Trying to maintain his composure, Ulrich coughed, hoping to clear the stifled air in the room. At the same time, Victor threw him a glance. There was a wry smile on his face, as though he was caught stealing in the middle of the night.
“That deal, did you finalize it?”
Without a doubt, Donnie Shelby noticed something was off. This feeling that rubbed on his chest was sticky, almost like wet mud from Portsmouth street.
In the past, anything that caught Ulrich’s attention was not simple in the slightest. In fact, if not for this young man's guidance and advice, the Shelby family would’ve never obtained their current standing. Such is the attitude that Donnie held toward Ulrich in spite of the gap in their age and the difference in worldview.
“No, it is still progress. The prices they asked are simply too low for what it is worth.”
Hearing this, Ulrich shook his head and let out a low chuckle, “How much are you asking?”
Donnie raised his whole hand.
“Five thousand?”
Ulrich was sure five thousand pounds reasonable, after all, how much could that crate of weaponry possibly be worth? However, Donnie's smile shattered this thought.
With a low and deep voice, he glanced at Victor, then took a puff from his cigar.
Why are you just like Captain Ottis…
“Fifty-Thousand Pounds.”
Victor flinched, enough that his shadow flickered in Ulrich’s peripheral vision. Recalling Captain Ottis's comments in the past regarding Victor, Ulrich froze.
Right. . . This colleague of mine, he’s a grubber for money!
“5-50 thousand…” Victor's whisper sliced through the air before escaping through the doorway.
On the barstool, Adeline was spinning a shilling coin on the counter, paying no mind to their conversation. This wasn’t the first time she had participated in this sort of discussion. As a matter of fact, she was there personally in the negotiation with the Resistance.
As for Ulrich, his reaction was different. There was a slight surprise on his face, though it was quickly suppressed. Perhaps it has been too long since he’d participated in the matters relating to the underworld. Either way, he shook his head and let out a deep sigh.
“Let me guess, they believed this price is gouging?”
“You can say that.”
Ulrich's lip twitched—I would too!
“How much do you think it’s worth? Or rather, how much do you want out of this?”
Feeling a little pensive, Donnie looked away and stared at the ceiling. After about a minute, he raised four fingers in the air.
“Forty-Thousands pounds, no less.”
“That’s not possible.”
“You don’t know that.”
“And you sound quite confident. What gives?” Ulrich's eyes narrowed, unable to understand why Donnie let off that air of certainty as though he could read the mind of the Resistance.
“Intuition.”
Intuition… Why do I feel like this word is becoming more common the more the day passes?
“I don’t know what their goal are, but from what I’ve seen, they want it, and I’m the only one in Belham with the supply. With such an advantage, why would I give in?”
Right…
To be honest, Ulrich wished to avoid being involved in this matter since the beginning. However, his divination has led him here. And as much as he despised the truth, it was right.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
The name Terry Mondie mentioned by Rufus was related to Donnie Shelby. At this moment, Ulrich felt like a boat cast into the river, unable to control his own fate. In the end, he felt the need to intervene and meet with this Resistance Leader face-to-face.
“I’m interested in being your negotiator to close this deal. Are you willing?”
“…”
Hearing his proposal, Donnie's face twisted, his hand flicked the ashes off the cigar. Back then, Ulrich showed an adamant attitude toward avoiding this matter. Why is it that he showed such interest now?
Was it due to the so-called problem regarding Terry Mondie? What was this problem? More importantly, will this problem affect his family? In the end, Donnie let out a deep trail of smoke.
The Ulrich I know is not ungrateful—he will certainly not harm our family, even if his action does not benefit us directly… In that case, having Ulrich as a mediator can be considered beneficial.
At the same time, he glanced at Adeline, her eyes beaming with light. Evidently, Adeline showed no objection in this matter. Actually, he’d be shocked if she showed any rejection toward Ulrich in the first place.
