Art and Information

Magnus had switched with Javelin.

He was going to spend a few days just roaming about the metropolis of Aosouru to learn what he can.

The other Earthlings thought the same way after going through enough Trials. They had gone through so much already, that they were bonafide Otherworlders now. Magnus watched as cliques of Earthlings formed, banding together with a common goal.

They all went around, talking to people, speaking to the locals, and doing all the work for Magnus as Javelin rode on the shoulder of a young man and licked his paws.

Javelin allowed himself to become a pet for a few days. He stayed with a party, finding a loophole in Master of the Hivemind, and continued to leech off of their progress.

After two days, he moved to another party and continued listening.

This went on for a week, and Magnus was able to build a good image of the situation in Aosouru.

He knew where adventurers, travellers, and mercenaries headed and congregated. He knew about a few of the important facilities, such as the Grand City Hall, the Seeker's HQ—where people who want to explore lost cities all organised themselves—as well as a few prominent pubs and taverns.

It was this knowledge that led to him learning about a certain party of treasure hunters.

'If I'm not wrong...'

Magnus guided Javelin towards a certain location within Aosouru. The sound of metal hitting metal rang out rhythmically. To Javelin's left was a small blacksmith shop, with a blacksmith hard at work.

Dong!

Dong!

Dong!

'It should be here,' Magnus thought as Javelin snuck into a nice spot between an unused anvil and forge.

Javelin lay there peacefully while the blacksmith in the shop paid no heed to him. He waited for several minutes as a small group of humans slowly trickled into existence.

"Hey, hey, hey~"

"What's up? You ready?"

"We're all set. What about you?"

Javelin's ears perked up as he heard voices converse. He looked over and saw familiar faces, but he put his focus on a certain person the most.

It was a young girl.

An Earthling.

She was about 12, and at first, Magnus was baffled just how she had survived until then.

This curiosity led him to set Javelin to ride on her shoulder to eavesdrop in plain sight. The girl—whose name was Rie—welcomed Javelin's comfy company. It allowed Magnus to learn about her as she tended to speak to Javelin a lot while she had roamed the city.

Her Blessing was called State of Higher Existence.

It was a 5-line Blessing, just like Restiel's.

And it was just as mystical.

Passively, Rie was capable of entering a "state of higher existence" for a set amount of time. In that time, she becomes invulnerable, intangible, and generally omniscient.

But the moment of omniscience only lasts for the blink of an eye. It was at the moment she turns intangible.

Thus, Rie could only grab a single strand of information at that moment. Usually, a phrase that tells her of something. As for her invulnerability and intangibility, it lasts for as long as Rie had Spirit Energy.

Of course, the amount of information she can draw from the void increases upon invocation, but it drains her entire energy reserves.

She was an information gatherer by nature.

Javelin learned of this when Rie applied to join this treasure hunter group. Her Blessing was wonderfully welcomed, and thus they designed their next expedition based around her abilities.

Rie was able to draw an important coordinate that they were lacking, and thus they now knew where they could go. The treasure hunter group set everything up very quickly as they thanked Rie for her presence.

'She found a decent group to be with,' Magnus observed the light smiles among the group of men and women.

Rie seemed to have a knack for looking for the right people. At least, that's how it seemed when Rie told Javelin the story of her life with enthusiasm.

Gasp!

"Javelin!" Rie cried out in surprise, "Were you waiting for us?"

"Meow!"

Javelin replied in a manner that Rie understood as a yes. The name tag around Javelin's neck jingled slightly.

The young girl jumped in excitement, "Come here!"

Javelin obediently accepted the embrace before eventually settling on Rie's head. The rest of the treasure hunters chuckled upon seeing this. It was an adorable sight that warmed the heart.

"Alright, Rie, you've got everything you need, right?" A teenage lady who seemed very prim gave Rie a pat. "We're heading out now."

"Yes, I do, Sister Laura!" Rie smiled softly as she gestured at the pack of items slung expertly over her shoulder.

Rie then blinked into a state of higher existence. She did it out of nowhere, but her companions did not mind as they watched her body change in form. Weirdly enough, Javelin did not fall from her head as she did that. Her intangibility was a paradox.

"It should be safe to go now," Rie spoke after a breath. "The next time I can grab information should be in an hour or so."

"Perfect," A tall man nodded, "We're putting our trust in you, Rie. Although you've shown us what you can do, some of the others still have doubts. If not for Leader's Cracked Intuition, we wouldn't have allowed you to come with us."

"Roger that, Brother Ju." Rie replied as she stuck her tongue out, "But my information is as good as it gets, alright? Ask and you shall receive."

"Such nice words of wisdom," Laura laughed at the stiff face that Ju was making, "Your parents raised you well."

"Now let's go!"

.

.

.

Magnus allowed Javelin to continue with the group while he went on an expedition of his own. With Javelin's recent advancement to 2-stars, the amount of Spirit Energy he naturally regenerated was great enough to sustain his own summoning, as long as he was the only other one summoned.

It was similar to summoning Restiel who was rather well-endowed with a Spirit Technique. The Stargazing Art was functional everywhere there was starlight.

And since Thare's sun was considered a star, Restiel had no problems with the time of day.

Now, as for the place Magnus was going to, it was a lost city that was quite famous. Many youths entered here as a way to start their journeys while many experts favoured this place because of how extensive it was.

The lost city was called Gallery. And, as hinted by its name, used to be a city filled with artists who would colour the streets with beautiful pieces of art.

Those pieces of art actually underwent some sort of change when Aodis was turned into a continent. They took on magical traits as Molecular Text seeped into their structures.

They became precious magical artefacts.

Perhaps those artists who created them would be honoured. Or perhaps they would feel their works were tainted.

Magnus did not know. All he knew was that,

'I want those artefacts.'

And there was one artefact in particular that Magnus fancied.

'Contrived Lovers,'

It was a painting, rumoured to have the power to allow someone to create a mirror image of themselves at the cost of splitting up the owner's mind for a moment. It was basically a painting that would allow Magnus to clone himself as many times as his mind could allow.

And with the Hivemind, he had four minds that could all contribute.

It was an artefact he wanted to have for the sake of his time at Archeaon University. It would allow him to work without summoning his Hivemind members, but still utilise a little of what they could offer.

As for the problem that Magnus had to face to get the artefact...

With Mirror World Thief, what was there to face?

One might think that.

But the issue right now is that Klaris isn't strong enough to do it by himself. If he goes into the Mirror World and tries to take the Painting of Contrived Lovers from its owner, he would surely perish.

His body would sustain too much damage to go on.

Thus, Magnus had to try his luck in a reality where he had more room to manoeuvre. He could take the painting directly, or simply create a scenario wherein Mirror World Thief becomes viable.

His expedition was therefore not an actual exploration of Gallery. He just needed to find the person guarding its borders.

The Overseer of the area.

A 4-star human.

Magnus felt his heart pump like crazy just thinking about it.

.

.

.

Arriving before what seemed to be sand-ridden skyscrapers, Magnus was in awe of the scene before him.

Gallery was a city filled with a variety of buildings that were all unique. From cylindrical towers to irregularly-shaped structures, to the snaking sky roads that were broken in one place or another. Everything was bizarrely sculpted, yet architectural feats all the same.

Magnus walked forward as he spotted a few adventurous individuals fighting sandworms here and there. It seemed like an infestation was present in the city. One that the people of Aosouru still couldn't solve despite the 4-star powers they had at hand.

Magnus wondered why that was the case as he floated above the blazing sands.

He moved into the city, avoiding all the sand-borne beasts and monsters by floating high up in the sky and snaking around the many skyscrapers. He continued to watch as the infestation of sandworms thickened as they simultaneously grew in size, strength, and resilience.

The deeper Magnus went into the lost city, the more ferocious the battles got. Starting from 1-star threats and reaching 4-stars.

At that point, Magnus saw no value in scouting further. A few monsters were eyeing him hungrily, giving him a bad feeling.

He thus returned, suppressing his urge to go ham in a suicidal battle.

'I didn't see that Mister Arlon,' Magnus thought to himself as he continued to scan the area, 'Where is he overseeing things from?'

An office?

A base?

A camp?

Magnus wasn't able to receive such information. All he had learned beforehand was that Arlon, his target, was an Overseer in Gallery.

Magnus floated higher into the sky, hoping that a new vantage point could help. He rose into a low-lying cloud and passed straight through it.

The cloud dispersed as he did so, and it revealed the city of Gallery below him like parting curtains.

That was when he saw something peculiar.