Chapter 45 Tris
"Beautiful lady, we meet again."
The round-faced man looked to be only about eighteen years old, or even a teenager. Although he was wearing an ordinary linen shirt and coarse trousers, like an ordinary dock worker, there was an elegance in his every move, coupled with his shy and childish face, which made Angel feel quite favorable towards him.
"Hello, I remember seeing you on the stagecoach this morning. I didn't expect to see you again so soon."
Seeing that the other party took the initiative to say hello, she also responded in a friendly manner.
"Perhaps it's fate that brings us together again. I'm Tris, and I've been working as a dock hand lately. It seems like this is the first time I've seen you in this market," the young man named Tris introduced himself. "Perhaps I'm mistaken, but if I meet a woman like you, I'll never forget her."
"I live on Daffodil Street and rarely come to the docks. Today is my second time here to buy materials, um, some candles for the ceremony."
Tris looked at the bundle of candles in her hand and nodded in understanding. "Sandalwood candles, these are very popular and out of stock everywhere. You are so lucky to find so many."
"It's just a little expensive." Angel felt a little sad when he thought about the extra money he had spent. However, when he heard that this kind of candle was hard to find, he finally felt more balanced. "It sounds like you know a lot about the occult?"
Seeing that Tris easily recognized the type of candle, she asked curiously.
"Hey, I can't say I know much about mirror communication, magic rituals, and tarot divination. I just often visit this market and have picked up some knowledge from the side."
Tris answered in a cheerful tone, but his expression was not one of "I can't say I understand" at all. Instead, it was a little smug, like a top student showing off his knowledge in front of his friends. But with his sincere eyes, he was not annoying.
"Can you tell me about the magic ritual in detail? I'm planning to try it, but I'm not sure about the specific steps." Angel continued cooperatively.
"You've asked the right person." The round-faced boy pulled out the intricately shaped ceremonial knife from its sheath, grasped the handle and threw it upwards. At the moment Angel dodged backwards, he caught the falling knife steadily with the sheath.
After completing his juggling act, he continued, "First, you'll need a small knife or dagger for ritual magic, like mine. A table knife will also work, preferably made of silver."
"Of course, it's not used for animal sacrifice. There aren't such bloody rituals anymore. The knife is only used to carve spells and ritual requests. You can do this on a table or on the ground, as long as it's a quiet and clean environment. Place four candles in a square, carve your request in the Hermetic language in the center, and then pray to the gods... By the way, what are your beliefs?"
Angel was secretly relieved to hear that Tris was describing just an ordinary ceremony, rather than the more formal "ritual magic".
"I am a follower of the Goddess of Night." She replied, drawing a crimson moon on her chest.
"Then you'd better pray to the Goddess of Night. This way, the chances of success will be greater. Remember, never pray to gods of unknown origin. Otherwise, at best the ritual will fail, and at worst you will be plagued by bad luck, or even your life may be in danger." Tris reminded with a serious face.
Unknown origin...
Angel thought of the temple in the gray fog, the mysterious "Fool" and the Tarot Club.
According to the ritual magic taught by the Fool at the Tarot Club, that clear three-part description indicates that He is very likely a being with a status equal to the Seven Gods. Although the power He currently displays is far inferior to the legendary seven gods, it is also possible that this mysterious being has just awakened from a long slumber, and His current strength is only the tip of the iceberg of His full strength.
But no matter what, "The Fool" fully deserves the title of "a god of unknown origin."
"Thank you. I'm aware of these taboos. This also corresponds to what I've read in books. I won't try them lightly."
But unfortunately, I have been entangled by "bad luck"...
She added silently in her heart.
Seeing that Angel was so willing to follow his advice, Tris smiled kindly. He continued to introduce the types and key points of magic rituals. His words were clear and concise, accompanied by body movements, like a university lecturer speaking eloquently at the podium.
Angel listened patiently, comparing it to the real "ritual magic" she had learned. She discovered that Tris's rituals were not much different from the ritual magic she had learned from Old Neil, except for the lack of a spiritual wall to demarcate the ritual area and the lack of explicit descriptions pointing to the gods.
It seems that even though the church strictly controls these occult knowledge, some superficial knowledge has more or less flowed into the folk over the years. Although they do not have extraordinary abilities and non-standard rituals are difficult to be effective, there are always people who accidentally successfully point the rituals to a powerful existence, which in turn triggers various occult events.
According to statistics from the Nighthawks, one-third of the incidents involving supernatural powers in Tingen City were caused by ordinary people who had only a superficial understanding of the occult but dared to try boldly.
The church's official Beyonders strive to control underground trading markets like the Dragon Bar and manage occult knowledge in order to reduce the occurrence of such incidents.
Although the effect is indeed limited...
From Angel's perspective, who had some knowledge of occultism, the magic ritual Tris knew was very close to being effective. It could even be said that as long as he could get some materials containing a small amount of extraordinary power, or find a spell with a clear direction in a occult book in the corner of a library, he might be able to successfully perform the ritual on a suitable date.
Maybe he has succeeded?
As soon as this thought came to mind, Angel couldn't help but ask a question.
"Mr. Tris, it sounds like you have considerable experience with magical rituals. May I ask if you have any successful experiences?"
"I'm sorry, I'm just a little curious. If you have successfully prayed for a response from the gods, then I will be more confident in my next attempt." She added, realizing that her question was somewhat offensive and might be misunderstood by the other party.
