I Loaded the Occult Panel

Ares used his remaining right hand to slowly drag a large Cloth Bag from behind him onto the table.

He upended it, spilling a pile of items across the surface.

Richard drew on [Erudition] to access his mental database, quickly cataloging the scattered loot in his head.

The first category was evil creature materials.

A dozen curled, pitch-black scales were spread in the outermost ring, each half the size of Richard’s palm. These were shadow eater scales.

Shadow eaters were mid-tier evil creatures unique to the Ash Belt, sustaining themselves by devouring shadows on this side of the veil.

The scales were incredibly tough and boasted excellent ether conductivity, making them prime materials for alchemical items or casting mediums.

Beneath the scales lay five or six dark red fangs, each about the length of a grown man’s index finger. These were the front canines of a soul-gnawing beast.

Richard had seen the name ”soul-gnawing beast” in the documents his aunt had sent.

A marginal note beside it had read: ”Ranks in the upper-middle echelon of the Ash Belt food chain; field encounters should be led by at least a Minor Adept.”Ares’s party of three Practitioners had run into this exact creature. Richard now had a pretty good idea of how Ares’s two brothers-in-arms had met their end.

The innermost ring was a tightly wadded clump of dark green fibrous matter. The aura of pollution radiating from it was so thick it nearly etched corrosive marks into the table.

His mental database lacked a perfect match for it; only a few marginal notes loosely fit the description.

Category Two consisted of resources from beyond the veil.

Five bottles of fine dust labeled ”Ash Powder”—the most common product of the Ash Belt, useful as filler material for basic seals.

Next was a wooden stick, half black and half gray, roughly a foot long.

This was ashen wood, a rare specialty from the core zone of the Ash Belt.

Richard had seen the name in literature but had never laid eyes on the real thing.

The wood could be used to carve pen barrels, allowing the inscriptions written with it to linger much longer on the other side of the veil.

Then came a small pinch of ”shadowless soil,” one of the few materials capable of interfering with shadow-layer Spell Formulas.

Richard mentally highlighted this particular item.

A small porcelain bottle sat at the very end. It bore no label, and its opening was sealed with three layers of wax.

The liquid inside was a slowly rolling dark gray—a corrosive solvent unique to the Ash Belt. It was highly effective against evil creatures, and equally effective against human skin.

The third category: supernatural items (suspected).

A palm-sized Bronze Mirror. Its surface had oxidized to a pitch-black hue, rendering any reflection indiscernible.

A Small Ebony Box, its surface hastily carved with a ring of low-tier sealing inscriptions.

The sealing technique was crude and the blade strokes hurried, clearly applied in a rush during the escape from the Ash Belt.

The last item was an Old Pocket Watch. An obvious scorch mark marred the back of its casing.

The moment Richard looked at it, his [Inspiration] shrieked a warning.

He immediately snapped his gaze away, refusing to look twice.

He did not dare touch the thing.

Ares swept his sole remaining hand over the table, gathering the items slightly closer as he introduced them.

”We went out this time to verify a rumor.”

”That deep within the core zone of the Ash Belt, there might be a ruined altar belonging to the Web Weaving Tradition from before Rome.”

The flames above Prometheus’s head danced for a moment, but he remained silent.

”My two brothers and I found that altar.”

”It had already collapsed. We dug these things out of the ruins.”

Ares pressed his right hand onto the table beside the Old Pocket Watch.

He didn’t touch it, merely resting his hand nearby.

”...On the way out, we ran into some ’Ash Belt natives.’ You can see for yourselves what happened after that.”

Ares didn’t elaborate, and no one was tactless enough to pry.

He withdrew his right hand from the Old Pocket Watch and let out a sigh.

”I came here today hoping to trade for... a left arm. To see if anyone knows a way to reconstruct a severed limb.”

Prometheus was the first to speak.

”Ares, you’re missing a hand. To regenerate it from the stump... you’d need a Major Adept of the Solar Tradition.”

”To reconstruct an arm out of thin air from a stump—there are fewer than five people alive in the entire Old Continent capable of doing that.”

Ares’s remaining hand clenched a little tighter.

”Do you know any of them?” Prometheus asked.

”...No.”

”Chief Hecate might.”

Prometheus turned his gaze toward the head seat.

Hecate shook her head.

”My relationship with those individuals isn’t deep enough. I have no way of recommending you to them.”

Ares’s shoulders slumped.

He had been betting entirely on Hecate providing a connection, but he had lost the gamble.

Prometheus continued.

”Taking a step back, if you forego a real hand and settle for a prosthetic that won’t severely impact your combat strength... you would need a Minor Adept alchemist from the Hearth Fire Tradition.”

Richard’s interest was piqued.

Hearth Fire Tradition. Minor Adept. Alchemist.

”A prosthetic isn’t just a matter of slapping on a metal arm.”

Prometheus elaborated a bit more, clearly accommodating the newcomers at the table.

”When you lose an arm, the Micro-circulation in that limb is severed as well.

To attach a prosthetic that doesn’t hinder combat, you have to craft a ’simulated circuit’ within it so your ether can flow into the artificial limb.”

”Without a simulated circuit, it’s just a useless lump of iron hanging off your shoulder.”

”And designing a simulated circuit is incredibly complex,” Prometheus stressed.

”It’s not just the mechanical structure; it requires complementary bionic Spell Formulas.

Every sequence of inscriptions must be carved to match the user’s specific Micro-circulation pathways. Once carved, the user has to nurture it.

Only after nurturing it for six to twelve months can the user wield the prosthetic as naturally as a real hand.”

