Empty Door Sorcery Spirit

Kaleidoscope's Black Robe Town. Inside the Fox Lamp Icehouse, the whiteboard used to record intelligence had not been taken down. Although nearly a week had passed since the conclusion of the Four Great Inheritances, exchanging information remained a fundamental necessity for sorcerers. In the past, this demand had always been suppressed among Senluo's sorcerers; now that it had erupted, it was naturally impossible to stuff back in—much like how once you grow fond of sleeping naked, you start finding underwear terribly in the way. What was more, the Senluo Wasteland was still engulfed in the war between the Harp Sun Alliance and the Four Pillar Cult. Black Robe Town served as a vital crossroads connecting all directions, with countless pieces of intelligence pouring into the settlement every moment. At the same time, recent developments in the Void Realm made sorcerers all the more eager to probe and converse with others. "Why are there fewer dishes on the menu again? And why has everything gone up in price?" The pretty, red-haired girl began complaining the moment she sat down. "Because the steak suppliers raised their prices." The peach-like female supervisor leaned lazily against the counter. Her ample bosom was pressed flat against the tabletop, its buttons clinging to the fabric like lone deathsworn soldiers gritting their teeth, barely holding her clothes together as if they might burst open at any second. "I'm having the Lalafell combo, not steak!" "Well, *I* eat steak," the supervisor replied with a shrug. "If you don't like it, you can settle your bill in gold coins. There's even a discount." Yaxiu was momentarily struck dumb. Turning to Igola, he asked, "What do you think about tonight's dinner budget...?" "The budget stays the same," Igola said calmly. "It's not that I insist on eating so much myself, but look at Harvey and Chikala—they're still growing. They definitely won't get full on this..." "Oh, don't worry about me," Harvey said. "If I'm really not full, I can always mooch off Alice's meals. Same goes for Chikala—he's Alice's slave anyway." Alice... the food for that corpse... as I recall, it was... Yaxiu clapped a hand over his mouth to keep from throwing up. Chikala clearly took issue with the suggestion too, but didn't dare say a word. Gwen, who was in the middle of taking a sip of water, nearly sprayed it across the table. Igola raised an eyebrow. "Who knew a necromancer could be useful once in a while? Has your appetite soured now? Good, you can eat less." In recent days, the cost of living in Black Robe Town had skyrocketed as if it had sprouted wings, climbing exponentially. Compared to before the war, general expenses had more than tripled. The primary reason was that gold and silver coins served as universal equivalents capable of functioning as strategic materials. Naturally, during wartime, they were hoarded and bought up, causing the purchasing power of coins still circulating to soar. In other words, anyone with money in hand didn't need to do a thing these days; their assets appreciated out of thin air simply by virtue of the changing situation! —At least, that was the theory. However, "gold and silver coins" were split into silver coins and gold coins. Gold coins were strategic materials for Two-Wing and Three-Wing sorcerers, as both Two-Wing and Three-Wing sorcery spirits could be nourished with gold coins. Moreover, Two-Wing and Three-Wing sorcerers formed the core combat strength and middle management of every cult. In contrast, silver coins could only feed one-winged sorcery spirits, and One-Wing sorcerers rarely played significant roles in warfare, serving mainly as logistical support. With one side needed by logistical staff and the other needed by core combatants, gold coins were naturally consumed at a far faster rate than silver. And while the value of gold coins surged, the value of silver coins plummeted! If the exchange rate between gold and silver coins in a peaceful nation was 1:100, then in Senluo's past it had been 1:150. Now it was nearly 1:1,000, and 1:1,500 in a few days was well within the realm of possibility! Establishments like the Fox Lamp Icehouse, where prices raised in silver but dropped in gold, were by no means rare in Kaleidoscope's Black Robe Town. Even skewers vendors on the street put up "ultra-low prices" for payments settled in gold coins. The underlying reason was that silver coins were the primary assets of commoners and One-Wing sorcerers, and their rate of consumption was vastly lower than that of gold coins. In wartime, gold coins were akin to high-end luxuries, whereas silver coins were closer to a "universal equivalent," leaving them ripe for ruthless exploitation. If the cults had initially tightened their grip on gold coins for strategic reserves, by now they were more or less speculating on gold for speculation's sake. So long as a faction held the largest gold reserve, it could leverage economic superiority to crush the other cults in one fell swoop after the war—an opportunity anyone could see! Yet before any economic victory could arrive, what inevitably erupted first was an economic crisis. The disappearance of several dishes at the Fox Lamp Icehouse was merely a symptom. In a few months, the icehouse would likely have to close down with nothing left to sell—silver coins had depreciated so absurdly that producers would rather barter than accept silver! In other nations, an outbreak of economic crisis was naturally a grave social catastrophe. But on the Senluo Wasteland, where even the lineage of economics had been broken and no monetary system worthy of the name existed, an economic crisis was hardly worth mentioning. The various cults were closer to pastoral feudal societies, self-sufficient even without commerce or trade. Just grit your teeth and endure it; once the Holy War is won, all of Senluo will be