Chapitre 9: Underground Market
Chapter 9: Underground Market
Ancient Hermes, Jotun, Ancient Feysac. William would never have imagined that someone could learn three languages in two weeks. He hadn't even been at it full time! It turned out that Klein was an excellent teacher and William himself was a language genius beyond belief. The strangest thing was that he couldn't determine the reason for his sudden superhuman talent.
He knew very well that neither the old nor the new William had such an ability. Also, it didn't make much sense for the Knight potion to grant this. He had learned quite a bit about the different pathways of the Beyonder. He had learned quite a bit about mysticism, although he was not as talented as Klein at it.
However, even Old Neil, who was a Beyonder of the Mystery Pryer pathway, had praised the young Moretti several times, saying that he had an outstanding talent beyond that his path was suitable for rituals.
Even without reaching Klein's ability, William had also been complimented many times by Old Neil. He did not understand how it could be that mere words could stir the forces of nature in such a way. The effects even varied depending on the language used.
Somehow this made him want to meet the creators of these languages, Hermes, for example. The problem was that the man had probably been dead for two Epochs.
Anyway, that day was bound to be interesting. He had arranged to meet Old Neil and Klein to visit the underground market. To not interfere with his duties as Nighthawk, he had started attending the night shift for classes. He had also gone to apologize to Darkwill, who had seemed a bit miffed until he made it up to him as planned. In the end, William had also warned him about the Nighthawks, so that he wouldn't get caught.
This act could be considered treason, but William was not going to take advantage of a person who had been so kind to him, even if the Apothecary was always complaining about any such thing.
Darkwill had almost jumped in fright when he revealed that he was a Nighthawk and had left Tingen a couple of days later. William had felt a little guilty but believed it was the best thing for his former employer.
Now he was in the harbor with Klein and Old Neil. They had both arrived in a public carriage, unlike William, who had run. He felt it was a way to keep fit, even if the potion had already taken care of it. The harbor was quite a long way from his house. However, he hadn't tired himself at all by running there.
They walked towards the Evil Dragon Bar, which was only a few steps away from them. They saw a stocky man carrying a thick rifle in his hands. William knew that this was strictly regulated military weaponry, a steam-pressure rifle!
Klein looked as surprised as he was. Old Neil frowned.
"Did something happen here?" He muttered in a very low tone, but William was able to hear him.
"What happened?" Old Neil approached the bar and asked the brawny man guarding its door outside.
The man knew Old Neil and told them that the bar had nearly been destroyed moments ago by a man named Tris. William watched as Klein seemed to make a sign of acknowledgment at the name.
"Klein knows him?"
"Was he caught?" Klein tapped his silver-inlaid black cane.
The man shook his head slightly and gestured with his chin to the rooftop of the warehouse opposite him. "He rushed out before those terrifying guys arrived. Bloody hell, I've never seen a man run faster than he did!"
"A Beyonder." William concluded in his head. He realized that these situations used to involve the Beyonder. "Is it Klein's mission to find this man, Tris?"
Then Old Neil changed subjects and asked if the market was still open, receiving an affirmative answer. William breathed a sigh of relief. If the market was still open, the attack shouldn't have been too damaging. He felt a bit sad for people who suffered harm from the supernatural part of the world when they were normal people.
In the billiard room, there were two people holding cue sticks, and having a casual conversation. When they saw Old Neil enter, they instantly fell silent for a few seconds. After confirming the visitor's identity, they moved aside and let the Nighthawks pass through the secret door behind them.
The market wasn't too big, maybe about the size of a lecture hall. There were far more people than William thought there would be.
"If any item catches your fancy but you lack the money, you can borrow from Swain. But of course, he charges a very high interest…" Old Neil trailed off as he gnashed his teeth.
He explained that the man was a former Mandated Punisher, one who wanted to drink himself to death and that he was the owner of the bar through which they had entered.
Will, at this point, also knew the situation of the official Beyonders and couldn't help satirize the old Mandated Punisher.
"From a police officer to a casino owner, heh."
They explored some more until they heard a scream.
"Haha, it's the smell of death, death… Ah!"
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly cried out tragically. His eyes squeezed shut as a blood-colored liquid flowed out.
"Argh!" The young man covered his eyes and hugged his head. He struggled on the ground and only calmed down after a while. Then he lay there panting.
William shivered and looked at his two companions. Klein's mouth was open in disbelief, his hands were shaking just like when he first met him. Old Neil looked at the boy with pity and explained that the boy had been born in the middle of a sequence and that had these effects on him, seeing things that he should not see without enough spirituality.
Ademisaul was his name. He had been born as half a sequence of the Monster pathway, a very strange pathway that none of the three churches in Tingen had the formula for. This prevented them from helping the boy.
"Only the Life School of Thought is in control of that sequence." Explained Old Neil.
"Life School of Thought…" William ran the name through his head and wondered how strong that organization had to be to monopolize a Beyonder pathway. The name seemed to come from a school of philosophy like that of the ancient Greeks. "I wonder what the leaders of these organizations are like. They'll probably be quirky, the ones at the top are usually that kind of person."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone