After spending the morning processing registration matters, Shad took Mia home for lunch at noon, then went to the Prophet's Association to find Luvia and asked for a portion of the "Eris Wool" that he had taken out of the gift box last week.
He took the wool that was sealed in the silver box to prevent the bad luck from affecting him, and went to find Old John in the pawn shop. After explaining to the old man that he wanted to mix the wool with normal silk thread to make a lady's handkerchief, Old John looked at Shade suspiciously:
"Hey, detective, you're not going to use some tricks outside the ring to win next week's game, are you?"
"Is there anything strange about this? In which year's competition would there be no stories outside the stadium?"
Shade smiled and asked:
"The work will cost five pounds, and I want it by Sunday evening."
"I won't charge you for the labor. I want the information."
The old man lowered his voice and poked his head slightly behind the counter:
"If a ring sorcerer like you wants to win by trickery, no one can stop you. Tell me, what place do you want to get?"
Instead of answering, Shade asked another question:
“What are my odds now?”
Old John laughed:
"Registration has just started, so your odds are fluctuating a lot. But you're very famous, and Louisa's novel boasts about your superb cold weapon combat skills and riding skills. I think the final odds should be stable at around 1 to 1.7."
"I thought people thought I was going to win."
"Detective, detective, don't be too careless. There are many good players in Tobesk. So, what place do you want to get? Be conservative and take second or third place so as not to be suspected, or be young and energetic and must get the first place?"
Xia De extended his right index finger:
"Since we're participating, we have to win."
The old man nodded in understanding:
"Is that so... I am warning you, the Church of the Five Gods will definitely be invited to send representatives to observe the competition."
"I won't rely on my abilities as a ring wizard. I'm really good at riding and swordsmanship."
Shade emphasized, and the old man accepted Shade's wool:
"So you think you can win? No problem. Pick up the handkerchief on Sunday. These woolens need to be processed before they can be used. I don't want to get myself into trouble. If I saw it in the corner of a photo of an accident report in the newspaper one day, I would definitely not recognize it."
"I don't want to kill anyone. I just want to teach a lesson to an uneducated guy."
Xia De shook his head and was about to say goodbye and leave, but unexpectedly Old John suddenly said:
"I don't know if you've heard that a humanoid relic has recently appeared in the city."
"oh?"
Xia De stopped and turned to look at him:
"When Princess Margaret of Carsenrick visited Tobesk in late autumn last year, didn't humanoid relics frequently appear in the city?"
He was referring to the "Secret Keeper" who provided the test.
"It's different. This one is very dangerous. It seems Schneider hasn't told you yet. There are two of them, both angel-level."
Talking about this, the old man from the Guiding Light Hermitage also became serious.
"What? Angel-level? Two? In Tobesk City? Now? Oh, what's going on here?"
Xia De looked back at the window of the pawn shop, worried that if he turned around, he would see something strange on the street looking at him. But unfortunately, he was not the chosen one, and he would not suddenly get entangled in a strange fate. There was no one on the street outside.
“Be careful. One of the two angel-level humanoid relics is related to fate. Even I don’t know what it is, but it is extremely dangerous and may even be more than just an angel-level one.
Another one was born in the Fifth Era, called the Faceless Man, a man in his twenties who claimed that his brother was missing and was looking for him. His original body had no facial features, but he could change into the appearance of anyone he came into contact with. The characteristics of this thing were very simple, he would frequently change into someone else's appearance, and then use someone else's identity and adopt methods that matched that identity to look for his brother through methods including but not limited to newspaper advertisements, posting missing person notices, and asking passers-by on the street. Once you come into contact with the information about his search for his brother, but fail to give an answer, even if you just read the newspaper news, you will be affected by the characteristics of the relic and die within three hours. What he spreads is not a simple curse, the information he spreads is itself a malicious force. "
The old man looked at Shade and realized that he also knew how tricky this relic was:
"The Faceless Man has a very strong concealment ability. There is almost no way to quickly identify him when he is hidden. The Church has begun to control the news and advertisements in newspapers published in the Tobysk region, and at the same time, strictly investigate the bards in the taverns to prevent the disaster from breaking out on a large scale."
Because it was a "replacement-compliant" way to find his brother, there was no need to worry about the relic suddenly running out onto the street and loudly asking everyone questions. Fortunately, in this era, there were no convenient and fast means of information transmission that the outsiders remembered, otherwise the destructiveness of this relic would definitely not be as simple as it is now.
