Chapter 37: The Doctor's Appreciation

Meeting with Shard in that same consultation room, Shard felt a significantly higher level of trust toward the doctor compared to "that lady" on the third floor of the club last night. Consequently, he laid everything that had happened last night bare, believing there were no details worth concealing.

This, of course, included the matter of the [Dark Box], though Shard blurred the conditions regarding its containment failure.

When the doctor first heard about Shard's encounter with the Beyonder artifact's loss of control, he stood up in surprise and paced around the room; halfway through, when Shard mentioned a Sage-level [Artifact], he stood there clutching his forehead; and when he heard the "Silver-Eyed One's" mad ideas, he let out an unmasked groan

"Truly a madman. I knew [Mercury Blood] was in the New Continent and that they were attempting alchemy using the unique minerals there, but I didn't expect them to actually come to Tobesk."

He was quite satisfied with Shard's performance in facing the [Dark Box], but he did not believe the [Silver Moon's Light] spell held much value; such mystical arts were far too common. Although the Light spell Shard described was somewhat too bright, it wasn't particularly unique.

As for Shard's decision to trade the statue containing the remnants of an Old God to someone else, the doctor believed he had done the right thing. He didn't even care much about the woman potentially being part of the five-person correspondence group Shard had learned about

"There are actually quite a few people who know of our existence; otherwise, how could we exchange materials and knowledge with others, or find talented people to help? Must we wear masks every time? As long as it isn't a Church of a True God, it's fine. The fact that she is willing to trade with a low-sequence Beyonder like you means she is very friendly."

As for speculating on the woman's identity, the doctor couldn't guess who it might be, but he also believed the other party was a high-sequence Beyonder; otherwise, there would be no reason for her to discover Shard in that manner or possess specific intelligence regarding a Sage-level artifact.

"In any case, this is a good thing. You obtained a rare incantation and a very good [Artifact] without risking your life. I think you should consider it luck. This world is not safe, and you won't always have such luck."

The doctor finally drew a conclusion to the matter.

"Is it considered luck?"

Shard asked, but after a moment of thought, it did seem very lucky.

An evil god statue with the remnants of an Old God—though Shard could only gain knowledge through his initial contact, its actual value was far greater than that Document-level ring. But if one factored in the free information and knowledge, as well as Shard's accidental triggering of the [Dark Box]'s loss of control, calling this a "fair trade" wouldn't be an exaggeration.

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

The doctor didn't care much about "that lady" in the club; after all, this was the capital of the Northern Kingdoms of the Old Continent, where any kind of Beyonder could pop up at any time. He cared about [Mercury Blood]

"Actually, the Academy recently released a mission related to the [Mercury Blood] organization. I was even preparing to participate... It seems I'll need to reconsider. Sage-level..."

The doctor muttered to himself, then looked up at Shard

"Shard, overall, you handled this quite well. You didn't encounter danger, you handled the trade with an unknown Beyonder appropriately, and you provided precious intelligence to the group. You've essentially entered the field; this is what your future life will look like.

However, this intelligence is quite useful, so perhaps I should give you some compensation. Don't refuse. Although the five of us belong to the same group and will likely cross the Northern Ice Cap together in the future, some things must be settled clearly. Ordinary intelligence can be shared freely, but this matter concerns..."

He thought for a moment

"How about four pounds? Four people, one pound each. This news is worth about that much."

Such important insider information would certainly fetch more than four pounds on the black market, but sharing it within a five-person group meant it couldn't be priced that way. The four pounds wasn't a profit return for Shard, but rather a commendation for his contribution to the group. There was a fundamental difference between the two, signifying that the relationship between the five was not a pure exchange of interests.

"Four pounds... that's equivalent to bringing Little Franklin back from the club eight times, or one extra ginger cat, Mia."

Shard calculated this in his mind, equating the three values. He did not crave more, so he smiled at the doctor

"Of course, that sounds great. But Doctor, I didn't reveal the information about Lady Lasov in the matter last night. Will that have any impact?"

He took the opportunity to ask for advice. Dr. Schneider shook his head

"Since the other party didn't ask, you have no right to tell. But do not contact that lady again; she is likely a member of [Mercury Blood]. However, I haven't heard that they possess a [Artifact] for gender transformation. It was likely prepared for a [Mercury Blood] synthesis formula; that Academy bounty must be more difficult than I imagined."

The doctor frowned

"In short, do not get involved in anything related to [Mercury Blood].

I will likely take some action in the near future, but I am a Fifth-Sequence Beyonder, and you are not. [Mercury Blood] is a group of madmen who believe they can create the legendary Angel-level [Artifacts]. How is that even possible?"

"That's true. If Angel-level [Artifacts] could appear at will, then this world would be too insane."

Shard agreed; he truly thought so.

The blue-eyed doctor seemed to have had some intersection with this organization but had no intention of sharing it with Shard, so he changed the subject

"Shard, your task now is to learn more about daily life and build up your detective business. Interact more with the ordinary world. Once you promote to the Second Sequence, or once you have sufficient power, then consider participating in the shadows of Tobesk City. This crazy world will always be crazier than you think."

"Then, Doctor, is the Academy always like this, hiding key intelligence from us?"

Shard asked, seizing the chance, but the doctor unexpectedly shook his head

"Don't be too harsh on St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy. They usually share appropriate intelligence with us at the appropriate time."

"And when is the 'appropriate time'?"

Shard asked again, only to see Dr. Schneider lean back slightly in his single armchair

"Only they know that."

After leaving Dr. Schneider's psychological clinic, nothing else worth remembering happened that day, aside from hearing at noon that a gas explosion had occurred in the alley opposite the Silver Parrot Milk Company last night.

No illegal organizations came knocking, no generous clients rang the bell downstairs, and no acquaintances of Spylo Hamilton came to find him. Instead, Shard's solitary research at home actually yielded results.

He still could not trigger any power of [Space-Time] at all, but regarding [Silver Moon]—perhaps due to the breakthrough use on the third floor of the club—Shard could now, in addition to the Light spell, make the radiance of the [Silver Moon] adhere to external objects.

In his most successful attempt, he made the ginger cat "Little Mia," who was gradually becoming affectionate with him, emit light continuously for ten seconds.

This action terrified the cat, causing it to scramble wildly through the house, even scurrying up to the third floor of the apartment via the broken stairs.

It took Shard a long time to call the fleeing cat back, and because of this, he began to wonder if the detective had hidden his gun in the sealed first floor, the unreachable third floor, or the unoccupied room on the second floor.

Unfortunately, without sufficient tools, he could not go to those three locations to investigate. However, inspecting these areas had already been added to Shard's schedule; after all, he had to ensure that the house he lived in was absolutely safe.