Chapter 622: Half a Year Later
He and John were guided by the butler into a drawing room on the second floor of the hall. The interior here was luxurious. The three took their seats as host and guests on purple velvet sofas with gold-threaded wooden frames.
“Respected Apostle of the Gem Order, I am the butler, O’Henry. You can just call me Henry. We would like to invite you to become our resident physician, specifically responsible for treating mystical individuals. You know that mystical individuals often need to go on adventures, whether heading to the Mansus or bizarre locations in reality. There is always much danger, and accidents are unavoidable.
“More importantly, whether it’s the Inquisition or the Suppression Bureau, their pursuit of us spares no effort and is exceptionally cruel.
“Therefore, being able to treat external injuries promptly and remove toxins is highly necessary for many mystical individuals.
“Our Morton Manor is an independent secret realm, a secret realm existing yet not existing established by a great prophet. It is very safe here.
“Those who are our people can enter the manor from any node in Hall City as long as they hold a seal. Those who are not our people cannot enter even if they hold a seal.
“The Madame is also a powerful Foreseer, possessing enough strength to deter petty thieves.
“We are a safe haven for seekers of heterogeneity. If power like yours could join, you could actually use our safe platform to establish personal relationships with more mystical individuals and obtain a massive income.”
The old butler didn’t beat around the bush, directly stating the safety, neutrality, and strength of Morton Manor, as well as everything that could be obtained here.
Connections and money were the greatest temptations besides one’s own strength.
Clyster was tempted. Not only was he tempted, but John was also tempted. This meant the Lord’s cause could take another big step forward. He and Clyster exchanged glances, and John spoke up: “Respected Your Excellency O’Henry, if my friend treats patients here, does he need to sign a Mansus Vow Contract? I have a few points…”
At first, O’Henry didn’t pay much mind, but as John posed question after question and argued strongly on valid grounds, O’Henry also gradually began to sweat profusely.
Deep within the eternal dreamscape of John’s soul, an azure Rationality Crystal and a gray Gem of Influence flickered non-stop. Ultimately, Morton Manor and the Physician Apostle of the Gem Order reached an agreement. The contents were roughly as follows:
“First, Morton Manor will provide the treatment venue and equipment for the Gem Physician. The Gem Physician will split the treatment income 50/50 with Morton Manor. Second, Morton Manor must protect the safety of the Gem Physician, and the Gem Physician must abide by the rules of Morton Manor. Third, the agreement is a two-way selection version, with a two-way selection period of one year. If both parties agree, it will convert to a five-year long-term contract after one year. Fourth, the consultation time is every Saturday. In special circumstances where attendance is impossible, advance notice must be given…”
…
Half a year later, in a very stylish cabin by the lake in Morton Manor, Clyster packed his bags, preparing to leave.
It was already late, but the entire Morton Manor was still bright. This was a special Invisible Art, a prophet’s blessing, making this place an eternal day.
Many mystical individuals considered this unique and an honor, but Clyster, who had lived in Morton Manor for a while, was completely uninterested.
“Eternal day, heh. It’s better for this world to be a bit more normal. If there’s no night, the world is truly too boring.”
The crisp clinking sound of copper and silver coins, like the most wondrous improvisation in the world, stirred boundless joy in Clyster’s heart.
“Ancient copper and silver coins possessing mana… this is truly a job one can’t bear to part with.”
Clyster, wearing a white dog mask and a gray hooded robe, tucked his bag under his arm, forcefully locked the door dead, pulled out the key, and put it in his pants pocket.
The scenery of Morton Manor remained exquisite and beautiful. The artificial lake was spotless, clear and bright like a mirror. Colorful flowers bloomed by the lake, and the grass was fragrant.
Clyster turned a blind eye to this beautiful scenery. Over the past half year, he had grown accustomed to it, and even developed a slight aversion to the eternal day.
Morton Manor had at least thirty-seven teleportation gate nodes across the entirety of Hall City. One of them was in the Seventh District. Clyster walked to a large tree, and his figure actually gradually became transparent, ultimately hiding his tracks.
“The Gem of Light and Shadow, able to blend oneself into the light and shadow according to the environmental light and shadow. Truly a miraculous skill gem.”
