After having lunch with Luvia, I originally wanted to take Mia to the Blind House, maybe I could run into Sister Devilin. But shortly after lunch, Tifa actually came to St. Teresa's Square to pick up Shade to visit the witch's manor outside the city.
Miss Carina didn't have anything important to talk to Shade about. She just wanted to talk to him about the stone figurine with a fragment of "Whispering Poems" that was recovered not long ago.
At the same time, she also knew that her student Iluna would temporarily leave Tobesk, so she asked Shade to be careful when he was in Midhill Castle recently. The church had already dispatched the only chosen one to that city, which meant that the situation in Midhill Castle might change significantly in the near future.
In short, Shad did not leave Tobesk this Friday, and he had a meeting on Saturday afternoon, so he had no plans to go to Midhill Castle again.
On Saturday afternoon, after the weekly study session, Shad let Dorothy, who was waiting for him, go first, and he stayed to have a private conversation with the doctor. The doctor had borrowed a relic from a friend in the city that allowed him to perform short-term space transfer.
"Look at this!"
Perhaps because of the demonic matter, the doctor seemed very excited and showed Shade a door in the bedroom on the third floor of the clinic.
It was a relic. The door frame and door panel were made of heavy brown wood that looked old. The left and right feet of the door frame were inserted into the metal base, and the door handle and door lock seemed to be made of the same metal as the base. In addition, there was a black key inserted into the keyhole.
The metal base has a complex texture like a steam line map, and the wooden door frame is decorated with vine-like stripes, as if there are entangled long insect corpses in the wood. The door panel is decorated with flowers, and in the center is a two-faced man, with two faces facing left and right.
At the top of the door frame is a line of ancient text, the meaning of which after translation is very interesting:
The journey behind the door is determined by the key.
"Clerical Grade (Level 4) Relic Traveler's Travel Gate."
Without Xia De asking, the doctor began to introduce.
"You come and take the key."
The doctor pulled out the key from the door and handed it to Xia De. The black key was also made of metal and felt extremely cold.
"Now turn your back to me so that you can't see this door."
Shad turned around as the doctor asked.
“Imagine the door in your mind, yes, it must be specific, and then imagine yourself inserting the key in your hand into the imaginary keyhole.”
Focused visualization, also known as meditation, is part of the basics of a ringmaster, so it was easy for Shad.
He stretched out his right hand and thrust the key in his hand into the air. Because there was a maid cleaning the house, Shade brought Mia out with him. The cat looked at Shade's movements curiously.
"Now turn the key, and make sure you don't make any mistakes. Three turns clockwise, then one turn counterclockwise. When you're done, immediately release the key."
Xia De continued to imagine the door, and then turned it as required. During the three clockwise rotations, unless Xia De's arms could be twisted into a knot, he had to release the key to continue turning. But when he released the key, the key actually stopped in the air as if it was really fixed in the keyhole.
At the same time, Shade can also feel the changes in the whispering elements in the space when the relic's characteristics are in effect. He himself has the core spirit rune of time and space, so he is very sensitive to abnormal changes in space.
After three circles clockwise and one circle counterclockwise, Xia De immediately let go of the key in his hand. With the key as the center, the door that should have been behind him appeared little by little within three seconds. It was as if an invisible hand was creating the door in space like piecing together a puzzle.
"Shadow, step back a little. Oh, don't turn your head. Remember, don't turn your head."
The doctor warned nervously, and then Shad heard the door open behind him.
At the same time, the door in front of him opened automatically, and the doctor walked out. Xia De even saw his own back behind the doctor. The two doors really achieved spatial splicing.
"Look."
The doctor walked out of the door in front of him and said with a smile:
"You can move through space in this way. Only one person can go through the door at a time, and they must return within 3 minutes and 12 seconds."
Only then did Xia De notice that the doctor was holding a pocket watch in his hand.
"This door will only disappear when I return again or when the time is up. During this period, the key cannot be pulled out, and the door cannot be destroyed or moved by non-spatial forces. At the same time, I cannot leave the range of about 10 feet (about 3 meters) with the key as the center of the sphere. When I reach the boundary, I will walk out of the door again."
"What happens if it times out? Automatically return?"
"Of course not. It will remain at the same height and appear randomly at any location in the material world."
As he said that, the doctor turned around and walked back into the door. As the door closed behind him, the door in front of Shade disappeared as if erased by an eraser, and the key fell to the floor with a clang.
"There are two situations that will cause the relic to lose control. One is when the user uses the key while looking at the door itself, and the other is when the key is inserted into the door itself and rotated three times clockwise and one circle counterclockwise."
"What will happen? Since it is a poet-level, the damage caused by losing control should not be small, right?"
Shade asked curiously.
