Chapter 2299 Invitation <TOC> Chapter 2301 First Meeting
Translator: SumTLMan
Shell World, Saint Isha Kingdom.
“Today, I finally met His Holiness the Pope, and indeed, as the rumors described, he was truly majestic.”
“The Holy Selection Assembly is actually tomorrow, but to think that His Holiness appeared in advance, it’s incredibly exciting.”
“It’s just a pity that the Pope was wearing a white mask, obscuring what lies beneath. Sigh…”
“Even without seeing his face, he still feels very tall and mighty. Perhaps, as the legends say, he is as handsome as a deity.”
A group of girls, dressed in the uniform of Saint Lutheran, walked arm in arm, giggling through the dormitory corridors. The main topic of their conversation was the Pope, who they had a fleeting glimpse of during today’s Holy Selection Assembly.
Among their laughter, one of the girls, a blonde who was slightly trailing behind, muttered under her breath, “Tall and mighty, they really must be blind…”
The rest of her words were not voiced, but a “Holy Maiden Candidate” close to her seemed to hear her murmur and turned to ask, “Sister Feng, what were you just saying?”
The blonde, referred to as “Sister Feng,” quietly brushed her hair behind her ear and seriously said, “I was saying you’re right, His Holiness the Pope really is tall and mighty.”
“Really? You think so too? Ah, if only we could see what His Holiness looks like.”
Her words immediately garnered agreement from the other girls, but one particularly gossipy girl sighed, “I heard that ten years ago, when His Holiness went to the heretical Heart Kingdom to spread the gospel, he was injured in the face, and that’s why he wears the mask. Although it wasn’t big news at the time, His Holiness has never removed the mask for so many years, suggesting that the injury must have been severe. Perhaps His Holiness’s face is now…”
“Silence.” A middle-aged, overweight nun in a voluminous uniform suddenly turned into the corridor from the side: “How dare you speculate about His Holiness the Pope, that’s blasphemy!”
Her stern rebuke instantly turned the previously cheerful girls pale.
“We were wrong.”
“Sister Maria, please forgive our indiscretion.”
“We are willing to go to the confessional to pray for forgiveness for our mistakes.”
Sister Maria looked around fiercely, her eyes flashing with jealousy. She really wanted to punish them, to make these young, beautiful, and slender girls pay some price, but tomorrow is the Holy Selection, and they are candidates for Holy Maiden, so no problems could arise at this time.
Suppressing the resentment and jealousy in her heart, Sister Maria snorted coldly: “I’ll let you off this time, but dare there be a next time, I will send you directly to the tribunal, and let the bishop judge your sins.”
The group of girls knelt on the ground, nodding their heads tremblingly.
“Get out of my sight.”
In the corridor that followed, the girls dared not speak again until they reached their respective dormitories, where they began to speak again, bidding each other farewell.
“Sister Feng, we’ll be leaving first.”
After the girls had left, Feng, who stood at the door of the dormitory, turned her head back with a cold look towards where Sister Maria had been.
“Just bear with it a little longer, the truth has not been fully uncovered yet,” Feng whispered to herself, retracting her gaze and pushing the door open to return to her room.
Upon returning to her room, Feng immediately opened the bathroom door and started filling the large bathtub with water. After the water was ready, Feng did not enter the bathtub to bathe but lightly jumped onto the surface of the water.
“Surrounded by water on all sides, good, the feeling of being spied on has disappeared,” Feng whispered to herself while standing on the water’s surface.
Feng stood contemplatively upon the water’s surface, reflecting on the day’s Holy Selection Assembly and recalling the candid laughter of the prospective Holy Maidens: “Tall and mighty… Haha, to describe that slender and delicate figure as tall and mighty, truly, when girls are smitten, they’re blind in one eye.”
“They might not realize that their springtime fancy could be for a woman… A female Pope, how amusing.”
As Feng spoke, he suddenly felt his earring grow warm.
He reached out to touch the earring.
“Renekton?” Feng whispered.
A familiar teasing voice came from the earring: “The more I see you in women’s attire, the more I think it suits you. Why don’t you dress like that from now on?”
Feng replied irritably to his friend’s jest: “Are you wishing for a shorter life?”
Renekton’s laughter echoed through the earring.
After a while, Feng took advantage of a pause in Renekton’s laughter to ask, “So, what’s up? Why did you suddenly contact me?”
Renekton said, “I just happened to be passing near the Shell World and decided to test the communication channel to check on your situation… Do you need my support?”