Sighing casually, a formless and transparent Morton appeared in the bustling market of the Seventh District. He easily avoided the crowd and quickly returned to the apartment.
This was his and John’s apartment, also the secret headquarters of the Gem Order, and the location of John’s pharmacy.
It was now afternoon, and the pharmacy was already deserted. A tall, chubby man closed the front door. Clyster also took the opportunity to deactivate the Gem of Light and Shadow, revealing his true appearance.
“Paul, you’re watching the shop alone again. Where’s John?”
This tall, chubby man was Paul. Two meters tall, he could be called a giant, wearing a loose-fitting robe.
He was a believer John had developed three months ago, and also the third believer of the Gem Order.
Paul was a local of the Seventh District, making a living by selling his physical strength on normal days. He was naturally tall and strong. Although he didn’t participate in local vibrant organizations, he was quite famous among these gangs.
The encounter and acquaintance between John and Paul were quite interesting. They didn’t meet in the real world, but in the illusory dream of the Mansus.
John had obtained the Rationality Crystal, the Gem of Wisdom, and the Gem of Influence from the Gem Dreamscape, but he extremely lacked direct combat methods. Actually, it wasn’t just him; Clyster also lacked combat methods.
After comparing phantoms, John decided to act and strive to obtain the Gem of Telekinesis. Therefore, he continuously delved deep into the wilderness behind the Pure White Door. This kind of adventure wasn’t actually truly entering the real Mansus, but a mapping. Everyone has a mapping of the Mansus. Passing through the Pure White Door, one could not only enter their own wilderness but also invade the wilderness of others.
John was a skilled dream invader. What he did was invade the Mansus Illusory Dreams of other mystical individuals and even orthodox priests, snatching power and even treasures from other people’s wildernesses.
This kind of adventure was very dangerous. Invading others’ illusory dreams, if one died, it was very likely a true death. Therefore, Ace provided a transitional method for His believers, which was collecting people’s dream thoughts. Even if a person wakes up, the dream briefly remains. Collecting these thoughts to form a bizarre wilderness, and obtaining power from this less dangerous wilderness.
It had to be said, this method was very successful. These fragmented illusory dreams were collected in a human-sized spherical crystal.
This crystal was cast with a spell by Ace, possessing bizarre properties similar to Fantasia, only its efficacy was greatly weakened due to the world’s rejection.
John earnestly recorded: “The Lord bestowed upon us the Dream of the Wilderness, and bestowed upon us a compass to extract dream fragments, giving us a safer proving ground. We call it the Gem Proving Ground. This is the Lord’s greatest bestowal and mercy…”
The crystal sphere was initially placed on the second floor by John. As he collected enough to exchange for an intact Gem of Telekinesis, becoming able to use the powerful gem skill “Invisible Hand,” he single-handedly hollowed out the underground of the apartment and built a two-story basement.
John’s Gem of Telekinesis provided him with thirty Invisible Hands. Each hand could extend up to thirty meters, and a punch carried an impact comparable to a charging rhinoceros. His martial prowess and flexibility were greatly enhanced.
He alone was equivalent to a construction team of dozens of people. Coupled with Clyster obtaining the Gem of Scorching Heat, capable of releasing scorching heat beams with high temperatures exceeding a thousand degrees, the two easily completed the construction of the basement.
Then, they moved the spherical crystal into the basement. After continuous prayer, John received another bestowal from Ace, obtaining thirty fist-sized small crystal spheres.
These small crystal spheres could collect scattered dream thoughts and fragments of mortals and mystical individuals within a certain range, forming a network with the large crystal sphere to funnel these scattered dreams into the large crystal sphere.
Adventuring within the large crystal sphere called “Dream of the Wilderness,” the injuries sustained would be reflected in reality one tier lower.
A minor injury in the dream meant a slight or even no injury in reality; a severe injury in the dream meant a minor injury in reality; near-death in the dream meant weakness in reality.
Even if killed in the dream, in reality, one would only be in a coma for a month.
