One-Eyed Monster

Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Rain Crystal Stones

After leaving the mansion of Gaga County’s Lord Rostellum, the Great Witch Biggs felt a pervasive unease. This feeling had persisted for several days. Biggs had believed that the Rain Crystal Stone would restore her title as the omnipotent Great Witch of Gaga County. But in reality, one hadn’t been enough, and neither had two. Not only had she failed to reclaim the title she cherished, but she had also become entangled in a task with no clear direction.

Moreover, judging by the current situation, this mission had to succeed; failure was not an option, even though she didn’t fully understand what ”hospitality” entailed. Consequently, she felt she had no capital left to squander this chance for atonement. This sense of helplessness, of having no way out, was the source of her discomfort these past few days.

This helplessness feels like being pushed off an impossibly high mountain, she thought. The slopes are bare, offering nothing to grab. No matter how I flail my arms or kick my legs, I only grasp at the wind whistling past my ears. The wind stings my stooped body, a reminder that the fall will end with me shattered to pieces. And I can’t even tell when that will happen. It means that before the ultimate pain arrives, I can only continue to experience the terror of this rapid descent...

If only I had known, I would have given the other two stones to Elder Rostellum as well, Witch Biggs lamented internally, fear and despair welling up. It all started with that chicken, that damned chicken Elder Rostellum bought from the Dusk Market.

As this thought crossed her mind, a shiver ran through Witch Biggs.

If I could just provide Elder Rostellum with the date the chicken will lay its eggs, would this feeling of helpless freefall lessen? The chicken’s previous owner must know more about it. With more information, divining the laying date becomes much more hopeful!

A sudden tremor of excitement coursed through Witch Biggs.

She staggered into the inner chamber of the Divination House and began rummaging around with a CLATTER and a BANG.

With my current Witch Spirit, it’s very difficult to accurately visualize that Adventurer’s appearance, she mused. However, what little Witch Spirit I have should be enough to trace an object’s owner. I’m falling anyway. Instead of waiting passively for doom in this clueless task, I might as well forge a new path, find another way to resolve this current predicament.

In the inner chamber, Great Witch Biggs found the chicken feather she had used for the last Divination. Then, using the worn-out Crystal Ball on the divination table, she began to scry into the past. The Crystal Ball spun and spun on the dusty table, and soon, an image materialized: a buck-toothed vendor in Liuli City’s Dusk Market, hawking a chicken he cradled in his arms.

”Dusk Market!” The Great Witch adjusted her spectacles, pacing thoughtfully.

Since the chicken’s original owner is at the Dusk Market, I might be able to do something with the two Rain Crystal Stones I have left. Perhaps I can even buy one or two Spirit Books there. With the added Spirit Power from different Spirit Books, maybe that dim-witted young Adventurer could be revealed in the Crystal Ball. If so, perhaps the related task Housekeeper Uli assigned me can be successfully completed after all. It seems I need to take a not-so-distant journey. As for that task concerning ’hospitality,’ I’ll leave Housekeeper Uli to worry about it.

As the Housekeeper to the Lord of Gaga County, Uli had to maintain proper control over every matter. If he, as Housekeeper, failed to manage a situation effectively, related problems would spring up like mushrooms after rain, plaguing Elder Rostellum. If Elder Rostellum were to be dismissed from his post, Uli’s own future would be exceedingly bleak. This was because he had bronze-colored skin, which marked him as a member of an Alien Race. An Alien Race Fighter in a foreign land who couldn’t control his emotions and actions might not live to see another sunrise.

Housekeeper Uli was almost devoid of emotion. He only knew that Elder Rostellum’s orders had to be carried out efficiently and logically. He was also well aware that Elder Rostellum’s instructions usually had clear priorities. This time, for instance, Elder Rostellum’s suppressed smile had already indicated what was most important. Finding the Adventurer was secondary; verifying the authenticity of the Rain Crystal Stones was the primary concern. That was why Housekeeper Uli had assigned the more difficult task to Witch Biggs, while he himself entrusted the matter of the two Rain Crystal Stones to a servant.

”Phil,” Uli said, ”you know my methods. Do you understand the task concerning these two stones?”

”Understood, Lord Uli!”

Phil was one of Uli’s most trusted servants, not only because Phil, like him, was a Fighter, but also because Phil was very familiar with the Dusk Market. The Dusk Market was a grey area in Liuli City. There, one could buy anything desired and sell anything one wished to offload. Housekeeper Uli understood Elder Rostellum; the Lord of Gaga County saw only profit. It would be safer to exchange those two stones for gold bars.

However, these Rain Crystal Stones were, after all, rare items, seldom seen, at least in Gaga County. No one could definitively say whether these two stones were genuine. People could only rely on unreliable intuition to judge that these smooth, iridescent stones were indeed Rain Crystal Stones.

Legend told that Rain Crystal Stones were unique products of the Yowein Continent. As for their origin, Scholars had offered some thought-provoking interpretations. On the Yowein Continent, rainwater, considered Baseless Water, possessed many mysterious qualities. Scholars had yet to discern the patterns behind these mysteries, but Alchemists and Wizards had frequently utilized them. Rainwater served special purposes in their hands. For example, Alchemists often used rainwater as a medium to exchange for purer Spirit Power, while Wizards used it as a baseless material to generate certain special spells. Rain Crystals—tiny crystals condensed from rainwater—though appearing indistinguishable from ice, held another of rainwater’s mysteries.

This was because these crystals could randomly alter an object’s original appearance! An ugly stone, upon contact with a Rain Crystal, could become dazzlingly beautiful. More magically, not every object that touched a Rain Crystal would change. Alchemists had once used captured Lightning as a bargaining chip to trade for Rain Crystals. Then, together with Wizards, they had tried to meld these crystals into trees, rocks, and gravel. Most of the amalgamated objects showed no change. A few became smoother. Only a single object transformed its appearance: a piece of wood that became multicolored and incredibly smooth. This piece of wood was the only other Rain Crystal object on the entire Yowein Continent, aside from Rain Crystal Stones themselves.

Scholars could find no pattern; to date, naturally formed Rain Crystals only seemed to randomly come into contact with stones. Their rarity and brilliant colors made these transmuted stones incredibly expensive.

Therefore, determining the authenticity of a dazzling Rain Crystal Stone was no easy task. If this arduous responsibility was not entrusted to a reliable person, Housekeeper Uli would lose control over this primary matter that Elder Rostellum cared so deeply about. That was a scenario no one in the Gaga County Lord’s mansion wished to see.