Chapter 432

Chapter 343 Review

During the night, in the dim living room of Green Shade Town’s house number seventeen, Dorothy, sitting by the fireplace, began to carefully review the gains and losses from her dealings with the Underworld Coffin Cult.

As per tradition, Dorothy first calculated the expenditures. This operation against the Underworld Coffin Cult, starting from Kapak’s plea for help until the transaction near the Stronghold of Gale Wind, took nearly half a month. Therefore, Dorothy tallied all expenses within this period.

Initially, at the New York Port warehouse, to help Kapak and transport goods, Dorothy used about forty minutes of a live puppet along with three bl**d-Eating items. One bl**d-Eating item cost one “Cup,” and the live puppet cost twenty minutes per “Cup,” totaling five “Cups.” This was quite a significant expense.

Apart from “Cups,” Dorothy also consumed “Shadow” essence. After Larina’s group discovered the lost cargo and attempted divination three times, Dorothy spent three “Shadows” to shield herself. Overall, the loss of “Shadow” was not substantial.

Beyond essence, Dorothy’s series of actions primarily depleted her money. Buying supplies from merchant Marcox cost 500 pounds, and purchasing explosives and assembling timing devices cost another 100 pounds. Hiring Beverly to install a hidden compartment cost 300 pounds, and frequent use of telegrams through the Artisan Guild cost around 100 pounds. In total, Dorothy spent approximately 1000 pounds on this operation. With her original savings of 2350 pounds, she had now roughly halved her funds.

‘Ugh… selling forty-odd boxes of high-quality tobacco from the New World for only 500 pounds is a bit of a loss. The black market explosives costing an extra 100 pounds can be understood… but dealing with that swindler’s prices is outrageous. A few telegrams for 100 pounds, and adding a hidden compartment for several dozen minutes of labor at 300 pounds? What a rip-off!’

While calculating, Dorothy grumbled inwardly. Generally, such small woodworking jobs, even done by the best carpenters in the city, would cost only a few coins. Here, it amounted to 300 pounds, which could buy a house. If not for making the hidden compartment seamless, she wouldn’t have spent so much hiring Beverly.

‘Sigh… I’ve spent a lot on essence and money… especially money. Recently, I’ve been spending thousands of pounds on holy emblems like water. If not for the money I made from trading ‘Enlightenment’ with the Eight-pointed ones, I wouldn’t know where to get this money. But fortunately, the gains are also considerable… these expenses can fully make up for it…’

Dorothy muttered to herself and then looked at her spoils. First and foremost, the King of the Underworld’s holy emblem. Obtaining this piece completed another puzzle for her promotion ceremony; this was the most critical point.

Then there was the money. Dorothy gave Neve 1000 pounds as a reward for the ransom of 6000 pounds, leaving her with 5000 pounds. Most of the money she previously spent came back. Additionally, the three secret transmissions should yield a considerable amount of essence.

With these thoughts in mind, Dorothy turned her gaze to the three different books on her desk, knowing that extracting essence was always a priority when sorting through spoils.

Without delay, Dorothy picked up the three secret transmissions. Then, leaning on the sofa, she used the gas lamp on the coffee table and the firelight from the fireplace to read through them using her speed reading ability.

After about half an hour, Dorothy had finished reading the three secret transmissions. Placing them back on the coffee table, she closed her eyes and began organizing their contents.

…

In her telegram, Dorothy had requested that Larina send her secret transmissions related to the King of the Underworld, and Larina complied. Two out of the three secret transmissions described the King of the Underworld. One was titled The Song of the Rebellious Dead, and the other was The Immortality of the Soul.

In The Immortality of the Soul, a researcher of the undead gradually developed admiration for the King of the Underworld during his studies, leading him to write this work. The content mainly praised and celebrated the immortality of the King of the Underworld and the undead. He detailed the frailty of life and expressed his longing for the identity of an undead.

In the book, the author studying the undead discovered that not everyone becomes an undead after d*ath; it depends on various factors. Only under certain conditions does a person d*e and remain as a ghost in the present world.

The author found that after d*ath, the soul immediately seeps into a certain inner dimension of the world, gradually seeping further until it eventually disappears into some unknown place in the inner world. However, this process is not irreversible; often, souls that seep into the inner world return to the present world as undead.

These reasons include two main categories: one due to strong emotions before d*ath, such as hatred or love, preventing the soul from fully seeping into the inner world and instead remaining as a ghost in the present world. Another reason is the influence of extraordinary beings or items, which can cause the soul to become a ghost after d*ath.

The book has annotations describing this phenomenon as “seepage.”

The author feared the unknown destination the soul would reach after seeping into the inner world. Since he wasn’t confident his will could resist seepage, he sought extraordinary means to ensure he would become an undead after d*ath. Thus, he prayed to the King of the Underworld, beseeching the god of the dead to allow him to successfully return from seepage and become an undead, even if it meant facing the unknown.

“Oh! Master of the Undead! Immortal King of the Dead! I humbly ask you to bless me! Grant me the blessing to struggle and swim in the realm of d*ath! I beg for your protection, to keep me forever away from the unknown and unreturnable!”

…

‘This guy… would rather become an undead to stay in the present world. It feels similar to the attitude of the author of another secret transmission I read. Are there many such people in the Underworld Coffin Cult who prefer to become undead…? Speaking of which, the curse on Neve’s family is an ancient undead, so undead extraordinary beings must exist…

‘Also… the description of the soul’s state after d*ath in this secret transmission is quite interesting. After d*ath, the soul seeps into the inner world… powerful will and extraordinary power can make the soul return during this process… So, where do those seeping souls ultimately go?’

Dorothy pondered the Immortality of the Soul, thinking that this seepage directly reminded her of the great soul revered by the indigenous people of the New World, which is the final resting place of all souls in the shamanism of the New World.

‘I wonder if this great soul truly exists? And if it does, what is its condition? Is it related to this seepage? Does it resemble other deities? What is its connection with the King of the Underworld? There is too little information to judge at this point…