Chapter 536: Preparation

Chapter 536: Preparation

The man who couldn’t argue with Oro could only stick to his role as a bodyguard.

He followed Oro closely as he left the inn.

Now, the entire inn, except for Zheng Yichen’s room, had been taken over by Church members.

The Church members moving inside were surprised to see Oro appear.

For days, Oro had been mysterious and hadn’t left his room.

The only time he had gone out was a few days ago.

Even some fangirls in the team couldn’t help but wonder.

They guessed if Oro and his bodyguard were up to something unspeakable.

Maybe they were lost in a gay vibe, unable to break free.

And only now decided to come out for some fresh air?

Well, after all, Oro had the looks of a mature, handsome man.

He could easily charm noblewomen.

As for fujoshi like existences, since the Magic Weapon Forum appeared, all kinds of weirdos emerged.

Plus, the Creator kept sparking new trends.

Hmm… now, it wasn’t strange to have such people.

Church members were human too.

They weren’t monks or nuns.

Outside their duties, they had their own lives.

Oro smiled and greeted the Church members.

He held up a sign with words he wanted to say.

“I just want to go for a walk. Don’t send anyone to follow me.”

This thing was a writing board.

He got it from Zheng Yichen’s online store when going downstairs.

It had a handle, and the words could be erased by sliding the eraser stick.

This made Oro seriously suspect.

Did that dragon already prepare such things?

Was he waiting to trick him out of money when he went out?

This thing was expensive! Dozens of gold coins.

That was why he could buy this seemingly useless writing board.

Others wouldn’t spend spare money on something temporarily useless.

So, he bought it.

The Church members looked at Oro acting strangely.

Their expressions varied greatly.

Some were simply puzzled.

Others were…

“Lord Oro, are you using this because something hurt your throat?” A female Church member asked hesitantly.

Oro glanced at this female member.

His warm smile became a bit stiff.

He was a clever man, one who loved to wander.

So, wherever he went, he first learned about everything.

He wouldn’t miss understanding the environment or relationships.

These Church members were newly grouped.

But they had investigated some things together before.

So, Oro had a good grasp of everyone’s personalities here.

He knew this speaking female member was a fujoshi.

If others expressed doubt, he wouldn’t overthink.

But with this one, he had to think more.

Even when showing concern, she didn’t need to glance at his bodyguard beside him, right?

And hurt his throat?

What were you thinking with that strangely excited expression…

“I just ate something wrong. It’s not a big deal.”

“Shocking! You ate something wrong? That amazing!?” The female Church member looked even more surprised.

“…” Oro’s smile turned even stiffer.

He was good at scheming, but… well, fine, take it as a lesson.

In the future, he must learn more about the world of fujoshi.

Understand their way of thinking.

Such a normal answer, how could it be twisted to such a staggering extent?

And during the twisting, it even burst out unprecedented ‘Will Power’.

To someone who didn’t understand, say: You know~

The person who didn’t understand would answer: Oh oh oh! Know know!

Wasn’t this a kind of will distortion?

Now, he should just leave here.

Oro didn’t say more and simply left the inn.

On the way, he continued writing on the writing board.

“That girl, after this matter is over, the Church should do a detailed check on her. I suspect she has remarkable talent.”

“…Hmm.” The bodyguard nodded seriously.

He felt the same way.

After all, he sensed that female member’s ‘evil thoughts’ at that time.

He even kept silent because of the chill.

His intuition told him that if he spoke then, it would be twisted into something big in her mouth.

Better to stay quiet.

Oro wandered aimlessly in the town.

He looked bored and uninterested.

In his eyes, he quickly collected information from the town.

Much information didn’t need communication to discover.

It could be found by observing daily behavior.

Oro was precise at reading people’s expressions and details.

From the micro-behaviors or expressions of passersby, he could gather enough information.

For example, after walking through this street, Oro had already figured out.

In this street, who was the most annoying, who was not to be messed with, etc.

This information seemed messy, but after sorting, it could always be useful.

But in this town, Oro didn’t do this for self-protection.

With the big guy behind him, he didn’t need self-protection.

He did it to better try to grasp clues about that Derivative Witch.

This matter was really bad.

Zheng Yichen couldn’t give a specific answer.

Before that, he had to rely on himself, right?

Even knowing a real Witch was targeting these Derivative Witches.

But he didn’t know how many Derivative Witches were active outside.

The Cursed Witch’s targeting might not reach here anytime soon.

So, better work hard.

Later, even if luckily, the Cursed Witch came here.

He could still talk to her… adversarial relationship? Ah~ now with a common goal, a little cooperation was possible.

Besides, this matter involved him and everyone in the town.

Even for these people, putting aside prejudices was fine… hmm, though he had no prejudices against Witches.

These could be used as reasons to convince himself and others. Very useful.

After spending most of the day touring the town, Oro had a good grasp of the situation.

Overall… it was a plain, ordinary small town.

Even if there were troublemakers, they were just thugs formed together.

The town’s mayor was somewhat weak.

He handled things messily, letting easily solvable troubles grow into tumors.