"It will summon some terrible things living in the cracks of space. It's similar to the situation when your thaumaturgy Ragnarok's jump is used frequently, but it's much more terrible than that. In addition, every time you open this door and step through it, according to the research of Saint Byrons who contained it, there is about a 0.2% chance that it will be directly torn apart by the space storm. But considering that the probability of being hit by a carriage while walking on the street is about the same, there is no need to worry about this."
The doctor shook his head and asked Shade to pick up the key:
"This relic cannot be used in anomalies, otherwise it will cause space to tear. For example, this relic cannot be used in the dark realm. Also, this door cannot be used frequently. Once an hour is the limit. Other than that, the containment conditions are very simple. When not in use, just insert the key into the lock. Under no circumstances can the key be left out of the door lock for more than 8 hours, and the key itself cannot pass through this door."
The last restriction determines that this door is not very useful. You must have the power of space to return the key within eight hours to bring the key to a distant place. But since you have the power of space jump, then the three-minute single-person single-time door is not particularly meaningful.
“Can this be used for smuggling?”
Xia De asked curiously again.
"Yes, but this door cannot carry special items through it, nor can it transport items that exceed the user's own weight."
So it makes sense that this door, which sounds like it would be quite useful, is only rated "Clerical Grade (Level 4)".
"Shad, when do you plan to go to Midhill Castle to deal with that demon? Tell me the exact time and I'll prepare here. It's only 3 minutes and 12 seconds, which is enough in my opinion, but you still have to prepare in advance."
"Let me think... Dorothy is going to give me a lesson tonight, and I have to open a time key tomorrow morning. In the morning I have to go to Midhill Castle to visit a fortune teller who can predict death, so I will have time to come back in the afternoon to get the key... How about seven o'clock in the evening?"
“Are you so busy?”
The doctor asked curiously, and when Xia De didn't answer, he didn't think much about it:
"The key cannot be left out of the door lock for more than 8 hours, otherwise something will come out from behind the door, and then take into account the time it takes you to return the key... ... For safety reasons, come back to pick up the key after 3pm tomorrow afternoon."
"no problem."
Xia De nodded, hesitated and asked again:
"Doctor, is the correspondence group at the Zaras Literary College willing to sell this door?"
"You want this?"
The doctor asked, and Shade nodded again:
"This door has spatial power. Maybe it will help me use the Time and Space Spirit Runes better."
More importantly, whether in Coldwater Harbor or Midhill Castle, he was acting alone. He could find some helpers locally, but they were not close partners like Iluna or Luvia.
Although this door can only be opened for 3 minutes and 12 seconds, sometimes half a minute can make a big difference.
"They are indeed willing to sell it. After all, the key cannot be out of the door lock for 8 hours, which is a ridiculous restriction in itself. In addition, the short time of use and the distance limit after opening the door have greatly weakened the value of this relic. But I heard from them that they are only willing to barter, exchanging relics for relics, and will not accept other transactions."
“I see.”
Actually, Shade has quite a few relics now. The Sage-level God's Gift Box, the Secret Keeper-level Twenty-sided Dice of Destiny, the Clerk-level Spear of Kindness, the Clerk-level Soul Fishing Rod, and the Poet-level Poetry Manuscript Pages are all useful. The three rings, the Demon Hunting Seal, the Transformation Ring, and the Fish Training Ring must be kept, and the blood money and the upright coins are even less likely to be sold.
The only items that could be considered for sale and the other party might accept them were the Poet-level Eternal Youth Leaf and the Clerk-level Corpse Mirror. Xia De had two of the former, and more in the foreseeable future; the latter's ability to hide in the mirror was very useful, but it was not necessary for Xia De, and it would not affect his combat effectiveness without it.
“I have so many relics.”
Thinking of this, Xia De was a little surprised. After all, except for the fishing rod and the upright coin, all other relics were obtained for free, so he didn't realize that he had so many good things.
"Well, doctor, please help me contact the other party."
He wrote down the details of the Eternal Youth Leaf and the Corpse Mirror at the doctor's desk:
"Ask the other party which of the two relics they would accept. If it's the Eternal Youth Leaf, they need to pay more."
Although the Eternal Youth Leaf is only at the poet level, its price is very high due to its unique characteristics.
"If it's a corpse mirror, I'd prefer to exchange it directly. If the other party has other conditions, we can meet and discuss."
The secret mission of the Grey Eagle made Shade a fortune, and the 200 kronor and the 1,000 pounds that he had not yet collected made Shade very confident about the deal. But the price difference between the door and his mirror should not be much, and he could accept it within 100 pounds.
Dr. Schneider nodded:
"Then wait for my good news. The other party is also an acquaintance of mine. I will take care of this business, and I will definitely not let you suffer any loss. It's already afternoon, and I don't think I can find anyone. I will ask for you tomorrow morning. When you come to me to get the key in the afternoon, the deal may have been concluded."