She has always been fond of him. What a headache, this duo… He lowered the cigar from his mouth and put out the fire, then turned to Ulrich with a smile.
“How can I reject the help of an old friend?”
“Your old friends… This transaction cannot be considered legal!”
Ulrich shrugged his shoulder, “They’re honest businessmen, how can it not be legal? And since we’re involved, aren’t we considered accomplices?”
As if! Victor held back his urge to smack Ulrich and glanced at their surrounding, then whispered, “Fifty-thousand pounds… if I am an accomplice, why don’t we get at least ten percent?”
"..."
Brother, don’t even think about it…
Leaving Slough House, they returned to the sanctuary.
There were two negotiations left before the transaction could be finalized. The nearest date of the next negotiation was two days from now. That is, until the day of the negotiation, they were free of obligations.
Yes, free. However, it wasn’t so for Ulrich. Personally, there was too much on his plate. Be it learning Ancient Hermes, studying the ancient records of the dream realm, or prying into the secrets of his dream, all of this alone cannot be completed in a week, let alone days.
I can only focus on one matter at a time—the most important right now are three things.
These three things were: the verification of the past and future, the rules and principles that govern that mysterious white space, and finally, focusing on advancing his own powers.
There are other matters that required his attention, but these three things were more pressing and urgent.
Regarding the first objective, he planned to enter the dream and find Belham, then searched for the Sanctuary. In this matter, all he needed was to bury a ‘time capsule’ in the supposed 'past' to see if it remains in the ‘future’. In the entirety of Belham, what greater time capsule is there than the Sanctuary itself?
As for the second goal, it would require him to emulate the corresponding steps to enter that white space and learn more about its secret. This is arduous and dangerous since Ulrich had seen it affect the real world through the purification of the Leviathan mark. And yet, he couldn't just stay back and let this unknown variable influence his life without understanding what it is.
The key point here is to see the connection between this white space in relation to his six-hundred-year dream.
Finally, his goal of advancement in power. Dreams and secrets, all of this is irrelevant if he was weak. Only by advancing his own power can he have the means to handle all the coming problems.
According to Father Lorel’s lecture, the way that a Weaver advances is to slowly accumulate lesser runes to one’s vital rune. To put it plainly, a Weaver that bears the Rune of Shadow will naturally accumulate ‘lesser’ runes from the world so as long as they act in tandem with their vital runes.
For example, as a Shadowmancer, Ulrich will naturally accumulate lesser runes by spending more time in the dark and shades. This accumulation is gradual and slow, as it can take months if not years for a Rank 1 to fully accumulate a maximum number of lesser runes before attempting an ascension.
This accumulation is part of a principle which follows the great saying of the past eras—Weaver refines, nurtures, and uses runes.
Since Ulrich had already refined a Vital Rune into his body, allowing him to awaken as a Rank 1, Shadowmancer. To advance, he needed to ‘nurture’ this vital rune until it crystallized.
By then, he will need to refine a higher rank 2 Rune of Shadow and ascend to the next rank. Apart from this slow and gradual accumulation, he raised a rather compelling question to Father Lorel:
“Is there a way to accelerate this accumulation?”
Father Lorel's expression displayed a kind of expectancy, as though he was waiting for this moment, and this question in particular.
“Of course. All beings bear spirituality, do you recall this proverb?”
Ulrich nodded, “Yes.”
“Where do you think spirituality comes from?”
Ulrich gave a deep thought and answered:
“Runes. It’s said that when the Original Creator created the universe, part of himself formed aspects and concepts of the world, imbuing it with runes. Hence, we have shadow and light runes, metal and wind runes. Thus, all being bear spirituality!”
In that moment, Ulrich reached a terrifying realization.
“D—Don’t… Don’t tell me—“
Father Lorel's smile was eerie, one that didn’t match his saintly appearance as he said, “That’s right. Since all beings bear spirituality, then all beings themselves are living and moving runes. The way to accelerate one’s accumulation of runes is simple—killing and reaping the runes of others.”
