Old days, dice and investigator's manual

The term "strange object" literally means an item with extraordinary power, but Isaac knew nothing about its classification, grade, or purpose.

Carlo came to his rescue: "Sigh, you ask him what kind of rare item he wants, but he doesn't even know what you have. How can he ask? Isn't that taking advantage of his innocence?"

Verca said to the innocent and naive Isaac, "Then it's settled. I will prepare the rare items I can sell, and you can choose from them."

Isaac breathed a sigh of relief; this arrangement was more reasonable than having him order on the spot.

"Then it's settled." Carlo clapped his hands. "And there's my favor to repay..."

"Let me make this clear beforehand: if you use this favor to blackmail me into doing anything excessive, I will not admit it."

"Oh? This definition of 'excessive'..."

"You know my bottom line."

"Alright, I know my limits."

"Hard to say."

"Tsk, they really don't give me any face," Carlo clicked his tongue. "When are we leaving?"

"I will be waiting for you at the East Gate at six o'clock tomorrow morning. I will have a carriage and necessary supplies ready."

After Vilka finished speaking, she nodded to say goodbye and walked towards the alleyway exit, turning the corner.

Isaac watched her leave: "Boss, that strange item you mentioned earlier..."

"What, are you moved by my actions in advocating for your interests?"

"Uh, it's a bit of a surprise." Isaac rubbed his nose. "However, I don't even really know what a strange object is."

"Are you illiterate? The name is easy to understand, isn't it? A magical item with extraordinary powers."

"...I mean, are there any specific types?"

The two walked back along the street, and Carlo said, "The types are naturally varied. It's impossible for them to be fixed as a certain accessory like equipment, giving you roughly the same enhancement."

"The type of strange object is related to how it is created. Most of them are related to gods, calamities, or extraordinary beings. Some are sacred objects blessed by gods, some are cursed objects contaminated by calamities, and some are relics formed by the power of extraordinary beings after their death."

Relics, cursed objects, relics... Isaac silently noted down these categories.

Carlo continued, "Judging from the way they are produced, the types of sacred objects blessed by the gods are relatively stable. After all, they are basically made by clergy under rituals. The process is standardized, and the products are also well-organized. They are mostly amulets, holy symbols, and weapons, and their functions are relatively clear and controllable."

"The holy silver bullets produced by the church can strictly be classified as wonders, but because they are mass-produced and consumed quickly, they are generally not discussed as genuine wonders."

"But the latter two are different. Cursed objects contaminated by calamity, and relics formed after the death of extraordinary individuals—the way these two types are created determines that their types are incredibly diverse. It could be a broken sword, a finger, a stone, or even a pile of dried dog poop."

"...Is the last one for real?"

Carlo shrugged: "After all, artifacts are formed when extraordinary power attaches itself to something. When power attaches itself, it can't just shout 'I don't want to become dog poop!' and jump onto another vessel. Whatever is closest to the power that it attaches to, that's what it becomes."

Isaac smirked. If someone showed him a dried-up piece of dog poop and said it was a rare find, he would probably think they were insulting his intelligence.

He decided not to delve deeper into the existence of this strange object: "Is there a clear classification system for such objects?"

"Grading is quite difficult, considering factors such as effectiveness, side effects, and rarity. It's not very meaningful to compare the strength of functional and offensive artifacts together. Some artifacts are powerful but costly, some are safe and stable but not very useful, and some can play a huge role in certain specific situations."

"Therefore, most artifacts are not classified, only briefly described in terms of their type: sacred objects generally mean safety and stability, but usually restrict the user's faith; relics often require the obsession remaining within them to function; and cursed objects, as for them, are often accompanied by a price to be paid."

"However, there is one type of rare item that has been separated and classified as a special level—mythical level."

"Mythical level...that sounds pretty impressive."

"Actually, it's quite powerful. According to common belief, these kinds of magical objects are the manifestation of divine power in the mortal world. The holder can use them to wield power far beyond the ordinary, and may even be able to rival a demigod."

A being comparable to a demigod, a pinnacle existence that tore the earth apart and burned cities during the wars between religions, a level of power that humanity could not reach? Isaac felt that this description alone was enough to demonstrate the value of a mythical artifact.

"However, there probably aren't many of these mythical artifacts."

"That's natural. Each one has a name, is recorded, has a clear ownership, and is controlled by various churches. The dominant one in the Western Region is naturally the Golden Bough Church, which, as far as I know, holds at least six mythical artifacts."

Considering that Verca went it alone, and with the two of them going to deal with "Shepherd" Mary, Isaac guessed, "As a cardinal, can Verca command those mythical artifacts?"

In his mind, since the Golden Bough Church possessed such a powerful mythical artifact, then Verca's confidence must stem from this.

"Each of those six items is of great importance, and the use of any one of them requires the joint approval of the Pope and the Grand Duke. She can mobilize them, but there is no need to."

Verka's confidence in her strength didn't actually come from a mythical artifact? Isaac was taken aback: "Then she..."

"She herself is a walking strategic deterrent, much more useful than a mythical artifact."

Isaac was somewhat surprised by this assessment. Verka's swiftness in drawing her gun just now did show that she had a certain level of skill, but that alone did not seem to match the description of "a strategic deterrent that is more useful than a mythical artifact".

Clearly, Verka possesses far greater strength.

Carlo waved his hand: "Anyway, with that guy's strength, we don't need to worry too much about tomorrow's operation. Even without the two of us, she can kill Mary all by herself. Her hiring bodyguards is more of an excuse."

Isaac understood: "So, I just need to go and make an appearance tomorrow?"

"That would be for the best. I'm not prepared to risk my life to protect her. If things go wrong, I'll definitely turn around and run."

Isaac was speechless. Although he also found it hard to imagine that Carlo would go through fire and water for Verca, the words were too blunt and showed a complete lack of professional ethics.

"Besides, she approached us for another reason," Carlo said.

"Um?"

"We also have the identity of the Ninth Division. When we kill the 'Shepherd,' even if our operation completely bypasses the FBI, the official report can be 'FBI secret operation kills Calamity,' instead of 'Cardinal displays the power of the Goddess.'"