Goddess Kaleidoscope

Trilling had never seen this before and asked with some curiosity.

"Master, what kind of artifact is this?"

"This is called a spirit compass. So-called divination is essentially using those intangible things that exist outside the world to spy on and eavesdrop on secrets. Since what you are looking for is a divine artifact, you naturally have to go to some beings that are not bound by gods to get information."

"Then, who should we ask?"

"I don't know. One of the key features of the spirit board is that it's double-blind. The questioner and the respondent don't know each other's identities. But the moment the respondent answers, they've essentially entered into a contract with us questioners. They can choose not to answer, but they will never lie."

"How exactly do I do it?"

"I will teach you; just follow my guidance step by step."

Taking inspiration from the Japanese game "Gugure! Kokkuri-san" on Earth, Lude created a high-fidelity copy, convincing Telin that it was a divination technique that could uncover divine artifacts.

The metal discs they used were hastily crafted by the three sisters, and tampered with according to Lud's instructions, allowing for remote control. Trinn, being only human, was completely unaware of the trickery involved.

Lud explained the precautions for the psychic ritual to Trilling, and had Trilling and his three henchmen sit around the psychic disk. Then, he lit a circle of twelve candles around them.

According to Ludwig, these candles represent both directions and the time limit of the entire ritual. Once the candles have burned out, the respondent may not leave immediately, but the contract with the questioner has ended, and therefore honesty is no longer guaranteed.

Rudd, however, was only responsible for providing guidance from the sidelines and would not personally participate. The reason was that, as a priest, if he were to handle the spirit disk, it might deter some evil spirits from approaching and responding.

Throughout the process, Ludwig deliberately created a mysterious, ritualistic atmosphere to make Trinn completely believe in the messages obtained from the divination. It wasn't a particularly sophisticated scam, but when used properly, it was one of the most effective tactics.

Trilling was clearly intimidated by Lud, and he became tense, breathing rapidly and his eyes darting around.

After the ceremony officially began, Trin and his three henchmen recited the summoning incantation according to the note given to them by Lud. The incantation was not long, but it needed to be chanted repeatedly until someone responded to them.

The four chanted the incantation over and over again. Terin seemed to hear illusory whispers in his ear, and then he saw the metal arc that the four had been pressing with their fingertips suddenly move on its own and begin to circle around the spirit disk.

Trin quickly looked around. His three other subordinates were all surprised, each saying that they hadn't exerted any force; the ring was moving on its own. Among the three subordinates Trin had brought, two were mages. They silently shook their heads at Trin, indicating that they didn't sense any "familiar power."

With things having progressed to this point, Trilling had no reason to continue to doubt.

At this moment, Lud held up a sign to Trin, which contained instructions on the steps of the ceremony. As an "outsider," Lud could not speak until the ceremony was over, so he could only give them instructions by writing.

So Trilling took a deep breath and began asking questions.

"Hey! Are you there?"

As soon as the first question was asked, the ring stopped spinning and quickly moved to the word "yes," then moved to several other characters, forming a short phrase.

Since the characters on the spirit board were an ancient phonetic script, Terin didn't know what the short phrases meant, so he looked at Lud, who was translating beside him. Lud quickly wrote them down on a sign and showed them to him.

"I'm asking about serious business, I'm in a hurry... Tsk! This guy who came here has a short temper."

Having received a definite response, Trilling then began asking questions, to which the respondent selectively answered only some of them.

Trilling first asked the question he was most concerned about: where was the artifact he was looking for? The respondent told him it was inside the Spiral Abyss, but when asked for the specific location, the respondent refused, explaining that he did not want to provoke the creator of the labyrinth.

Then Trinn asked where Dick was. In front of Lud, Trinn did not reveal the name "Necromancer," but it is not hard to see from this that Trinn and the Navarro family behind him knew Dick's real name.

The entire questioning process lasted for nearly an hour. During this time, Trilling also asked some other questions, the kind of questions that only he and a very few people knew. It seemed that after gradually calming down, he had doubts again and wanted to test the respondent again.

