Chapter 254

Chapter 241: Counterattack

In the afternoon, at the King Campus library, Dorothy sat in a secluded corner, her expression serious. This was the first time she had been subjected to additional divination.

‘One divination failed, so they added more spirituality to continue? Heh… No wonder it’s a somewhat influential society; they have some reserves.’

Dorothy pondered this. Clearly, the Eight Pinnacle Nest must have realized by now that the cause of Claudius’ d*ath was not the An Yin Bureau but another force altogether.

‘They think I’m not a major power… They’re trying to overwhelm my anti-divination defense with their stored spirituality? Or are they just testing me? Regardless, let’s block this round first.’

With this thought, Dorothy activated the system again, consuming 1 “Shadow” and 1 “Enlightenment,” thus blocking the divination aimed at her once more.

Afterward, Dorothy sat silently, waiting. A few minutes later, the system’s warning sounded in her mind again.

‘Warning, detection of self-targeted information retrieval…’

‘Again… Are they determined to push this to the end? Do they think my spirituality is depleted?’

Frowning, Dorothy activated the system once more, consuming her spirituality to block the third attempt. She then began calculating how much spirituality she had left.

It had been over two days since her battle with Claudius. Dorothy was now at the Black Tier, recovering 4 points of spirituality per day. Her “Enlightenment” bar was fully restored, and she still had 9 points of “Shadow” from robbing Claudius, which should be enough for now.

Dorothy waited patiently for the other party’s response, which came after five or six minutes.

‘Warning…’

Dorothy continued to block the new divination. After another six or seven minutes, the warning sounded again.

‘Warning…’

Dorothy then engaged in a spiritual confrontation with the diviner. Each time the other party attempted to divine, Dorothy would block it. As the spirituality drained, she grew increasingly uneasy.

Although she knew her anti-divination resources were superior to most in the Secret World, she wasn’t sure by how much. Facing a considerable society alone, she couldn’t be certain if she could withstand it. If she couldn’t, she’d have no choice but to flee, uncertain if she could escape.

Though uncertain herself, Dorothy believed the other side might also be uncertain. The increasing intervals between their attempts—first two to three minutes, then five to six—indicated they were taking more time to consider. This suggested hesitation on their part.

Clearly, the diviner couldn’t ignore the continuous depletion of resources. After each ineffective attempt, they hesitated whether to invest more resources. Dorothy couldn’t confirm how many resources they had, nor could they confirm hers.

To the diviner, this felt like a gamble. The next divination might deplete Dorothy’s resources, revealing her information. Or they might gain nothing. They had already invested significantly; if they stopped, those resources would be wasted. Continuing could mean eventual success, making the investment worthwhile.

This situation persisted for quite some time. Finally, after Dorothy consumed 6 points of “Enlightenment” and “Shadow,” the other side fell silent. Dorothy waited half an hour but received no further action.

‘Is it over? So they used 6 points of “Lamp” and 6 points of “Enlightenment”? Now that they’ve stopped, does that mean their resources are depleted?’

‘No, probably not. If they had used up all their “Enlightenment,” their anti-divination ability would be zero. It seems they can’t see through me yet, so they’re backing off…’

Facing this situation, Dorothy had another idea.

‘Should I… switch to offense while they’ve exhausted much of their “Enlightenment”? Jumping tiers has penalties, and the one leading the divination might be at the White Tier or higher. Under penalty, I might not win against them.’

‘For a Black Tier like me, defending is favorable, attacking is not. So I shouldn’t rush into an attack.’

Thinking this through, Dorothy realized her remaining spirituality wasn’t enough for a reckless offensive. But she didn’t want to give up this opportunity.

‘They lost 6 points of “Enlightenment” in one go. That’s significant. Maybe this is my chance. Even if I don’t counterattack with divination, shouldn’t I do something else?’

After a moment, Dorothy had an idea.

‘Maybe I should formally understand the value of “Enlightenment”…’

With this thought, Dorothy gathered her things and quickly left the library.

Leaving the campus via the east gate, Dorothy made her way to Green Shade Town and headed to 37, Beverly’s house.

Standing at the door of the old-style mansion, Dorothy knocked as usual. Soon, the door opened, revealing Beverly, dressed in an elegant dress with one eye missing, leaving a dark, empty socket.

“Hey, you finally came.” Beverly greeted Dorothy, who tilted her head slightly.

“Do you know I would come?”

“Of course, the school incident was huge. I couldn’t miss it. Come in, don’t stand at the door.”

Waving, Beverly entered the room, and Dorothy followed closely behind.

Entering the familiar living room, Beverly sat on the sofa and began fiddling with a pile of small objects on the table. Closer inspection revealed they were metal eyeballs. Beverly held one half-disassembled, wiping its layered glass lenses with a cloth.

“Well, Miss Meyshos, what business brings you here this time?”

While cleaning her eye, Beverly spoke, and Dorothy got straight to the point.

“I want to ask, how much would it cost if I wanted to buy an “Enlightenment” storage item from you?” Dorothy asked Beverly, needing to understand the value of “Enlightenment” storage items.

“‘Enlightenment’ storage items… They’re rare. Not just here, even the White Stone Craftsmen Guild in Tivyán doesn’t have many in stock.

“The price fluctuates greatly due to supply and demand. The price of “Enlightenment” storage items is particularly volatile, but currently, the demand in Tivyán isn’t high, so the market price is reasonable. For the first one, I can sell it to you for 1400 pounds. If you need more, the price will change.”

Beverly calmly concluded. Hearing this, Dorothy stood there in shock.

‘1400 pounds… Wow, “Enlightenment” storage items are so expensive. One costs 1400 pounds… So they spent nearly ten thousand pounds just to keep pushing?’

Though Dorothy had expected “Enlightenment” storage items to be pricey, she hadn’t anticipated such an extreme price. Selling a single spirituality storage item for so much money was outrageous.

‘If I could make “Enlightenment” storage items, wouldn’t I be set for life?’

Thinking this, if this method worked, the issue of money would no longer be a problem for her.

…

Uh, I should take a day off tomorrow. The reason was mentioned in the previous chapter.