Chapter 239: The Oracle Envoy

“Ding! Ling!” The sound was crisp and pleasant, like a wind chime by the corner of the wall.

However, Knight Val could hear his own inner thoughts within that sound.

This was the innate ability of the Astrolabe before him, a talent that seemed to be a constant Charm of Persuasion.

The Charm of Persuasion spell allowed the target to communicate with others in any language. It could be said to be a very effective way to communicate, especially for those who traveled far and wide year after year, it was almost a great blessing.

It could ignore differences in language, dialect, or even vocal organs, making human communication much more convenient. For large Merchant Guilds opening new trade routes or shipping lanes, it was an indispensable spell. In front of it, all language training centers and foreign language geniuses were completely useless.

However, the strange nature of this spell meant that Magic Items storing it were not cheap. For Mages who could create Staves, this spell belonged to the third ring, requiring at least a Red Iron Rank Mage to cast it. This meant its price was not much lower than a Fireball Staff.

Although its effects were great, it could not be compared to long-range fire power in war. After all, the income gained from investing in a war, or even gambling on an entire kingdom, was huge. Throughout history, few things could compare. “Rare goods can be held for profit” might not succeed every time, but the benefits it brings far exceed the scope of money.

Given this situation, except for a few large Merchant Guilds with strong backgrounds and deep pockets, most Caravans would hire Bards to join them, so they could serve as human Staves when needed. This was because Bards could learn this spell much more easily than Mages.

In addition, when the journey became boring, they could use music to relieve the boredom. When attacked, besides boosting morale, they could also become an effective fighting force. It could be said to be one person, multiple uses, a versatile worker on the road of trade.

Of course, this spell was not without flaws. According to the description, it allowed the target to understand and speak the languages of other intelligent beings, whether racial languages or dialects.

Of course, the target could only speak one language at a time, but the number of languages they could understand could be more than one. This spell could not allow the target to communicate with non-speaking creatures. More importantly, within the range of sound transmission, all creatures could hear what the target said. This spell could not decide what other creatures would say to the target.

Its biggest problem was that it directly translated the things described in the other party’s language into words the target could understand. If the other party’s items had no similar words, then the translation could not proceed. At the same time, such translations would have various flaws in details, and if used for legal clauses, tragedy would occur eight times out of ten. Of course, even the best translators would probably make mistakes when facing legal texts.

Facing the little one’s involuntary affection, Knight Val let the “Astrolabe” circle around him. Then he reached out to touch its outer ring structure and said: “Little one! Is Laurel free right now?”

The “Astrolabe” stayed in front of Knight Val for a while, then landed on his shoulder.

“His research should end in the afternoon! So please invite him to the Manor for dinner tonight! Although Mages need to be able to endure loneliness, occasionally feeling some warmth is good for his too-tight nerves.” Speaking, Knight Val rubbed his cheek against the little one on his shoulder, and the latter immediately let out a series of pleasant tinkling sounds.

The little one before his eyes was usually called the “Oracle Envoy” and was one of the vast Envoy of the Sky Clan. Most Oracle Envoys were incarnations of simple souls who remained devout until their last breath.

They forgot their existence in life, but undoubtedly retained some spiritual traits—narrowly speaking, a certain worldview. Oracle Envoys often used fables or proverbs to illustrate their current tasks.

As Celestial Creatures, the Envoy of the Sky Clan existed in the Lawful Good Plane. When a Lawful Good deity wanted to influence the Material Plane, it would usually achieve its purpose through these intermediaries known as the Envoy of the Sky Clan. Over time, these creatures were also called the Envoy of the Sky.

Although ranked at the bottom in the Envoy of the Sky family, the Oracle Envoy lacked the more powerful abilities of other Sky Envoys, such as Spirit Light and Teleportation. Nevertheless, they remained steadfast in their dedication to fighting Evil. These little things served as messengers and assistants for other higher Sky Clans in Heaven.

On the Prime Material Plane, they guided mortals on how to better serve Order and Holy Light; some even went to the Outer Planes as junior envoys to explore.

Most importantly, the Oracle Envoy could also serve in the role they longed for—a Familiar. They were willing to take full responsibility for guiding their master’s soul toward redemption.

Of course, not every Mage could have such a little family as their Familiar. This required not only that the Mage and their Familiar be compatible in their alignment—at least not too different—but also required more research and effort in the summoning and Contract of the Familiar.

A Familiar was an intimate partner summoned by spellcasters like Mages or Sorcerers! They might not have the combat power of a Druid’s Animal Companion, but they were excellent helpers for Mages, far from being just ordinary pets.