Feng shook his head: “No need, things are quite alright here. I just met the Pope today, and she has a very strong mysterious aura about her; the Mysterious Object is in her possession.”
“Her? Another woman? I recall your last mission involved a woman as well.”
Feng nodded: “The previous mission was also in the Shell World, involving the third princess of the Heart Kingdom of Okaleg.”
“The Shell World is quite interesting. Such a marginal plane, yet it has produced two Mysterious Objects with enough influence to be sensed by you, and both are in the hands of women,” Renekton remarked.
“The Mysterious Objects have nothing to do with gender; don’t jump to conclusions,” Feng knew Renekton well, aware that due to his long-term inability to touch the Mysterious Realm, he spent his days summarizing some crooked laws, hoping to find a breakthrough.
Renekton retorted, “Who knows? After you finish this mission, I’ll go to the Shell World for an investigation. Maybe I’ll discover a few more subtle Mysterious Objects.”
The two Mysterious Objects Feng discovered in the Shell World were noticeable because of their intensely strong fluctuations, almost reaching or already at the edge of becoming out of control, which is why Feng could detect them. Those with subtle fluctuations are usually in the hands of those who are orderly and low-key. As long as they don’t cause major chaos, Feng prefers not to investigate.
“You’re welcome to investigate, but you don’t need to come to the Saint Isha Kingdom; there’s only one Mysterious Object here.”
“Are you so sure?”
Feng nodded, “The Mysterious Object of the Saint Isha Kingdom is the one held by the Pope. Based on my undercover work recently, I have summarized some patterns of this Mysterious Object.”
“It is a Mysterious Object primarily used for exploration.”
“Its exploration range is currently unknown, but it’s vast; I’ve felt its probing even thousands of kilometers away in the wilderness, leading me to suspect its land-based exploration knows no bounds.”
“The only weakness is that its exploration cannot bypass water surfaces.”
“I haven’t been probed yet, so I don’t know the upper limit of its exploration, but from the news related to the Pope in the newspapers, the Pope seems omniscient. I estimate that this exploration-type Mysterious Object can forcefully delve into people’s minds without their awareness.”
“Because of the existence of this exploration-type Mysterious Object, it’s certain that no second Mysterious Object exists on the continent where the Saint Isha Kingdom is located. If there were, the Pope would likely have already known about it and obtained it.”
Renekton pondered, “If we encounter a Mysterious Object with peculiar effects, the Pope might not necessarily be able to obtain it, right?”
Feng replied, “By forcefully probing into people’s minds, as long as one can detect a person’s thoughts, it wouldn’t be difficult to ascertain the laws of the Mysterious Object they possess and obtain it.”
After careful thought, Renekton realized the truth in this: “In that case, if we obtained this Mysterious Object, it could save us time on future missions.”
Renekton hadn’t forgotten that Feng spent fifteen years determining the characteristics of the Mysterious Object for the Heart Kingdom. Even fifteen years ago, when the third princess of the Heart Kingdom was still an infant, Feng dared not take it directly.
After all, Mysterious Objects are very special; even if an infant obtains one, as long as the laws are met, it could cause catastrophic effects.
Having an exploration-type Mysterious Object might save some time.
However, Feng thought differently: “This is the Shell World, where there’s hardly any presence of extraordinary powers. The Pope dares to probe into people’s minds because she is a normal person without reverence for the extraordinary.”
“But try probing in other worlds.”
In other extraordinary worlds, once a Mysterious Object is used, let alone probing, one might even attract those with intentions to rob.
If the one being probed is an extraordinary being possessing a Mysterious Object, the outcome could be even worse.
To avoid paying with one’s life, it’s better to be cautious.
After discussing the situation of the Saint Isha Kingdom with Renekton, Feng then inquired about Renekton’s circumstances: “How did you happen to pass through the Shell World?”
Renekton replied, “I discovered from a secret tome that there’s a family in the Secret World that seems to possess a special alchemy called Black Alchemy. Its name is somewhat similar to the Black Transformation Spell, so I plan to see if they are related.”
Feng understood Renekton’s obsession with the Black Transformation Spell, so his actions were understandable, but…
“Are you sure you want to venture into the Secret World? It’s quite dangerous. I’ve seen records about the Secret World in the Temple of Prophets… You’re aware of the Thaend rituals, right? The evil god worshipped by Thaend is said to be from the Secret World, where high energy beings are in abundance.”
