Secrets: Priestess

Chapter 173 Promotion Application
Under the blood-red moonlight, Claire returned to St. Samuel's Church. There were more people underground than usual. As the seals behind the Chanis Gate became active, more Night Watchmen were summoned to guard the underground.

Back in her own office, Claire saw Daly catching up on her sleep on the single bed. When she came in, Daly had just woken up.

"Why don't you go home and sleep? Is the bed at home not soft enough, or do you prefer the hard bed in the office?" Claire asked jokingly as she hung her coat on the hanger beside her.

Daly sat up from the bed, stretched, and dozed off. "Don't mention it, I really like it harder... Ahem, mainly because I have to do some more research later, so I'm too lazy to run back."

"Investigation?" Claire sat down in the high-backed chair in front of the desk and looked at Daly in confusion. "Haven't you finished the report on the serial murder case? Why is there still an investigation?"

"The report is written, but..." Daly scratched her head and said, "The origin of the demon dog cannot be confirmed. Although there are examples of wild animals accidentally consuming Beyonder traits and mutating into Beyonder creatures, based on the current situation, the possibility of human breeding cannot be ruled out."

"According to the review of the case, this demon dog is not simply preying on humans, but is carrying out its ascension ritual!"

"It has been confirmed that to advance from Sequence 6 'Demon' to Sequence 5 'Apostle of Desire', one must not only consume the corresponding potion, but also perform a killing ritual before consuming the potion to better prevent loss of control."

"In the summary of many 'demon' killing rituals in history, the interval between two killings by the 'demon' is at least three days, and no more than nine days. The minimum number of people involved should be 13. The more people there are, the better the ritual is. After each part of the ritual, the victim's internal organs will be eaten. Eating internal organs is not a behavior unique to demon dogs; humans also do this..."

"Although Beyonder traits will increase the IQ of the creatures that consume them, and although Beyonder traits inherently carry some knowledge of the Sequence, I still find it hard to believe that such meticulous behavior could have been committed by the Devil Dog alone."

Daly's suspicions were justified, but the case report also had sufficient reasons—this canine creature, having consumed Beyonder characteristics and luckily not gone mad and degenerated into a monster, was already equivalent to a Beyonder of the "Demon" sequence, fully equipped to commit crimes alone.

In fact, because the demon dog can transform into an inconspicuous canine, its crimes are more covert.

Claire said, "So even though the case has been closed, you still want to do some more investigation? Do you have a direction for the investigation?"

Daly replied, "Based on the breed and appearance of the dog before it became a demon, I plan to investigate who in Backlund raises this type of dog."

Claire sighed, "This is a huge project."

Daly sighed softly, "Yeah, that's why I envy you sleepless people all the more. If it weren't for the eyeshadow, my dark circles would be even more obvious."

Claire looked at Daly's thick blue eyeshadow and could see the dark circles under her eyes, which showed her fatigue. She said, "You still have a chance to become a 'Sleepless Person'."

Claire leaned over her desk, picked up a round fountain pen, and wrote something on the paper while calmly saying, "When a Sequence 5 is promoted to Sequence 4, some paths can be transformed. Coincidentally, the 'Sleepless Man' and the 'Corpse Collector' can be transformed into each other."

"Can this be interchanged?" Daly asked in surprise. "Isn't it said that once a path is determined, it can't be changed? Wouldn't taking a potion from another path inevitably lead to madness?"

What Claire said was beyond Daly's current understanding. She even said that this knowledge was only taught to a few special Sequence 5s in the church, such as holy relic holders like Creste Cesimma, and above, and only to mid- and high-level people.

Without even looking up, Claire said, "This knowledge point is called the concept of adjacent pathways being interchangeable. Don't ask me why, I don't know the reason either. I just know that a 'Gatekeeper' can be promoted to a 'Night Watcher'."

"Swap?" Daly murmured, but she still shook her head. Although she complained, she actually liked the "corpse collector" route very much, and she thought she was very suitable for this route.

But Captain Galadilla does have a strong background... She even knows this kind of secret knowledge.

Daly sighed inwardly. She stood up and glanced at the document Claire was writing. She asked in surprise, "Captain Galadilla, are you writing a promotion application?"

Claire nodded and smiled, "Well, I think the potion is almost gone. I think it will be completely digested in a few days. It's time to apply to the Holy Temple for more potions. I have enough merits."

"Captain Galadria, are you truly just a Nightmare?" Daly asked. "I've collaborated with many Nightmares on missions, and I've always felt that your abilities are stronger than those of other Nightmares... Have you taken too many low-sequence potions from the Sleepless Man pathway?"

