Taking advantage of the time today, Shade and Leicia went out together and the first stop was to go to Old John's pawn shop. He not only spent more than 100 pounds to order a strong enough alchemical crossbow from the old man, but also purchased the materials needed for "Moonlight Water" and "Sunfire".
Shard had the gems himself, and Huntington had gained a lot. As for those special materials, although they might be cheaper to buy at Coldwater Port, Shard was in no mood to wait.
He decided to set up the ceremony in his attic, where the windows would allow the midday sun and midnight moonlight to directly shine into the ritual array. Because the positions of moonlight and sunlight were different in different seasons, Shad went to find Luvia with Resia to prevent himself from making a mistake.
The purple-eyed girl was well versed in astrology. When she learned that Shad needed help, she took leave and followed him back to No. 6 St. Teresa's Square.
While Shad and Lecia set up the main body of the ceremony, Luvia used the astrological equipment on the third floor to calculate the best location in the attic.
Finally, Shade brought a wooden round table. Luvia used a file to outline the star map on the dark brown tabletop, then filled the depressions with silver powder, and finally poured mercury. After special treatment, the entire tabletop showed a strange silver beauty, and at two symmetrical positions on the round table, circular areas outlined by mercury were reserved, where rituals related to the sun and the moon would be arranged.
This makes the entire table look more like the back of the Rhodes card, but in fact the "sun, moon and stars" pattern on the back of the Rhodes card itself is some kind of sophisticated astrological ritual.
The ceremony was arranged at 11:30 in the morning. Luvia adjusted the position of the table again to ensure that the sunlight and moonlight could shine through the window to the tabletop in this season. Then, Shade only needed to customize a special revolving wooden table and then connect the tabletop for the ceremony to the surface of the revolving wooden table.
In this way, he only needs to rotate the angle of the desktop to adapt to the positions of the sun and the moon at noon and midnight in different seasons.
As time approached Sunday noon, the three expectant people waited in the attic for the results of the ceremony.
As Shad's "time perception" accurately captured the moment when noon arrived, a faint spark of fire actually appeared in the transparent crystal bead in the center of the ritual array representing the "Sun Fire" ceremony.
The storage of "Moonlight Water" uses a crystal container, and the storage of "Sunlight Fire" uses a crystal bead. Both can store up to a week's worth of water, and Shade only needs to remember to collect it once a week.
"Moonlight Water" is a liquid, and can be stored in a larger crystal container for a long time. However, "Sunfire" itself is a flame, and cannot be stored in an ordinary container, so Shade stored it in an old lantern that Sister Defulin had given him, which can preserve fire (Chapter 831).
The nun not only needs firewood for the First Fire, but also "strange fire" for the First Fire to consume.
The sky was covered with gray fog, and the clouds also reduced the sunlight. The "sun fire" produced at noon was only a very weak spark. This weak spark caused the "primordial fire" in Shade's body to react. Obviously, like the "fire of the flaming demon", this was also a flame that could be swallowed by the primordial fire, but because there was only a little spark at present, Shade did not give it to Sister Devilin.
"By swallowing the flames, as long as you are not burned to death, you can sublimate your own flame-related abilities; by lighting a bonfire, you can disperse the undead and evil spirits within a certain range; by attaching to a weapon, you can make the weapon have the characteristics of "holy", "fire", "evil nemesis", etc. for a certain period of time."
Holding the old lantern, Shade smiled and explained to the two girls the effects of the sparks. Of course, the prerequisite for these effects is that there must be enough flames.
Therefore, although these two new rituals are very important to Shade, they cannot play a big role for the time being.
Fortunately, the stranger understood the meaning of "a little bit adds up to a lot" and was happy to wait for the harvest. Although it made him feel like he was "growing vegetables" in the attic and had to "harvest vegetables" every now and then, this kind of waiting made him happy.
To thank the two girls for their help, the three of them had lunch together at Silver Cross Avenue at noon. Although the relationship between the three was quite delicate due to the sin of the outsiders, Leicia and Luvia behaved normally during lunch.
After lunch, Luvia went back to work, and the blonde accompanied Shade to do business in the city. They enjoyed the winter time leisurely in the "Steam City" and "Pearl of the North" without having to worry about their livelihood or work.
In the evening, the two people and the cat had dinner outside again, and then went for a walk in the university area with better scenery. At about seven o'clock, Xia De took Lecia back to Quill Pen Avenue.
This beautiful day made Her Royal Highness the Princess quite satisfied:
“It’s nice to take some time out like this once in a while to relax.”
She hugged Shad downstairs of the apartment Dorothy rented, and Shad noticed that the landlady was looking at the two of them with dissatisfaction from the second-floor window.
