I Loaded the Occult Panel

Hecate raised her hand and swept it lightly over the table. The empty chair dimmed.

”We continue,” she said.

”You two newcomers.”

Her gaze rested briefly on Richard, then on Nemesis.

”By the rules, you must put your offerings on the table tonight as well.”

Nemesis spoke first. ”I am prepared.”

”As am I,” Richard followed.

Hecate gave a small nod.

”Then let the trading begin.”

Dionysus retrieved a larger Tin Box from the hidden compartment beneath his chair and set it in the middle of the table.He opened the lid. Inside lay three neatly arranged items.

The first was a copy of the sensory shielding Spell Formula from the previous session, but this time folded into a small four-page booklet.

”The same Spell Formula,” Dionysus said, spreading open one of the pages. ”With three added variants.”

”Variants?” Prometheus looked up.

”One for living creatures, one for objects, and one for a field.”

Dionysus turned the page.

”The original can only target a single living creature.

These three additions let you conceal a supernatural item from remote perception, shield an entire house, or lay down a shielded corridor along a stretch of road in the wild.”

Richard listened closely.

Ordinary shielding Spell Formulas worked only on living targets, a common bottleneck for most Secret practitioners.

Yet the ether residue of a supernatural item was far easier to track than a human body. When a Hunter squad infiltrated an enemy stronghold, what gave them away most readily was the signature artifact they carried.

Dionysus had expanded a single Spell Formula into a complete toolkit.

”I named my price for the original last time,” he said, swirling his glass.

”Tonight, I am no longer trading a shielding Spell Formula for admission to the third floor of Imperial Capital University.”

”Oh?” Prometheus raised an eyebrow.

”I’m changing direction.” Dionysus shifted his gaze toward Richard, then back to Prometheus.

”What I want is... the correction patch for the academic mainstream’s veil dynamics model over the last three years.”

He stressed the words ”three years” slightly.

Richard’s attention sharpened.

Academic research into veil dynamics within the Empire had undergone a paradigm shift over the past three years.

The old version of the Haldane model had been heavily revised by several professors from Imperial Capital University and the Royal Academy working together.

That revision had yet to be formally published. Richard knew of it only through Mr. Hutton, who maintained regular academic ties in the Imperial Capital.

Dionysus actually knew about it.

More than that, he knew the revision was a ”patch” rather than a new model.

That meant he tracked internal academic progress continuously, or at least held a channel that leaked information on a steady basis.

Prometheus did not answer him. He reached beneath his chair and brought out a larger Cloth Bag.

He untied the drawstring. Inside sat twelve small vials.

”Deep Ether Condensate. One grade higher in concentration than the last batch.”

”I kept part of the last batch for my own use and reformulated the rest.”

”Good grief,” Dionysus said. The hand holding his glass unsteady for a second, clearly impressed by the man’s resources.

”What I want in exchange has changed as well,” Prometheus said.

He pushed the Cloth Bag to the center of the table.

”What I am looking for now is something a level higher...”

”The complete internal collection catalog of any old closed order within the Empire. Covering every manuscript from the order’s founding to its dissolution.”

”The name of the order does not matter, nor does the location. I want the catalog itself.”

Hearing that, Richard began sorting through what he knew.

He had heard the names of a few dismantled closed orders within the Empire.

They were small monastic groups from the last two centuries, purged in joint operations by the government and the State Church over various unsavory practices.

During the purges, most of their collections had been scattered, locked away, or burned outright.

Surviving complete catalogs were practically extinct.

No one at the table spoke up to take the offer.

Prometheus did not expect an immediate reply.

He left the Cloth Bag in the middle of the table to show the offer remained open.

”On my end...”

Richard reached into the hidden compartment beneath his chair and brought out two prepared sets of documents.

The first: the full Spell Formula specifications for Stone Armor.

The second: the reverse-engineered theoretical model for Shadow Armor, with the core formulas stripped out.

He laid both sets neatly in the center of the table.

”Stone Armor.”

”A universal defensive Spell Formula. Standardized medium, standardized casting procedure.”

”Compatible across all three paths. No special requirements for breathing methods; Golden, blood ignition, and the miscellaneous branches can all use it.”

”The original Spell Formula comes from the Inscription Master Guild on the Western Continent, dating back roughly four hundred and sixty years.”

”The formula itself is openly licensed. It leaves no identifying marks on the user.”

He spread the Stone Armor pages open on the table.

Prometheus and Nemesis looked over almost simultaneously.

”Stone Armor,” Prometheus repeated. ”I’ve heard the name.”

”You have?” Dionysus turned toward him.

”I saw it in an old catalog once,” Prometheus said. ”Never saw the complete version.”

Richard’s explanation was mild: ”An old piece dug out of the family collection.”

Dionysus smiled over his wine glass.

”An old piece casually dug out of the family collection happens to be a universal Spell Formula. That is quite a family.”

Richard ignored the comment and opened the second document.