Listening from his chair, Richard thought of Lieutenant Colonel Ord’s mechanical arm.

”I know one such person,” Prometheus offered.

”He’s from the older generation, living in the northern suburbs of the Imperial Capital. His appointments are usually booked half a year in advance.”

”I can write you a letter of introduction. That should get you a slot in three months.”

”The price?” Ares asked without hesitation.

”A basic prosthetic from the shoulder to the fingertips, without any additional effects, will run you about five hundred pounds.”

Richard and Nemesis were both secretly stunned.

Ares fell silent as well.

Even if he sold this batch of items from the Ash Belt through legitimate channels, it would fetch three hundred pounds at most.

Several items in the pile lacked standard market prices, leaving massive room for buyers to lowball him.

Even with his past savings, scraping together five hundred pounds would be difficult.

His two brothers-in-arms had died in the Ash Belt, and handling their posthumous affairs had already cost him a significant sum.

Richard thought of a connection he had.

Senior Clara’s distant uncle—a Minor Adept alchemist whose main business was weapon forging and supernatural item modifications.

By tossing out this lead, he could earn a decent-sized favor from Ares.

Whether the deal went through wasn’t up to him. If it worked out, Richard scored points; if it didn’t, it cost him nothing.

It was worth it.

Richard spoke up.

”Ares.”

The entire table’s gaze turned toward him.

”...I also know someone. He’s a Northerner who runs his own workshop in the Imperial Capital.”

”I don’t know the exact extent of his prosthetic techniques. His main trade is weapon forging and supernatural item modifications.

He might be able to handle the simulated circuit, or he might not.”

”I don’t know much about his pricing, but I have heard he has quite a bad temper.”

Hearing this description, Prometheus already knew exactly who Richard meant.

But with that brief speech, Richard had completely washed his hands of any responsibility.

He hadn’t made a single promise. It couldn’t even be called a recommendation, merely an ’I’ve heard of a guy like this.’

Ares’s remaining hand slowly tightened on the edge of the table.

”I can pass along a message for you,” Richard said.

”As for whether it succeeds or how much it will cost, you’ll have to negotiate that with him yourself.”

”If he’s willing to take the job when you visit, that’s your good luck.”

”If he refuses, it has nothing to do with me.”

Ares gave Richard a slight nod.

”That’s fine. Having an extra path is always better than none.”

Richard slid a freshly written note toward the center of the table.

”Here.”

Ares picked up the piece of paper.

Richard added one last thing.

”When you go, there’s no need to mention my name.”

”...Thank you.”

Ares tucked the note away.

The pile of items brought back from the Ash Belt remained spread across the table.

According to the rules, anyone who provided a lead was entitled to pick an item from the spread as a finder’s fee.

Ares nodded at Prometheus.

”You pick first.”

Prometheus didn’t stand on ceremony.

”This.” He reached out and slid the ashen wood over to his side. ”I’ll use it to bind my manuscript.”

Using ashen wood for a book cover was an old method from the Hearth Fire Tradition.

By using the wood fibers nourished on the other side of the veil as a partition, the manuscript sandwiched inside would be shielded from outside detection on the etheric plane. It was essentially dressing the manuscript in a coat of ether.

Judging by the items the other man kept bringing out, Richard privately guessed that this ”Firebringer” was highly likely backed by an alchemical craftsman of the Hearth Fire Tradition.

It was even possible that the connection Prometheus had just introduced was the very person backing him.

”Your turn, Hermes.” Ares turned to look at him.

Richard’s gaze slowly swept across the table.

He glanced at the shadow eater scales and took a longer look at the soul-gnawing beast fangs. He mentally check-marked both items for now.

Finally, his eyes settled on the Small Ebony Box tucked near the inner edge of the table.

Crude as the sealing technique was, it had at least suppressed any outward leakage from whatever lay inside.

He thought for a moment, then looked at the palm-sized Bronze Mirror again.

The mirror’s surface had oxidized to black, but from the shallow bas-relief around its edges, Richard recognized the early techniques of the Web Weaving Tradition.

”I want that box.”

Ares raised his hand to push the box over.

”...And the Bronze Mirror.”

The hand pushing the box froze, tightening into a fist.

The entire table plunged into silence in that instant.

According to the rules, a person who provided a lead could pick one item. Picking two was crossing the line.

Richard didn’t wait for him to speak before adding to his request.

”I want them both because I have something else to trade with you.”

Ares withdrew his hand to the edge of the table.

”...What are you trading?”

At the head of the table, the gaze hidden beneath Hecate’s Triple Goddess mask hadn’t left him for a second.

Richard gently pressed his palms flat against the tabletop.

”Listen to my offer first.”

He was in no rush to state his price.

”I have a Spell Formula in my possession. It’s a variant reverse-engineered from the Moon Nail branch.”

”It has a unique trait. It doesn’t strike evil creatures; it exclusively pierces humans.”

The table remained dead silent. Everyone looked a little confused.

”It pierces living humans who possess an Ether Micro-circulation.”

Richard continued to explain.

”After the needle cluster detonates, it diffuses into the pierced section of the Micro-circulation, completely refreshing that specific segment.”

”The ether pathways will become more active than usual for a short time. Its area of effect matches exactly whichever segment of the Micro-circulation is pierced.”

”And the cost is practically non-existent.”

Richard spread his hands.

”It requires slightly more ether expenditure than a standard Moon Nail. Using it continuously will backfire and damage the target’s own Micro-circulation, followed by a period of weakness equal to the effect’s duration.”