According to Oro’s discovery, without the Derivative Witch incident, the mayor wouldn’t have many good months left.

This unstable factor, hmm, see later.

If the Derivative Witch matter could be solved smoothly, it could be dealt with incidentally.

If not solved… either turned to sand under the Cursed Witch’s power.

Or after that Derivative Witch achieved some goals, hope she kindly leaves.

No one gets hurt, but this possibility was lower, relying on luck, not advisable.

Oro never relied on luck.

Having a lucky mindset, better train to become stronger.

With luck, he couldn’t have wandered safely till now.

After understanding the town’s general situation, Oro didn’t want to linger.

He went back to prepare to see Zheng Yichen again.

Currently, the most graspable breakthrough was from Zheng Yichen.

So, communication with him couldn’t be lacking…

As for seeing that female Church member again when returning, he ignored her!

Really, even if it was talent, creating such ‘mental pollution’ was weird.

“Ah~ solution, ah, after my efforts, I finally found an effective solution. Hey, your shocked look seems so fake?” Zheng Yichen looked at Oro’s surprised face and complained. This expression was overly dramatic.

“I just wanted to match the atmosphere. After all, as one of the only two listeners, being too calm isn’t good.” Oro chuckled. “Sir, you’re amazing, finding a solution so quickly.”

“Not bad. First, those materials… two hundred times is not too much, right?”

“Hmm, not too much. I can help you find out the Church’s Secret Vault location. Then you can go take it.”

“Tsk, then make it one hundred times. This is a complete solution to the problem.” Zheng Yichen tsked. “This Soul Synchronization Derivative Witch, if she synchronizes your soul, what then?”

Oro nodded. “Though I’m confident in my wisdom, I don’t want a being like me to exist. So, having another similar me, forget it. Thinking about it gives me a headache. So, it’s worth it.”

“Hehe, of course it’s worth it. Oh, to solve this trouble, I need the Church to prepare an Ice Soul for me.”

“Then the extra one hundred times reward is gone.” Oro was a bit surprised but quickly calmed down. Ice Soul was a very domineering thing. It could freeze magic, so naturally, it could freeze the Soul!

So, when Zheng Yichen mentioned Ice Soul, it gave a ‘wow, quite reliable’ feeling.

But its value, Oro saying to cancel the extra reward wasn’t exaggerated. Ice Soul definitely had such value. After all, it was a rare special material even in the Church.

Who made it useful against Witches? In a past Witch execution, Ice Soul played a big role. After that Witch died, no lasting remnants were left.

“And the quantity won’t be much, unless you return the Ice Soul afterward.”

“Tsk, can’t I use it as a consumable?” Zheng Yichen tsked, really stingy…

“Ice Soul won’t be easily consumed.” Oro said with a slight smile. Ice Soul could turn to powder, but its pure nature wouldn’t be consumed easily. Even the Ice Soul material used to make the ice blade Magic Arms, after that special Magic Arms broke, the recovered Ice Soul didn’t lose much quantity. The lost part was because it flew away or was taken by Abyssal Creatures.

“Then forget it, give me other materials as reward.” Zheng Yichen waved his hand. “You pay first!”

“This is fine.”

As long as this matter was solved, hundreds of times the original reward was acceptable. Even with the previous, it was 111 portions. Oro thought he was worth this price. After all, if that Derivative Witch really synchronized his soul, having wisdom matching his, and caused trouble for the Church, the loss wouldn’t be this small.

So, worth it!

“Then I’ll wait for your payment.” Zheng Yichen said. Later, Zheng Yichen rarely went out. This time, he went to set up some things. Hmm… that trump card magic was too grand. He had to prepare to cover the traces and hide the aura. Otherwise, some things would become known to all…

Such magic, Zheng Yichen could find in Bona Kaine’s Magic Book. As long as the range was sufficient. Plus, with his ability characteristics, it could achieve the expected effect. In Dan Marina’s detail book, several magic names were listed.

These magics, Zheng Yichnen just needed to arrange them in order. When starting, if the sequence wasn’t wrong, it should be stable.

“Hmm… using Irene’s magic would be more suitable, right?” Zheng Yichen muttered, then thought, forget it, better not. If he did, he couldn’t erase his magic traces like Irene. Residual magic with Irene’s super-magic characteristics, if discovered, would trap his teammates.

Irene’s magic should only be used to cast that suppression magic. One by one, crystals were left by Zheng Yichen around the town. These crystals stored the reserved magic. The crystal making… done standing on the Giant’s shoulders.

Zheng Yichen read too many of Irene’s notes. Probably Irene researched something before. Or her super-magic characteristic magic was too special. Like where she lived, ordinary people or creatures going there would crystallize under the supermagic environment, becoming a magic substance. Anyway, Irene liked crystallized products.

Even, the hair she plucked before was a crystallized product, though soft. In one notebook, Zheng Yichen saw how to make Magic Crystals. Magic Crystals, not Mana Crystals solidified from condensed magic.

Magic Crystals referred to crystallized magic after solidifying a spell, similar to Magic Scrolls. But different, the crystal part was magic. Because of the magic part, the crystallization threshold was lower than pure Mana Crystals. It felt like drawing symbols in air.

