Chapter 118: Oracle of all trades

Chapter 118: Oracle of all trades

It was a bit shameful to admit, but Sofia could only accept that the fourteen year old knew much more about the world, and she was very eager to share her knowledge. As such, despite spending all night and morning on their respective beds there wasnt much sleeping going on in the room. At their level, they only really felt the need to sleep once every few days already less than that for Sofia with thanks to the Saint set. Which happened to be their latest subject of conversation.

So I have these three pieces. The headband halves aging, the bracelet halves the need for sleep, and the sash halves damage from physical projectiles. The set effect is some health and mana regeneration when Im sitting, it hasn't changed with the third piece.

Thats strong, the sash in particular is very good. I dont know of the rest of the pieces, only that there should be six or seven I think. But maybe you could ask our Saintess if she knows anything.

Your Saintess?

Ishka, Saintess of Blood. Shes out there, the Queens daughter.The initial posting of this chapter occurred via Ñøv€l-B!n.

And she would tell me about a piece if she knew about it?

Considering the worth of your [Summon Blood] skill Im sure you could find some common ground.

Its not like I can teach her though.

That is true, but there is no reason to worry, if anyone was willing to buy as much as you can possibly summon, it would be her.

And where do I find her then?

Well, that is the hard part Ill just let you know if she shows up again, shes been away to who knows where for three years now."

Alright, thank you Astel, now that I think about it, how should we contact each other? I dont think the rat is a very safe wayAre there long distance communication items? I feel like if some would know about that it would be the Vampires.

Hum well, Astelia hesitated for a second, then stood up from her bed and made a grabbing motion toward a wheel mounted blackboard that had been hidden between furniture. It was covered in white chalk mathematical equations that Sofia couldnt even begin to understand. The only way we have to send anything through long distances is teleportation.

With another motion from the girls hand, the chalk dust all detached from the board to coalesce into a solid ball in her palm. You see, teleportation works like this, this is the physical plane, and this is the spiritual plane, she started, drawing two parallel lines, then she pointed at the void in between, Thats mana. What happens with all teleportation skills is always different flavors of the same. First you push out your soul through the spiritual realm toward the destination. Thats quite painful usually, it takes a while to get used to and even then you cannot escape being a bit sick from your soul moving so far away from your body. You do it like that because it is the only way to have an undisturbed mana trail over a long distance.

She kept illustrating on the blackboard, drawing a point A for where the body is in the physical realm, and a point B for where the soul is pushed to in the spiritual realm, with a line of mana linking the two through the mana plane.

I could use more blood You know If

Of course, just tell me where to summon it.

Sofia and Astelia then spent the rest of the morning discussing about Scripture and the current situation in Skyreach. With the Church, the King and the war with the Red Winds Empire all creating turmoil, there was a lot to cover. The young Oracle was like an Infinite well of knowledge, testament to how she got her [Fast reading] to level 100, and when a question stumped her, she would seek Agrans help, who was also very well learned.

Once they felt the conversation was running too long and starting to stagnate, they decided on exploring the Castle for a bit together. In Astelias own words, she probably hadnt seen a hundredth of the rooms in the gigantic complex. Sofia found the lighthearted exploration very relaxing.

When the moon came up, Astelias moonlight dependent teleportation skill was available again. Accompanied by Agran and on Sofias request, she sent her as far south in Skyreach as she could, to a small shack on the southern coast. After an awkward handshake and a promise to meet up again, the vampire and her guardian were gone.

Sofia didnt know what it was but during their last handshake, the girl had slipped a small object into the palm of her hand.

A ring?

Sofia put the small gold ring aside for the moment.

Alright, first thing first, put the anti-teleport bracelet back on Considering what she learned about how widespread the efforts to find her had started to become, that was an absolute priority.

For whatever reason, the Church really wanted her back. Even more so since the happenings in Verenha. The bounty on her head had apparently been around officially for about two weeks, and it had suddenly jumped from five hundred gold to a whopping fifty thousand gold. Up there with her name, description, and a drawing of her face, Astelia even gave her a copy of the posters. At least they have good artists at the Church, I even recognize the drawing style from some of their books. Guess Im a public figure now.

Anyway, whats with the ring?

Looking closer, the thin and small gold ring had something carved inside: T.L.D.R.

Why would she

[Storage ring]: A small storage ring containing the relative space of a barrel. An expensive commodity. Open it already!

Are you alright, Scribe? Feels like youve been growing more impatient. Dont go catching a soul parasite

Lets see what it is that she wanted to give me at the last minute without Agran knowing.