With his one remaining right hand, Aries slowly dragged a large cloth sack from behind him onto the tabletop.
He upended the sack, and a pile of items tumbled out onto the table.
Richard activated [Erudite] to access the databanks in his mind, mentally cataloging the items spread before him.
The first category was Evil Beings Materials.
A dozen or so dark, curling scales lay on the outer edge of the pile. Each was about half the size of Richard’s palm. They were Shadow Eater Scales.
Shadow Eaters were Middle Tier Evil Beings native to the Ashen Zone that subsisted on devouring shadows on this side of the Curtain.
The scales themselves were extremely hard and possessed excellent Ether conductivity, making them valuable for crafting various Alchemy Items or for use as a Casting Medium.
Underneath them lay five or six dark red fangs, nearly as long as an adult man’s index finger. They were the front canines of a Soul-Devouring Beast.
Richard had seen the name "Soul-Devouring Beast" in the materials his aunt had sent him.
A small annotation beside it read: "Occupies the upper-middle tier of the Ashen Zone food chain. Field engagement is advised only with a team leader of at least Minor Mastery."
Aries’s party of three Practitioners had run into one of these. Richard now had a pretty good idea of how his two companions had met their end.
At the center of the pile was a tightly balled mass of dark green, fibrous material. The aura of corruption emanating from it was so dense it seemed on the verge of corroding the tabletop.
’There’s no exact match for this in my memory,’ Richard thought, ’only a few tangential notes that might be related.’
The second category consisted of items from beyond the Curtain.
There were five vials of fine gray powder labeled "Ash Powder." It was the most common product from the Ashen Zone, usable as a filler for basic Seals.
A foot-long wooden rod, half black and half gray.
This was Gray Wood, a rare material found only in the core of the Ashen Zone.
Richard had seen its name in texts but had never laid eyes on the actual substance.
The material could be fashioned into a pen, and Inscriptions written with it would persist longer on the other side of the Curtain.
A small pinch of "Shadowless Soil," one of the few materials capable of interfering with Techniques that operate on the plane of shadows.
Richard mentally flagged this item in red.
At the very end lay a small porcelain vial with no label, its stopper sealed with three layers of wax.
The liquid inside was a slowly churning, dark gray. It was a corrosive solvent unique to the Ashen Zone, effective against Evil Beings and just as effective on human skin.
The third category: potential Marvels.
A palm-sized Copper Mirror, its surface oxidized so black that it no longer reflected anything.
A small ebony box, its surface hastily carved with a ring of Low Tier Seal Inscriptions.
The sealing technique was crude, the cuts hurried. It was clearly applied in a rush on the way out of the Ashen Zone.
The last item was an Old Pocket Watch. The back of its case bore a distinct burn mark.
The moment Richard saw it, his inspiration blared a warning.
He immediately averted his gaze, not daring to look a second time.
He wouldn’t dare touch that thing.
Aries swept his remaining right hand over the tabletop, tidying the items slightly as he began to introduce them.
"We went out this time to verify a rumor."
"That a remnant altar from the Pre-Roman ’Weaving Net Tradition’ might be hidden in the core of the Ashen Zone."
The flame atop Prometheus’s head flickered, but he remained silent.
"My two companions and I found that altar."
"The altar had already collapsed. We dug these things out of the ruins."
Aries rested his right hand next to the Old Pocket Watch.
He didn’t touch it, merely placed his hand on the tabletop beside it.
"...On the way out, we ran into some ’Ashen Zone Natives.’ You all saw what happened next."
Aries didn’t elaborate, and no one was tactless enough to press him for details.
The man pulled his right hand back from the Old Pocket Watch and sighed.
"I came today hoping to trade for... a new left arm. To find some way to regenerate a lost limb."
Prometheus was the first to speak.
"Aries, you’re missing an arm. To regenerate it from the stump... would require a Grand Mastery in the Sun Tradition."
"To create an arm from nothing where one was severed... there are fewer than five people on the entire Old Continent who can do it."
Aries’s remaining right hand clenched tighter.
"Do you know any of them?" Prometheus asked.
"...No."
"Chief Hecate might."
Prometheus turned his gaze to the head of the table.
Hecate shook her head.
"My relationship with them isn’t strong enough for me to make an introduction."
Aries’s shoulders slumped.
He had been betting on Hecate providing a connection. He lost.
Prometheus continued.
"As a fallback, if you’re not restoring a real arm, a prosthesis that doesn’t significantly impair combat ability... would require a Minor Mastery alchemist of the Furnace Fire Tradition."
Richard’s interest was piqued.
’Furnace Fire Tradition, Minor Mastery, alchemist.’
"A prosthesis isn’t as simple as just making an arm."
Prometheus elaborated, clearly for the benefit of the newcomers present.
"When you lose an arm, you also sever the Ether Micro-Cycle within it."
"To attach a combat-effective prosthesis, you have to build a ’simulation circuit’ inside it that allows your Ether to flow through."
"Without a simulation circuit, it’s just a useless lump of metal hanging from your shoulder for decoration."
"The design of a simulation circuit is extremely complex," Prometheus stressed.
"It’s not just a matter of mechanical structure; it requires complementary bionic Techniques."
"Each Inscription must be carved to match the user’s personal micro-cycle pathways. After it’s carved, the user has to ’nurture’ it."