"Besides this almost curse-like trait, is the opponent's combat power very strong?"
Xia De asked again.
"Yes."
The old man nodded:
"The way to deal with him is to wait. Every time he appears, he will punish himself for not being able to find his brother over time. That is, he will bite his own body until he eats himself, thus forming a self-contained state and reborn in 10 to 200 years. Don't expose his hidden identity easily, otherwise he will go crazy and eat anything, entities, energy, souls, and even concepts for a short period of time. He is completely different from the keepers last year. Contact with him is extremely dangerous."
"I remember that."
Xia De nodded and said with some concern:
"Tobesk has been peaceful for the entire winter. Is something going to happen again?"
"Don't worry too much. Even in the past, there would always be a similar major event every ten years or so."
Old John shook his head:
"You know about the Chosen. Although the Chosen of Balance, the Chosen of Darkness, and the Chosen of Knowledge and Wisdom have all left traces of activity in this city, that is because Tobesk is the most prosperous city and transportation hub in the northern part of the Old World. I don't think the appearance of the two humanoid relics this time is a sign of some major event, detective. We should be more optimistic."
Xia Deke was not optimistic at all.
After bidding farewell to Old John, Shade took a carriage to the Carina Manor to inquire about the information of the horse prepared for him. As for the armor, although Tifa said this morning that he could use all the armor in Miss Carina's collection room, and the Duchess could even introduce him to the armorer in the city to buy a set temporarily, Shade declined their kindness:
"I have my own suit of armor, I might as well use that."
He was going to use the set of golden armor that could be assembled into the shape of a lion, which Miss Gode had sent him at the beginning of the Windy Month.
The shape of the armor was very exaggerated, but if you remove the accessories such as the chain and the headdress, it actually looks okay except for the golden color. Shade wore it at home for the interview, and the armor fit him very well, as if it was tailor-made for him, so there was no need to use other armor. The witch even joked that Shade should go to St. Byron's to borrow a unicorn for the competition and use illusion to cover the horn, but Shade refused:
"That's too unfair. With my physical condition, it's not suitable for me to participate in the competition. Now I need ordinary armor and ordinary horses."
The above was the conversation at the dining table in the morning. When Shad arrived at the Carina Manor in the afternoon, the Duchess and Tifa were not there, so he did not stay for long and returned home directly.
This was a slightly boring Friday, and on Saturday it was time for the group study session.
Last week, the meeting was held at Dr. Schneider's home because he had just recovered from a serious illness. But this time, he is well again, so the meeting is still held at Dr. Schneider's clinic.
Because he received a reminder from the doctor on Friday night that the professors from the college who were conducting background checks would also show up this afternoon, Shad put on formal clothes in advance before taking Mia out.
He thought he was the first one to arrive, but when he saw the doctor at one o'clock, Father Augustus, Luvia and Dorothy were also there.
Everyone was dressed formally, and this time the doctor did not ask them again if they were ready.
There were three people in the team that came to conduct the background investigation and questioning of the correspondence ring sorcerers. The doctor got the list in advance. They were Professor Andor from the School of Chemistry, Associate Professor Cospaya from the School of Theology, and Mr. Rune, the secretary of the Student Affairs Office.
The professor and his group showed up at the door of Schneider Psychological Clinic at 1:30 p.m. that day. They had made an appointment in advance as patients, so the young doctor at the clinic took them directly to the reception room on the second floor.
Professor Andor was an old man who looked to be in his fifties, a little short, wearing a black hat. When Shade shook hands with him, he thought he was 11th or 12th ring. Associate Professor Cospaya and the secretary in charge of record, Mr. Rune, looked relatively young, and even the secretary of the Student Administration Office had a rank of five rings.
Dr. Schneider had already planned the order in which each person would be interviewed individually, and they would be interviewed in order of their admission time. Shade was the youngest in the group, so he was placed last.
The interview time for each person was planned to be 30 minutes, but except for Luvia, the others finished their individual interviews in more than 20 minutes. Luvia's interview lasted for a full 50 minutes. When she came out, her face was a little solemn, but among all the people, she should have had the least questions.
When it was Xia De's turn, it was almost four o'clock in the afternoon.