The response, however, was met with a slightly sarcastic question from the person who answered.

"Do you really want me to say this in front of the other three?"

End of this chapter

The entire divination process was under Ludd's control, but the "Ludd" directing Trilling on site was not the real Ludd, but a stand-in, disguised by Hume. The real Ludd was in another room directly below the reception room, answering questions with Trilling as the "respondent."

In the entire scheme, the respondent is the most crucial person, who needs to have excellent communication skills and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Therefore, apart from Lud himself, there is no other suitable candidate.

Lude's goal was to lure Trin into the labyrinth, then cause him to clash with the necromancer Dick, so that he could reap the benefits.

The advantage of doing this is that it provides double insurance. He has already established relationships with both sides, taken the necromancer as his apprentice, and cooperated with Terlin, letting them fight each other. When the outcome is about to be decided, he will provide assistance as needed, and finally gain the trust of the winner.

This trick was learned by Lu De from a senior narcotics officer!

When Ludd first introduced necromancy, he instilled in Trin the initial impression that "the respondents are capricious and extremely willful," often refusing to answer questions based on their mood. This allowed Ludd to appear omniscient despite having limited information, giving Trin the illusion that the respondents knew but were choosing not to speak.

The specific method is to act as a "riddler," giving the other party no clear answer other than yes or no, forcing Trin to use multiple questions to continuously narrow down the range of answers, making him believe that it is the answer he has deduced, and thus making him deeply believe in this information that has gone through twists and turns.

Both scammers and police use similar tactics; the former uses them to deceive victims, while the latter uses them to extort criminal suspects during interrogations.

Thus, under Rudd's deliberate guidance, Trinn obtained the information Rudd wanted him to get, and during the questioning process, he was also led by Rudd to reveal a lot of information about the Brotherhood of the Black Hand and the Navarro family.

Using a combination of questions prompted by Lude on the blackboard, Trinn successfully learned that the artifact he was looking for was located somewhere between the second and fifth levels of the Spiral Abyss labyrinth. Meanwhile, the necromancer Dick, whom he had been tracking, was currently lurking somewhere in town, less than 300 meters away.

Because the respondent had to communicate using a spirit medium, after chatting for more than an hour, Terlin only asked about ten questions, but the candles around them were almost burned out, and the brightness in the room was rapidly decreasing.

During this time, one of Terlin's men, for speaking rudely to the questioner, suddenly had both arms burst into flames without warning, burning his skin and flesh.

This sudden turn of events truly startled Trillin. The two magicians present were equally terrified, shaking their heads at Trillin to indicate that they had not sensed any magical fluctuations, suggesting that it was a power higher than magic. However, the only priest present, Rudd, made no move, clearly indicating that this sudden, mysterious power did not originate from him.

This reminded Trillin of the precautions that Lud had repeatedly warned him about before the ritual began: never anger the responder, because you don't know what you are talking to, and sometimes you might attract something more terrifying than a god.

Clearly, the respondent currently engaging in dialogue with them is no ordinary being; his power far surpasses that of mortals. Yet, even such a being is immensely wary of the outer demon Hedtaka, who created the labyrinth.

Soon, the first candle went out, the extinguished flame signifying the termination of the psychic contract. However, the fingers of Terin and the others remained firmly attached to the ring, indicating that the respondent had not left. But without the constraints of the contract, he no longer needed to tell the truth.

So after much hesitation, Trilling decided to ask one last question.

"Respondent, I have one last question. I want to know... was my mother's death three years ago an accident?"

Suddenly, Trin asked a question that was completely beyond the scope of the psychic array, but Zhen Rude, who was on the other side of the psychic disk, keenly sensed a hint of inside information from the question, which indicated that there were also some disharmonious and dark sides within the Navarro family.

Another one is that this spoiled brat, Terlin, is surprisingly a filial son!

Lude pondered for a moment, then suddenly had an idea. He then manipulated his own spirit disk to respond to Trin's question.