John even said excitedly: “This is the key item for our order to grow from weakness! For believers of other orders to gain power, I don’t know if they can meditate. If they can’t, they probably can only pass through the Pure White Door, tread over piles of white bones, and intrude into other people’s dreams to slaughter, very likely dying in the dream because of it.
“But our Gem Order doesn’t have to do this. We have two great treasures bestowed by the great Lord. One is meditating with the Origin Crystal to absorb free invisible factors in the air; the second is the ‘Dream of the Wilderness,’ to continuously improve ourselves and gain power in the Gem Proving Ground!”
A few days after this, which was three months ago, John met Paul in a dream.
This was very miraculous. What was being collected were residual dreams; it shouldn’t have pulled the soul of a living person in. All this was because Paul accidentally discovered a small crystal sphere John had hidden.
He placed the crystal sphere by his bed and slept soundly. Inadvertently, the time he entered coincided with John entering the Gem Proving Ground, and he was also pulled into the Gem Proving Ground.
In this dream, Paul was saved by John.
Discovering such a strange existence in the Dream of the Wilderness, John was also very curious.
The Dream of the Wilderness was a proving ground provided by Ace for the Gem believers, and also a bizarre dream island. A hazy gray sky, surrounded by pitch-black seawater, and in the middle was an island comparable in size to the Hall region.
Geological activity was frequent here, and meteors constantly fell from the sky. In fact, it was continuously absorbing dream fragments to compose this small dream world.
In the center of the island was a gem mountain range. At its center was an altar, which was the altar for trial-takers to access the Gem Secret Realm.
This altar had another characteristic, which was the Trial of the Lord.
Within the altar, divine brilliance shrouded it, testing the souls that entered. The focus of the test lay in faith, and the focus of the inspection lay in destiny.
Secret cults did not cast a wide net. This organizational model was precise fishing, focusing on key harvests.
John brought Paul near the altar. A dream-like faint light struck, enveloping the two. Paul was still a bit simple-minded, not knowing what had happened.
He woke up groggily, an impression appearing in his mind, wanting to sleep hugging the crystal sphere.
The dream illusion gave feedback to Pope John, letting him understand Paul’s innate destiny, thereby generating an idea regarding Paul.
“I have tested hundreds of people. Only this Paul has a trace of pale gold in his destiny itself, and it is a golden axe. This is someone who can grow into a Prophet, possessing powerful combat talent, exactly suitable for my church!”
John had also woken up. His eyes were like a dream illusion. The Rationality Crystal and the Gem of Wisdom flickered, making his memory clear and his thinking agile.
He was very certain that Paul was exactly the person he wanted. As a Pope of a secret cult, John knew his own destiny, which also had a trace of pale gold. If observed carefully, the gold was an extremely small book.
And Clyster was even more terrifying. His destiny was actually a pure gold shield, which meant he had the potential to become a Pseudonymous One.
“The Lord’s Eye of Dream Illusion and Fate is truly powerful. Not only can it clearly distinguish the strength of others, it can even spy on their potential possibilities. Although having a pale gold destiny is just a possibility—one might achieve nothing for several reincarnations—if one can step onto the path, they will reach the Prophet level more easily than others.
“As for those with insufficient destiny, they can only attempt to change their fate through very complex and dangerous rituals.
“Everyone advances through rituals, but those with potential destiny and those without are vastly different. Those with potential can advance easily. Even if lacking many ritual conditions, or even without holding a ritual, it’s possible to advance directly.
“My Lord bestowed the ‘Dream of the Wilderness’ and naturally generated the Gem Proving Ground within it, solving the prerequisite issue of believers’ safe growth. He also bestowed upon me eyes to spy on destiny. Therefore, my church must take the elite route; those without destinies above Prophet will not be accepted!”
John’s eyes were burning bright. Although he was now just an ordinary Apostle, not even a High Apostle comparable to a Level 1 lifeform, his gaze had already surpassed everything. Even the mystical individuals coming and going at Morton Manor were mostly just pale red.
Therefore, John never thought about developing believers from those people. Converting believers of other orders was as difficult as ascending to heaven. Nature faith practitioners were even harder to convert than ordinary cult believers. It was better to spend his effort looking for those with excellent destinies.
