Chapter 504: Messenger Ritual

Looking at the altar, which was set with candles, a silver bowl, and other items, Anthony asked with some worry and uncertainty:

"Can we really have our own messenger?"

His current occult knowledge and experience told him that "messengers" were extremely rare. Only Beyonders of special pathways who had reached a certain sequence, or high-ranking individuals possessing divinity, possessed such special contracted creatures that could be contacted at any time and summoned by others.

Franca said with a smile:

"Other Beyonders might not be able to, but we still have a chance."

"Having a messenger requires three prerequisites: first, understanding Spirit World creatures, knowing which ones can serve as messengers, what their characteristics are, and what kind of incantations can be designed to summon them precisely; second, that the Spirit World creature is willing to respond to the summons and does not reject signing a contract with you to become your messenger; third, having a unique spirit contract and a deity to witness this contract to constrain the behavior of both parties and clarify their respective duties."

"Look, don't these three points lack any restriction on pathways and sequences? They only have implicit constraints, but there are ways to bypass them."

"For ordinary Beyonders, the hardest part is the first point. Under normal circumstances, how could they have such sufficient understanding of Spirit World creatures? Even if they summon one occasionally, they do so with trepidation, fearing that the incantation is vague and will bring a monster that can kill them and wants to wipe out their entire family. Perhaps as time passes, they can rely on the notes and experiences of their predecessors to accumulate some relatively reliable summoning incantations, but the vast majority of these have nothing to do with messengers."

"We are different. We are members of the Tarot Club and have the Spirit World creature expert, Ms. Magician. You saw it before; there is a pile of Spirit World creature data at Charles's place. Ms. Magician has also carefully selected thirty types of Spirit World creatures this time that are suitable as messengers and have a certain willingness to serve as messengers for mid-sequence Beyonders, directly skipping the most difficult hurdle."

"Otherwise, to give a simple example, the speed at which Spirit World creatures 'traverse the Spirit World' varies. Some messengers can travel from southern Intis to Trier in just a few minutes, some need ten to thirty minutes, and some might take half a day or a full day. If you don't know anything and sign a messenger that needs half a year or even a year for this distance, what would be the point?"

"I'm not called Charles Dubois anymore." After Franca finished explaining part of the knowledge to the occult world newcomers, Anthony and Jenna, Lumian specifically reminded her.

Franca gave a dry laugh:

"Isn't it just habit? You were already called Charles when I met you, and I've been calling you that for months."

She continued:

"For the second prerequisite, we also have ways to bypass it. Normally, only Beyonders of pathways like 'Corpse Collector' who have an affinity with spirits and other Spirit World creatures can make them willing to be summoned and potentially sign a messenger contract. Reaching the 'Spirit Guide' sequence, one can even semi-forcibly make a target one has taken a fancy to become their messenger. Without such special traits, one usually can only rely on their rank to suppress and subdue them."

"And we follow Mr. Fool. You have all heard the Church's scriptures; you should know that Mr. Fool is the great master who dominates the Spirit World. Strictly speaking, those Spirit World creatures all belong under his jurisdiction. As members of the Tarot Club, summoning Spirit World creatures and signing messenger contracts with them will certainly be much easier. Especially Charles—uh, Lumian—who carries Mr. Fool's power. Look at how he summoned Spirit World creatures before; when has he ever failed? At most, the direction was vague, and the thing that came wasn't the one he wanted."

"For the third prerequisite, Ms. Magician has already given Lumian a special spirit contract. It is specifically prepared for messengers. The witness should have been the God of Death, but it can be replaced by an angel from the Netherworld or the spirit realm. And beside Mr. Fool's throne sits a 'Death Angel'! He is the governor of the Netherworld!"

"Actually, I think using Mr. Fool's honorific name directly wouldn't be a problem either. Would Spirit World creatures dare to disobey the orders of the great master who dominates the Spirit World?"

The data given by Ms. Magician contains a four-line description of the Netherworld, which can be written down as the witness.

Jenna and Anthony listened very carefully and attentively. This occult knowledge was quite precious, and parts of it could explain many problems even in ordinary summoning rituals.

After Franca finished playing the teacher, Lumian took out the stack of carefully selected Spirit World creature data and said to Jenna:

"You go first."

"Me?" Jenna pointed at herself, looking blank and surprised.

In summoning rituals, she was a complete novice.

Lumian smiled:

"You have that lucky gold coin. According to Ms. Magician, it has a certain connection to Mr. Fool and is equivalent to his token. This will make you more likely than Franca and Anthony to summon a specific creature and complete the messenger contract."

"My success probability should be about the same as yours, but I have a lot of messy things on me. I'm afraid it will cause mutations and ruin the rest of tonight's attempts, so I'll go last."

Jenna thought about it carefully and felt that what Lumian said made a lot of sense.

She muttered something, took the data, and flipped to the page she had chosen earlier.

It recorded a type of Spirit World creature she was relatively familiar with:

"Knowledge Rabbit."