"Well..." Tris's embarrassed expression already gave the answer, "...You know, magic rituals are not like tarot divination. It is very difficult to successfully establish a connection with those mysterious beings..."
"Well, that's good."
"What?"
"What I mean is that even if the ritual fails, it's still better than encountering some unknown and unpredictable existence. At most, it's just a waste of time and materials."
Angel saw Tris's surprised expression and had to explain.
Tris frowned and thought about it, then nodded in agreement.
"You're right, it's better to waste time than to waste life."
He changed the subject and continued, "But I think I'm not far from success. Maybe I just lack some luck, or I'm not devout enough, and the materials I use are too cheap."
"It just so happens that you have quite a few sandalwood candles suitable for use in magical rituals. If we use them, perhaps this ritual will be successful. My home is in the dock area, less than five minutes away from here..."
Tris didn't continue speaking, but her eager and unrestrained eyes looked straight at Angel. With more than 30 years of male life experience in her previous life, how could she not understand the hidden meaning in the words?
It has to be said that Tris's understanding of occult knowledge, coupled with his pleasing round face and elegant temperament, if Angel was just an ordinary woman interested in the occult, she might have rashly agreed.
But when the other party made the invitation, Angel's spiritual intuition as an assassin suddenly made her sense a hint of danger. This intuition was very faint, and was completely incomparable to the strong feeling of "a bayonet falling as soon as she went out". It was just the unreasonable vigilance of the current situation and a vague sense of familiarity beneath her surface consciousness.
Yes, it's unreasonable.
In a place like the underground market, someone I had only met once started talking to me, and in just a few minutes of conversation, I even told him where I lived and which god I believed in. I was just one step away from following this stranger back to his home to "study magic rituals."
Although Angel didn't know how the other party did it, perhaps he had succeeded many times with his eloquence and appearance and was very experienced; or perhaps the other party was proficient in psychology and could win people's trust through simple conversation.
But it did not prevent her from decisively refusing after she saw through the other party's purpose.
"Thank you for your invitation, but it's getting late and it's time for me to go home. Perhaps we'll have a chance to discuss mystical knowledge together next time. Goodbye." Angel bent his knees gracefully and saluted. Before Tris could react, he passed by and walked towards the exit of the underground trading market.
As if he had not expected the situation to take such a sudden turn for the worse, Tris raised his hand in surprise, as if to keep the other person, but in the end he just opened his mouth and said nothing.
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In the darkness of night, a pair of vigilant eyes were staring at the entrance of the "Dragon Bar".
The people coming in and out of the bar did not attract his attention until a round-faced boy dressed as a dock worker, carrying a cloth bag, pushed open the door and walked out of the bar. Only then did he relax as if he had completed a task.
The round-faced boy Tris looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to him in the night and the guard at the door of the bar had begun to doze off. Then he slowly walked to the warehouse opposite the bar and went into the narrow alley.
"You haven't come out for so long, I thought you were arrested."
The cloaked man stalking the alley grumbled as he snatched the sack from Tris and slung it over his shoulder without checking. The crimson moonlight shone on his face beneath his cloak. It was none other than the mysterious assassin who had recently clashed with Angel and was now wanted by the Tingen City police. Somehow, he had healed his injuries in just a few days, and was able to move without any difficulty.
"I'm not on the wanted list, so who would come to arrest me? As for you, I just returned to Tingen and saw your face on the wanted list at the steam train station. You'd better not cause me any trouble and leave Tingen City as soon as possible!"
Tris answered with a gloomy face. He remembered that when he took the steam train from Enmat Port back to Tingen, as soon as he arrived at the station, he saw the walls covered with faces of people he knew. He was so scared that he almost bought a ticket to escape Tingen City.
"I was ready to escape the day I found out I was wanted, but Mitis told me I had a mission to complete this week. I'll leave as soon as I'm done."
"That Mitis... she doesn't have any feelings for her subordinates. You'd better be careful. If you find something wrong, leave Tingen immediately. Don't let her kill you."
When Tris heard the cloaked man mention his new online presence, he could hardly hide his disgust, and a hint of disdain appeared on his shy round face.
If it weren't for the sudden death of Madam Sharon, who guided him into the world of Beyonders, and the subsequent potion formula being lost, he would not have been willing to have anything to do with this notorious witch.
Tris' heart twitched at the thought of the potion. When he learned the name of the subsequent potion of "Instigator" from Mitis, he could not believe his ears. The other party's malicious ridicule deepened this discomfort, so much so that when he met the beautiful lady he had met once during the day in the underground trading market of the Dragon Bar just now, he could not help but go up to chat with her and even used the language charm ability of "Instigator".
Unexpectedly, the other party looked innocent and cute, but was actually quite vigilant. He woke up the moment Tris revealed his true purpose, decisively rejected his invitation, and hurriedly left the Dragon Bar.
He didn't dare to continue pestering in the underground market where all kinds of people mixed together, so he had to give up.
Thinking that this might be his last chance before promotion, he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.
Anyway, I have to go to the underground trading market to buy materials in the next few days. Maybe I can run into her?
Tris thought so, turned around and looked at the Dragon Bar in the night, then said to the cloaked man, "Let's go, send the things to Mitis first. I will come over by myself tomorrow daytime. Don't follow me. If you are recognized, we will both be in trouble."
The agile "instigator" and "assassin" left the alley quickly under the cover of night, one after the other.
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