Chapter 099

Alvin was sitting in the exact same spot he was a while ago, drinking another coffee that tasted exactly the same. But the person in front of him was different this time.

"I know what you are thinking. You find my style of talking and making friends to be familiar to Kevin O'Laughlin right?" asked Colin.

Alvin nodded. He indeed felt similarities between Kevin and Colin.

"You see, Kevin is my teacher. I do try to mimic the behaviour of my teacher, as I want to be as successful as him in the future" said Colin.

"You belong to the Church of the Lord of Storms?" asked Alvin.

"I am informant for them actually. One of their very few. My teacher was once their informant. After he broke through to Sequence 5, he decided to become a neutral party. And based on the connections, relations and trustworthiness he built up over the years, he succeeded. As his student, I am following in his footsteps" said Colin.

"Tell me about it," said Alvin.

"Well, they aren't exactly great at maintaining a cordial relationship with their informants. The military has a totally different system for informants, which is not suitable for wild Beyonders, so let's not consider them. among the three churches, Nighthawks have the largest number of informants. This is because they have a good system of rewards and contributions in place, and the Nighthawks usually are great at managing the relationships with their informants. The Machinery Hiveminds are the next, as while they have a decent system in place, the formulas, mystical items, and connections they have in Loen are the lowest among the three churches. So if they aren't in the few pathways they control, the formulas and ingredients for advancement may not be readily available. But the Mandated Punishers are a special case. They have plenty of resources and connections, and based on their relationship with the royal family and most of the nobles, the opportunity to advance is theoretically very high"

"So is there a catch to being the informant of Church of the Lord of Storms?" asked Alvin.

"Well, they aren't exactly patient with their informants. And that is putting it lightly. The relationship management is non-existent. With their presence in the rampant seas, the various islands and archipelagos and Balam, they are the richest among the churches, both in terms of ingredients and formulas. And they are quite generous too. But they won't treat the informants well on the surface, they get impatient very quickly, and speak rudely to them sometimes. And the system for informants to function is also non-existent. If any rare reasonable bishop makes a good system, the next one throws it away because it is too troublesome. Of course, if you look past all this, they are actually alright. But hence, informants to the Chruch of Lord of Storms rarely have any deeper cooperation with them" said Colin.

"And you and your teacher can get along with them because you are good with words?" asked Alvin.

"There is no need to cushion it. We can calmly receive their bursts of temper, and are okay with being yelled at every once in a while. Of course, the biggest reason we bear with it is that we know the rewards afterwards are worth it" said Colin.

"So do you also do the consignment business?" asked Alvin.

"Not at all. I work only with the Church of the Lord of Storms. I can't really get the trust of wild Beyonders, secret organisations, and the other churches. So unless I renounce my status as an informant of the Church of the Lord of Storms, I can't really smoothly enter the consignment business. Plus, I would be stealing business from my teacher if I do try to enter" said Colin.

"So the Church of the Lord of Storms has no other informants?" asked Alvin.

"It's not that bad. They do have informants, but these informants are mostly cultivated by themselves. They are calmer fellows who can blend into the hustle and bustle of the Beyonder world, and answer only to the bishops. What I meant is they hardly recruit informants from people who managed to make it by themselves. If it wasn't for their relationship with the royal family and by extension the military, they would be lagging behind the other churches in many aspects" said Colin.

"And is it okay for you to tell me all this?" asked Alvin.

"It's not really a secret. Plus, I like making friends" said Colin.

"Well, thank you for sharing" said Alvin.

"By the way, you must have been recommended the books by Reggie, right?" asked Colin.

"Reggie? No, I asked what would happen to a Beyonder carrying a mystical item that fell into the sea, and he recommend that book to see if I could find pit which creature might have swallowed the corpse" said Alvin. He figured that this information would not be kept a secret from Colin who was attached to the church, so he might as well say it.

"Reggie is on duty in the information booth. He is the author of those series of books you see. He was one of the only ones in the church who was willing to research facts and write books. Unfortunately, he is very underappreciated by the church" said Colin

"He recommends the book whenever he has a chance?" asked Alvin.

"I heard he does that. Unfortunately, there are very few chances he can recommend a book like that" replied Colin.

"Well, I understand" said Alvin, after which he prepared to take his leave. After you try your hand at trying to decipher the book on your own, if you are still stuck, you should approach my teacher for help. Connecting people is also one of his expertise" said Colin.

"Why, can't you introduce me?" asked Alvin.

"I can't. I know some contacts of my teacher, but this person is someone who is off-limits for me to have any contact with. You will find out why if you do approach him" said Colin.