บท 172: Necklace

"The necklace Lena gave you? What was she planning to do?"

Ebner did not immediately take the necklace from Shoko. Instead, he secretly activated the Eye of Pure White and analyzed it in detail.

"The main body of the necklace is made from the scales of a demigod-level five-colored gem dragon from the Reader pathway. In other words, it's the five different-colored gems embedded on the pure silver chain.

"Due to the passage of time and the constant use of this Beyonder item, a lot of its powers have been lost. From the initial use of 16 basic powers and 8 mystic arts, to now only having 8 basic powers and 2 mystic arts, more than half of the powers it contains have been lost. It's estimated that it will be completely useless in another three to five years.

"Currently, there are three Sequence 6 abilities that can be used. They are the Sun pathway's Notary, the Hanged Man pathway's Flesh Magic, and the Tyrant pathway's Deep Stealth.

"There are also three Sequence 7 abilities. They are the Sun pathway's Holy Light Summoning, the Visionary pathway's Placate, and the Hanged Man pathway's Hidden Shadow.

"Sequence 8 abilities only have one mind-reading ability. Sequence 9 abilities also have one Mirage Scale.

"As for the two secret arts, they are the core powers of this necklace. They are both at Sequence 5. They are Evans' Concealment and Vaulitt's Perfect Recovery.

"Evans' Concealment Barrier is based on analyzing Sequence 9's Mirage Scale, Sequence 8's Telepathic Heart, and Sequence 7's Shadow Hiding. It's formed from the core characteristics of these abilities. Finally, it can be strengthened through the effects of Notary. Once it's cast, it will form a phantom scale-like barrier around the body. It can hide one's figure, making one invisible in both the visual and psychological sense. It can also effectively resist detection methods like divination.

"Vaulitt's Perfect Recovery Art is a secret art formed from the combination of two Sequence 7 powers, Holy Light Summoning and Placate, as well as Flesh Magic and Deep Stealth. When used, it can form a blood cocoon around the body. In theory, as long as one isn't dead, any injuries can be quickly healed. Furthermore, due to the existence of Holy Light and Placate, even if the evil anomaly invades the body or even the symptoms of losing control, there's a ten to twenty percent chance of being rescued.

"The material of this necklace comes from the scales of a demigod-level dragon. Although it can effectively enhance the anti-divination and repulsion powers of Evans's Concealment Barrier, it also has certain corruption.

"Wearing it for a long period of time will gradually turn into greed, laziness, and lust.

"Use 'Vaulitt's Perfect Recovery' cautiously. This is because, after the Blood Cocoon recovers, one's personality will deviate slightly from the previous three states if one doesn't have strong mental protection."

Looking at the analysis report sent by the Eye of Pure White, Ebner frowned. It was not because the necklace was bad, but because it was too powerful. It was even more perfect than his trump card, the Ring of Light ring.

Although this necklace only had the ability of pure support, not to mention the eight basic skills, just the two 'secret skills' were enough for him to gain a lot.

The functions of these two 'secret arts' were secondary. The key was that their 'combination' provided an idea. This made Ebner have many new ideas. When he became a 'secret arts mentor' in the future, he might take fewer detours.

Of course, he wasn't even an erudite scholar at the moment. He was still far from being a Mystic Spell Guide. What was more important now was to figure out why Leena had given him such a precious Beyonder item.

Therefore, after closing the Eye of Pure White, Ebner thought for a moment before asking, "Shoko, do you and Lena know the ability of this necklace?"

Shoko had noticed that Ebner had been staring at the necklace. Although he found it strange, he had been waiting patiently. Now that he was asked, he hurriedly replied, "I know. The old man who handed this necklace to me once described its ability in detail to me…" Then, he repeated the ability of this Beyonder item as if he was familiar with it. From the process, it was obvious that he had memorized it.

Ebner was not in a hurry to interrupt him. Instead, he compared his description with his analysis report and found that other than the material of the necklace, everything else was basically the same. He did not even hide the negative effects.

After Shoko explained the function of the necklace, she looked at Ebner, who was deep in thought and added, "It was precisely because of that negative effect that I did not dare to use 'Perfect Recovery' after I was poisoned. I could only barely resist it with 'flesh magic'…"

Ebner nodded. Then he thought of a new character revealed in Shoko's earlier words and couldn't help but ask, "You said it was a 'necklace' given to you by an old man? Wasn't it Lena?"

"To be precise, I brought this necklace to Lena…" Shoko shook his head.

