The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 534

Chapter 533
The Corona Scepter

—Eivass eventually bought it.
It was a Corona Scepter, a purple-grade item valued at 8,800 white crown coins. The boss even threw in two elven- crafted daggers… perfect for Lily. Given Lily’s elven physique, these daggers were essentially short swords for her. Their quality surpassed Haina’s sword when she was a Supervisor, and they would last a long time.

Including the daily necessities worth over 400 white crown coins purchased earlier, Eivass then bought some rare ancient books for Sherlock, as well as some precious ritual and potion ingredients, totaling exactly 10,000 white crown coins. He received a substantial 30% discount—though Eivass was acutely aware that the boss certainly made more money than he saved, he was still very happy. He had a feeling of making a fortune. After all, consumption was not just about necessity, but also about happiness. And even an illusion, a feeling of making a fortune, could bring great joy—in a sense, he had purchased a service that would provide him with a pleasant illusion for a long time.

—Eivass justified himself in his heart.
As Eivass touched the scepter, its attributes popped up before his eyes:

[Corona]
[Extraordinary Weapon (Purple)]
[Scepter, Medium, Blunt]
[Traits: Fire/Light elemental damage bonus]
[Elven Style: Durability greatly increased, maintenance cost increased]
[Module – Light Concentrator: Healing amount significantly increased when healing a single target]
[Module – Corona Fire: Grants fire damage bonus based on Light elemental Mana Pool]
[Module – Sacred Prayer (Candlemaster): One segment of prayer for Candlemaster can be omitted]

Among the many scepters here, Eivass chose this one at first glance. Compared to other scepters, this one primarily offered a high bonus to fire damage. The in-game percentage gains were visible, but not here… Eivass roughly remembered the data. Ordinary purple-grade scepters offered about a 20%-30% dual-elemental damage increase. The “Corona Fire” module, however, could add fire damage equal to a percentage of the Light elemental Mana Pool—for a Cleric who allocated mana as three parts Light and one part Fire during leveling, this could provide a very significant boost to fire damage.

In the game, this weapon wasn’t particularly favored by Clerics. The much cheaper [Consecration Scepter] was more versatile—it could save two segments of casting time for blessings, reduce the mana cost of blessings, and significantly extend the duration of buffs provided by blessings. Even in the late game, some Clerics might still use a well-worn Consecration Scepter for its utility. Then there was the [Forest Scepter], whose three attributes were all dedicated to increasing healing amount.

For Eivass, however, there was no need to increase his healing. He wasn’t an adventurer constantly watching his teammates’ health fluctuate like an elevator. In fact, Eivass had never fought in a team as a Cleric—rather than the meager healing provided by a Cleric, Eivass would rather pull out the Book of Law and deal damage. If I defeat all the enemies, my teammates won’t get hurt. That’s called prevention. This was also why Eivass hadn’t been in a hurry to find a main hand weapon for his Cleric profession. Scepters didn’t offer area-of-effect buffs or conserve mana; their primary improvements were in damage and healing values. A meter and a half tall, weighing over ten pounds, it was quite inconvenient to carry around normally, and he’d be heartbroken if it got scratched or bumped. For Clerics, equipment that provided mechanics was more crucial than weapons. Compared to the Book of Law, which directly and greatly enhanced combat power… When Eivass was a Cleric, his identity as a Cleric itself was more important than the healing and combat power provided by the profession. He didn’t even have tank teammates… The only one who could act as a tank was Haina, who was now a councilor. Everyone else was a fragile glass cannon; what use would increasing his healing amount be?

—But “Corona” was different; it was closer to a staff used by Mages. It offered a significant boost to Eivass, whose usual combat method involved summoning small flame butterflies—even without seeing percentages, it provided at least an 80% fire damage increase. Eivass knew the weapon’s specific attributes because “Corona” was a weapon from version 0… a weapon obtained by exchanging materials after daily random high-difficulty dungeon matchmaking. Its primary effect was to provide transmogrification. The staff had a pure white, spiraling shaft with three golden lines converging upwards, forming a spiral that resembled a tall tower. At the very top was a bust of a saint wearing a triple crown. Once activated, a small crown of flaming thorns would appear directly above the Corona Scepter—and when gripping the top of the scepter to pray, this crown would transfer to the Holder’s head. Combined with the giant Episcopal Crown, it would create a massive halo of flames. —It was very cool. It perfectly suited Eivass’s current identity as an Archbishop!