ours! Besides, with thousands or tens of thousands dying on the front lines every day, could an economic crisis kill people more efficiently than sorcerers? How many divisions did an economic crisis have? The only ones suffering were flexibly employed Sanctuary Sorcerers like Yaxiu and his companions. Following the intense battles in the Dream Heaven, Chikala, Igola, and Harvey's three-winged sorcery spirits were as starved as if they hadn't eaten in a month. It took nearly a month's worth of gold coins for them to recover, causing the party's gold reserves to plummet. Furthermore, Yaxiu had acquired two four-winged sorcery spirits, Heart Sword and Sword Mark. He didn't even dare feed them to satiety, providing only five gold coins a day to maintain baseline combat strength, yet this still drastically increased the group's expenses. Daily living expenses could normally have been covered with silver coins. But with silver depreciating so ridiculously and everyone unwilling to squander their gold, they naturally had no choice but to tighten their belts. Even so, the Fox Lamp Icehouse was still bustling with noise and activity, a hubbub of chatter and lively voices. Yet the topic on everyone's lips wasn't the war, but recent developments in the Void Realm. "A friend of mine opened an empty door and fished out several large chests of gold coins!" "That's nothing! A friend of mine even fished out a Slashfish Wyvern through an empty door!" "The whiteboard says the odds of finding treasure in a basement are higher. Is that true?" "Sure, but the odds of spawning monsters are higher too! My... my friend's cult opened an empty door, and a whole swarm of monsters suddenly barged through. Took quite an effort to put them down." Yaxiu and the others pricked up their ears, listening to the surrounding chatter while looking at the new information on the whiteboard: "[Empty Door Sorcery Spirit: Readily dropped by Void Realm creatures such as the Slashfish Wyvern, Fox Lamp Wyvern, Jyuratodus, and White Velociprey. Note: The drop rate may only be elevated during this recent period.]" "[At the same location, the same Empty Door sorcery spirit can lead to different places.]" "[Above sea level, the sorcery mana consumed by the Empty Door sorcery spirit increases significantly, and it often only opens an empty door leading to Void Realm turbulence (suspected). The lower below sea level, the higher the stability of the Empty Door sorcery spirit, and the higher the probability of leading to a real location.]" "[Using the Empty Door sorcery spirit in a place piled with gold coins makes it easier to open a door leading to a gold treasury (suspected).]" "[Using the Empty Door sorcery spirit after midnight reduces the probability of encountering Void Realm turbulence (suspected).]" "[Activating empty doors on the surface nine times that lead to Void Realm turbulence, then going underground to activate the Empty Door sorcery spirit a tenth time, yields a high probability of leading to a real location (suspected).]" On the whiteboard, aside from the first two notes being more or less confirmed, all the rest were "suspected" claims steeped in superstition and gaming lore. And all this information revolved around a new sorcery spirit—the Empty Door sorcery spirit! The reason this sorcery spirit garnered such massive attention, aside from its unique utility, was its outrageously high drop rate, which had caused it to proliferate almost overnight. Except for Yaxiu, who couldn't enter the Void Realm due to soul injuries, and the illiterate Black Crow, everyone else had acquired this spirit during their explorations of the Void Realm over the past few days. It was practically at the point where out of ten spirits encountered outside, nine were Empty Door sorcery spirits. Judging by its name, this sorcery spirit's proper function should have been breaking into empty places or slipping through barriers—such as manifesting a door in a wall—and it indeed worked like that. But soon, sorcerers discovered that casting the Empty Door sorcery spirit on thin air would open a door leading to who-knew-where! Although most of the time it opened into Void Realm turbulence capable of annihilating everything, even if one struck it lucky and hit a real location, the other side might be solid earth, sea water, magma, or ten thousand meters up in the air. Yet this discovery alone gave the Empty Door sorcery spirit countless applications—such as setting traps or acting as defensive barriers. Most importantly, however, the Empty Door sorcery spirit could potentially achieve spatial traversal! A sorcery spirit capable of endlessly generating random Void Realm passages! Anyone could see the immense value of such a spirit. In war, if the door could be targeted, one could decapitate the enemy command directly; in logistics, if the door could be targeted, infinite shipping legs could be eliminated, allowing instant, one-step exchanges of supplies! This was similar to the spatial teleportation arrays operated by Sanctuary Sorcerers, yet infinitely cheaper! What was more, spatial teleportation required a Sanctuary Sorcerer to activate, whereas a one-winged Empty Door sorcery spirit could be cast even by a Silver Sorcerer! Even if countless technical hurdles remained to be overcome, the emergence of the Empty Door sorcery spirit was destined to trigger a technological explosion for the space faction. In the past, the space faction had developed slowly, mainly because sorcerers had to toil until reaching the Distant Sky Realm just to gain entry. It was an elite, rarified path, overwhelmingly dependent on breakthrough pushes by generational geniuses. Now, with a low-tier spirit like the Empty Door sorcery spirit, countless Silver Sorcerers could study the space faction through it, and some might even major in the space faction at One-Wing or Two-Wing! As the barrier to entry dropped, a boom of