Taking multiple doses of the same potion can effectively improve combat effectiveness. For example, a Sequence 7 "Nightmare" can even open up the dreaming ability to the level of Sequence 6 after taking multiple doses of "Sleepless Man" and "Midnight Poet".

However, this also makes it easier to lose control and more difficult to consume excess potions in the body, making it more difficult to advance than normal Beyonders of the same sequence.

Normal people naturally wouldn't make this choice to increase the difficulty. Without knowing the "role-playing method", the difficulty of promotion is already great enough. Too many official extraordinary people have lost control and turned into monsters during the promotion process.

But among the Night Watchmen, some also choose this method to improve their combat effectiveness.

Some night watchmen want to gain more power to protect their city, some are reluctant to let their companions leave them, and some are both.

Therefore, this situation is not uncommon in the Church of Night.

Daly naturally suspected that Captain Galadilla was in the same situation.

After all, Galadilla's ability to enter dreams is too strong, and as a captain-level figure, how could Galadilla not have a teammate before?
Daly guessed that her captain's former teammates were most likely killed while carrying out a mission - this kind of thing was not uncommon for both the Nighthawks and the Red Gloves.

After all, the tasks handled by official extraordinary people do not have the task ratings in the vernacular novels. Whether the difficulty of the unknown task will exceed the configuration of the team depends entirely on the experience of the person who issues the task and... some luck.

"Of course I have to be special to be your captain." Claire paused, glanced at Daly, and smiled, "But I'm really only a Sequence 7. You can see, the one I'm writing is an application for a Sequence 6 potion."

Daly watched Claire write "Galadia" in the signature section of the Sequence 6 promotion application form and wondered, "Aren't you going to write the potion name?"

Claire smiled. "What about you? I've read your profile. It's only been three months since you were promoted to 'Necromancer'... and yet you're always clamoring about getting promoted to 'Gatekeeper', even earning the jealousy of Messerli Doherty. How's your potion digesting?"

Dai Li smiled nonchalantly and said, "Hopefully, it will be completely digested by the end of the year..."

Claire couldn't help but sigh, "As expected of a genius recognized by the Holy Temple. His advancement speed is truly terrifying."

Even after mastering the "acting method", Daly's speed in digesting the potion was amazing. Moreover, Daly also had a sufficiently positive attitude towards promotion. In the Temple, Daly was basically regarded as a promising candidate for promotion to a high-sequence position.

Claire continued, "As long as you successfully advance to Sequence 5 and settle down for a period of time, you will be eligible to apply for a holy relic from the Holy Temple."

Daly was somewhat speechless. "Sacred relics... Captain Galadilla, you make it sound so simple. It's not like anyone at Sequence 5 can obtain a sacred relic. No, it's more like a Sequence 5 rarely chooses to possess a sacred relic. In all of Backlund, only Lord Cecima and Alicia possess sacred relic at Sequence 5."

Claire simply shrugged without arguing. After a brief chat, Daly checked the time and went out to continue her investigation.

Claire waited until Cecima returned, then took the completed application form to her immediate superior.

Having just returned from Hillston, Cecima had barely settled into her chair when she saw the application Claire had submitted. "Are you planning on getting promoted? Congratulations. Merit points... well, you shouldn't be short of them."

Cecima stamped Claire's application form, handed it back to her, and said, "A telegram will be sent regarding the application, and this application form will also be delivered by a special courier... but to take the Sequence 6 potion, you will need to go to the temple in person. When do you plan to leave?"

In Cesimar's opinion, Galadria was transferred from the Temple, so this trip back to the Temple should be very familiar to her, but Claire had actually never set foot in Winter County where the Temple was located.

To be honest, my understanding of this world is really superficial... I've only been to the cities of Tingen and Backlund.

Claire thought calmly and said, "I'll sort out the things on hand. After I've completely digested the potion in my body, I plan to head to the temple."

"Speaking of which... there's something fishy about your two informants. You still need to deal with them," Cecima said seriously. "Tonight, when Lady Alicia and I went to help your friend who was affected by the whispering, we discovered they were desperately praying to an unknown evil spirit. If Alicia's holy coffin hadn't interrupted their prayers, the consequences would have been unpredictable. Galadria, you should be aware of the dangers of such incidents."

Actually, it wasn't interrupted. Even the holy relic couldn't sever the connection the Fool had established... Claire sighed inwardly as she watched the connection between the Fool and Fors.

As for Hugh Dilcha, that crimson star hanging in the gray fog was already a reserve member of the Tarot Club, who could be made a regular by the Fool at any time.

