identity.
He felt that the most revealing thing about himself was the Storm Bishop's robe he was wearing.
There was nothing he could do about it; after setting sail, besides being the captain, he was also the bishop of the sailors and had to wear the appropriate attire to hold Mass frequently.
If one does not demonstrate piety in daily conduct, one day one of the subordinates may report him.
With the addition of new members, everyone was a bit reserved. "Moon" Emlyn was also a little puzzled: Why didn't anyone take the initiative to make a deal today?
So he was the first to speak: "'The Hanged Man,' I'm ready. When can you get your hands on that vampire baron's inheritance? You mentioned it last time; it's in the hands of a great pirate."
Alger suddenly stiffened: You don't need to add that last sentence.
Priestess Cattleya's gaze then swept over the Hanged Man again: The Great Pirate?
However, the seasoned Alger concealed his inner turmoil well, calmly turning his head to ask "Moon": "Did you get the cash?"
"Of course," Emlyn said, lifting his chin.
The Marquis actually gave him more than seven thousand pounds!
"I'll get it for you this week," Alger said. "One last time, let me confirm the price: 4500 pounds, is that alright?"
Emlyn thought about the dolls in his room, his eyes darting around, and said, "Uh... is it possible to make it cheaper?"
"This isn't something I can decide, but I can try to negotiate for you." Alger's tone remained unchanged: "Also, don't forget my commission, a little less, how about 300 pounds?"
Emlyn recalled that the Hanged Man hadn't haggled at all during their deal at the party last week, and he felt that haggling now would damage the image of vampires.
After gritting his teeth, Emlyn said, "Okay."
Gadriya observed silently and made a judgment: not a very strong vampire, perhaps just coming of age.
Seeing that the first trade was over, "Sun" Derrick, mimicking "Justice," slightly raised his hand: "Does anyone have the 'fruit of the Radiant Spirit Tree'?"
He had already collected the other materials about the "Sun Priest" quite smoothly.
Cattleya decides to get involved in a small deal to gain a deeper understanding of how the Tarot Club works: "I have it."
"Little Sun" said, "Um... I can exchange the history of Silver City for the history of dark creatures such as elves and dragons."
"'Priestess', here is also a list of common monsters in the area around Silver City. You can choose the materials you need from it."
"If you really want gold pounds, I can borrow them from Mr. 'The Hermit'."
Then repay with extraordinary materials.
The reason he explained things in such detail was mainly because the "priestess" was attending a gathering for the first time and didn't know much about her situation.
"Justice," Audrey thought to herself, "Although 'The Sun' has matured a lot, it is still as sincere as before."
After thinking it over carefully, Gadriya roughly understood the meaning of "sun" and immediately came up with a plan that best suited her own interests: "I want to see what common monsters are around Silver City before making a decision."
Klein, behind the gray fog, thought to himself: Another one trying to fleece us.
"Okay." After obtaining "The Fool's" consent, Derrick immediately materialized the list.
His deal with the "Hermit" made him realize the difference in the extraordinary value of materials between Silver City and the outside world.
Although Derrick was sincere, he also knew how to obtain the greatest benefit with the least cost.
Cattleya took the documents and began to read them carefully. The more she read, the more alarmed she became, because the number of monsters was beyond her imagination.
Moreover, most of the terms used here are archaic. If she weren't a member of the "Ascetic Order of Morse" and someone who regularly collects and accumulates knowledge, she wouldn't be able to understand this document at all.
This made Gadriya wonder: Where is Silver City? Is it surrounded by monsters?
A dozen seconds later, Cattleya raised her head and said in a calm tone, "You can exchange it for the history of Silver City."
"Okay." Derrick materialized the history outline of Silver City from his general education class.
Having considerable experience, he knew that more complete and detailed information was far more valuable in the "outside world" than the "Radiant Spirit Tree," so he kept some details to himself.
Knowing she wasn't Mr. Fool and couldn't keep the members waiting for her to read, Gadriya casually flipped through it, confirmed its value, and then cautiously asked, "How can I give you the 'Fruit of the Radiant Spirit Tree'?"
"Justice" Audrey was eager to explain to the new member when she heard the "Priestess" ask again, "'Fool,' is it done through sacrifice?"
Audrey was somewhat disappointed: "The 'Priestess' is very capable and knowledgeable."
"Fool" Klein hummed in response.
Cattleya said to Derrick, "I will get the main materials for you as soon as possible."
After the transaction was completed, "The Hermit" Odis said, "Keep an eye out for clues about the Shining Star Tree or the Pegasus of Deception."
These two extraordinary creatures contain his main and auxiliary materials as an "astrologer".
Odis did not disrupt his plan to gather materials because of Cattleya's appearance. After all, even if he could hide his extraordinary abilities this time, they might be exposed at the next gathering, so there was no need to keep them so tightly under wraps.
As the "astrologer," Cattleya suddenly looked up at the "hermit": "Follow my path?"
Then she saw the "hermit" looking at her with a calm smile. In that instant, she realized: he had already guessed who she was! And he didn't care that I knew his extraordinary methods!