Chapter 504

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

"Can we really possess our own messenger?"

The occult knowledge and experience he currently possessed all 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.

"Possessing a messenger requires three prerequisites: first, understanding Spirit World creatures, knowing which ones can serve as messengers, what characteristics they have, and what kind of incantations can be designed to summon them accurately; 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 necromantic contract and a deity who witnesses this contract to constrain the behavior of both parties and clarify their respective duties.

"Look, don't these three points lack any restrictions on pathways or sequences? There are only implicit constraints on this, 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 a thorough understanding of Spirit World creatures? Even if they occasionally summon one, they do so trembling with fear, afraid that the incantation's target is vague and that a monster capable of killing them—and wanting to kill their entire family—will arrive. 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 Ms. Magician, an expert on Spirit World creatures. You saw it earlier; Charles has a pile of data on Spirit World creatures, and Ms. Magician even 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 hardest hurdle.

"Otherwise, to give a simple example, the speed at which Spirit World creatures 'shuttle through the Spirit World' is different. Some messengers only need a few minutes to travel from southern Intis to Trier, some need ten minutes to half an hour, and some might need half a day or a day. If you don't know anything and sign a messenger that needs half a year or even a year to cover that distance, what would be the point?"

"I'm not called Charles Dubois anymore." After Franca finished explaining a portion of knowledge to the occult world novice Anthony and Jenna, Lu Mian specifically reminded her.

Franca gave a dry laugh:

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

She continued:

"We also have ways to bypass the second prerequisite. Normally, one must be a Beyonder of pathways like 'Corpse Collector' that have an affinity with the dead and other Spirit World creatures to make them willing to be summoned and potentially sign a messenger contract. Upon reaching the 'Spirit Medium' sequence, one can even semi-force a targeted creature to become their messenger. Without such special circumstances, one usually has to rely on their rank to suppress and intimidate 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, Lu Mian—who carries Mr. Fool's power. Look at his previous summons of Spirit World creatures; when has he ever failed? At most, the target was vague, and the thing that arrived wasn't the one he wanted."

"For the third prerequisite, Ms. Magician has already given Lu Mian a special necromantic contract, one prepared specifically for messengers. The witness should have been the God of Death, but an angel from the Netherworld or the death domain can be used as a substitute. And beside Mr. Fool's divine 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?"

In the data provided by Ms. Magician, there is a four-line description of the Netherworld, which can be written down as the witness.

Jenna and Anthony listened very earnestly and attentively. This occult knowledge was quite precious, and parts of it could explain many problems when applied to ordinary summoning rituals.

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

"You go first."

"Me?" Jenna pointed at herself with a look of confusion and surprise.

In summoning rituals, she was a complete novice.

Lu Mian 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 too much messy stuff on me. I'm afraid it might cause mutations and ruin the rest of tonight's attempts, so I'll go last."

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

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

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 thought the "Knowledge Rabbit" was very cute, dazed and 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, quickly sanctified the ritual silver dagger, and created a "Wall of Spirituality."

After completing all the preparatory steps, she took two steps back, looked at the candlelight, and issued 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 illusory, 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 a gloomy green and expanded to the size of a human head.

A transparent creature shaped like a rabbit walked out of the gloomy green candlelight.

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

Its legs were strong and powerful; one look told you it was especially 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" scanned Jenna and asked back in Intis:

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

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

Occasionally? Lu Mian mocked Jenna in his heart.

The mutated "Knowledge Rabbit" observed Jenna earnestly, confirming in some way that 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 knowledge of equivalent weight. This can be provided by you, or you can have the person writing the letter 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... Lu Mian 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 line of hints:

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

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

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

Following the template provided by Ms. Magician, she used the dark red fountain pen on the altar to quickly write the contract on the brownish parchment, including the reward content just agreed upon.

This was composed of Ancient Hermes, and 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 the dead, the hell hidden deep in the Spirit World, the witness of the decay of all things, the kingdom belonging solely to the God of Death."

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

Finally, Jenna recalled Lu Mian's prior hint and specifically used a clause to fix the summoning incantation as "A rabbit-shaped spirit body wandering in the illusory, a runner chasing knowledge, the messenger belonging solely to Cup of Mercy Seven."

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

After scanning the contract once and confirming 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:

"Xia Zuo Savio."

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

He was also inside the "Wall of Spirituality."

"I took it myself after finishing a book; it's my name now." As the Xia Zuotu answered, the pale green flames on the parchment connected 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 Xia Zuotu for a few more sentences, she said:

"I!

"I end this summoning in my name."

The Xia Zuotu returned to the Spirit World, and Franca watched the "Wall of Spirituality" dissolve with eagerness, walking into the altar area.

Jenna's easy success filled her with confidence in herself.

However, she failed shamefully.

(End of chapter)