Chapter 37: The Doctor's Appreciation

Once again, Shade met the doctor in the same consultation room. Compared to "that lady" from the club on the third floor the night before, Shade had a much higher level of trust in the doctor. Therefore, he laid everything out regarding last night's events without believing there were any details worth concealing.

This certainly included the matter of the Dark Box, though Shade was vague about the conditions that caused the box to go out of control.

Upon hearing that Shade had initially encountered the relic's loss of control, the doctor stood up in surprise and began pacing the room. When Shade mentioned the sage-level relic, the doctor stopped and held his forehead. When he heard about the mad thoughts of the "silver-eyed" individual, he couldn't help but groan openly:

"What a lunatic! I knew about the Mercury Blood organization in the New World and their attempts to refine unique minerals there, but I never thought it would actually make its way to Tobesque."

The doctor was quite satisfied with Shade's handling of the Dark Box, but he didn't consider the Moonlight Art to be of much value, as such strange techniques were far too common. Though the brightness described by Shade was a bit excessive, it wasn't particularly unique.

Regarding Shade's decision to trade the statue with remnants of the Old God to someone else, the doctor thought he did the right thing. He wasn't particularly concerned about the possibility that the woman might know about the five-person correspondence group:

"There are actually quite a few people aware of our existence; otherwise, how could we exchange materials and knowledge? How could we find talented individuals to help? Do we need to wear masks every time? As long as it's not the True God Church, the fact that the other party is willing to trade with a low-tier sorcerer like you means she is quite friendly."

As for speculating about the woman's identity, the doctor couldn't guess who it might be, but he believed that her sorcerer level was quite high; otherwise, there would be no reason for her to discover Shade in that manner or know the specific details about the sage-level relic.

"Regardless, this is a good thing. You didn't risk your life and instead gained a rare spell and a rather good relic. I think that counts as luck. This world is not safe, and such luck does not come around often."

The doctor concluded this matter.

"Lucky, is it?" Shade asked, but upon reflection, it did seem quite lucky.

The statue with remnants of the Old God, although Shade could only gain knowledge from the initial contact, was certainly worth far more than that document-level ring. But when adding in the free information and knowledge, as well as Shade's inadvertent actions that caused the Dark Box to go out of control, this transaction could barely be considered a "fair trade."

More importantly, "that lady" was far stronger than Shade.

The doctor didn't seem too concerned about "that lady" from the club; after all, this was the capital of the Northern Kingdom on the Old Continent, and any sort of sorcerer could emerge. He was more concerned about the Mercury Blood:

"Actually, the academy recently released tasks related to the Mercury Blood organization, and I was even preparing to participate... it seems I need to think this through regarding the sage-level…"

The doctor muttered to himself and then looked up at Shade:

"Shade, overall, you handled this matter quite well. You didn't encounter any danger, and you handled the unknown sorcerer's transaction appropriately while providing valuable information for the group. You've basically made your entrance; this is what your future life will likely look like.

However, this piece of information is quite valuable, and perhaps I should give you some form of compensation. No need to refuse; although we five belong to the same group and will likely traverse the Northern Ice Cap together in the future, some matters need to be clear. Ordinary information can be shared freely, but this matter is different…"

He thought for a moment:

"How about four pounds? The other four members will each give you a pound. This information is worth about that much."

Such important insider information would certainly fetch much more than four pounds on the black market, but within the five-person group, it would not be priced that way. Four pounds was not merely a reward for Shade's benefit; it recognized his contributions to the group, which was fundamentally different and represented the relationship among the five was not purely an exchange of benefits.

"Four pounds? That's equivalent to bringing back little Franklin from the club eight times, or getting one extra orange cat, Mia."

Shade mentally calculated and drew equivalences between the three types of relationships. He didn't desire more, so he smiled at the doctor:

"Of course, that sounds great. But doctor, I didn't mention the information about Lady Lassoia last night; will that have any consequences?"

Seizing the opportunity to inquire, Shade asked, and Dr. Schneider shook his head:

"As long as the other party didn't ask, you didn't have the right to speak. But don't contact the lady you mentioned again; she's likely a member of the Mercury Blood. However, I've heard no news that they possess relics for gender transformation; it seems to be for the synthesis formula of the Mercury Blood, and the difficulty of that academy's bounty is greater than I imagined."

The doctor furrowed his brows:

"In any case, do not engage with anything related to the Mercury Blood.

I might be doing something in the near future, but I'm a five-circle sorcerer; you are not. The Mercury Blood is a group of lunatics who always think they can create legendary angel-level relics, but how is that even possible?"

"That's true; if angel-level relics could appear freely, this world would be too crazy," Shade agreed, genuinely thinking so.

The blue-eyed doctor seemed to have some connections with this organization but was unwilling to share with Shade, so he changed the subject:

"Shade, your task now is to learn more about common knowledge and build up your detective career. Get more involved with the ordinary world; once you advance to the second circle or acquire sufficiently powerful strength, then consider participating in the shadows of Tobesque. This mad world will always be crazier than you think."

"Then, doctor, does the academy always conceal critical information from us?"

Shade seized the chance to ask, but surprisingly, the doctor shook his head:

"Don't be too harsh on Saint Byron's Comprehensive Academy; they usually share appropriate information with us at the right time."

"When is the right time?" Shade asked again, and then he saw Dr. Schneider lean back slightly in his armchair:

"Only they themselves know that."

After leaving Dr. Schneider's psychological clinic, aside from hearing at noon that there had been an unexpected gas explosion in the alley opposite the Silver Parrot Milk Company, nothing else worth Shade's memory occurred that day.

No illegal organizations came to him, no generous clients rang the doorbell downstairs, and no acquaintances of Spiro Hamilton came looking for him. Instead, Shade had some unexpected gains from his solitary research at home.

He still couldn't harness any powers of time and space, but regarding the Moonlight, perhaps due to the breakthrough usage on the third floor of the club, Shade was now able to make the light of the Moonlight attach to external objects, aside from the brightness technique.

In one of his most successful attempts, he caused the gradually affectionate orange cat, little Mia, to emit light for ten seconds.

This action startled the cat, causing it to dart around the house and even climb up to the third floor of the apartment through the broken staircase.

It took Shade a long time to coax the escaped cat back, and as a result, he speculated whether the detective had hidden his gun on the inaccessible first floor, the unreachable third floor, or in the uninhabited Room 2 on the second floor.

Unfortunately, lacking sufficient tools, he couldn't explore these three locations. However, checking these places was already on Shade's to-do list, as he needed to ensure that the house he lived in was absolutely safe.