Watching Edrick kneeling solemnly before her and pledging loyalty, Dorothy nodded in satisfaction. Edrick’s current performance had surpassed the usual scope of a marionette, indistinguishable from a living person—a feat made possible by Dorothy’s newly acquired abilities after her advancement.
Now, Dorothy could enhance her control over the Corpse Marionette Ring by consuming “Revelation” spirituality. This improvement allowed for precise manipulation of the corpse marionettes, enabling them to perform intricate actions previously impossible. She could even make them speak, and by expending more “Revelation,” she could temporarily increase the maximum number of marionettes the ring could control.
This boost in mental acuity and control epitomized the abilities of a "Revelation" Beyonder, but such enhancements came at a cost.
To maintain a marionette’s speech-level control, Dorothy had to inject 1 point of “Revelation” into the ring, sustaining the state for a day. Increasing the marionette control limit demanded even more “Revelation.”
Over time, this repeated consumption would inevitably deplete her "Revelation" reserves. However, her advancement brought a fundamental change to her spiritual capacity.
Before her promotion to a Cognizer, Dorothy possessed 10 points of stored “Revelation” spirituality. Now, these had transformed into 5 points of inherent “Revelation.”
Stored spirituality was finite, diminishing with use, while inherent spirituality could slowly regenerate through rest.
To Dorothy, “Revelation” was now akin to a replenishable resource, like a magic point (MP) system. She had 5 points of regenerable "Revelation," though her maximum limit was capped at 5. The other types of spirituality in her possession remained stored energy, depleting with each use. Correspondingly, Beyonders from other paths had similar transformations, for example, a Craver would possess 5 inherent points of “Chalice.”
Looking at the Corpse Marionette Ring in her hand, and then at Edrick before her, Dorothy smiled faintly. To her, the time had come to actively confront the Crimson Eucharist.
It was dawn in Igwynt. The light of morning gently illuminated the Southern Sunflower Street apartments in the upper city. Gregor, waking from his sleep, rubbed his drowsy eyes and got out of bed in the chilly early morning light. As was his habit, he dressed and, yawning, opened his door to step into the living room, where he was met with an unexpected sight.
“Dorothy? Haha... It’s rare to see you up this early,” Gregor remarked with a chuckle as he spotted the white-haired girl quietly eating breakfast on the sofa.
Normally, he was the early riser, often nagging her about her fondness for sleeping in. Today, however, she had beaten him to it. Taking a bite of bread, Dorothy glanced at Gregor standing in the doorway.
Casually, she replied, “There’s a practical lesson at school today. We need to gather early.”
“Ah, a practical lesson? That’s good. It’s nice to move around outdoors instead of being cooped up in a classroom all day. Your school’s teaching methods are quite innovative,” Gregor commented as he headed to wash up.
Soon after, the two sat down together for breakfast, though Dorothy finished hers first and departed soon after.
Not long after Dorothy left, Gregor quickly followed suit, descending the apartment stairs.
Instead of taking a carriage, Gregor briskly walked through the quiet morning streets. After forty minutes of steady pacing, he transitioned from the residential district to the gradually bustling city center. Ten minutes later, he arrived in front of a ten-story building that housed several companies, as evidenced by the advertisements plastered on its exterior.
Entering the building’s lobby, Gregor crossed the polished marble tiles to the front desk, where an elderly woman with graying hair and glasses was scribbling something.
“Good morning, Mrs. Ida,” Gregor greeted her.
Looking up from her work, the elderly receptionist adjusted her glasses and replied in a firm yet kindly voice.
“Good morning, Gregor. Did you walk here again? Your home isn’t exactly close by, wouldn’t it be easier to take a carriage?”
“Thanks for your concern, but I like to exercise. This distance isn’t even enough to make me break a sweat,” Gregor replied with a grin.
The woman nodded, handing him a key.
“Alright, suit yourself. By the way, room 8 is under maintenance today, so you’ll need to use room 6.”
“Got it. Thanks, Mrs. Ida,” Gregor said as he took the key and headed to a side corridor.
Instead of using the main stairs to ascend, he turned into a hallway, eventually stopping in front of an ordinary-looking door. Unlocking it, he entered.
Behind the door was not a typical room but a descending staircase. Closing the door behind him, Gregor descended into a large, unadorned hall bustling with clerks and other staff.
Ignoring the others, Gregor made his way to a corner where shelves lined with weapons, masks, and other tools stood. At the counter in front of the shelves sat a bespectacled, bookish-looking young man with ash-brown hair, busily writing.
“Hey, Brandon!” Gregor called out, slamming the counter.
The startled youth nearly jumped out of his chair. Recognizing Gregor, he sighed in relief.
“Phew… Mr. Mayschoss, you nearly scared me to death.”
“Haha! You’re way too jumpy, Brandon. You need to work on your composure, or you’ll never make it as a Hunter. Oh, and drop the formalities—just call me Gregor,” he said, laughing.
Brandon smiled wryly, shaking his head.
“I think I’ll pass. I’m content as a clerk. Joining the team was just a naive dream from my youth.”
“You used to dream of being like your father,” Gregor remarked.
“That was just a childish fantasy. The reality is, I’m not cut out for it. I’m fine with what I’m doing now—it still contributes to the Bureau, just in a different way,” Brandon replied.
“Fair enough,” Gregor said with an understanding nod.
“As long as you’re making a difference, that’s what matters.”
At that moment, a gruff voice called out from across the hall.
“Brandon, I need another 500 rounds of ammo!”