Of course, this wasn't an ordinary "Knowledge Rabbit." Ordinary "Knowledge Rabbits" couldn't serve as messengers. This was a "Knowledge Rabbit" that had absorbed certain knowledge and undergone special mutations.

Jenna had a pretty good impression of the "Knowledge Rabbit," feeling that it was relatively friendly and willing to provide help to humans, so she had picked it from the start.

Of course, another reason was that she felt the "Knowledge Rabbit" was very cute; its dazed look was quite interesting.

Jenna pulled out that page of data, entered the altar area, recalled Franca's teachings and the occult knowledge that came with the "Witch" potion, and quickly sanctified the ritual silver dagger, creating a "Wall of Spirituality."

After completing all the preparatory work, she stepped back two paces, looked at the candlelight, and uttered a short, powerful word in Ancient Hermes:

"I!"

Immediately after, she switched to Hermes:

"I summon in my name:"

"A rabbit-shaped spirit body wandering in the void, a friendly creature that can communicate, a runner chasing knowledge."

In this incantation, the original "weakling" was changed to "runner" to point to that special "Knowledge Rabbit."

The candlelight suddenly turned murky green and expanded to the size of a human head.

A transparent creature resembling a rabbit walked out of the murky green candlelight.

Its eyes were not as dull and dazed as other "Knowledge Rabbits"; instead, they shone with wisdom. In its hands, it held a blurry book with an orange-red cover.

Its hind legs were strong and powerful; one look and you could tell it was exceptionally good at running.

Jenna succeeded on her first attempt and was very happy inside.

She asked with a bit of trepidation in Ancient Hermes:

"Are you willing to become my messenger?"

That mutated "Knowledge Rabbit" glanced at Jenna and asked back in Intisian:

"Have you ever called my kind fools or idiots before?"

"No." Jenna said very sincerely, "I occasionally curse, but it's not directed at anyone; it's just an expression of emotion."

Occasionally? Lumian mocked Jenna in his heart.

The mutated "Knowledge Rabbit" observed Jenna seriously, not knowing what method it used to confirm she wasn't lying.

Of course, this might just be going through the motions; having the answer that she hadn't cursed them was enough, whether it was true or false didn't matter.

The rabbit nodded up and down and said:

"You need to pay me a reward. Every time you summon me, you need to give me a book or an equivalent amount of knowledge. This can be given by you, or you can let the person writing the letter to you bear the cost."

It agreed just like that? If I had cursed them before, would I have been unable to summon this rabbit as a messenger? I couldn't summon it either; there should only be this one special "Knowledge Rabbit" developing toward being a messenger... Lumian knew "Knowledge Rabbits" were easy to talk to, but he didn't expect it to be this easy.

Jenna glanced at the data placed at the edge of the altar, where there was a hint:

"The knowledge you feed the 'Knowledge Rabbit' determines what it will become in the future."

Would feeding it books from postmen improve its awareness and ability as a messenger? Jenna muttered in her heart while answering:

"No problem, let's sign the contract."

Following the template given by Ms. Magician, she quickly wrote the contract on the brownish parchment using the dark red fountain pen on the altar, including the reward terms agreed upon just now.

This was composed of Ancient Hermes; every word seemed to be connecting with nature and the power of the Spirit World. Jenna relied on her usual studies and the knowledge that came with the "Witch" potion to master this extraordinary language in the shortest possible time.

Immediately after, Jenna wrote down the corresponding occult description of the Netherworld:

"The destination of all who die, the hell hidden deep in the Spirit World, the witness to the decay of all things, the kingdom belonging solely to the God of Death."

As she wrote, she saw those Ancient Hermes words ignite with murky green flames; the original ones were no exception.

Finally, recalling Lumian's prior hint, Jenna specifically used a clause to fix the summoning incantation as: "A rabbit-shaped spirit body wandering in the void, a runner chasing knowledge, the messenger belonging solely to Grail Seven."

She still didn't use her real name, fearing that if she encountered betrayal in the future, someone who knew her messenger summoning incantation might investigate her original identity, implicating her brother, Julian.

After scanning the contract once to confirm there were no problems, Jenna signed her code name.

The parchment floated up and flew toward the mutated "Knowledge Rabbit."

The "Knowledge Rabbit" picked up another fountain pen and wrote down its name:

"Xazo Savio."

"You even have your own name?" Lumian was a bit surprised.

He was also inside the "Wall of Spirituality."

"I chose it myself after finishing a book; it is my name now." As the Xazo Rabbit answered, the pale green flames on the parchment merged into one, burning the contract into ashes and turning it into formless power.

Jenna let out a sigh of relief without hiding it, and after chatting with the Xazo Rabbit for a few more sentences, she said:

"I!"

"I end this summoning in my name."

The Xazo Rabbit returned to the Spirit World. Franca looked at the "Wall of Spirituality" being dispelled, eager to try, and walked into the altar area.

Jenna succeeding so easily filled her with confidence in herself.

However, she failed shamefully.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 505 =====