"What exactly happened?" Ebner frowned, feeling that this matter was getting more complicated.

Shoko replied as he recalled,

"That would have to start from Inspector Wayne's funeral… After I was chased out of the cemetery that day, I was extremely depressed due to my unwillingness and hatred for my incompetence. At the very most, due to my depressed state, I unknowingly fell asleep in a park by the street…

"In my sleep, I met an old man. He told me many things and asked me to bring something to Lena… When I woke up again, the necklace appeared in my hand."

Ebner interrupted and asked, "What did the old man look like? What did he tell you?"

I couldn't see the old man's face clearly, or perhaps I forgot after I woke up… As for what he told me, it was actually very simple. Apart from the introduction of the necklace, there was some information about Lena and how to find her.

"In the end, he asked me to tell Lena something… Because he repeatedly asked me to repeat it in my dream, I still remember it very clearly." Shoko recalled the experiences in her dream. Without waiting for Ebner to ask, she continued,

"He said that although the ring he gave you last time allowed you to 'luckily' avoid several pursuits, you ultimately couldn't escape the Demoness's senses… And this necklace can temporarily block the 'mark' she left on you."

This sounds like it's about Ray chasing after Lena… Mark? It can't be the divine corruption of the Primordial Moon that Judy mentioned, right? I remember that the last time I contacted the Witch, Judy had already helped her completely eliminate the corruption… After all, all the godhood had been destroyed by the three holy items. The corruption brought about by it naturally became rootless.

As for Lucky's ring, it can't be the ring she used to forcefully escape the effects of the Language of Foulness during my battle with Lena, right? When I received it, I also used Solomon Gold Coin… No wonder I always felt that I wasn't lucky that day… What's this? Is it the "Lucky" inner scroll?

However, who was supporting Lena from behind? To actually deliver two such precious Beyonder items in succession! Although they seemed to have timely effects and weren't forged from Beyonder characteristics, if they were to be sold at a gathering, there would definitely be people willing to pay a high price for them.

Furthermore, I suspect that the reason why Lena was able to escape from Ray and successfully hide under Prince Edessak's wings was because of this mysterious person's interference…

Hmm, this method of doing things… It can't be the Psychology Alchemists, right? Hvin Rambis? He wants to guide Lena to betray Ray and then sell the information to the Forsaken Ones? What role does Judy's mother play in this?

But that wasn't right, because if that was the case, just giving her a Lucky ring was enough. There was no need to give her such a precious necklace… After all, Lena had already revealed the information to Judy.

It was difficult for Ebner to grasp the truth of the matter, so he decided not to think too much about it. He asked Shoko again, "This thing's origins are unclear. Lena is also afraid that if she continues to hold it, it will bring about some kind of disaster, right?"

"So that's how it is…" Shoko was stunned for a moment before she came to a realization. "I thought she really wanted to help me return your favor…"

With that said, he added, "She previously told me that you killed the Demoness of Afflictions and avenged Inspector Wayne. I should express my gratitude to you and even offer this necklace as a gift."

Ebner was somewhat speechless when he heard that. He thought to himself that such an excuse would only fool a rookie Beyonder like Shoko. No one would believe it.

However, would he be able to get rid of it just by giving it away? All the gifts of fate had already been marked in secret. Since Lena had accepted the old man's help, she must have become his pawn…

Unless… giving the item to me is also part of the old man's plan or 'arrangement'.

Then, this couldn't be a setup by the Psychology Alchemists.

Perhaps, there was more than one elder who gave Lena the extraordinary item. Who said that the person who gave her the necklace was the one who gave her the ring? Was it him?

Ebner had a vague guess at this point, but he dared not dwell on it.

However, he still reached out to take the necklace. He planned on sending it to the Harvest Church in a while. He would first ask Earth Mother, who was currently the friendliest to him.

In the eyes of many people, he was already a Blessed of Earth Mother. Even if the person behind the scenes was paying attention to this matter, he wouldn't find it a problem to bring the necklace there.

As for Mr. Fool, it was best to wait until the next Tarot Club to ask. The "contributions" he had accumulated so far weren't enough. It was probably impossible for him to let Mr. Fool divine something of unknown origins.

After he divines the Eternal Blazing Sun and has a good idea of the upper limit of the gray fog's powers, he will help me appraise it without any qualms.

At that thought, Ebner straightened his thoughts and asked Shoko one last question. "What is the name of this necklace?"

"It's called Fallen Morning Star."