"Do you want to ask your mother directly?"

A rhetorical question was thrown back at him, and a storm raged in Trilling's heart. His mother had passed away three years ago, but the person who answered asked him if he wanted to talk to his mother. The true meaning behind this question made Trilling extremely excited.

Could it be that the mother has become a ghost, or that this unknown "responder" has the ability to resurrect those who have been dead for more than three years?

At this moment, "Lud" reminded Trin again to pay attention to the time; half of the twelve candles had already gone out, and the rest were teetering on the brink of collapse.

A spiritual ritual is not like going to a brothel where you can pay extra to extend the session if you're still not satisfied. Forcing the summoned respondent to stay is also a major taboo!

At that moment, the metal ring started moving again, quickly spelling out two words—"Necromancer" and "Blood".

Before Trilling could ask another question, he suddenly felt a weight on his right arm. His fingers, which had been firmly fixed to the metal ring, came loose instantly, and the last few candles around him went out at the same time, plunging the room into darkness. Then, Lud's voice came through.

"Young Master Terlin, the psychic session is over."

In the darkness, Ludwig clapped his hands, and Shanis, who had been waiting outside the door, immediately came in with an oil lamp, restoring light to the reception room.

Ignoring the numbness in his arm, Trilling stumbled to his feet and grabbed Lud, saying...

"Master, could we repeat the ritual? I still have questions for the person who answered earlier. Is there any way to contact him again?"

"Young Master Terlin, calm down. Listen to me first. Generally speaking, a spirit communication ritual can only be held once a month, and no one can guarantee that the same respondent will be summoned twice. But there are always exceptions. Sometimes the respondent will offer conditions for a next meeting. Didn't he already tell you that?"

"Conditions? Oh, right! He said he wants the necromancer's blood... he wants the necromancer's blood! Is that what he means?"

Unwittingly drawn into the rhythm, Trin's mind was now filled with thoughts of how to re-establish contact with the person who had answered before and uncover the truth behind his mother's death three years ago. His thirst for this truth had even completely overshadowed his pursuit of the God of Thieves' artifact.

End of this chapter

Rudd's deception tactic was a great success, and Klin had no doubt about the information obtained from the psychic divination. After all, in his eyes, Rudd was a "diviner" who could see through his search for the artifact with just a few copper coins, and the psychic divination just now was so strange that there was no flaw in it being a scam.

Based on this information, Terlin made a decision: to eliminate the necromancer first, and then concentrate all his efforts on conquering the labyrinth.

Trilling's thinking was simple: although the necromancer Dick was a member of the Brotherhood like himself, he was also a competitor. If he led the team into the labyrinth now, he would most likely be interfered with by Dick.

In fact, Trin did not reveal to Lud that his purpose in following the necromancer to Pine Town was not only to seize the artifact, but also because his father had specifically instructed him to find a way to kill Dick if the opportunity arose, so that this troublesome guy would disappear into some unknown corner.

Trilling had no idea what grudge Dick had against his father that made him so determined to kill him.

Now that it was confirmed that Dick was also in town and very close to where he lived, Trinn immediately bid farewell to Ludd and returned to his residence with his men, sharing the important information he had just received with his "butler".

The "steward" was the old man beside Trin. Trin didn't know his real name, only that he was his father's close attendant and a very powerful expert. His father had sent him to help him kill the necromancer.

The butler remained cautiously skeptical of the information Trinn brought back from Ludd. While some truly skilled diviners did exist in this world, many more were frauds. However, given Ludd's reputation, the butler's suspicions were merely that—suspicion.

"Try not to do it in town, to avoid any unforeseen complications. That Lud is a capable man, and it's said that he knows the dragon and the three-man tower's fire madman Hamilton. It's best not to antagonize him."

"Senior, if we don't make a move in town, how do we deal with Dick?"

