It had to be said.
The person who invented this exclusive storage box was a goddamn genius.
To a large extent, it reduced the probability of transcendents killing each other for loot in the streets.
After all, others couldn't tell if your box contained a Pandora's box full of terrifying negative traits or a treasure chest worth a fortune.
As for high-Scale transcendents who could investigate the contents, they wouldn't look twice at the belongings of low-Scale ones.
So, the journey out of the Arcane Black Market was unexpectedly smooth.
In fact, when he first stepped out of the shop's main gate, Elias had considered casting another layer of 【Moonlight Veil】 on himself to sneak out just to be absolutely safe.
But this self-righteous, 'secure' idea was immediately and ruthlessly mocked by Old Ed.
"Is there water in your brain?" Old Ed cursed in his mind.
"In a dog-eat-dog place like this, you're going to stroll around with an invisibility spell active?"
"If someone has even a basic spell to detect invisibility, don't you think you'd look even more suspicious?"
Hearing this, Elias felt the old man had a point.
Indeed, it was like putting up a sign that said 'nothing to see here', it was completely unnecessary!
And in reality?
The items he had spent a fortune on today weren't exactly rare or world-shaking treasures in the true supernatural world.
Once out of the alley, Elias planned to return home first.
In that relatively safe haven, he would make some pre-battle preparations.
Then he would try to handle the troublesome task Crowley had assigned him.
Based on the clues he had gathered so far, the mysterious object Crowley wanted him to retrieve was in the hands of a man named Martin Miller.
He just didn't know if this matter was related to the case his older brother, Arthur, had complained about at the dinner table.
The murder case at the Golden Rose Hotel.
Actually, on the night he returned, he and Old Ed had discussed the matter.
There were only two possible conclusions.
First, Martin Miller was the victim.
The unlucky guy who died in the hotel.
But logically, this didn't quite make sense.
Considering the man knew a transcendent of Crowley's level, his own strength shouldn't be weak.
An old fox like that shouldn't have died so quietly.
Second, Martin Miller was the killer.
But if Martin Miller was the murderer, then who was the person who died in the hotel?
Looking at the relationship between the Mist Veil Society and Moon Bay...
Was the one who died a cultist from the Mist Veil Society?
Conversely, that logic also held up perfectly.
It wasn't impossible for a cultist to have killed Martin Miller.
It was a complete mess.
"Not enough information."
Elias sighed inwardly.
He currently needed a breakthrough point.
Although Arthur was his own flesh and blood and a formal police officer, that was an absolute minefield.
Arthur already had some grievances because he had secretly found a job as a 'sailor'.
Even if he didn't say it, he felt that going out to sea every day was extremely dangerous and unstable.
If Elias proactively asked him for details about the Golden Rose Hotel murder case now, it would definitely hit a nerve.
After all, why would a sailor be so concerned about a murder case?
He couldn't even make up a lie to cover that.
That path was blocked.
So he could only turn his gaze to another person.
Brian.
As a detective from a brother department of the Old Palace Yard and Arthur's life-and-death partner in the police station, Brian was a prime candidate.
Firstly, Brian's level of understanding regarding the Golden Rose Hotel case was not low.
Secondly, he was currently in a state of mandatory leave arranged by his superiors.
More importantly, he had found an extremely suspicious psychiatrist.
So, whether it was the Golden Rose Hotel case or that psychiatrist who concerned him so much, the breakthrough should be found through Brian.
Elias's mental abacus clicked away.
On one hand, he could follow the trail to find Martin Miller, figure out the situation, and complete Crowley's commission to get the curse removal method.
He could then compare the method mentioned by Blaine with the one provided by the old man to see if there was any room for maneuver.
On the other hand, he could take the opportunity to investigate the psychiatrist Brian was seeing.
If it turned out the person really had a problem and was so powerful that Elias couldn't defeat them, that was fine too.
At worst, he would just linger outside and not go in.
He would turn around and report the person to the Seventh Agency for practicing medicine illegally!
He would use the official's blade to kill.
Perhaps that Ms. Cecil from the Seventh Agency had already dealt with it.