Very convenient, and could preserve magic for long. As long as the magic shell wasn’t damaged, and magic concentration during making was enough, preservation time could be longer than some Magic Scrolls. But making such crystals had a hard prerequisite: magic must be pure enough! Pure to the point external free forces couldn’t shake it. Simply put, make your Magic from water to oil or something harder to dissolve.

Zheng Yichen’s magic purity was far from Irene’s level. But the Magic Crystals he made could last ten days to half a month, no problem~

Anyway, besides these preparations, one of Irene’s hairs had to be used now. Not only that, Zheng Yichen had to process enough magic in the Power Crystal. Irene’s magic as reserve power for later use.

“Hmm, this should be fine.” Zheng Yichen muttered, leaving the town’s edge, returning to the inn. Not long after, a figure quietly appeared. It picked up a crystal Zheng Yichen hid underground. This crystal, due to the magic shell, had no mana fluctuation.

Finding it meant someone had been tracking Zheng Yichen. This figure examined the crystal for a moment. Then the Magic Crystal slightly changed—You’ve been tricked!

Four magic-shaped words appeared on the Magic Crystal. These words made the figure pause. Tricked? Really think people are fools? This thing clearly contained vast magic, definitely a special crystallized product.

This must be fake, then the second line appeared—Don’t believe? Look behind you!

“…” The figure turned around. Behind was empty. While the figure was silent, the dark blue Magic Crystal in hand quickly turned red…

Boom—

“Cough, my chess!” The ground tremor broke Oro’s ‘silent meditation’. The Go pieces on the board scattered from the distant explosion’s slight quake. He looked at the bodyguard with eased brows, coughed, and picked up the writing board. “You could have protected them.”

The bodyguard rolled his eyes. “I was too focused!”

“I don’t listen!”

“Then don’t listen. Hmm… let’s stop here for today. Call it a draw. The explosion source is unknown, better not play chess.” The bodyguard said seriously, frowning. His chess skills were good, ranking on the Magic Weapon Forum. But how was he beaten by Oro, a newbie?

First two games, he could beat Oro easily. Third game, things went wrong. Oro completely learned his style and developed new tactics. Could be considered carelessness. Fourth game, he was truly outplayed.

But Oro used his own methods, mixed with few other tactics, making it extra clever. Weird!

“By the way, you never played this before?”

“Does chess count?”

“…Doesn’t count!” The bodyguard twitched his mouth, mood worse. So, besides fighting power, nothing could compare to this Little Moustache. He learned too fast. Not just learning, but applying creatively. Even in unfavorable situations, with a breather, he found new breakthroughs.

No doubt, during the Go game, the bodyguard felt it. Agreed best of three, but Oro made it best of five. First game, crushed him, yes. Second game, Oro still struggled but stubbornly defended long. Though the defense was lousy, gradually pushed to a corner.

Now thinking back, that was Oro’s tactic. Oro’s defense was bad, but stubborn, making him use many of his own methods… that’s when Oro learned his style. While enjoying crushing a newbie, got outplayed.

Indeed… never let guard down, even against weaker ones. Even if weaker in some ways, can’t guarantee they’re not stronger elsewhere.

Oro used his advantage to bridge the gap, counter-attack, even rub him into the ground. This explosion came just in time!

The bodyguard pulled back the curtain, looking outside. It was night; with strong vision, couldn’t see the explosion direction clearly. Only felt the magical fluctuation, a powerful Fire Magic.

“This must be that dragon’s doing.” Sitting at the table, Oro tapped the writing board lightly. When the bodyguard turned back, he showed the board. After reading, the bodyguard’s eye twitched. Oro, while writing, restored the scattered Go pieces to pre-explosion state. “Trust my memory, restored perfectly.”

“…Doesn’t count, no such rule on the board.” The bodyguard righteously refused Oro’s new invitation. “Now’s not time for fun. Serious business, how sure it’s that dragon?”

“You didn’t hear footsteps outside? And door sounds?”

Oro pointed outside. The inn was ordinary, room soundproofing poor. Nearby door sounds, if listened carefully, could be heard clearly. Just now, the bodyguard guilty-minded, focused on the explosion, didn’t notice. Oro did.

The door sounds came from Zheng Yichen’s room. Zheng Yichen rarely went out, being an Alchemical Puppet. Plus from Church intel, this Connor guy multitasked. Here, wandering; in the Containment Zone, active too. Because of him, the Temporary Camp there became enriched… if free to enter, Oro would want to see, but only through pictures now.

Now Zheng Yichen went out. Except them, no strong figures in town. An explosion of this scale, eighty percent Zheng Yichen’s doing!

“Even so…”

“Besides, no need to overthink. To confirm, simple take two steps and ask him.”

“…That simple?” The bodyguard twitched his mouth.

Oro chuckled, took out the Magic Weapon Summoning Book and pressed it on the board. “This game I remember. We’ll replay later. Go, ask about it. After all, this relates to whether we get Church rewards or exile after this…”