"It's simple, lure them out! Tomorrow, send someone to the Adventurers' Guild and Mercenary House in town to issue announcements, recruiting people to conquer the dungeon on a grand scale, making a big splash. Dick will notice our actions and will definitely take some action as well. Let's stir up the waters first so we can fish in the mud!"

Following the old steward's advice, the next day, Terlin took a large amount of gold coins to the town where adventurers and mercenaries gathered to recruit people. He offered a commission three times the normal price and promised that he would only take high-level rare items from the dungeon, while all other spoils would be divided equally among the people.

As a result, many adventurers who were originally observing joined the Trin organization's team, recruiting hundreds of people in just one day, instantly becoming the largest dungeon exploration team in town.

Just as the old butler had hoped, the resulting impact attracted the attention of Dick, a necromancer lurking in the town.

But Trilling was unaware that shortly after he left the temple, Lud immediately forwarded the information he had obtained from the divination to Dick, and even "thoughtfully" reminded him that Trilling had ulterior motives.

Information asymmetry and common sense once again played a deceptive role. Rentelin could never have guessed that Lude, this seemingly righteous priest, would actually be "colluding" with a necromancer in secret.

Seeing that Trillin was relentlessly pursuing him all the way to Pine Town, Dick was also eager to kill this rich kid he hated.

Although Dick was acting alone, his Soul Gathering Bag contained over a dozen subjugated slaves, so he might not be at a disadvantage in a real fight. His main concern was the "butler" who always accompanied Trilling; this old man was said to be a legendary assassin who, to some extent, restrained Dick.

However, Dick now had someone to rely on: the unfathomably powerful senior, Lud! Although Lud hadn't agreed to take him as a disciple, he had been genuinely helping him. When it really came down to fighting Trin's people, could Lud just stand by and watch?

Dick wouldn't normally be so trusting of others, but when faced with Rudd, who was also a necromancer, the shared identity made Dick, who had always been alone, subconsciously regard Rudd as a companion, and Rudd also showed the goodwill that Dick expected.

Simply put, this is also a type of PUA, but it's an undercover police officer exclusive.

As for Dick, Lude's plan was to lure Trin into the labyrinth, get his help to conquer it, and then find an opportunity to eliminate him inside the labyrinth once they were close to finding the artifact, making it appear as if he had died a natural death, thus avoiding a direct confrontation with the Navarro family. Dick wholeheartedly agreed with this plan.

So both sides began preparing for the operation, while Lude personally went to the fourth level of the Spiral Abyss, which was not yet fully completed, to instruct the three sisters on how to trick the "players" who were about to arrive.

"Let me tell you, when setting up a trap, you must put emotion into it and try to understand the psychological changes of the user when they experience it firsthand. The real killer move should be placed in the moment when the other party thinks they have escaped a trap and lets their guard down. Do you guys understand?"

The three sisters followed behind Ludwig, notebooks in hand, nodding and jotting down key points in their notes, just like attentive elementary school students in class.

According to Lude's previous plan, the spiral abyss has a total of nine levels, divided into three levels as a stage. The difficulty should reflect a "sense of hierarchy". The first three levels are for beginners, the middle three levels are for beginners, and then the last three levels are for falling directly into hell. The key point is to be unpredictable and to progress step by step without following the usual pattern.

However, the Spiral Abyss is a massive undertaking. Even if the three sisters were a female version of Steve, capable of digging vertically through to the magma layer with a single pickaxe, their numbers would still be insufficient. Currently, the number of adventurers entering the labyrinth is small, and their strength is relatively weak, making even the first level difficult. But if, later, a top-tier expert of Hamilton's caliber were to be attracted and easily conquer the first three levels, only to find the lower levels empty, that would be quite embarrassing.

Therefore, in order to speed up the construction of the labyrinth, the three sisters, on Rudd's advice, decided to try creating a divine messenger for the first time.

As life forms created directly by the gods with divine power, the strength of divine messengers is directly controlled by the gods, and their power or weakness can be determined in an instant. For example, the three most powerful families can create high-level divine messengers that are even stronger than some third-tier gods.