Because Familiars were usually linked to their masters by Magic, in a sense, the Familiar and the master were one. This was why Familiar owners could usually cast spells that were originally meant only for themselves onto their Familiars nearby. In daily life, they could help Mages handle trivial chores, deliver letters, or even conduct some spell experiments. In necessary situations, they could also serve as a medium for Mages to transmit spells, or even pour potions for them after the Mage was seriously injured and unable to move.

Most Familiars were originally ordinary animals, but after being summoned by a Sorcerer or Mage to become a Familiar, they gained new abilities and became Magical Beasts. At the same time, the Familiar could grant its master some special abilities. Usually, these special abilities were only effective if the Familiar and the master were within one mile of each other.

For example, a Bat could make its master’s movements more natural when hanging in the air—this was especially obvious when releasing flying spells.

A Cat could make its master move more silently, just like a cat’s footsteps. A Falcon could make its master’s vision as sharp as its own, easily noticing subtle changes in bright light.

A Lizard could make its master more capable when climbing. A lively Monkey could make its master’s movements more agile.

An Owl, on the other hand, opposite to a Falcon, could make its master’s vision sharp in the shadows. A tough Rat could make its master’s body more resilient.

A Raven, which liked to steal and collect shiny objects like smooth pebbles, metal, and golf balls, could make its master more easily discover the shine of items and evaluate their value. Moreover, Crows possessed a unique supernatural ability: they could speak any language chosen by their master.

A seemingly gloomy and scary Snake could make its master’s thoughts more delicate and agile, making them more talented in Bluffing. If this fellow was not taken out, combined with the identity of a Mage, it would be quite easy to trick some young girls.

And a seemingly disgusting Toad could make its master’s life force even tougher. A Weasel could make its master’s reflexes more sharp, allowing them to dodge sudden dangers more cleanly.

Of course, all of the above were just normal cases. However, Mages who specialized in a specific school dedicated their lives to a single school of magic. Therefore, certain specific creatures could respond to their summoning and become their helpers.

A Warder was an expert in magical defense and alarms. Matching the image of a Mystic Guardian, the animal with the best protective ability: a Turtle would often become the Familiar for such Mages.

A Hexer was good at summoning suitable materials or creatures to handle problems at hand. As long as they could give the enemy time to react before they could, they could handle the situation well. In this regard, a Hummingbird Familiar could greatly help improve their speed and reaction abilities.

A Prophet was good at using magic to reveal ancient secrets and seemingly clever lies. Their partners were no surprise: they were experts who could fly poetically along the walls.

An Enchanter possessed the power to control minds and manipulate senses. They were often pretentious and exaggerated Mages, and their Familiar—a beautiful and elegant Stoat—made their extremely charming appeal concrete.

A Conjurer was an expert in creation, weaving a web of power with magical energy, capturing all forms of energy from darkness, fire, to explosions. To avoid causing crises when they operated spells, a Spider was usually the Familiar chosen by such Mages, enhancing their skills in concealing their spellcasting actions.

An Illusionist was an expert in tricks and sleight of hand. These cunning Mages were good at creating false but realistic things. Of course, it was no surprise that such Mages would be with animals known for cunning and sneakiness in nature—Foxes. Perhaps this was the most feared specialized Mage; a Necromancer was an expert in death. They relied on bones and corpses to power their spells. A Necromancer’s closest partner was often a Carrion Vulture.

For most people devoted to the Path of Transmutation, the Moth or Butterfly Caterpillar, which changed the most in nature, was the most attractive to them.

And when a Mage became interested in a Familiar, put in more research on the summoning and Contract of the Familiar, and succeeded, then they could summon a Familiar that was stronger than those of others.

The Oracle Envoy was one of them. Don’t let its tiny and delicate appearance fool you; its actual combat ability was probably even greater than that of an ordinary common Human Adventurer. Because the Oracle Envoy could extend the blades within its body to use as its main natural weapon for attack.

These blades, comparable to daggers, exceeded ordinary weapons in attack and damage due to Magic. They were also treated as Magic and Good weapons when penetrating damage reduction. Although the Oracle Envoy’s own strength was insufficient, its flexible and agile movements could cause a threat greater than that of a Gnome Thief equipped with ordinary Gray Rock Rank gear. Furthermore, once per minute, the Oracle Envoy could release an energy beam, dealing Force Field damage to adjacent creatures equivalent to a Greatsword swing.

Moreover, the Oracle Envoy could decompose itself into parts, just like a Gaseous Form. More importantly, in this state, it could move as freely as usual while passing through gaps larger than one inch. This allowed it to sneak into quite a few places to gather intelligence or open doors.

