Daytime in Yi Gewen West Suburbs, Saint Amanda School.
In the morning, Dorothy, wearing the Saint Amanda student uniform, slowly walked into the school's underground workshop. As she stepped through the door, she saw Mr. Aldrich sitting on a chair, leisurely sipping tea. At this moment, he didn't seem to be carving.
"These past few days... the city seems a bit chaotic, so I had a premonition you would come looking for me again, Miss Meisihuos."
Looking at the white-haired girl in front of him, Mr. Aldrich put down his teacup and said with a smile. Listening to the words of this "kind elder" in front of her, Dorothy shrugged, then unceremoniously pulled up a chair and sat down opposite Mr. Aldrich.
"Let's get straight to the point. I'm here today because I want you to look at two things for me. First is this..." Saying this, Dorothy took out a piece of rough paper printed with a complex and dense red pattern. After Mr. Aldrich took the paper and glanced at it, he said quietly.
"This thing... appraisal fee, 30 pound."
"Didn't you used to charge 10 pound for appraisals?" Hearing Mr. Aldrich's price, Dorothy couldn't help but retort directly, and Mr. Aldrich slowly replied.
"The price of my appraisals is determined by the rarity of the item. The Symbol you've brought this time is quite unusual, Miss Meisihuos."
'Sly merchant...'
Dorothy grumbled in her heart, then still took out 30 pound from her bag and slapped it on the table. Although it was a bit expensive, it was still better than consuming Spirituality to use appraisal techniques. So, for non-Extraordinary items, it was most cost-effective to find Mr. Aldrich for appraisal.
"This thing... is a Raw Consumption Symbol created by overlapping replication methods. It has a much stronger effect than ordinary Life Devour Symbols. Ordinary Raw Consumption Symbols can grant ordinary people abilities similar to a Thirster, but they have little effect on Thirsters. However, this type of Symbol can temporarily elevate a Thirster's physical capabilities to a higher level, while also consuming a large amount of "Cup". To differentiate it from ordinary Life Devour, many people call this Symbol a Mad Banquet Symbol. Essentially, it's an enhanced version of Life Devour."
Looking at the Symbol in front of him, Mr. Aldrich slowly said. Listening to Mr. Aldrich's words, Dorothy roughly understood how Buck was able to suddenly burst out and kill four Corpse Puppets who had taken Life Devour stimulants. It turned out they had taken a more potent stimulant.
"Then can people who are not Thirsters also use this Symbol?" Dorothy continued to ask, and Mr. Aldrich continued to answer.
"Of course, as long as you can afford the "Cup" it requires. But frankly, the Mad Banquet Symbol consumes 5 times the amount of "Cup" as ordinary Life Devour. Extraordinary who are not of "Cup" cannot bear such consumption, so think carefully, Miss Meisihuos."
While cautioning her, Mr. Aldrich handed the Mad Banquet Symbol back to Dorothy. Dorothy took it and thought to herself.
'5 times ordinary Life Devour, so it costs 5 points per use, I can just about afford it a few times...'
Dorothy thought this as she put away the Mad Banquet Symbol, and Mr. Aldrich spoke with a slightly complicated expression.
"For you to have something like this, you didn't kill a high-ranking member of the Holy Communion Society, did you... If I remember correctly, you just bought the Student advancement ritual from me not long ago."
Mr. Aldrich said this. Although he knew the other party was fighting against the Holy Communion Society, he didn't expect Dorothy, who had only advanced to Apprentice a little over a month ago, to be able to kill a high-ranking member of the Holy Communion Society. Listening to Mr. Aldrich's words, Dorothy smiled and said.
"Whatever you think it is, that's what it is... Enough small talk, I have something else."
Then, Dorothy took out another Symbol printed with the symbols of "Shadow" and "enlightenment" and handed it to Mr. Aldrich. Mr. Aldrich took the Symbol, his expression tensed, and then he said.
"This... 40 pound..."
Without thinking too much, Dorothy directly slapped the money on the table, and Mr. Aldrich immediately spoke.
"This is a Dream Anchor Symbol, a rare Symbol that records dream coordinates. This Symbol marks a dream cocoon in the Dream World and stores the dream coordinates of that dream cocoon. After using this Symbol to enter a dream and entering the Dream World with a mimetic form, one can instantly move to the coordinates of that dream cocoon. It is generally produced by organizations that primarily research dreams, such as... the Black Dream Hunter Group, the Gottolp family, etc... However, the output is scarce, so it is relatively precious in the hidden world and is generally used for transmitting information within the Dream World."
After speaking, Mr. Aldrich returned the Dream Anchor Symbol in his hand to Dorothy. Dorothy took the Symbol and nodded with a clear understanding.
'It can make the mimetic form in the dream instantly move next to the target dream cocoon... So information can be transmitted like this. Then, whose dream cocoon does this Dream Anchor Symbol point to?' Dorothy thought this. In her heart, she now had two options: either Brandon, who was the spy, or the so-called Mentor.
"I didn't expect Miss Meisihuos to get something like this, but I need to warn you, it's best not to go to the Dream World before you have a strong enough mimetic form, it's very dangerous..." Mr. Aldrich said to Dorothy. He knew that Dorothy probably already had a mimetic form and could go to the Dream World, because he was the one who sold Dorothy that book of "dream records". Several months had passed since then, and Mr. Aldrich estimated that she had already finished reading it.
Listening to Mr. Aldrich's warning, Dorothy couldn't help but twitch her lips and then retorted.
"Hehe... I wanted to ask you about this. The secret transmission you gave me clearly said it was a mimetic spell that could turn into a bird, but how did it turn into a fish in the end? There's no way to move around in the Woodland like this..."
Listening to Dorothy's complaint, Mr. Aldrich calmly took a sip of tea, then continued to speak calmly.
"I have always believed in getting what you pay for. The reason I sold you that secret transmission for 500 pound was precisely because the translation error meant it could only mimic a fish. A mimetic spell for a bird that can fly in the Woodland is a rare find. If I were really selling it, I wouldn't be selling it in a place like Igwinte, and the price would be far more than 500 pound!"
Mr. Aldrich finished speaking. His meaning was clear: it was because it turned into a useless fish that he sold it for 500. If it could really turn into a bird, he wouldn't sell it at this price.
Letting out a sigh, Dorothy put the Dream Anchor Symbol back in her hand, then continued to ask Mr. Aldrich.
"Next, Mr. Aldrich, can I buy some information from you?"
"Yes... I can sell you any information that doesn't involve my clients, but in Igwinte, I have many clients, so you probably won't get much by asking." Mr. Aldrich said easily, and Dorothy directly took out 10 pound and placed it on the table, asking.
"I want to ask if there are any Extraordinary of "Cup" at the Chalk Stage in Igwinte."
"No, how could someone of Chalk come to a place like this."
Without thinking much, Mr. Aldrich said as he collected the money, and Dorothy took out a second 10 pound and placed it on the table.
"Then are there any Extraordinary of "Cup" at the Black Earth Stage in Igwinte?"
"Ah, this, I can't..."
Mr. Aldrich was about to say something when he suddenly realized something and looked at Dorothy with a serious gaze, and Dorothy also looked at him with a smile.
After staring like this for a while, Mr. Aldrich also chuckled and said.
"You are very smart, Miss Meisihuos..."
"Captain are also very disciplined, Mr. Aldrich..."
Dorothy said with a smile. Now, she had pretty much figured out the realm of that Mentor.