After all, she was the one who personally pulled Brian's drifting soul back.
Of course, caution was the parent of safety, so he still had to go see for himself.
That way, he could conveniently remove a malicious psychiatrist for Hope County, and Arthur would be a bit safer too.
As he planned, Elias's steps became a bit lighter.
As he approached the familiar corner of Ash Street, he hid in the shadows and decisively cast 【Moonlight Veil】.
Without anyone noticing, he slipped back home like a ghost.
"Old Ed, I need your guidance again."
Back in his room, Elias immediately locked the door behind him.
He skillfully took out the pure silver dagger and the glow-amber solution.
As four drops of the solution lit up in the corners of the room, a simplified version of Sanctuary was instantly activated.
A faint white light once again completely isolated the small room from the outside world.
He placed the black suitcase on the table, took out the spirit-conducting materials and hematin ink he had bought, and sat steadily at the table.
"Tell me, what are the core principles of making charms...?"
Elias asked humbly in his mind while grinding the ink.
"For us followers of the Moon Lord, there are three basic types of charms."
Old Ed adopted the professional attitude of an old-school scholar and replied as if listing family treasures.
"Force field charms, warding charms, and link charms."
"Of course, besides those, there are others like sleep charms that require imprinting spells, which you'll need to reach the corresponding Scale for."
Elias picked up a quill, fully focused.
"The first type, the force field charm."
Old Ed's voice echoed in his mind.
"It can determine which specific direction a repulsion field will burst toward when triggered, based on the spiritual patterns you write on it."
"To put it simply, it's like miniaturizing and directionalizing a massive Repulsion Array."
Elias nodded and made a mental note.
"The second type, the warding charm."
Old Ed continued.
"This is a simplified version of the Moonlight Barrier."
"The effect is certainly not as solid as the Scale Two 【Moonlight Barrier】 spell cast directly."
Old Ed paused to give a quantitative standard.
"But at the very least, it's absolutely no problem to use it to block a standard firearm shot in a critical moment."
"What?"
The quill in Elias's hand stopped abruptly as he asked with a face full of surprise.
"One can block a shot?"
"What else?" Old Ed retorted crossly.
"Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about thermal weapons?"
"Do you think firearms are weak?"
"That's only true for those monsters and high-Scale transcendents."
Old Ed gave an extremely vivid example with a cold laugh.
"Think carefully about that cultist, Firth!"
"His spirituality wasn't enough, and that layer of Arcane Ward couldn't even block the enchanted bullet from your hand!"
Elias was suddenly speechless.
"Of course."
Old Ed's tone softened slightly.
"The sturdiness of the protection is also directly related to how much spirituality you inject during production."
"However, this is only limited to the low-Scale stages."
Old Ed sighed with emotion.
"Those true high-Scale transcendents don't use these things in battle at all."
"After all, with the spirituality it takes to activate a charm, it's faster, more convenient, and more powerful to instantly cast a high-level spell."
"That's true."
Elias nodded noncommittally in agreement.
External objects were external objects after all; one's own Scale level was the hard currency.
If it weren't for the fact that defensive items were more important, he would have already bought the potion to prepare for advancement.
"And then there is the link charm."
Old Ed began to explain the last type.
"It can attach your spirituality to it. As long as you place it on a target, you can clearly perceive the specific location of this charm."
"And you can link one of your senses to this charm for a short period."
"Like vision, or hearing."
"Of course, the sensing range is at most twenty kilometers."
"The sensory link range is at most five kilometers."
Elias's eyes suddenly lit up.
"This thing is great!"
"It could be used for tracking, eavesdropping..."
Just as Elias was enthusiastically preparing to put pen to paper and try drawing the first link charm.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
A sudden knocking sound rang out sharply.
Elias's hand shook.
"Elias!"
Following that, Charlotte's questioning voice came from outside the door.
"Are you in there?"
"When did you get back?"
Elias looked at the pile of supernatural materials on the table.
Then he looked at the spiritual barrier of the Sanctuary emitting white light.
"Oh, shit!"
Rate on N.U.
