Hecate glanced at Prometheus, who was on her right.
"And you?"
Prometheus began to slowly take out his items.
"I don’t have anything major today. Just a few small things."
The first thing he took out was a tiny glass bottle.
Inside was a pool of dark golden liquid, swirling slowly under the light.
Richard gave it a quick scan.
He found that the liquid’s Ether Density wasn’t high, but it had clearly been adjusted by an alchemist.
"Freshly concocted."
Prometheus casually set the bottle upright on the table.
"I modified the formula for an alchemy stabilizer. It can be used for Casting, as an alchemy catalyst, for Nurturing Marvels, or for Recovering the Ether Circuit—it works for just about anything."
"Its specific functions are weak, but it’s highly versatile. There are no side effects, but of course, its effects are also average."
The second thing he took out was a few folded pieces of parchment.
"Correspondence between two senior alchemists from two hundred years ago."
Prometheus gently unfolded the papers.
"It’s a debate on how to modify a certain Technique from the Furnace Fire Tradition."
"It would be useful for a Practitioner who wants to pursue the Furnace Fire path, but it probably won’t be of much use to the rest of you."
Prometheus folded the parchment and placed it back on the edge of the table. "What I want to trade for this time," he said, "is field data on an old mineral vein in a remote area of the Ashen Zone."
He inclined his head toward Aries.
"If Aries’s previous journey took him through that area and he can give me a verbal account, I’ll trade him either of these two items for it."
Beneath the Red Copper Mask, Aries thought for a moment.
"...I passed through that area."
He mentally reviewed his travel map.
"Which part do you want to know about?"
"The bottom layer of the open-pit mine."
Prometheus’s tone grew solemn.
"A colleague of mine from the Northern Border had an accident there over a decade ago."
"...A colleague?" Aries asked.
"Yes."
The man behind the Red Gold Mask said no more.
Aries nodded and didn’t press further.
The two of them exchanged a few words about the verbal account. Since it involved personal and private information, they activated a voice shield after receiving Hecate’s permission.
Aries finished describing a few key features.
Prometheus asked no more questions and pushed the small glass bottle in front of Aries.
"This might help a little with your current circuit damage, but don’t expect it to work wonders."
Aries accepted the bottle. At this point, he was taking whatever he could get.
"Nemesis."
Hecate’s gaze shifted to her left, to the seat that had remained still.
"And you?"
Nemesis took out a silver hook.
The hook was about two fingers long. Its tip was ground extremely fine, and the handle was wrapped several times with a discolored Hemp Rope.
"An Eagle Hook, an old relic from the Highland’s Moon Hunter Series."
"It has two uses."
"First, it can be used as a Casting Medium for the Moon Hunter Series of Techniques."
"Second, it can be sewn into a lining as a Protective Talisman."
When she mentioned "Protective Talisman," a few of the others present showed obvious interest.
"The talisman’s specific effect is to make people ’misidentify’ you."
"Misidentify?" Prometheus spoke up.
"Yes. They’ll mistake you for someone who has long been dead. But it only works against a casual glance."
Nemesis didn’t elaborate further.
Richard tapped his fingers on the edge of his chair.
He thought of the silver ring hanging around his neck, the one Lady Mary had left her "kiss" on.
The silver ring was effective against "being watched."
Nemesis’s Eagle Hook was also effective against "being watched."
’Disguise and misidentification are two parallel paths.’
Nemesis’s gaze fell upon Richard.
"Hermes, I want to trade for the Technique you just gave Aries."
"Moon Nail · Reflection."
Aries’s remaining right hand clenched into a fist. He glanced at Nemesis but said nothing.
He had just paid a huge price to acquire this Technique, and now Nemesis was immediately asking for the same thing. It left a sour taste in his mouth.
But that’s how knowledge worked. After a trade, the original owner still had the right to sell the Technique again.
"Do you also have someone close to you who needs to repair their Ether Loop?" Richard asked.
Nemesis’s answer was vague.
"I have an elder in my family who had an accident during fieldwork over a decade ago. Their Tier has been stuck at Minor Mastery for many years."
"We’ve tried Ether Massage and traditional therapies. They can slow the degradation, but they can’t repair the damage."
Richard nodded.
"I see."
"Nemesis, this Eagle Hook... it’s a Marvel, isn’t it?"
Nemesis didn’t hide it.
"You could say that."
"How much Ether is left in it?"
Richard hit the nail on the head.
Nemesis replied, "This item has been passed down through several generations. By the time it reached me, only its inherent passive effect remains. Using it to assist with cultivation is likely impossible."
Richard’s heart sank a little.
’That means I won’t be able to squeeze any Points out of it.’
’However, the Eagle Hook’s real value lies in its function, not its Ether reserves.’
"I understand."
He didn’t press the point further.
"I’ll take the Eagle Hook for now."
"For the rest of the payment, what else do you have?"
Nemesis took out two more things.
The first was a small, tightly wound roll of dark silver ribbon. The ribbon was about a finger’s width and three feet long.
"Moon Bathing Silk. It’s a craft handed down through a family in the Highland. My family... acquired it."
"Before you practice Moon Nail, if you wrap the Silver Needle in this overnight before performing the Piercing Needle, the needle’s Ether Affinity will be significantly higher."
Richard’s brow twitched slightly.
"Not bad. But it’s not enough."
The second item was a small bottle of liquid, even smaller than the bottle of stabilizer from Prometheus. The liquid inside was a very pale, silvery white.

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