"After six months to a year of nurturing, the user can finally wield the artificial arm as if it were real."
Richard listened from his chair, his thoughts turning to Major Aud’s prosthetic hand.
"I know someone," Prometheus offered.
"He’s from the older generation and lives in the North Suburb of the Imperial City. His appointment book is usually full for the next six months."
"I can write you a letter of introduction. That should get you an appointment within three months."
"The price?" Aries asked without hesitation.
"A basic prosthesis with no extra features, from shoulder to fingertips, costs around five hundred pounds."
Both Richard and Nemesis were silently taken aback.
Aries, too, fell silent.
The haul he’d brought back from the Ashen Zone, sold through legitimate channels, would fetch three hundred pounds at the absolute most.
And that included several items without a standard price, leaving a lot of room for haggling.
Even with his savings, scraping together five hundred pounds would be difficult.
After all, his two companions had died in the Ashen Zone, and just handling their final affairs had cost him a significant sum.
Richard thought about the connection he had.
Clara, his senior, had a distant uncle—a Minor Mastery alchemist who specialized in weapon modification and altering Marvels.
By offering this connection, he could put Aries in his debt—a favor of no small significance.
Whether it worked out or not wasn’t on him. If it succeeded, he’d gain from it. If it failed, it wouldn’t affect him.
’It’s a good deal,’ he thought.
Richard spoke up.
"Aries."
All eyes at the table turned to him.
"...I also know someone. A Northerner who runs his own workshop in the Imperial Capital."
"I don’t know about his specific skills with prosthetics, but his main business is weapon modification and altering Marvels."
"He might be able to handle the simulation circuit, or he might not."
"I don’t know much about his prices, though I have heard he has a bad temper."
Hearing this description, Prometheus already knew who Richard was talking about.
But the young man had worded it carefully, absolving himself of any responsibility.
It wasn’t a promise, not even a real recommendation—just an "I’ve heard of a guy."
Aries’s remaining hand slowly tightened on the edge of the table.
"I can pass a message along for you."
"Whether it can actually be done, and for what price, is for you to negotiate with him."
"If you go and he’s willing to take the job, consider yourself lucky."
"If he’s not, it has nothing to do with me."
Aries gave Richard a slight nod.
"Alright. Another option is better than none."
Richard pushed a slip of paper he had written on toward the center of the table.
"Here it is."
Aries picked up the slip of paper with his right hand.
Richard added one more thing.
"When you go, don’t mention my name."
"...Thank you."
Aries put the slip of paper away.
The pile of items from the Ashen Zone still lay on the table.
According to tradition, someone who provides a lead is entitled to choose one item from the other’s wares as a referral gift.
Aries nodded to Prometheus.
"You choose first."
Prometheus didn’t stand on ceremony.
"This." He reached out and moved the Gray Wood in front of him. "I’ll use it to bind a manuscript."
Using Gray Wood for a book cover was an old method within the Furnace Fire Tradition.
The wood fibers, nurtured on the other side of the Curtain, acted as an insulating layer. It allowed the manuscript within to be shielded from external detection on the Ether Layer, effectively giving the manuscript an Ether-woven cloak.
Richard secretly surmised that, based on the items Prometheus always presented, this "Fire Thief" was likely backed by an Alchemy Craftsman from the Furnace Fire Tradition.
Perhaps the very contact he had just recommended was the craftsman backing him.
"Your turn, Hermes," Aries said, turning to look at him.
Richard’s gaze slowly swept over the items on the table.
He glanced at the Shadow Eater Scales, then gave the Soul-Devouring Beast fangs a longer look. He mentally ticked both as possibilities.
Finally, his eyes settled on the small ebony box near the back of the pile.
The sealing technique was crude, but it was at least effective at suppressing whatever was leaking out from inside.
He thought for a moment, then his gaze shifted to the palm-sized Copper Mirror.
The Mirror Surface was oxidized black, but Richard recognized the shallow relief carvings on its rim as an early technique of the Weaving Net Tradition.
"I’ll take the box."
Aries reached out to push the box toward him.
"...And the Copper Mirror."
His hand stopped mid-push, clenching into a fist.
The entire table fell silent.
According to the rules, the one who provides a lead gets to pick one item. Picking two was crossing a line.
Before Aries could speak, Richard added.
"I’ll take both, because I have something else to offer you in exchange."
Aries pulled his hand back from the box.
"...What are you offering?"
From the head of the table, the eyes behind Hecate’s Triple Goddess mask had not left him.
Richard placed his palm flat on the tabletop.
"First, let me tell you what it is."
He didn’t rush to name his price.
"I have a Technique. It’s a variant, reverse-engineered from the Moon Nail branch."
"It has a unique property: it doesn’t affect Evil Beings. It’s designed to be used on people."
The table was quiet, everyone looking somewhat perplexed.
"Specifically, on living people with an Ether Micro-Cycle."
Richard continued to explain.
"When the cluster of needles detonates, it spreads through the affected section of the micro-cycle and ’refreshes’ it."
"The Ether pathways in that area become temporarily more active than usual. The effect is localized to whichever part of the micro-cycle is targeted."
"The cost is minimal."
Richard spread his hands.
"A single casting consumes slightly more Ether than a standard Moon Nail. Repeated use will, however, cause damage to the target’s own micro-cycle, and is followed by a period of weakness equal in duration to the effect."

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