I Loaded the Mysticism Panel

Richard looked at the six bullets in the iron box.

He had inquired about the market price for Enchanted Bullets.

A Single-Ring Bullet cost at least two shillings, and you could hardly buy them through official channels.

If you went through the black market, the price could double.

”How much?”

”A friendly price.” A smile spread across Old Big’s round face. ”One shilling each. Six shillings for all six.”

Richard was taken aback.

”Old Big, this price...”

”It’s already the friendly price!” Old Big immediately waved his hand.

”Don’t try to haggle me down. I have to pay for the stock myself!”

”I’m not trying to haggle.” Richard smiled. ”I just think it’s too cheap.”

”...Too cheap?” Old Big’s expression shifted from ’feigning a loss’ to ’why are you being so honest about this?’.

”You kid.” He sighed and scratched the back of his head.

”Everyone else says I’m too expensive. You’re the only one who says I’m too cheap.”

”The market price is two shillings each.”

”Market price is market price. This is the ’family price’.” Old Big pushed the iron box toward him again.

”My master used to say that with things like Enchanted Bullets, you only charge strangers the full price. For one of our own, it’s just the cost of materials and labor.”

”So...”

”So, one shilling each is the material cost.” Old Big stroked his chin. ”I’m not charging you for labor.”

Richard counted out six shillings from his coin purse and placed them on the table.

”Thank you.”

”Nothing to thank me for.” Old Big waved his hand. ”Next time you come, remember to bring me more chestnuts.”

”Okay.”

”A big, two-pence bag.”

”Of course.”

Old Big brewed a new pot of tea for himself and refilled his cup.

Richard waited for him to take a sip, then asked another question.

”Old Big.”

”Hmm?”

”About Divination and Spiritual Vision...”

”For the next while, you’ll have to practice on your own.”

Old Big traced the rim of his cup. ”This is as far as I can teach you.”

Richard froze for a moment.

Old Big set down his cup.

”I’ve taught you Wax Reading and Stone Reading. You’ve already gotten the hang of basic Spiritual Vision. Your Fixed Gaze can be held stable for over fifteen seconds, which is the mark of a beginner.”

”As for the more advanced stuff...”

Old Big scratched his head. ”This is as far as I’ve gotten myself.”

”Star Disc, Crystal Ball, Tarot... I can’t teach you what I couldn’t learn myself.”

”In our school...”

”In our school, the only ones who can teach those things are my master and my senior.” Old Big shook his head.

”As for my master, she has her own rules for teaching students. When I was learning, I had to wait in line for when she was free.”

”And my senior has been swamped for the past two years.”

”The work for the civilian Guilds doesn’t follow a set schedule. When something comes up, you have to go.”

”After she completed her apprenticeship, her clients gradually spread from the North District to the Central Imperial City District. She’s never had a shortage of work.”

Richard nodded.

The words Gerald had spoken on the phone surfaced in his memory: ”Lady Mary’s students are widespread in the civilian Guilds, with deep roots and strong local connections. Our people have received help from her students more than once.”

Mrs. MacNeil was one of them, and probably the busiest one at that.

”You can meet her once after spring begins. Just consider it a preliminary introduction,” Old Big said.

”After that, we’ll see if you two get along. If you do, she might be willing to guide you for a while;”

”if not, you’ll have just made a new friend.”

”Either is fine,” Richard replied readily. ”Just getting to meet her is a win in itself.”

”That said...” Old Big’s tone relaxed.

”What you’re practicing now is enough to keep you busy for a while.”

He took a sip of tea and continued:

”This past week, the way you see things has changed.”

”How so?”

”When you do Wax Reading, you used to have to concentrate for quite a while before you could get into the right state.”

Old Big counted on his fingers. ”This week, you can enter it as soon as you sit down.”

”When you do Stone Reading, you used to hesitate over how to interpret the positions of the symbols.”

”This week, after you grab the stones and cast them, you can tell me the meaning almost at a glance.”

”You might not feel the change yourself, but watching from the side, it’s quite obvious.”

Richard was a little surprised.

’Old Big’s powers of observation are far more detailed than he usually lets on.’

”Anything else you want to ask?”

Richard thought for a moment.

”Not for now.”

Old Big nodded and stood up from his chair.

”That’s it, then.”

”Get home before dark. Be careful on the way.”

Richard slung his school bag over his shoulder and secured the small iron box containing the six Enchanted Bullets in a side pocket, close to his body.

The gun case was in his bag. It was heavy, but its weight was reassuring.

Over the past week, Richard had also visited the Fighting Club’s activity room a few more times, keeping to his usual schedule.

He went after school each time, stayed for about an hour, and then jogged home.

He’d moved up from seven-pound dumbbells to eight-pound ones. The number of sets hadn’t increased, but the weight had gone up a little.

The attitude of the Fighting Club regulars toward him had slowly shifted from initial curiosity to something else.

It was a sentiment he only began to pick up on after spending a few days there.

On Tuesday afternoon, he had just finished his second set of dumbbell presses and set the weights back on the floor.

Two upperclassmen were sitting on the other side of the mat. One was named Henry, the other Parker.

Henry was a big guy, with arms thicker than Richard’s legs.

Parker was thinner, with patchy stubble on his chin.

”...Heard he got second place in the Cicero Cup.”

Parker lowered his voice to speak to Henry, but not low enough.

”In Latin.” Henry snorted. ”What’s the use of Latin? Can you use it in a fight?”

”The principal even praised him at the last morning assembly.”

”It’s just the principal.” Henry snorted again.

Richard picked up his water bottle and took a sip, not looking in their direction.

Fraser was busy helping a new student wrap his hands and didn’t have time to notice the petty antics over here.