Once everyone had gathered around the dining table, the youth Banjie cleared his throat and said, "While everyone is here, do you have any questions for me? For example, anything concerning the Book of Gospel?"
"Yes!" Harvey raised his hand and asked, "Does checking the rankings cost points?"
Even though this was their first encounter with the Book of Gospel, these country bumpkins from foreign lands were immediately captivated by the leaderboards within. Sorcerers were inherently beings who pursued fame, glory, and strength. Who wouldn't want to know which sorcerer was number one in the entire nation, which faction had the most practitioners, and which miracle was the strongest?
Boards directly tied to their own fields—such as the Necromancy Miracle Board and the Mind Miracle Board—naturally made Harvey and Igola's hearts race.
Even if they couldn't learn them, drooling over them would still feel great!
Yet when they opened the Book of Gospel intending to browse the Four-Winged Sorcerer Comprehensive Combat Power Board, the Sorcery Faction Popularity Board, the Miracle Board, and the Sorcery Spirit Board, every single one popped up a prompt that brought freeloaders to tears: "Insufficient points. Unable to purchase."
"It does."
Banjie nodded, but instead of continuing immediately, he produced a metal cigarette case that clashed jarringly with his youthful appearance. "Do you mind?"
"Toss me one too." Harvey waved a hand. "Does it give a buzz?"
"Haha, I'm not young anymore, so this is a healthier herbal blend. I'm just used to smoking when I talk."
"Smoking can be healthy? Eating candy keeps me pretty healthy, too."
Watching the two veteran smokers start puffing clouds of smoke, Yaxiu made a face of disgust. Taking Lisi by the hand, he retreated to the other end of the table and activated his Wind Wall sorcery spirit to form an air barrier.
Igola remained seated without moving, merely flicking his finger lightly. The airflow in the living room shifted, directing the smoke from Banjie and Harvey toward the balcony.
Yaxiu looked a little surprised. "Veela, you know wind sorcery spirits too?"
"Well," Igola said placidly, "it's useful for helping disperse love potions, poisons, that sort of thing."
"...You really have a way of saying horrifying things so casually."
After deftly tapping the ash into his palm, the youth Banjie got down to business. "In a moment, I will provide each of you with the latest revised edition of the Gospel Board Directory. It contains all the boards that rarely change and receive high public attention, such as the Sorcery Faction Popularity Board. If you're interested, you can flip through it at your leisure.
"As for the boards that update frequently, you can only view them by spending points. It's not expensive—one point grants you twenty-four hours of viewing access to a leaderboard. Open your Books of Gospel and check; the points Miss gifted you should have arrived by now."
Yaxiu hastily opened his Book of Gospel, his expression slumping almost instantly. "Only a hundred points?"
"Butler Banjie, may I report Yaxiu by name for his complaining?"
"Igola, you strike-breaker!"
Harvey had been observing Banjie from the side, but he noticed the youth didn't pay any mind to the bickering pair. Instead, Banjie raised his cigarette toward him in an acknowledging gesture. Harvey knew then that this youthful butler was no pushover either—whether Banjie appreciated Igola's obsequiousness or detested Yaxiu's whining, either reaction would have betrayed aspects of his personality.
At the Funeral Agency, aside from Annan, Banjie was the only local native they had access to. As long as he revealed enough of his likes and dislikes, Igola would naturally have room to work his charm.
The moment Banjie had pulled out the cigarette case, the three migrant workers had swiftly exchanged glances and coordinated their roles: Harvey as the spotter, while Yaxiu and Igola played good cop and bad cop, tearing down each other's platforms. If even one of them managed to get closer to Banjie, it would count as a win.
"I wouldn't recommend spending those hundred points on leaderboards," Banjie said. "A hundred points isn't a fortune, but it isn't negligible either. It's at least enough to have the Book of Gospel answer one valuable question for you. Miss gave you those hundred points so you could experience the glory of the Gospel.