Claire herself was a formal member who faked her own death and went into seclusion.

Audrey is an active member of the Tarot Club and even the "class monitor" of the entire Tarot Club. She takes the lead in greeting the Fool at every gathering.

Except for Daly Simone, it can be said that all members of Claire's seventh team have "part-time jobs".

As Cesimar was about to go out, she gave Claire a few more instructions, asking her not to take this matter lightly.

After Claire came out of Cecima's office as instructed, she watched the sky gradually brighten. She used her nightmare ability to leave a message for Quinn in his dream, saying "see you at the bar," and then headed straight for the Oak Leaf Bar.

When Claire arrived at the Oak Leaf Bar, Xio, who lived closer to the bar, had already arrived.

Of course, Claire's eagerness to meet with Xio couldn't be due to the evil spirit that Lady Cecima had repeatedly reminded her of. After all, she knew that "evil spirit" better than Xio did.

The reason for being so active is because it’s time to split the profits!
Tessa had gone somewhere early in the morning. In the bar's well-decorated lounge on the second floor, Claire smiled and asked Xio, "Xio, how was the total profit last night?"

Xio was in charge of the overall affairs of the Beyonder gathering, and naturally, the total revenue from last night was also in Xio's hands. However, Claire, as an appraiser under the identity of "Viper", had a good idea of ​​the total revenue from last night.

Xio opened his bag and reported to Claire, the team leader, "...In addition to ticket sales, trading, and appraisals, businesses like storage and information trading have also gotten off to a good start. Therefore, the total revenue has reached 7 pounds eleven soli and seven copper pence."

Xio's tone became more and more excited. She hadn't held so much money since her family fell into decline. Even when her family was prosperous, she had never held so much money in her hands.

Claire roughly estimated from the revenue that the total transaction volume of last night's Extraordinary gathering exceeded ten thousand pounds!
Whether they were Beyonders or occult enthusiasts, those who could come to the party clearly had money in their pockets.

"You take one-seventh for yourself. Leave two-sevenths for Tessa Perslan this time, and give me the rest. Flora's one-seventh is one-seventh, and I'll take one-seventh. The rest will be allocated to the team's funds."

One seventh...

One hundred and fifty pounds!

This amount of income made Xio very satisfied! The fatigue he had felt over the past few days was now dispelled by this feeling of satisfaction!

Moreover, in Xiu's opinion, this income will be relatively stable. After all, the frequency of gatherings can be slightly higher in the early stage, and there will be no shortage of people even if they are held once every one to two weeks.

These one hundred and fifty pounds are equivalent to a weekly salary or half a month's salary.

As for after stabilization, the frequency of gatherings will have to be slowed down appropriately, but the scale of the gatherings will be further expanded and the benefits of each gathering will be higher.

Even if it really develops into an underground exchange, the profits it will earn will be a huge amount!

From now on, Fors and I won’t have to worry about the cost of materials and recipes!
Xio even felt a little embarrassed: "Captain, am I taking too much?"

In Xio's opinion, Tessa was the venue, Flora was the important appraiser, and Galadilla, as the captain, was the backer of this business. She was getting paid too much for this errand job that was easily replaced, just like everyone else.

Hearing Xio's words, Claire felt deeply that Xio was truly a good and honest team member. She affirmed Xio's value and said, "You've been busy with all the party matters, and this is all the compensation you deserve. This is just the initial stage, and you'll be busy with more party matters in the future."

Claire said as she helped Xio sort the banknotes in front of her and pushed Xio's share in front of him. Then she asked, "How's the Fors issue going? I was too busy to let you know in advance. Did the people sent by the church help you solve the problem?"

Quinn held the money in his hands, a happy smile on his face. Upon hearing Claire talk about Fors's mumbling, he quickly said, "It's solved, it's solved. Captain Galadilla, how much will it cost to invite the church's experts? Is this enough?"

Xio had heard at other gatherings that some mid-sequence experts were charging tens of pounds for commissions like "purification." Using powerful magical items to block the whispers of Fors's level would probably cost a lot.

Claire waved her hand and smiled, "This is considered an employee benefit. Just think of it as 'family medical expenses' being reimbursed by the organization."

In a large organization, in addition to the weekly salary stipulated in the contract, there must be more human care and personal respect. Members' sense of belonging to an organization lies in these little things.

Claire hopes that Xio can feel more of a sense of belonging to Team 7.

"But there's one thing I need to remind you of... Did you and Fors pray to an evil spirit last night?"

(End of this chapter)