42 Black Widow Brotherhood Meeting (3)

Arthur spoke with a few other members, without many trades. He mainly exchanged information about specific individuals.

When it came to fighting acolytes, it was always good to know what to expect from them. Arthur's first assassination on Darius had made it very clear. Using distance against body refinement acolytes, ambushes against elemental acolytes etc...The tactics Arthur used in order to deal with Arcane Faction Teams came from extended periods of observation and simulations.

"I saw you with Helena just now...", the Old Witch spoke, "Falling in love already? She is twice your age, but she can still bear children. As acolytes, there are many ways to extend our lifespan, and she has grade 2 talent just like you. She has potential. If only she wasn't rushing her breakthrough..."

Arthur shook his head: "I didn't come to the Ivory Tower to find a wife. I came here to become stronger. We agreed to let her join my team since she belongs to the Law Enforcement Faction, and this will reduce suspicions directed at both of us. We will also conduct research together"

"This is an excellent idea", Lucile said, "You have grown much stronger, Arthur"

Arthur felt uneasy. He had almost died to a maiden ghost before, and Lucile was quite the strong Maiden Ghost. Lucile had grown stronger, although her level remained unchanged. Of course, if she were to consume his thirty-two cursed flasks, she might break through the intermediate realm.

Arthur took out one of his flask and showed it to Diana: "What do you think?"

The Old Witch's eyes instantly twitched. Because of her past, Great Master Rutherford had bound her to the Ivory Tower for the rest of her life. She couldn't get out of the Ivory Tower, as she had made a mana vow. Because of it, she couldn't leave the tower. In order to feed her daughter, she had to let her roam free and kill natives on her own, but it always made her uneasy.

"How many?", she asked, "I can afford them"

Arthur shook his head: "You can't. I know that you showed off your wealth in your last commission. The intermediate-rank acolyte from the Arcane Faction that I assassinated for your sake was not weak, and you gave me a hundred magic crystals' worth of ice-elemental magic resources. You might be wealthy, but you are not that wealthy"

The Old Witch took out a chest. Inside, there were eight potions.

[Drake Body Strengthening Elixir - Low-grade Potion

Effect: Increase Strength, Agility and Vitality Slightly]

Arthur smiled. One of them would have earned him an entire point of stats before.

Arthur exchanged four flasks for the chest.

"Is that all?", Arthur asked

"I knew that you would learn the [Soul Seal] spell after buying it from me. I never expected you to learn it so soon"

Arthur groaned. He hadn't expected the spell to take him 6 months to learn. Of course, he didn't wait for it to be fully learned, and spend the huge sum of 800 EXP instead, to shorten the process. Now, he wasn't regretting it one bit.

The Old Witch took out several books: "These are my papers on negative energy, necromancy and soul strengthening. If you can give me ten flasks, I will give them all to you"

Arthur shook his head: "You know that I don't have shadow elemental affinity. And I can't use negative energy either. As for soul strengthening, I am already a body refinement acolyte. I don't need soul strengthening. I attack with my sword, not my head"

"I do possess something that might interest you then...", she said

[Arcane Fox Mask - Medium-grade Magical Artefact

A mask that has been made out of an arcane fox's skin. The materials of extraordinary quality, but the crafter made a mistake in the crafting process, causing the artefact to only reach medium-grade property. Still, it is an artefact useful to all acolytes.

Effect: Can store 30 mana points]

Arthur smiled and handed ten flasks to her. The old witch was taken aback: "You still have more?"

She was jubilating.

Knowing the spell was different than actually use it on a battlefield. The spell required the corpse to be alive one minute prior to the cast. Else, the soul would disperse and the spell would fail. Most battles were long, and even if they weren't, it would be difficult to cast the spell unless there was no opponents left. In large-scale battles, it would be a great harvest to gather one or two souls. Yet, Arthur disabled his opponents before killing them in order to cast the spell. Doing so required him to be much stronger than his opponents.

Lucile stepped up: "These materials are for my sake, mother. I should be the one paying for them"

Arthur raised his head. He was curious as to what a Ghost Maiden could offer him. It was a monster that could cross walls, and couldn't materialize for extended periods of time after all.

Lucile started to chant words.

Regular maiden ghosts only possessed two abilities:

[Materialize], allowing them to cross material objects and materialize for a few seconds, allowing them to ambush and plunge their claws into the hearts of their victims.

[Soul Scream], an innate spell creating a high-pitch scream which damage the ear, and by extension, the brain. Soul attacks are very tough to defend against, and Maiden Ghosts are feared for that very purpose. Of course, they are only effective if the soul attack caster has more magic power than the victim. Magic power is, after all, related to one's soul in more than one way.

However, Lucile used to be an apprentice of this tower. Unlike regular Maiden Ghosts, she had retained her sanity, speech and memories. She worked hard on a daily basis to learn, research and survive her condition. Just surviving was extremely difficult, and every day, she could feel her death incoming. Her mother's potions were becoming less effective as days passed.

Arthur's flasks could literally prolong her lifespan.

She wasn't just buying a way to grow stronger by buying them. She was buying life.

Arthur was growing uneasy, and if not for the bitter expression on the Old Witch's face, he would have drawn his sword already to cut through Lucile.

[Scan complete!]

[Lucile is using the spell [Maiden Ghost Curse]. Be careful]

'Maiden Ghost Curse? Is it...dangerous?', Arthur wondered, 'I heard that Maiden Ghosts were once revered as Ghosts of fortune...'

[You have received the [Maiden Ghost Curse]. For the following three years, you will not be able to sleep without enduring nightmares. Every nightmare will however make your spirit stronger. Eventually, you will earn the [Steel Spirit] perk, providing a layer of defence against soul spells]

Arthur smiled. Although it was quite the harsh curse, if it meant earning a perk, Arthur was willing to go through it.

Taking out five more flasks, he grinned: "I still have a few bottles. What can you offer me?"

In the end, Arthur sold fifteen more flasks to the Old Witch for 400 magic crystals. As for the remaining flasks, Arthur sold them all to Kayle Smith. The woman was conducting research on souls, and Arthur could provide her with excellent test subjects. She was quite wealthy too, for a woman who was still a probationary acolyte a few years ago.

People said she came from a wealthy family, but there seemed to be more to her than just that.

She bought the remaining flasks for a hundred magic crystals.

With 500 magic crystals in his possession, Arthur was reassured. Although he didn't have a use for these magic crystals, it would still be a nice asset to have when he would decide on a research subject.

Still, Arthur purchased a [Meteor Spell] scroll, which could summon an intermediate-rank fire spell in case he needed it in exchange for the [Golem Summoning] book he had taken from Paul, the Arcane Faction newcomer he had killed and plundered.

This was one of the many benefits of the Black Widow Brotherhood. A market place where forbidden, extraordinary goods would come up every time. With the incoming battles, the next meeting was bound to offer interesting items, which is why Arthur saved this huge sum.

The information he gained was also quite nice.