In the days that followed, John and Paul frequently met in dreams, and listened together to the teachings of the Gem Lord’s dream aurora in the dream.
About half a month later, Paul successfully stepped onto the altar, entered the Gem Dreamscape, and obtained his own Path Crystal: the Sharp Blade Crystal.
The Sharp Blade Crystal was a sharp will to kill, and also the primal urge in Paul’s heart. The Gem Dreamscape stimulated it and it became his source of power.
He looked so harmless now, even able to help John run the pharmacy, entirely because Paul had unleashed the devil in his heart during the trials of the Dream of the Wilderness, satisfying his killing intent.
Clyster, who had just returned to the apartment, climbed the stairs with a thump thump thump to his room on the second floor, put his things down, and then entered the basement along a secret passage.
The first underground floor was filled with miscellaneous items. Clyster pressed his hand on the ground, suddenly activating complex magic array patterns. This was bestowed by their Lord, a magic array possessing mysterious power. Standing in the center of the array, Clyster slowly sank, passing through the stone slab, and entered the second floor.
Under the illumination of controllable light spheres, the entire underground was brightly lit.
The whole structure was composed of pure marble, all obtained from the Gem Proving Ground. The ceiling had eighteen Everbright Controllable Light Spheres. The Dream of the Wilderness crystal sphere floated in the center of mid-air, and below it was a multicolored Mana Storage Pool.
All this was exchanged by the three of them from the Gem Secret Realm, sacrificing their harvests from the Gem Proving Ground in equivalent exchange.
Clyster saw John. He floated quietly between the Mana Storage Pool and the crystal sphere, mana washing over him.
Due north of here was a row of bookshelves, categorized and labeled: Lantern, Chalice, Moth, Knock, Edge, Heart, and Gem.
The four bookshelves on the Gem side had small sub-labels: Skills, Alchemy, Magic Arrays, and Rituals.
On the east side was a secret room, storing some miraculous items they had harvested.
“Testing in the Dream of the Wilderness again. John is truly diligent.”
Clyster also began to adjust his state, preparing to enter a trial. He pressed his hand on the door of the secret room. The magic array activated, and the door opened with a rumble.
Miraculous items, like occult books, were piled up categorized. It’s just that there was one extra pile: mystical currency.
Clyster emptied the ancient copper coins and ancient silver coins possessing invisible mana that he had earned today with a clatter. Looking at the large pile of ancient copper coins and the small pile of ancient silver coins, he felt quite proud in his heart.
Everything on this second basement floor was the foundation accumulated by the Gem Order over half a year: a safe trial location, a massive amount of occult knowledge and knowledge unique to the Gem Order, over a hundred wondrous items, and the most popular things in the mystical realm—ancient copper coins, ancient silver coins, and ancient gold coins.
Over three thousand ancient copper coins, over four hundred ancient silver coins, and over a dozen ancient gold coins. Even in the mystical realm, this was a massive sum of money.
Clyster could have this massive sum of money entirely because he was already a High Apostle—that is, a Level 1 lifeform—and possessed a Level 1 Gem of Health. Aside from old age and disease, even if the head was chopped off, Clyster could save the person within half an hour.
Relying on the strength to cure the vast majority of people near death, Clyster was called the Great Gem Physician by the Hall mystical realm, the most unprovokable person.
The Gem Order was even treated as a medical order by everyone. It was just that besides Clyster, they hadn’t seen a second person from the Gem Order.
Many mystical individuals tried to introduce some doctors and pharmacists to Clyster, hoping to join his secret cult, which made Clyster somewhat irritable.
“It’s not that I can’t recruit from doctors and pharmacists. The key is I cannot expose my identity. These people currently only know I am the Great Gem Physician; relying on the Gem of Health is enough to maintain connections. But if my identity is discovered because of recruiting believers, then I lose my greatest security.”
Just as he was thinking, Clyster suddenly felt the mana fluctuating bizarrely. The complex magic array patterns within the entire basement lit up simultaneously. The Mana Storage Pool on the second floor even boiled. John opened his eyes, his aura instantly changing.
(Chapter finished)
Advance chapters at Nightjar Reads · nightjarreads.com