Eivass was very happy to be able to purchase such a high-level Extraordinary Weapon with money, without having to run dungeons or quests. After all, as the prospective head of Moriarty, Eivass was quite wealthy. The other items could be sent back by the Trolls. Although these Trolls were giant and looked foolish, they appeared less barbaric when properly dressed. They were all wearing solemn and uniform black suits that made them look like businessmen. They were quiet while working, only occasionally conversing with each other in Trollish in low voices. Clearly, neither Eivass, Sherlock, nor Lily understood the chattering Trollish. The only concern was whether their clothes would tear if they carried excessively heavy items.

To guide them, Lily and Sherlock had already left ahead—having them go together was mainly to prevent either one from getting lost. Eivass planned to stroll around a bit longer alone, see if there was anything else to buy, and spend more money. He would then look for Master Janis when dawn broke. Anyway, that place was the Fifth Ring, not far away… The “elevator” here was painfully slow. Since he had come down, he might as well finish all the necessary tasks in one go.

But shortly after they left, someone approached him.

“In the sacred name of the Candlemaster… and the sublime Nine Pillar Gods. Greetings! May your flame burn eternal… and your light shine forever. Respected Archbishop Your Excellency…”

A deep, stiff voice sounded from behind Eivass. The voice spoke word by word, with drawn-out syllables. It was clearly the spoken language of a non-native speaker who lacked practice… Not only was it somewhat unpleasant to listen to, but the grammar was also quite off.

Eivass raised an eyebrow, gripped his scepter, and turned around. Before him stood someone he considered a half-acquaintance. —It was the trio of three-colored Trolls they had met at the port. Compared to when Eivass, dressed as an ordinary Priest, looked young like a student, he now wore the attire of an Archbishop and held a scepter, exuding an air of nobility. It would be difficult to recognize him after only a brief meeting of a few minutes… but these three Trolls recognized Eivass just from his back. The Troll who spoke to Eivass was the one with brown-black skin. His skin, unblemished by any dye, symbolized his most noble status. Among the three Trolls, he was the strongest and tallest. His face was the cleanest, his features the most regular, and his hair was neatly tied into a high ponytail. The rest of his scalp was carved with rough black runes.

“We wish to ask a favor of you,” the Troll said, word by word. “There is a reward. We can give you some information first. Very important information. Your portrait is posted with a bounty. In the black market, someone is buying news about you.”

Before Eivass turned around, the Troll was at least seven steps away, very polite. Even from this distance, he could smell the odor of the three Trolls—only the brown-black one at the front smelled slightly less pungent, but still carried a strong scent of oil and spices. The other two smelled of fishier decay and herbs, respectively. As Eivass scanned and observed them, the green Troll flattered him, nodding repeatedly and clumsily bowing.

…Someone is buying information about me? Eivass raised an eyebrow and suddenly understood why these three had been pointing at him earlier. It wasn’t because Eivass was showing off his wealth, but because they were confirming if it was him.

“How did you know it was me?” Eivass asked, without answering their request. Hearing this, the tall Troll translated something to his companions in Trollish. The grass-green-skinned Troll pulled out a strange triangular stone rune with three deep claw marks on it. He made a sniffing gesture, then pointed at Eivass. He then clawed himself several times with three fingers, chattered something, and then, like a monkey, fearfully bowed to Eivass. Eivass’s expression immediately turned serious. Although he didn’t recognize the object, he roughly guessed—since the grass-green-skinned Troll was a hunter, he had smelled Eivass’s scent, much like a hunter tracking a wounded beast. Combined with the “blood of Eivass” and the shape of the claw marks…

…Bear Heavenly Envoy? All four Disciple positions were gone, did He have other subordinates or followers?

(End of Chapter)