spatial sorcery spirits would follow, rapidly advancing the normalization of spatial teleportation! Yet compared to grand historical narratives, this Empty Door sorcery spirit held a far more practical significance for Yaxiu and his companions: Going home! They no longer had to search for Grey Fox legacies; by relying on the Empty Door sorcery spirit, they might open an empty door leading to the Gospel, the Blood Moon, or even the Stars! Yet precisely because of this, the atmosphere within this bizarre party—composed of a deceiver, a necrophile, a crow cull, a Four Pillar believer, a Four Pillar bishop, and a former leader of the Four Pillar Cult—had grown subtly tense lately. Before long, Yaxiu finished his Lalafell combo. Still feeling only half full, he held out a hand toward Igola. Igola handed him a coin pouch. Yaxiu weighed it in his palm and noticed the weight wasn't quite right. The corners of his lips curled up slightly. Gesturing for Black Crow to follow, he swaggered off to go on an eating rampage down the snack street. Black Crow was initially puzzled as to how Yaxiu had so much money, but after catching a sharp-eyed glimpse of gold coins inside the pouch, he understood at once. The two arrived at their familiar corner and sat back to back to eat, just like usual. Yaxiu no longer hid his inner turmoil, his brows knitting tightly together, though it did nothing to slow the pace of his eating. Black Crow, surprisingly, was the one to initiate conversation: "Yaxiu, how many days have you been in Senluo?" "A little over two months?" Yaxiu thought for a moment and sighed. "So much has happened; time feels like it's crawled by." "Do you like it here, then?" "Are you asking that seriously?" "Of course," Black Crow said calmly. "I've never heard of or visited other nations. I'm not a sorcerer, nor can I enter the Void Realm... Ever since I was born, I have lived on this wasteland. My life is bound to this land." Yaxiu felt he had been somewhat impolite. Gathering his thoughts, he said slowly, "Compared to the nations I've visited before, Senluo is far too chaotic and lawless. Religions are in constant conflict, and there's no unified government... All the factions recklessly wage war against one another using Grey Fox legacies. I truly don't like it here." "However," he continued, "the people of Senluo possess the fiercest vitality of any people I've ever met. Despite oppressive conditions, religious steering, lifespan limitations, and countless other factors, nearly every person in Senluo has held fast to illusory, grand ideals at some point. Even the believers who've joined the Four Pillar Cult are no exception—they were only seduced by the Four Pillar Gods after their ideals shattered." "Isn't that completely ordinary?" Black Crow asked, puzzled. "If you had visited the Blood Moon and the Gospel, you would understand how unique you all are," Yaxiu said. "Blood Moon, Gospel, Senluo... It's honestly hard for me to judge which of the three is better or worse. In the Blood Moon, people amuse themselves to death, and commoners lead peaceful lives, but the vast majority face the cruelest elimination while still infants. In the Gospel, everything is fine, except from the moment you're born, your future is set in stone, arranged with absolute certainty. In Senluo, almost everything is terrible, yet every one of you strives to bloom with all your might. Unless a grand law collapses, it's rare to see anxiety, hesitation, or confusion in any of you; everyone is fighting for their ideals and faith. If the people of the Blood Moon have grown numb amidst amusement, and the people of the Gospel are trapped in comfort, unable to step outside, then the people of Senluo shine brightly amidst suffering. "Even when a grand law collapses, some people's radiance cannot be concealed by the night." Yaxiu paused. "I'm talking about you, Tamashi." Black Crow let out a nasal hum in response. "Mm." "The Transcendent Cult, the Twin Cult, the Bronze Law Cult, even the Calamitous Fire Sanctuary... while I don't agree with their methods, I respect their ideals. If everyone were merely scrambling after money, women, and power, the world would be far too boring." Yaxiu looked up at the night sky and said softly, "Though there are no stars in the night sky, all of you look up toward distant ideals. By the way, do you know which cult's ideals I feel most drawn to?" Black Crow immediately answered, "Slay All Crows?" "The Calamitous Fire Sanctuary." Black Crow: "(°ー°〃)?" "Because I truly love the ideal of the Fire Cat grand law: allowing ordinary people to command sorcery spirits as well," Yaxiu smiled. "It challenges the very foundations of the sorcerer system and threatens the interests of the sorcerer class. In other nations, speaking such an ideal aloud would only invite ridicule. Yet only in the nation of Senluo could it actually become a goal that sorcerers across the entire country fought for together. The Calamitous Fire Sanctuary's desire to chase the glory of the Fire Cat Divine Era has a genuine appeal to me. "If I hadn't lost to Silver Lantern, if I could have kept pretending to be the First Gospel and commanded the Calamitous Fire Sanctuary, perhaps..." Yaxiu shrugged. "Well, there's no point in 'what ifs.' "So, I don't like the land of Senluo," he concluded. "But I like a certain era of Senluo, a certain ideal, or perhaps... a certain person." "You don't need to spare my feelings," Black Crow said. "I was just looking for something casual to talk about." "Go ask Igola if I've ever spared anyone's feelings," Yaxiu huffed, then asked curiously, "But what got into you tonight anyway? In the past, you rarely even joined in conversations, let alone started them. I always felt like you were staring at Igola's neck, trying to find the best angle for decapitation..." Black Crow replied, "Because you've never brought up when you all plan to leave."