Most importantly, as a Celestial Creature, the Oracle Envoy could naturally use quite a few spell-like abilities. It permanently had Detect Evil and Anti-Evil Runes, making it easier for its master to deal with Evil creatures.

The Daze Light spell, which could be used at will, was not very powerful but quite convenient. Once a week, the Commune spell allowed it to contact the deity it worshipped or its agent and ask questions that could be answered with a simple yes or no.

This spell allowed the Oracle Envoy to ask the deity six questions. These questions would receive the correct answers known by the deity.

Of course, an answer of “Unsure” was also reasonable, because these powerful Outer Plane beings were not omniscient and omnipotent. If a single-word answer was likely to mislead people or went against the deity’s interests, a short sentence—five words or fewer—could be used to answer.

Such vague information or information that might not be very useful to others was a great help for Divination School Mages who were good at investigation and discovering secrets! This could help him see through a lot of falsehoods to get the final truth.

Finally, three times a day, the Light Wound and Protection from Evil spells were also useful in battle. Of course, at Laurel Botfish’s current level of power, this was already not very significant. But in those green years back then, those few spell-like abilities had saved his life several times.

A Mage’s experiment could not be interrupted unless absolutely necessary. This was basic common knowledge on the Continent, and Knight Val could not possibly not know the risks involved. Even though the current situation could be said to be very urgent, he would not risk making Laurel Botfish unhappy by disturbing his research. After all, the next steps would require the other party to put in a lot of effort!

For the next two days, the Bolerum Territory appeared no different from usual on the surface. But if someone was careful, they would notice that the caravans transporting grain and supplies were entering and leaving more frequently, and the lawn outside the barracks was trampled soft.

“A pound of crushed diamonds!” After seeing the quote before him, Viscount Bolerum hesitated and cast his gaze toward George.

George heard this and first sighed with relief, then began to frown. He asked: “Are these all spellcasting materials? Did Mr. Botfish not mention any other content?”

“Yes, because of the Dark Elves this time. Percyn seemed quite excited. She used her Divine Arts to ask the gods of the Upper Plane some very insightful questions. This might be a strategy of the good gods against those Dark Elves! The information obtained from this Commune spell could be said to be unprecedentedly perfect. I even dare not believe that Percy could ask such delicate and precise questions, like a Devil’s Contract!” Remembering something, Knight Val’s expression was like seeing a ghost.

Because as far as he knew, the Oracle Envoy was not actually that smart. The questions heard from the Commune spell that night were like legal documents given by Devil lawyers one after another. This was completely beyond Knight Val’s understanding. Even for someone as experienced as him, he couldn’t help but wonder in his heart. He felt that something strange was revealed in this matter.

Feeling something was wrong from these words, George suddenly jumped up from his seat: “Commune? And still 6 questions? Is that Percy a Priest of Black Lead Rank on a journey? A person of that character in a smaller Church would be equivalent to a Diocese Bishop. How did she suddenly appear in our Bolerum Territory?”

Knight Val, confused by George’s question, was first stunned. Then, coming to his senses, he shook his head with a smile: “Percy is Laurel’s Familiar. But this Familiar is not some common mass-produced item, but one of the rare Envoy of the Sky Clan on the Prime Material Plane. As an ‘Oracle Envoy’, using the Commune spell is like his instinct. Although the interval between each use is relatively long.”

“Then have you already gotten the answers?” Viscount Bolerum put down his teacup and asked.

“Although we didn’t get the answers, we eliminated quite a lot of possibilities. This greatly narrowed the scope of investigation and defense. Laurel believes he can complete this task at most in two days—this change made him very happy. Because he now has a research result on the verge of breakthrough. Now he is eager to throw everything aside and throw himself wholeheartedly into his research. With the large amount of time saved, Laurel was in a great mood, so except for the consumption of required spellcasting materials, he only collected a symbolic portion of the fees. This was all included in that crushed diamonds.” Although his mouth spoke lightly, Knight Val’s face showed increasing gravity.

Seeing this situation, Viscount Bolerum looked down and thought for a while. Then he asked uncertainly: “Isolde, do you feel that there is interference from others behind this matter?”

“This can no longer be described as coincidence; everything is too strange.” Knight Val expressed his opinion.

George, who had sat back down, sighed and said: “But we have no evidence, right? The other party could do this much and even hide it from Mr. Val, a Legend, and Mr. Botfish, a great Prophet. It seems that the only way to know the other party’s final goal is to follow their wishes to the end.”