aircannonsinc Chapter 14 Routine Gathering
Chapter 14 Routine Gathering
Was the founder of the "Gate of Truth" a time traveler? Is the current world like a central hub connecting countless worlds?
This is just one of the founders; how many founders are there? And how many of them are time travelers?
Suren was filled with many thoughts, and her mind wandered as she was shocked.
"Bang bang bang!"
A series of patting sounds startled Suren awake. Corrigan looked at him suspiciously: "Have you heard of this name before?"
Suren scratched his head and replied, "I was just thinking, I wish I could become a saint too."
Corrigan stared at Suren for a long time. Suren didn't know if the other party believed her, after all, her transition was quite abrupt. Fortunately, Corrigan did not directly question her.
"Becoming a saint is not that simple. Although Edmund makes me very uncomfortable, he is also a rare talent in the church."
Soon he will be able to advance to the rank of 'Awakener,' and the Saints advance much faster than ordinary people like us.
Corrigan paused here, his gaze falling on the wood grain of the table, where there was a deep scratch.
"His teacher, the 'Frostblade Saint,' joined the church at the age of 27, but became a saint in less than a year. Now, in his third year, he is only one step away from the third stage, the 'Agent.'"
Corrigan took a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaled a smoke ring, as if trying to expel all his frustrations along with the smoke.
Saints advance much faster than single-class cultivators, and they don't have to worry about the bottlenecks faced by Awakeners. Since Edmund's ability's light is blue, does this mean that once he fully understands his abilities, the light he uses will turn blue?
Suren pondered this for a moment, then asked with some curiosity, "I noticed that when Edmund uses his power, the light is blue. Is this true for all saints?"
Corrigan stood up, perhaps because the previous topic reminded him of his own situation, and replied somewhat impatiently:
"The color of the light represents the purity of your faith. Most newly ordained saints are blue, while some more pure ones are even orange-yellow. As for how many colors there are, I don't know."
"You're smart, but I hope you'll give up those unrealistic fantasies and be a down-to-earth, ordinary dead bird." Corrigan patted Suren on the shoulder forcefully, then walked upstairs.
Suren didn't answer; he scoffed inwardly. The purity of faith was utter nonsense.
"What does color really mean? The only information we have so far is that color is strongly related to promotion, so let's call it 'color tier'," Suren thought to himself.
Unfortunately, he thought that having the ability to disguise symbolic signs would allow him to use his abilities in specific situations without worrying about being exposed.
The existence of color levels is now actually limiting him; if he is treated as a saint, things will only get more complicated.
In the time that followed, Suren symbolically pretended to work hard in the archives and shooting range, paving the way for him to accept the bounty later.
Driven by his relentless pursuit of making money, Carl actually managed to produce some decent items.
Monday arrived quickly, and Suren and Karl arrived at the duty station early in the morning. The lobby on the first floor was much more lively than usual today. Suren roughly estimated that there were about a dozen people.
The crowd in the hall was clearly divided into two groups. One group stood in the left corner of the hall, wearing the same Deathbird uniform as Suren.
Another group occupied the right side. Their overall style of clothing was similar to that of Suren, but their armbands were different, featuring a silhouette of a crouching hunting dog.
This must be the "hound" that Corrigan was referring to. Suren speculated that the relationship between the Deathbird and the hound was not very harmonious.
Suren and Karl stood at the gathering place of the "Deathbirds" on the left. Several people greeted them warmly, while others just stood silently. The overall atmosphere was quite harmonious.
The atmosphere was completely different on the hounds' side; they hardly spoke and kept a relatively long distance.
Soon, the door was pushed open, and Suren saw that the person who came in was Corrigan.
Corrigan counted the number of people, nodded, and announced the start of the rally.
Suren noticed that Edmund was not present, but upon reflection, it made sense; his arrogance suggested he disdained participating in such a gathering.
The gathering was not very formal, which was related to Corrigan's personality. He announced the mandatory mission issued by the Holy See, which aroused complaints from most people.
Towards the end of the rally, Corrigan gave a private warning to one of the "hounds".
After listening, Suren roughly understood the whole story. This person hadn't earned any contribution points for too long. If things continued like this this week, he would be expelled from the Dead Bird Cultivator Group and become a "Filthy Law Enforcer" who would be wanted by the authorities.
Suren was not surprised by these extreme rules; the image of the church in his mind was becoming more and more like that of a ruthless boss.
After the gathering, Suren noticed that a significant number of the Deathbirds had formed a group; they would stop at the notice board, accept the bounty, and then leave.
In fact, given Suren's personality, he also preferred team operations, but his own situation was so special that it didn't support him doing so.
Suren felt someone pat her on the shoulder, turned around and saw it was Karl, who pointed in one direction on the signboard.
Suren took a look and discovered that it was a bounty mission initiated by a professor named Augustus De Went, and it was not a regular mission.
This is an escort mission that requires personnel to escort him to the wilderness outside the town for investigation and research. The bounty is 270 pounds and the contribution points are 230, which is quite high.
However, the fact that no one is taking on such a high bounty also illustrates a problem: escort missions can be big or small, and may result in nothing being encountered, or they may be quite dangerous.
Seemingly sensing Suren's hesitation, Karl confidently patted his chest and said:
"Don't worry, I've already used my contribution points to get a map of the wilderness area. Following this route, I'll only encounter scattered Level 1 evil spirits. I'm also very familiar with the professor who gave me the quest, so communication will be easy."
As he spoke, Karl pulled out two oddly shaped objects from his small bag: "I also crafted two alchemical bombs. It's just an exploration mission, that's enough."
Suren knew that this alchemical bomb was exceptionally stable under normal circumstances, and could be detonated by a violent impact after being injected with the source. It was safer to use than traditional explosives.
Suren was somewhat helpless. He recalled the monster he had encountered a few nights ago. Level I evil spirits were not so easy to deal with. Karl had been too presumptuous. However, if he found another partner, the three of them should be fine.
Just then, an untimely, somewhat shrill voice rang out:
"Gentlemen, I think you need a strong outside help."
Suren turned her head and saw a man wearing a hunting dog uniform.
He grinned widely and gave a somewhat awkward bow: "Let me introduce myself first. My name is Cole Weeks. My ability is to see a short glimpse of the future and receive vague revelations. With me here, we can easily bypass those troublesome demons, and this mission will be completed with ease."
Suren sized up the uninvited guest. The man was not tall, only a little over 1.6 meters. His short brown hair was neatly combed, and he was dressed in a tidy manner, even wearing a tie, which contrasted sharply with the slovenly appearance of the other hunting dogs.
Despite Cole's smile, Suren could still detect something unusual in his eyes—the same look he had in the eyes of those high-ranking officials in her previous life, the look they gave when she was carrying out a high-risk mission, the look they gave to cannon fodder.
While Suren was still observing, Karl had already stepped forward and asked curiously:
"Can you really see the future?"