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Chapter 476: “The Scammer And The Missionary”
POSTED ON DECEMBER 27, 2022 BY JACK RUSSELL
“Tell me, kid.” Although being attacked, “Ghirlandaio” did not show any anger on his face.
“What’s your name? Why did you attack me, a passer-by?” He just played with the loot he had seized and asked gently, “Who sent you here?”
It was still the amiable and quiet smile on his face, but this smile wouldn’t warm anyone’s heart. On the contrary, people would feel chills from the bottom of their hearts just looking at it.
The werewolf girl had her hands tied behind her head, cowering and kneeling in front of Annan. She could not help but reveal fear just by catching Annan’s gaze.
Of course, she knew the existence of “transcender”.
Or, to put it another way, she was already prepared that she might die in the hands of a transcender someday when she was planning to do this business.
But having this kind of intention did not mean that she would challenge the dignity of a transcender directly.
“Why, why…” Although asked by Annan, the werewolf girl had already lost her reasoning to answer this question.
Obviously, she did not see the so-called “vessel”.
There was not even a piece of bronze jewelry.
But her curse vessel, which supposedly made people do what she said, had bounced away.
And why do the Frost Beasts obey his orders?
It’s over. It’s over…
She just trembled and murmured.
The manifested fear was reflected in the gloomy pupils.
In front of her was a crouched, translucent white ghost at Ghirlandaio’s feet.
However, it was not a wolf or a dog, but a Frost Beast.
It was full and satisfied, wagging its tail like a pet dog. It crawled between the middle-aged man’s legs, rubbing against his leg vigorously with its body.
The emotion that fed the Frost Beasts was naturally obtained from the werewolf girl.
After the Frost Beast absorbed her emotions, she lost the will to resist, not daring to escape or retaliate. Her spirit instantly plummeted, and she had depressed and helpless thoughts.
On the other hand, Annan played with the two crystal bells.
It was the curse vessel he took from the werewolf girl:
[“The Scammer and the Missionary”]
[Type: Jewelry/mystical item (Purple)]
[Description: Two crystal bells, white and purple, are tied together. There would be no sound when any of it was shaken, but accidents would happen if both were shaken simultaneously.]
[Effect: When the two bells are shaken at the same time, “Friendship” (the effect is equivalent to the Idol spell of the same name) and “Mind Manipulation” (the effect is equivalent to the Soul Snatch school spell of the same name) would be released on the designated target at the same time; this effect could only be used once a day. The availability is refreshed at sunrise (availability today: Activated).]
[Price: When the user shook the bell, the user would draw the attention of everyone around him/her.]
—This was undoubtedly a precious curse vessel.
It was ineffective against Annan because the body of “Ghirlandaio” was immune to mind control. At the same time, it would deflect all the spells of the Prophet school and Idol below the Gold Rank.
Using Soul Snatch Magic and Idol Magic to attack Annan would result in nothing.
But it did not mean the item was terrible just because it did not work on Annan.
Its strength outweighed its price entirely. With a concealed and practical effect, even the price seemed ridiculous.
A purple-grade mystical item…
Gold items outmatched purple items. Even though the purple items were sought after, they were not as precious in comparison. It could be made through ritual material and Advanced Influence.
But even so, that was the fact.
Could a werewolf who was not even a transcender… or even a werewolf with a low status and was discriminated against in Austere-Winter be able to get her hands on this level of item?
Annan was a unique case already.
Using these two spells simultaneously when the target was unaware, it was almost guaranteed to affect even a Silver Rank Transcender.
The “Friendship” skill would gain affinity and reduce the target’s wariness. It would implant the idea of ”I’m pretty close to this person” if used properly. Using “Mind Manipulation” at this time would not only increase the success rate but also make the victim unable to detect that he was being manipulated. The pleasant feeling would cover up the unreasonable actions during the [Mind Manipulation].
It could be used for multiple purposes: gaining the liking of wealthy business people or nobles, making friends with a certain transcender, and even murders.
As long as the host’s social skill was adequate and did not stir up suspicion out of social awkwardness, this item was at the level of top-grade hypnotism found in other “novels”.
However, the person is only using this level of an item to be a Spirit Thief…
…This is weird.
To Annan, it felt like stopping by to steal the pancakes downstairs when driving out for work every day.
“My name is Doreen, my lord.” Doreen’s mood calmed down a little, at least she could speak intermittently.
The fear in her eyes still hadn’t yet dissipated. After losing all positive emotions, her whole world was like hell. Any negative feelings would inflate uncontrollably.
“Nobody sent me. It’s true!” She pleaded mournfully, “But, but, my lord——
“Someone told me… Yes, it was yesterday. He said that several rich businessmen from the Noah Kingdom would come here tomorrow. He did not say what you look like, and I just heard your Noah accent… I didn’t intend to steal your emotions and sell them to others, but to sell them back to you…”
Werewolf Doreen’s speech was a little incoherent, but Annan could catch her message vaguely.
It appeared that someone told Doreen about the itinerary of Annan’s group and asked her to intercept him.
But…yesterday?
Annan frowned slightly.
It was right when they set out from Noah. But the news of Annan’s trip was not told to many people. Even according to their original itinerary, they should still be in Noah at this moment.
It was because Father Stone let Nicholas go and because Kafni was about to succeed to the throne.
Also, it was Annan who came up with this idea.
Who leaked the news to Doreen?
What is his goal?
To use this curse vessel on Annan—or someone close to him? Or to make him notice her?
Was it because Doreen and Bella look alike?
That was a shame. Annan had no memory of it at all.
But in terms of age, Bella was eighteen when Annan was about nine. At this moment, Doreen appeared to be around fourteen years old. It felt a little wrong whether the explanation pointed out that she was a biological daughter or a biological sister.
Annan pondered for a moment, then asked gently, “What did he say specifically, little girl?
“Don’t panic. Take your time. Did he mention how many people? What are their appearance and characteristics? Can you tell me who he is?”
“No, no. He didn’t.” Doreen shook her head and said with some hesitation, “He only mentioned two males and two females. He didn’t say anything else. So I’m not sure if it’s right.
“That’s my ‘teacher’. He gave me this curse vessel.”
“Do you know his name?” Annan did not have high hopes for it as he asked, “Does he has an alias or something?”
“Yes.”
Unexpectedly, Doreen answered readily, “He said his name was Nicola Flame.”
Doreen spoke the slightly distorted name in a voice with an Austere-Winter accent.
But Annan immediately recognized what it was.
The so-called Nicola Flame…
It was just another way of saying the name Nicholas Flamel.