NOVEL NEXT Chapter 56
“Gambler’s Path? Extraordinary Casino?”
Sharia was somewhat bewildered. During their conversation in the simulation, Aivana had only mentioned that one could recycle potions and purchase some extraordinary items there. Sharia had assumed it was merely a gathering or marketplace for Extraordinary Persons.
Was it because their bond had increased after sharing hardships, unlocking more information that wasn’t previously disclosed?
How much did Aivana actually hide from him back then?
Aivana, looking at the puzzled Sharia, also had a large question mark flash through her mind.
Derton Manor was such a vast organization with outposts almost in every major city, yet Sharia didn’t know about it?
What about her intelligence network behind her?
Despite the myriad of questions swirling in her heart, for some reason, Aivana found herself filling in the gaps for Sharia.
Perhaps it was because he had just joined the organization recently. Last night, she had curiously checked and found no potion reaction within Sharia’s body. The gun-shaped Sealed Object must be something the organization provided for her safety…
“Derton Manor is a vast Extraordinary organization. Their core members mainly follow the ‘Gambler’s Path’ and the ‘Adventurer’s Path.’”
After organizing her thoughts, Aivana continued, “The purpose of establishing this organization is not only to recruit core members but also to process potions.”
“Each Derton Manor is a massive casino not protected by secular laws. If you want to buy anything inside, you must exchange your Su Pounds for chips.”
“The exchange rate varies from place to place, but the value of the chips will always be lower than the original Su Pounds.”
“For example, if you exchange 100 Su Pounds, you might end up with chips worth only 75 or 80 Su Pounds. Then, you can use those chips to buy what you need, post bounties, or…”
Pausing for a moment, Aivana continued, “Or you can directly gamble in Derton Manor to increase the value of your chips. In this way, you can spend 100 Su Pounds and get materials worth more than 100 Su Pounds, even 200 Su Pounds.”
“But generally, I just exchange my Su Pounds for chips and then directly exchange them for items. Those deducted fees can be considered as handling charges.”
Extraordinary Casino?
Where the core members are all Gamblers and Adventurers?
If those following the Gambler’s Path want to process potions, they would mostly convert all their materials into chips and either lose everything or gain immensely.
The materials lost by the Gamblers would then be resold to other Extraordinary Persons brought in on guarantee, and the difference between the gold pounds and chips would be the profit for Derton Manor.
They could use this profit to search for more Extraordinary materials and attract more people.
This Extraordinary marketplace… was very different from what Sharia had imagined.
Fortunately, Sharia wouldn’t participate in the gambling. Her idea was the same as Aivana’s; exchanging Su Pounds for chips was like paying a 20% service fee.
“I can vouch for you to become a member, and Nia can also vouch for you. You just need to find another member to enter Derton Manor,” said Aivana, unable to help reminding her, “Just buy what you need directly inside. Don’t get involved in their gambling.”
“The gambling there is extremely dangerous. Some high-return Extraordinary bets can even endanger life. And there are no restrictions on any cheating methods; as long as they’re not discovered by the referees, you won’t stand a chance against them.”
No restrictions on cheating methods? As long as they’re not discovered?
Originally, Sharia had little interest, but hearing Aivana’s words, she became intrigued.
Her [Prophet Vision Lv.1] could see actions happening one second later, and no one could detect it…
She could foresee a part of the future.
If given the chance, one could try visiting Derton Manor, but only if they first find a third guarantor.
The High Priestess Yulis?
Xia’er currently wasn’t too keen on getting involved with the Church.
After much deliberation, there was only one person left who seemed more susceptible to deception.
Adele, Yulis’s younger sister.
Speaking of which, she had saved her life once; now, she would see how to approach her next.
Maybe she should trick her into signing a pact with a one-month duration… But then, the monthly fee for friends would increase, and she might not be able to afford it.
Thinking about this, Xia’er became curious about the subsequent handling of the Dehydration Syndrome. She looked at Aivana and asked, “How will the Dehydration Syndrome be handled next?”
“I went out last night and handed over the corpse and notes to the Redemption Society and the Church. They will handle the rest. They’ll develop the specific medicine as quickly as possible. With the notes, we can expect results within three to five days.”
“Xie Lun’s research on the bacteria causing the epidemic hasn’t been long, and the mortality rate is low. Even if we don’t stop him, he will fail his promotion in a month.”
To reassure Xia’er, Aivana added, “Don’t worry, I didn’t expose your identity. However, from others’ perspective, it appears that I alone resolved this matter.”
“It’s fine.” Xia’er shook her head.
Xia’er didn’t care about such superficial fame. Knowing that the development of the antidote was on the agenda, she felt slightly relieved.
In three to five days, Xia’er would still be alive.
However…
Aivana mentioned the low mortality rate, reminding Xia’er of a ticking time bomb.
The bomb had already been activated and was quietly hanging in the underground sewer of the church.
Should she go to simulate and try to remove it?
Just as Xia’er thought of this, she dismissed the idea.
Not very reliable.
She didn’t know how to seal off the Sealed Object or how many times she needed to simulate to find a solution, and even if she did, that thing wouldn’t help her much.
That thing was just a bacterial detonator, which didn’t help Xia’er much right now.
What she needed most now was the next Replication Ritual and Potion of the Avenger, along with other suitable first-tier Replication Rituals and Potions.
She needed to become stronger to gain control when facing other dangers.
She decided to sell this intelligence to Aivana, letting her retrieve the Sealed Object or use it to earn a huge favor from the Church, possibly even obtaining the next-level potion and ritual of the Avenger.
“Aivana, I have another piece of intelligence…”
“Cough, cough…”
Before Xia’er could finish, Aivana, who had been sipping coffee, choked and couldn’t recover for a while.
Aivana raised her hand to stop Xia’er and asked, “Wait, let me ask first. Is it another second or third-tier Replication Ritual or something involving the death of tens of thousands?”
It seemed that Xia’er’s constant stream of intelligence had triggered some kind of stress response in Aivana. Now she no longer needed to digest the Listener Potion and naturally didn’t want to get involved in these matters anymore.
But… she couldn’t resist curiosity about what Xia’er wanted to say…
Perhaps this was the common ailment of the Listener—willing to risk everything for idle gossip.
“It’s more or less related to the aftermath of the Xie Lun incident,” Xia’er thought for a moment and said. “If not handled properly, many people could die.”
“Sigh…” Aivana sighed deeply, seemingly resigned, and said, “Go on, tell me…”
If it was about the aftermath of the Xie Lun incident, Aivana could take this intelligence, as her next Replication Ritual still required help from the Redemption Society.