"Tomorrow night, at the Opera House. Never forget it."
The princess emphasized in a low voice in Shade's ear, then smiled and pushed him, causing him to stumble back down the stairs:
"See you tomorrow, Knight."
She seemed to want to end this perfect day with a kiss, but Leicia also noticed the landlady watching them from the second floor, and for Dorothy's reputation, she finally just pressed her gloved right index finger on her red lips and blew a kiss to Shad.
The apartment Dorothy rented was only rented to single women, and Shad was questioned by the landlady every time he entered the door. Dorothy once said that the landlady was warm but old-fashioned, and she cared a lot about the private morality of the girls who rented there, so even Leicia was a little "afraid" of the enthusiastic lady.
Returning home in a good mood, after washing up, the diligent stranger did not go to bed early to welcome the arrival of Monday, but read in front of the fireplace until midnight.
He slept very late not because he wanted to review better, but because Xia De was still wondering what the "Moonlight Water" was.
At midnight, Shade, wearing pajamas, climbed up to the attic holding the cat, who was very energetic at night. The attic was dark, and the bright moonlight from the window illuminated the round table. The starlight made the astrological ritual arranged by Luvia glow slightly. Also emitting light was the weak fire in the old lantern and the silver-white aura produced by the operation of the moon ritual.
The scene was so exceptionally quiet and visually impactful that Shade froze for a moment before walking towards the table.
At the bottom of the transparent crystal bottle in the center of the ceremony, a thin layer of silver liquid had appeared. In the dark night, the "moonlight" was glowing slightly, and its texture was very similar to mercury, but it was also undeniably beautiful.
"About half a dozen dr (0.5 dr ≈ 1.8 ml). Today's moon phase is towards the full moon, so the amount is a little more."
Xia De calculated in his mind, but he only considered the amount, not the gold pounds. He did not intend to sell the "Moonlight Water" and "Sunfire" to anyone. Even if he did not use these two precious substances, it would be a great pleasure for him to store them.
"Meow~"
Mia jumped lightly onto the table with glowing star patterns, shrinking her head timidly, looking at the sparks in the old lantern, then at the liquid at the bottom of the bottle in Shad's hand, her eyes full of desire to try it out.
"How should I use this precious liquid?"
Xia De thought in his heart, looked at the liquid towards the moon outside the window, and thought of his sealed spiritual rune. So, he carefully pulled out the crystal plug and poured the liquid directly into his mouth.
"Oh~"
Even though the amount was very small, the refreshing feeling still immediately swept through his body. The comfort at this moment made him moan, which made the cat squatting on the table open its eyes even wider and meow a few times in a somewhat anxious but very obedient manner.
The taste of the liquid is hard to describe. If one really has to give an adjective, Xia De can only use the two non-taste words "soft" and "cool". The moment he drank it, he felt great, like he was really bathing in the moonlight and absorbing the power of the moon.
He raised his left hand, letting it emit silver moonlight. He vaguely felt that his understanding of the power of the silver moon seemed to have deepened.
"Long-term drinking will definitely greatly enhance all my moon-related powers."
Xia De sighed in his heart, and the "she" beside him also gave a hint:
The power of the Red Moon is still sealed, but if you can drink about 90 to 120 times the amount at once, the Spirit Rune has a chance to release the seal.
"About three to four months?"
Although it took a little longer, at least there was hope, which made Xia De feel better. And the amount, which was more than 100 times that of before, was only close to 200 milliliters. Xia De felt that if he really did that, he might experience the feeling of truly "melting" in the moon.
"I don't have much now. I'll let you have a taste when I have accumulated some. As for the fire, Sister Defulin and Yin Luna probably need it, so I can't give it to you. Besides, a good cat shouldn't play with fire."
Putting the expensive crystal bottle back in the center of the ritual array, Shade picked up Mia and said with a smile, "Since this cat has absorbed a trace of divine power, it should be fine for it to drink this special liquid."
The cat probably understood what Shade said. It meowed again obediently, then leaned its furry little head against Shade's pajamas chest.
Compared with the rewards given by the previous Time Key missions, although there was no magic this time, the two rituals were quite useful. Looking at the moon outside the window, Shade couldn't help but imagine what kind of rewards the Father of the Infinite Tree would give in the future.
The various strange powers granted by this ancient god are not limited to "trees" and "time", and the power given to Shad is always the one that Shad needs most.
"What kind of story will the next key bring?"
He held the cat and prepared to rest. The first day of the last month of 1853 in the universal calendar officially ended. This Sunday was also a perfect day for Shad.