OBS Chapter 4296 The Trade of Humanity
Chapter 4296 The Trade of Humanity
Chapter 4296 The Trade of Humanity
As the two were talking, a blurry figure appeared in the fog ahead, but the witch did not react to it, which proved that it was just an illusion that only Shad could see.
As he got closer, Shad realized it was Dr. Schneider. The doctor nervously gestured to him, telling him to get away from Ms. Thorne and follow him into the fog, but Shad ignored him.
"Then that family heirloom pendant?"
"I forgot a lot of things when I woke up. Although I found that the pendant I had worn since childhood was gone, I just assumed that I had accidentally lost it during the adventure. Now that I think about it, it must have been completely destroyed."
The pendant was made of mithril alloy with some mercury added, and it was a standard cube in shape. The demigod Earth Witch I followed said that the alloy layer was just the outer shell; the important thing was what was inside. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I'll never know what was inside.
She didn't regret it, after all, the item had saved her life, which was already the maximum effect it could have achieved.
Shad was very disappointed. If he could know exactly what had hurt the "First Child," it would certainly have helped him with his future actions.
She then said softly:
Last time, you only saw her eyes up close. Try to make direct contact with her eyes; if the unknown object retains any power, you should be able to sense it.
Shad then noted down the suggestion, intending to try it again after returning to the temple.
The two continued walking forward following the compass's guidance, neither knowing where the white horse that had become a memory had gone. They would return as soon as the candlelight and kerosene lamp's glow faded.
However, an obstacle soon appeared in front of them. Ms. Thorne could also sense the figure in a black robe sitting on the ground, leaning against a huge rock, which proved that the figure was real.
Ms. Thorne tried to walk around the other person, but a hoarse voice came at that moment:
"Do you want to buy something?"
Even Shad couldn't tell what the figure was, but because Lady Thorne had mentioned demons before, Shad didn't want to get close to such an unknown entity.
However, the two soon discovered that no matter which direction they chose to detour, the large rock and the figure sitting in front of it would always appear in front of them.
The light from the lamps limited their time in the swamp, and seeing that they couldn't get around them, Shad and Ms. Thorne had no choice but to go over to them.
Beside the figure wearing a black hood was a very worn-out bag. As the two approached, it waved at Shad, clearly indicating that it had come for him.
"Don't hide from me. As long as you still have humanity, I will definitely appear in front of you."
The unknown entity used the common language of this era, and Shad stood there sizing it up.
The upper half of the creature's face was hidden under its hood, revealing only the lower half covered in stubble, but otherwise it had no other distinguishing features. The boulder behind it was just a common rock found anywhere in the swamp, but for some reason, it always appeared alongside that strange entity.
"Humanity? Is that what you came here for?"
"Yes, yes, I was born in this swamp, and I extracted humanity from memories and complex emotions."
It remained seated, pointing to its luggage:
"Want to make a deal? I want the humanity that you possess that isn't yours, and in return, I can give you something interesting, or I can answer some of your questions."
It placed the tattered bag in front of it:
"I won't force you to make a deal, but I want to remind you that while human nature can protect you from emotions and memories that aren't yours, it can also attract many beings lurking in this fog."
I am not the strangest creature born in this swamp; beasts craving humanity are far more unreasonable than I am. So, shall we make a deal?
"It's up to you."
Ms. Thorne said to Shad:
"But in any case, don't waste too much time here."
Shade's demand for humanity from Madam Handel was merely to prevent himself from being overly influenced by the emotions in other people's memories; in reality, whether or not he possessed humanity had little impact on him.
Since the other party wanted to make a deal, Shad nodded:
“I can trade, but I want our trade to be fair.”
"Human nature has no fixed price. You tell me what you want. I have many interesting things in my bag. You can ask for them, and I will find them for you."
Does the Philosopher's Stone exist?
Shad asked this directly, and the hooded figure sitting beside the large rock gave a clear answer:
"Have."
Lady Thorne "looked" at Shad; as a twelfth-order witch, she naturally understood the significance of the Philosopher's Stone. Even if it was merely used as a versatile material to enhance spellcasting, the Philosopher's Stone would be of great help in the current situation.
