822 Wilderness
....
822 Wilderness
Nikila looked at Franca with an obsession and said, “He should be feeling the call of the wilderness.”
“Wilderness?” Franca didn’t hide her confusion.
Nikila eagerly and thoroughly explained, “In Fourth Epoch Trier, near the ruined palace of Alista Tudor, beside His remains-no, on His remains, no, under them-well, there’s a wilderness there. All Mystery Pryers and Savants will eventually return to that wilderness.”
All Mystery Pryers and Savants… The only thing powerful enough to influence both pathways must be the Celestial Master. Professor and a.s.sistant Professor had dreams about the wilderness before… Franca perked up and asked, “What else do you know about this wilderness?”
Nikila shook his head slightly, looking a bit annoyed but very honest.
“Nothing else. According to our leader, the higher the sequence of a Mystery Pryer or Savant, the more likely they are to hear the call of the wilderness.”
The Hidden Sage should stand atop the Mystery Pryer pathway, so during the Hostel incident, when the seal of Fourth Epoch Trier was broken, the leak of wilderness power greatly affected Him, driving Him madder. Is Kmerolo in a similar situation? After all, he’s in Trier… The demiG.o.ds of the Church of the G.o.d of Steam and Machinery in Trier might also be affected? Franca swallowed and asked, “Has Kmerolo returned to that wilderness?”
Nikila smiled gently but painfully.
“Not yet. He’s probably just deteriorating, unable to maintain himself well, and resisting the call in some extreme way. If he were to return, he’d have to pa.s.s through our mirror world. It wouldn’t escape our leader’s notice. If our leader knew, so would I.”
For Trier, Kmerolo returning to the wilderness might not be a bad thing. According to Nikila-no, Griffith-Kmerolo is like a powerful bomb that could go off at any time… Franca thought for a moment and asked, “Do you know where he’s hiding now?”
Nikila sighed and said, “He hasn’t contacted me for a while. The last time we met was near the catacombs.”
Near the catacombs… Franca then asked, “Griffith, what was your goal in infiltrating the Moses Ascetic Order?”
Nikila emphasized seriously, “I am the original. Our goal was to make the higher-ups of the Moses Ascetic Order gradually aware of the wilderness and help us unseal Fourth Epoch Trier at a critical moment.”
Franca had an epiphany and asked, “Did Kmerolo, with your ‘help,’ already know about the wilderness and its exact location?”
Was it knowing too much and possessing G.o.dhood that made Kmerolo lose control gradually, becoming unable to resist the wilderness call?
The Church of the G.o.d of Steam and Machinery hasn’t shown similar issues, at least not as severe…
“Yes.” Nikila shared his feelings with his dream lover. “So, this is both good and bad for me. It took me a lot to gain Kmerolo’s trust and interest in the wilderness without arousing suspicion, but now all that effort is wasted. I have to figure out how to gain the trust of another of the Ten Pillars.”
“Why is it also a good thing?” Franca was puzzled.
Nikila smiled and said, “If Kmerolo returns to the wilderness, I might get the Mysticologist Beyonder characteristic someday.”
“Mysticologist is Sequence 4 of the Mystery Pryer pathway? Can you Mirror People ascend by drinking potions?” Franca quickly asked two questions.
Nikila nodded. “Yes, I can ascend to Mysticologist by drinking the potion. I am the original.”
“Have you ever drunk a potion?” Franca glanced at Griffith’s body, which had not produced any Beyonder characteristics.
“No,” Nikila replied candidly.
Meh, no Beyonder characteristic drops… Franca cursed inwardly in pre-transmigration gaming terms and then said, “Moran Avigny has been dead for a while. Your leader can’t leave the seal and frequently get feedback or give orders. Who’s handling day-to-day matters and contacting the Mirror People in Trier?”
“It’s Palia. She received instructions and information from the leader,” Nikila replied but didn’t elaborate like before.
The mineralogist, Jasmine, I’m tracking… No wonder she appeared twice in Underground Trier despite being wanted… She’s rebuilding the Mirror People network in Trier? Franca asked quickly, “Can you contact Palia?”
Nikila shook his head again. “She contacts us one-way for now. This way, if any one of us is exposed, it doesn’t affect the others. According to the previous arrangement, Palia contacts me through the mirror world once a week to check on my situation and exchange new information, usually on Sunday evenings between eight and ten.”
Don’t you find this troublesome and inconvenient? Well, it is quite safe…
Franca criticized silently and saw Nikila’s image fading, about to disappear, and quickly asked the last question, “Besides Fourth Epoch Trier and current Trier, where else does your mirror world connect to?”
This question came from Lumian’s letter.
He confirmed Morora exchanged information with the outside world through this special mirror world.
Nikila thought for a moment and said, “A strange place, much like Fourth Epoch Trier, also sealed, with many living people inside, but we can’t enter.”
Mirror People can’t use the special mirror world to go directly to Morora…
Franca nodded slightly and asked, “Did some of your companions go to Lenburg to find that sealed strange place?”
“Yes, although we can’t go directly, if we can enter normally, we can use the mirror world’s power…” Nikila said as he began to lose his soul’s integrity.
He looked at Franca, lingeringly and painfully scanning her beautiful face.
Franca’s skin p.r.i.c.kled with gooseb.u.mps.
Watching Nikila-the Mirror Person Griffith-disappear completely, Franca sighed inwardly.
Short-term, high-intensity, high-frequency Charm can last so long. It might take a day or two to fade…
Repeated Charm in daily life, maintained long-term, can indeed make someone fall deeply in love with me… I wonder how long this love lasts without supernatural influence. A year should be fine, but it’s hard to say for the seven-year itch…
Heh, Hunters can form teams, and so can Demonesses. But the loyalty and rapport will be higher. The only issue is team members might not truly cooperate and could hate each other… What a mess…
Franca put away the mirror and said to Jenna and Anthony, “No need to wait. This guy doesn’t have any Beyonder characteristics.”
By then, Jenna had finished collecting the loot, getting 460 verl d’or and nine scrolls from Nikila.
The scrolls’ effects and incantations required Magic Mirror Divination to reveal.
Anthony glanced at Nikila’s body and the nine scrolls, considering.
“Should we have someone use Lie to disguise as Nikila and wait for that Mirror Person Palia to contact?”
“We can, but it’s unlikely,” Franca said after some thought. “We can bury the body and carry out anti-divination and anti-prophecy measures, but there are many days until Sunday. The Mirror People leader might notice something wrong. Still, it’s worth a try.”
After carrying out anti-divination and anti-prophecy measures and seeing Nikila’s body turn into a few broken mirror shards, Jenna frowned slightly. “Still none of those special mirror world shards.”
Moran Avigny didn’t leave any either.
The shards in Jenna and Franca’s possession came from Gardner Martin and the Tamara family’s crypt.
“What kind of Mirror Person leaves special mirror world shards? What’s special about the fake Martin? Next time we catch a Mirror Person, we must ask…” Franca muttered to herself.
The three quickly tidied up the scene, and Franca activated the Ice Amulet to teleport to the fixed mirror world entrance.
During this process, Franca used the amulet’s power to send Lumian the intelligence gathered from this operation.
…
Morora, second floor of the Carnivore bar.
Reading a book comfortably, Lumian glanced at the room’s mirror, seeing water ripple and a line of Intisian appear.
Reading it, Lumian suddenly froze.
He realized he had overlooked something.
At this moment, could the Mirror People sent to Lenburg to investigate the whereabouts of 0-01 have infiltrated Morora?
And the Mirror People produced by the underground mausoleum’s incident could use that special mirror world unlike him!