Chapter 74: Overview of Factions
The army of White Horse City will depart tomorrow morning. So Soren went to the Arcane early in the morning to purchase several essential spell scrolls for himself.
Most of the loot in his hands had already been sold off for nearly 1,000 Gind. This money seemed like a lot, but it would soon be gone with a little spending. The speed at which spellcasters spend money is truly beyond imagination. Soren bought a Second Circle Spell scroll of ‘Invisibility’ for a direct cost of 300 Gind. This is the most expensive Second Circle spell scroll, which, when used, can render him invisible for a time. If he analyzes the spell scroll to decompose the model, the wizard can transcribe it into his spellbook.
A rogue’s sneaking ability can stack with Invisibility.
Invisibility merely makes one disappear without masking footsteps or erasing traces of movement. Only a rogue using Invisibility is the hardest to detect by others. Soren certainly wasn’t planning to use it as a one-time consumable; after enhancing it with Read Spell, he decomposed the spell scroll, recording the complete data of Invisibility in 15 pages based on the model on the scroll.
Invisibility has over 1,200 spell nodes and nearly 100 spell circuits. Under the effect of ‘Read Spell’, Soren quickly skimmed through it and relied on his powerful photographic memory for recollection. Although it took him less than ten minutes to note down the content of over ten full pages, it would likely take several days to complete the construction of the Invisibility spell model. It’s similar to the ease of memorizing an academic paper compared to the complexity of conducting experiments based on it.
Other first-circle spells can wait; Invisibility is currently the most useful spell for Soren.
After mastering some techniques for constructing spell models, Soren skipped the other spells to learn Invisibility directly. A level 4 wizard has two Second Circle spell slots and can memorize Invisibility twice every day. If used wisely, it would definitely be a trump card. A rogue’s 150 points of stealth can only achieve a near-invisibility effect in shadows, but the Second Circle Invisibility allows one to be invisible even during the day.
The two cannot be compared at all!
If it weren’t for the rogue’s ability to sneak from hidden places, they would likely be thrown several streets away by a Second Circle spell.
…
Deploying an army also requires logistical preparation, and assigning tasks to adventurers takes time. Soren’s task is reconnaissance, a common task for wanderers, while frontline combat is mainly left to the White Horse City Legion. After leaving the Arcane, he entered the gray zone, where he needed to replenish many supplies, especially poisoned crossbow bolts and the venom of bipedal dragons. These things cost him nearly 200 Gind in earnings, and combined with the spell scrolls, he directly used up half of his savings. If he doesn’t manage his equipment carefully, it’s very likely that an adventure could end up in the red.
Before leaving, Soren visited the merchant caravan’s base.
To his surprise, he encountered the enchanting woman once again, but this time she didn’t use any spells on him. She merely raised her delicate eyebrows and showed a hint of a playful smile while playing with a card with her fair fingers.
“Little guy.”
The enchanting woman chuckled and teased, “Were you scared by sister last time? Actually, sister was just playing with you. If I really wanted to deal with you, one Dispel would be enough.”
Soren silently pressed his palm against his curved blade. His expression revealed no traces, but he was already prepared for battle. The enchanting woman before him was actually the mother of the Merchant Caravan Mistress. Though Soren smartly didn’t ask anything, it was clear that their mother-daughter relationship was quite strained. When in a weak position, one should never be too curious. Soren observed closely, focusing on her fingers.
That was an Unpredictable Card; it could also be a higher-level Arcane Card, or even the legendary Fate Card.
She might also be a high-level witch!
A Northern Witch with a profession level of over 15 and formidable casting abilities.
“Mother.” The figure of the Merchant Caravan Mistress soon appeared. She glanced at Soren and nodded slightly before turning to the enchanting woman and saying, “You should go back. According to the council’s rules set for you, you cannot be away from your residence for more than two hours each day.”
A banished witch?
Soren’s brow twitched slightly, quickly masking all his expressions.
His base skill, ‘Performance’, had never been high, and his ‘Deception’ skill was also mediocre; in other words, Soren couldn’t act well and couldn’t hide his true emotions with his expressions. Therefore, most of the time, he maintained a relatively indifferent expression to avoid the other person deciphering his inner thoughts from his demeanor.
‘Performance’ and ‘Deception’ are both quite useful foundational skills.
It is said that beautiful women are born actresses with 10 points in Performance skill and are also very good at lying, with 20 points in Deception skill.
Of course, this could also just be a tease.
However, one thing is for sure: the enchanting woman before him was obviously very good at acting. She nonchalantly stood up, lightly clapped her hands intending to leave, but before walking away, she cast a strangely meaningful glance at Soren. It felt as if she were a seductive serpent, and despite her stunning beauty, it sent shivers down Soren’s spine. An instinctual reaction caused him to tighten his grip on the curved blade, his muscles tense.
“Hehe.”
The enchanting woman chuckled, her face displaying a bewitching smile as she looked Soren up and down curiously, saying, “It seems you’re afraid of me.”
She gently walked past Soren, exuding a unique fragrance.
Soren unconsciously inhaled deeply. It seemed this fragrance was quite alluring, and this action brought a slight smile to the enchanting woman’s face, her expression appearing somewhat pleased. Women always enjoy men succumbing to their charm. Yet Soren’s expression remained calm; in his mind, he had already memorized this scent, and if he encountered it again, he could quickly identify it. Odor easily reveals targets; rogues try to eliminate their own scents.
Soren had killed many women before, including quite a number of high-level witches. More than once, he identified the position of enemies upon them casting Greater Invisibility by detecting their scents.
A woman’s fragrance is very distinct; the more pleasant it is, the easier it is to take them down.
“I’m sorry.”
After the enchanting woman left, the Merchant Caravan Mistress said once more in apology, but didn’t explain the reason. Soren followed her into the laboratory, preparing to see Vivian before departure. The relationship between this mother and daughter is quite strange; the daughter is clearly someone who values order and leans towards good, but the mother is obviously one of those who does whatever she pleases.
If divided according to the factions of past players, the Merchant Caravan Mistress’s faction should be Lawful Neutral, leaning towards good, while her mother is clearly Chaotic Neutral, leaning towards evil. It’s common for players to have faction shifts because each faction has a statistical value of 50 points; for instance, the Lawful Neutral faction can get a point to lean towards Lawful Good, and 50 points would lean towards Lawful Evil. But as long as it is within this range, it still belongs to the Lawful Neutral faction.
If some good or bad deeds are done, it is highly likely to cause a faction shift, turning into Lawful Good or Lawful Evil.
Of course, storyline natives rarely experience such shifts; it’s mainly the players who do.
Such faction shifts aren’t limited to good and evil; they also include personal behavior patterns, shifting from Lawful to Neutral or from Neutral to Chaotic.
Human behavior is variable.
Perhaps no race in this world experiences faction shifts more frequently than humans.
What determines the faction isn’t thought, as everyone has had evil thoughts; even noble paladins have them. The key is whether one acts on such thoughts. The Evil faction often harbors many malicious thoughts and resentments, and in this world where supernatural abilities are common, such things can be seen through spell light. Similarly, good individuals will receive gratitude, which serves as a form of weak belief power, potentially influencing certain spell lights.
That is why paladins like to use ‘Detect Evil’ on others, even though it is the most annoying thing!
Soren despises them.
Sometimes, when encountering these rigid fools, he couldn’t help but want to take an axe to them!
…
In the evening.
Soren left the merchant caravan’s base. The army of White Horse City would set off tomorrow, and he still needed to prepare well.
Because the upcoming battle would likely not be easy.