However, Shad did not immediately offer to exchange for the Philosopher's Stone. He extended his right hand, and a twisted, thin black shadow appeared in his hand.
This is the "humanity" that Ms. Handel gave to Shad. Even after personally experiencing it, Shad still cannot explain its essence. Currently, "humanity" is only temporarily attached to his soul. Shad can sense that he can absorb it at any time, but of course he will not do so.
"I have thirteen aspects of humanity here."
Shad said that this was also the limit of humanity that Joey Barton had described the soul of a mortal being could store. Others had to undergo very special training and certain rituals to unlock the upper limit of the humanity they could carry, but Shad seemed to be born at the maximum value.
Even for those cursed souls, humanity is not something that can be easily acquired. Only exceptionally powerful souls and certain special beings can produce it, and Lady Handel and her companions did not possess much humanity.
"Thirteen human qualities, you are truly rich."
The seated figure praised, and Shad raised the first question:
"What is the meaning of humanity here? Why do you say that all the beings born in the swamp want this? This is not a transaction. I will only begin the transaction after you answer this question."
The huddled figure did not object:
"We are born from memory. Although we have wisdom and even spirituality, our essence is still something born from the memories of other lives."
If you want to become whole, you must either devour more memories, thoroughly understand what life is from other people's stories, and thus allow your soul to be fully born. If you have ever encountered the most common ghouls in the swamp, you should understand what I mean.
Besides absorbing memories, one can also rely on external humanity to complete oneself, but humanity is simply too precious. Even though this swamp is special, and there's an extremely low probability that unclaimed humanity will emerge after a normal life dies, the waiting time is still far too long.
It sighed:
"So humanity is precious to us, we yearn to become real life, so we need this."
Both Shad and Ms. Thorne felt that what they were looking at was enough to resemble a real life form, but neither of them were experts in life research; they just wanted to get the answers.
"Alright, let's begin the transaction. I need the Philosopher's Stone, how much humanity do you need?"
The figure sitting before the stone reached into his tattered bag and pulled out a dirty glass test tube. Even in the dim light, the bright red color still startled Shad; it was indeed the Philosopher's Stone.
"Three aspects of humanity."
The price was within Shad's expectations, so he traded three Humanities for the Philosopher's Stone.
"My second question is about helping my companions regain their memories. Do you know anything about the memories this particular companion of mine has lost?"
Shad pointed at Ms. Thorne, but the hooded woman in the black robe didn't ask for payment but simply shook her head:
"do not know."
Shad continued to ask:
"I want to know about the dangers we might encounter in this swamp. We don't have much time, so just tell me the three most dangerous ones."
The figure in black robes nodded:
"Two aspects of humanity."
"Ok."
The transaction went smoothly, and Shad once again got his answer.
"The most dangerous thing is the oldest existence in the swamp. It was the first spiritual being born here. Or perhaps this swamp appeared because of its existence. Who knows?"
The Gray Lady was a female figure, but its form was faded and greyish-white. It wandered aimlessly through the swamp, absorbing the memories of everything around it, yet retaining none of its own. It was like the embodiment of the swamp, a natural phenomenon, a projection of some more powerful being. The only advice was to flee in the opposite direction immediately if you noticed your memories rapidly and abnormally fading away.
Then came an evil spirit, an outsider who had arrived here a very, very long time ago. It called itself the Demon of Memory, a very dangerous being, but it had no interest in beings like us who lacked true souls.
Finally, there are yourselves. Wisdom is the enemy of wisdom, and memory is the enemy of those who forget. Beware of your own memories, for they are more dangerous than the memories of others.
The last suggestion seemed like filler, but Shad didn't say much about it. With 8 of the 13 Humanity tokens remaining, he quietly asked Ms. Thorne again:
Is there anything you want to ask?
The witch, wearing a blindfold, thought for a moment:
"Besides the fire in our hands, what else can allow us to stay active in the outside world for a longer period of time?"
That's a good question. The figure in the black robe took out another item from the tattered bag. It was a candle, the color of which was indescribable, as if all the colors in Flora's palette had been spilled, mixed together, and then solidified into a long, thin shape.