”The second item is a set of reverse-engineered theoretical models I compiled myself.”

He pushed the model’s table of contents to the center of the table.

”Based on Stone Armor, it reverse-engineers the conversion path from inward reinforcement to outward application.

It covers the basic logic of reverse formula construction, medium feasibility arguments, and casting stability analysis under varying conditions.”

”Note...”

He stated it plainly.

”This is currently at the model stage. The core mathematical formulas are not included.

Anyone reading the model will understand the approach, but deriving an executable Spell Formula will depend on their own work.”

Prometheus did not speak, but he reached out and picked up the table of contents.

He read it from beginning to end, then turned back to read the first page again.

The silence lasted roughly two minutes. Richard sat in his chair without pressing him.

Across the table, Nemesis watched the exchange in silence.

The balance scales above her head remained steady tonight, without a single tremor.

Prometheus set the page back down.

”This reverse-engineering direction of yours.” He looked at Richard.

”The breakthrough lies in shifting the formula’s output from the caster’s own body to an external target.”

”Yes.”

”I am interested in this one,” Prometheus said.

Dionysus gave a small hum over his glass.

”I’m interested as well. Anyone can see the potential in formula inversion.”

He set the glass down.

”Interest is one thing, but an unfinished Spell Formula fetches the price of an unfinished product.

I have no talent for formula derivation. Once you produce a finished version, we can talk at the next gathering.”

Richard gave a slight nod. ”I understand.”

Prometheus was less reserved than Dionysus.

He selected a single Condensate vial from his Cloth Bag and set it apart in the center of the table.

”This for your model.”

Richard reached out and took the vial.

As he stored it in the compartment beneath his chair, he slid the complete second document across to Prometheus.

”Take it.”

Prometheus folded the pages neatly and tucked them into his breast pocket.

Neither of them offered to trade for Stone Armor, which fell within Richard’s expectations.

Nemesis then placed her offering on the table.

She produced a thin booklet with an indigo cover.

”Moon Nail.”

She gave the Spell Formula’s name.

”An old formula passed down from the Moon Hunting Tradition, dating back somewhat further than your Stone Armor—roughly five or six hundred years.”

”This is also a universal Spell Formula,” she noted specifically.

Nemesis opened the indigo cover.

”The principle is simple: it uses a sharp silver object as a medium. The cheapest option is a Silver Needle; if you prefer refinement, a short silver blade.”

”The caster uses a breathing method to drive ether along the medium to the point, condensing a high-density ’nail’ at the tip.”

”Once cast, Moon Nail delivers a dual piercing effect across both the physical and ether layers.”

She closed the booklet.

”Against a person, Moon Nail hits with roughly the lethality of an ordinary thrown dart.”

”Against an evil creature, it penetrates the ether layer.”

”That is its true purpose.”

”Once the ether needle embeds itself, it tears an opening along its trajectory.”

”Against lowest-tier evil creatures like wandering spirits or ghouls, a single Moon Nail will inflict severe injury at minimum.”

”Low-tier evil creatures last longer, but every strike drops their mobility by a margin.”

”As for mid-tier evil creatures and above...”

She explained matter-of-factly:

”Their ether layers are denser and heal actively, so the nail’s value lies more in interruption.”

Richard felt a stir of interest.

It was a solid Spell Formula; he had been lacking an offensive method against evil creatures.

”Can this be used at Minor Adept and above?” he asked, going straight to his main concern.

”Of course. A Minor Adept can also modify it,” Nemesis said.

”In versions I’ve heard of, some have altered it into ’Moon Blade Rain,’ condensing dozens of Moon Nails from ether to saturate an area;

others stretch it into a ’Moon Chain’ that pierces one target and continues on to the next.”

”There are stranger variations: drawing out the ether component alone to make a purely sensory probe, driving it into a wall to inspect the other side.”

Richard began running the numbers.

Ordinary firearms, including military rifles and the Branch Office’s service revolvers, were terribly inefficient against evil creatures.

Enchanted Bullets solved that problem, but they were expensive, and the cost rose sharply with every added inscription ring.

A single-ring bullet cost as much as dozens of ordinary rounds, to say nothing of 3rd Circle Enchanted Bullets.

The box Ares had produced last time held only six rounds—a reserve he was loath to touch.

What was the cost of a Moon Nail?

One Silver Needle, plus the caster’s own ether expenditure.

Silver Needles could be bought at any sewing shop; the most expensive would not cost more than a shilling.

A practitioner who mastered Moon Nail effectively carried a cheap, reusable supply of ”Enchanted Bullets” on them at all times.

Most importantly, Moon Nail was an established Spell Formula with room for advancement, and he held Shadow Inversion in hand.

Richard was ready to trade.

”Nemesis, may I use Stone Armor—”

”Deal.”

Her answer was clean and immediate.

Richard pushed the Stone Armor document across to her side.

Nemesis slid the Moon Nail booklet over to his.