"For new sorcerers who are engaging with the Book of Gospel for the first time, several categories of questions offer tremendous value—for example: 'Which sorcery faction am I most talented in?', 'What sorcery spirit should I summon next?', or 'How can I optimize my current sorcery spirit system?'
"Of course, since it's only a hundred points, the Book of Gospel will inevitably keep its answer very brief. However, you can refine your questions further based on its response.
"Still..." Banjie took a drag of his cigarette. "I imagine you might have personal questions you're far more eager to ask."
He hit the nail right on the head.
Strength was certainly important, but people were social animals in the end. Very few sorcerers lived solely for the pursuit of power; strength was merely an effective asset used to acquire other resources. Though many sorcerers ultimately became personifications of power, these stowaways clearly still possessed human joys and sorrows.
Even Harvey, who claimed to have "nothing left to care about," shuddered slightly. He didn't even notice he was smoking his cigarette backward until it burned his lip. Staring fixedly at his Book of Gospel, he seemed at a loss as to what he wanted to ask.
Igola hesitated for a moment before turning the Book of Gospel to the "Inquiries" page, writing with his thoughts: "Did Amy Lexus suffer any negative repercussions because of my escape?"
The Book of Gospel quickly generated a breakdown of fees:
"Close personal connection with target: -80% fee.
Contact with target within the past three days: -65% fee.
Target is a Two-Winged Sorcerer: +50% fee.
Target is not within Gospel Country: +1,000% fee.
"Insufficient points."
As expected, asking about affairs in other countries here carried an exorbitant cost. It wasn't simply querying gathered intelligence, but performing genuine 'prophecy' via miracles. Conversely, asking about matters within Gospel Country would be far cheaper.
Igola's eyes flickered, and he entered: "Information on Annan Doran."
"Deducted 3 points.
"Annan Doran: Ranked 3rd on the Azula Beauty Board, 8th on the Beauty Board, 10th on the Two-Winged Sorcerer Comprehensive Combat Power Board, head of the Funeral Agency ranked 9th on the Azula Mission Board (currently removed from board)."
"Annan Doran's family background."
"You do not have the authority to query a citizen's private information."
Indeed, using the Book of Gospel to investigate individuals only yielded surface-level information. Trying to dig any deeper was met with a refusal. But Igola also noticed that the Book of Gospel didn't say it was forbidden; it said he had "no authority to query." In other words, as long as one possessed the proper authority, one could obtain all information about a person through the Book of Gospel—including, but not limited to, private secrets, geographical location, sorcery factions, and so on.
It seemed the authority wielded by the Red Hat peacekeeping force might be far greater than that of the Bloodmad Hunters...
Wait!
No authority to query a citizen's private information... but could stowaways like them be considered citizens?
Definitely not. How could an invasive foreign species receive legal protection from the Omniscient Weaver? Furthermore, they still had the Omniscient Weaver's confinement countdowns behind their ears. Theoretically, their current standing in Gospel Country was equivalent to red-named monsters. Even if they wanted to clear their names, they would have to wait until the confinement countdown ended.
Which meant that before the countdown expired, the information on Yaxiu and Harvey was completely unrestricted!
Less than two days remained until the countdown ended. If he wanted to dig up their deepest secrets, it had to be right now!
Igola suddenly recalled the Revelation he had received this morning: "Do not ask any questions about Yaxiu Heath."
Experience had proven that whenever Igola acted against a Revelation, it rarely ended well. For instance, getting dragged into Yaxiu's prison break crew, getting implicated by Yaxiu, getting deceived by Yaxiu...
Yet the sole hope of getting leverage over Yaxiu was right before his eyes. He had to consider whether this might be the only chance in his entire life.
Restoring the glory of the Swindler—it was his sacred duty!
"What weaknesses does Yaxiu Heath have that can be used for blackmail and leverage?"
Chapter 200