After dinner, his father read the newspaper in the living room while his mother shooed Evelyn upstairs.
Richard helped his mother wash the last of the dishes, then returned to his bedroom, closed the door, and slid the bolt shut.
He took out the items he would need for the night from his drawer, one by one.
The Copper Disc, and the twenty-some small stones engraved with symbols from Old Big.
From different compartments in the drawer, he also took out his few Marvels.
He set the Sphinx Lamp aside first. It was an item to be used for his signature in the future, placing it in a different category from the others.
The Gargoyle was also put to the side. Although he had finished studying its Technique, he wasn’t keen on having it recycled.
That left five items, which he arranged in a row on the right side of his desk.
According to the theory Isabella had explained over the phone, the Copper Pendant, the silver coin, the Ancient Rome copper coin, the Sophie Incense Burner, and the Sun Seal were all now nothing more than empty shells.
Richard already had a good idea of what he wanted to do.
The silver coin was a gift from Mr. Hutton.
The old gentleman had been very generous when giving it to him and probably wouldn’t ask about its whereabouts later.
’But to have the very first item from my Guide recycled so soon... I just can’t bring myself to do it.’
He was also reluctant to recycle the Ancient Rome copper coin.
It was small and easy to carry.
It was extremely old, giving it a profound structural foundation.
And now that its Ether was drained, it would be more compliant.
According to Isabella’s description, it was exactly the kind of raw material Secretive Ones dreamed of.
It was precisely because it was such a fine base that it was worth keeping for himself.
He couldn’t say for sure what path he would walk in the future, or whether he would need to create Sealed artifacts or Casting Mediums.
’Keeping one as a memento couldn’t be a bad thing.’
’The silver coin and the copper coin stay.’
As for the Copper Pendant, the Incense Burner, and the Sun Seal, he had no special attachment to these three.
The Copper Pendant was this body’s "Life-Ending Talisman"; keeping it around felt a bit inauspicious.
Sending it off to be recycled would, conversely, bring the matter to a close.
The Incense Burner was a modified, second-hand item that had been messed with. It wouldn’t be of much use if he kept it.
The Sun Seal was relatively new and crudely made, making it even less worthy of taking up space in his drawer.
But before all that, he needed to perform a Divination.
He mainly needed to confirm one thing: whether these three Marvels would arouse Isabella’s suspicion.
Richard had bought the copper coin and the Incense Burner at the Tangna Store on Huayue Street in late October, and the Sun Seal in November.
He had bought all of these items with his own money.
But he couldn’t be sure if Isabella would question how the Marvels had been drained of their Ether so quickly.
Fortunately, his [Perception] had now been lit up, and his Divination skills had reached a new level. He could properly divine the fortune of this course of action.
Richard took out the Talisman Stones from Old Big and placed them in a cloth bag.
He closed his eyes and began to pose his question. ’What will my aunt’s visit bring for me, overall?’
After silently reciting the question, he grabbed a handful of Talisman Stones from the bag and scattered them onto the Copper Disc.
Opening his eyes, he saw six Talisman Stones lying scattered on the Copper Disc, some near the center, others far from it.
Wheat (Harvest), Double Circle (Relationship), Crescent Moon (Growth), and Hammer (Action) were near the center.
Water Drop (Unfinished Business) and Spiral (Repetition) lay at the edge.
He connected the information and interpreted the result:
’My aunt’s visit will be a fruitful and fitting event for me, bringing change and growth.
I’ll need to cooperate proactively. The event itself will involve a process of repeated verification, but the negative aspects are essentially negligible.’
It was a very straightforward and positive Divination result.
Handing over the three empty Marvels to his aunt for recycling wouldn’t lead to any dangerous consequences.
As for the process of "repeated verification"...
He guessed it probably meant that after Isabella arrived, she would personally inspect each Marvel and ask some questions, which he would need to handle.
But the Divination result indicated that this repeated verification would not lead to negative consequences.
Richard decided he could give the Incense Burner and the Sun Seal to his aunt for recycling. As for the Copper Pendant, he would decide after asking his maternal grandfather for his opinion separately.
As for the two new items he had recently acquired from Clement, he would hold onto them for now.
’If this recycling goes smoothly, I can save up more for the next time and recycle them all at once.’
Richard scraped the wax drippings off the Copper Disc, returned the Talisman Stones to the cloth bag, and wrapped the Wax Stick in oil paper.
At that moment, he could feel that several of his relationships were beginning to consistently produce value.
Connection One: Mr. Hutton.
The standard channel for academic advancement, and also his primary path upward.
Connection Two: Clement.
The clearance list channel was now open, providing a long-term supply of low-cost Marvels.
Connection Three: His aunt.
The channel for exchanging Marvels through the academy system, soon to be opened.
Connection Four: Old Big and his Guild.
Training in Spiritual Vision and Divination from a folk Guild, as well as potential lateral referrals in the future.
Connection Five: The Divine Pantheon Salon.
A higher-level platform for information exchange. The next official gathering in mid-December was happening tomorrow night.
Richard glanced at his panel.
[Scholarship Lv.2] Progress: 75%.
The number had been stuck there for several days.
The Scholarship progress bar was different from his other Skills. Its advancement primarily depended on two factors: "learning new knowledge" and "integrating existing knowledge."
His daily coursework, Latin practice, and reading of Mysticism theory were all slowly charging the progress bar.
But the final quarter, from 75% to 100%, was progressing at a noticeably slower pace.
At the current rate, he estimated that if he could maintain his present study intensity during winter break, and with the addition of new knowledge from a potential winter internship, the progress bar should reach 100% by the beginning of next spring.
He could ask both Mr. Hutton and his aunt about this requirement for unlocking the Double Overwrite text.

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