Renekton replied, “I’m aware. I’ve researched the Secret World before setting off. The most terrifying aspect of the Secret World is its enigmatic facade. The Surface World, the realm of mortals, remains normal and not too perilous. There are even a few wizard families from the Northern Territory who seem to have relocated to the Surface of the Secret World. My destination is the Surface; I won’t venture into the enigmatic depths.”
With Renekton’s assurance, Feng slightly relaxed. On the long journey in pursuit of truth, Renekton was a rare friend who shared a deep connection with him, and he did not wish for Renekton to come to harm due to his adventurous endeavors.
“Since you understand, I won’t say more.”
Then, Feng chatted with Renekton for a few more moments before preparing to close the communication channel. Despite Renekton being near the Shell World, such cross-plane communication was so energy-consuming that even legendary wizards found it challenging to sustain.
“Let’s end the conversation here for now, and we can talk more if something comes up… Huh?”
Just as Feng was about to end the conversation, he suddenly paused.
Renekton, who was about to put away the communication device, also stopped: “Feng, what’s wrong?”
There was silence for a good while, but the communication channel remained open.
Three minutes later, Feng finally responded, “It’s nothing, just a minor unexpected incident.”
Renekton noticed something odd in Feng’s tone.
“Do you need me to come over and help?” Renekton asked.
Feng replied, “No need, it’s not about the Saint Isha Kingdom. It’s that a strand of consciousness I left in a painting in the Southern Region has disappeared.”
“A consciousness in a painting left in the Southern Region? I remember you only left one consciousness avatar there…” Renekton recalled for a moment, seemingly realizing something: “The follow-up arrangement of the Book of Kael?!”
Feng nodded, his tone filled with disbelief: “Yes, indeed, it was the consciousness avatar arranged according to the arrangement of the Book of Kael.”
Feng murmured softly, “Such a complex arrangement, and the key was in the hands of that old dragon in Ice Valley. I never imagined it would actually unfold according to the Book of Kael.”
Renekton was just as surprised as Feng: “When you mentioned it before, I doubted the capabilities of the Book of Kael. Now it seems… the Book of Kael truly lives up to its reputation.”
Renekton lamented, “The only regret is that the Mad Hatter’s Coronation was eventually given away.”
Feng joked, “What, are you still thinking about it?”
Renekton sighed deeply, his sentiment clear without words.
Actually, it wasn’t just Renekton who was preoccupied with it; despite Feng’s joking tone, he was also concerned. He had considered, if the final deduction of the Book of Kael failed, he would have to retrieve that Mysterious Rune himself.
But now, there’s no other way.
This is the designated price by the Book of Kael, and also the cost to halt the Demon God Calamity in the Southern Region.
“The fall of the True Spirit of the Demon God, in exchange for the Mysterious Rune, is considered worth it.” Though he said this, Feng still felt a pang of loss, after all, that was a very special Mysterious Rune.
“Since this is the price set by the Book of Kael, it cannot be retrieved. But, can it be borrowed?” Renekton’s eyes lit up: “Do you know who got the Mysterious Rune?”
Feng shook his head: “The Southern Region is too far away, and the energy of my strand of consciousness in the painting is not enough to transmit information here.”
Renekton’s eyes, which had brightened, dimmed again.
Feng: “However, if we really want to find that person, it’s not impossible.”
After all, the environment of the Tidal Realm is still very secluded. If that person wants to find the treasure, they would definitely go to meet those elemental creatures, leaving many traces.
Even saying, going directly to Nemeti, would probably lead to finding that person.
“For now, let’s forget it, the Mad Hatter’s Coronation can’t let me truly touch the Mysterious Realm. I’m going to the Secret World now to check out the situation with Black Alchemy. If there’s a chance later, I’ll look for this lucky person.”
Feng’s response to Renekton’s statement was noncommittal. The key figure in the fall of the True Spirit of the Demon God is not just a lucky person.
After bidding farewell to Renekton, Feng still stood quietly on the water surface.
He was still pondering about the person who could find the treasure.
To pass through numerous obstacles and ultimately find the treasure in the void, wisdom, courage, and ability are indispensable.
“I really want to see, who you are.” Feng murmured softly.
Just then, there was a knock on the door: “Sister Feng, the procurement department has delivered the paints and papers for tomorrow’s Holy Selection. Do you want to try them now?”
Feng withdrew her thoughts that had traveled to distant worlds and replied: “Yes, I’ll try them now.”
Even if she really wanted to meet that person, she would first deal with the situation in the Shell World. Tomorrow is the Holy Selection Assembly, hoping to use it to test whether the Mysterious Object has any other offensive capabilities. If not… it’s time to make a move.