After finishing lunch with Luvia, Xia De originally wanted to take Mia to the House of the Blind, hoping to run into Sister Devlin. However, not long after lunch, Tifa unexpectedly arrived at Saint Delan Square to pick up Xia De and invite him to the witch's manor outside the City as a guest.
Miss Jialinna didn't have anything important to discuss with Xia De; she just wanted to talk about the stone figurine they had recently recovered, which contained a fragment of the whispering chapters.
At the same time, she also learned that her student Iluna would temporarily leave Tobesk, so she instructed Xia De to be extra careful when operating in Middlesburg recently. The Church had already dispatched the only Chosen One to that City, which meant that the situation in Middlesburg might undergo significant changes in the near future.
In short, Xia De did not leave Tobesk this Friday. And since there was a meeting on Saturday afternoon, he had no plans to go to Middlesburg again.
However, after the weekly study meeting on Saturday afternoon, Xia De let Dorothy, who was waiting for him, leave first, while he stayed behind for a private conversation with the doctor. The doctor had already borrowed a relic from a friend in the City that allowed him to perform short-duration spatial transfers.
"Look at this!"
Perhaps because of the demon matter, the doctor seemed very excited and showed Xia De a door placed in the bedroom on the third floor of the clinic.
It was a relic; both the doorframe and the door panel were made of old, heavy brown wood. The left and right feet of the doorframe were inserted into metal bases, and the handle and lock on the door seemed to be made of the same metal as the base. In addition, a black key was inserted into the keyhole.
The metal base had complex patterns resembling a steam pipeline diagram, while the wooden doorframe was decorated with vine-like patterns, as if there were entangled long worm corpses inside the wood. The door panel was adorned with clusters of intricate flowers, with a two-faced person at the very center, each face looking in a different direction.
At the very top of the doorframe was a line of ancient text, which translated to a very interesting meaning:
"The journey beyond the door is determined by the key."
"Document-level (Level 4) relic, traveler's travel door."
Without Xia De even asking, the doctor began to introduce it.
"You take the key."
The doctor pulled out the key from the door and handed it to Xia De. The black key was also made of metal and felt unusually cold to the touch.
"Now turn your back to me, keeping yourself from seeing this door."
Xia De turned around as the doctor requested.
"Imagine the appearance of that door in your mind, yes, it must be specific, and then imagine yourself inserting the key in your hand into the imagined keyhole."
Concentrating attention through imagination is also called meditation and is a basic part of a Ring術士, so it was easy for Xia De.
He extended his right hand forward, and the key in his hand pierced into the air. Because there was a maid cleaning the house, Xia De had also brought Mia out. The cat curiously watched Xia De's movements.
"Now turn the key, remember not to make a mistake. Three turns clockwise, then one turn counter-clockwise. After turning, immediately release the key."
Xia De continued to imagine the door, then turned as required. During the three clockwise rotations, unless Xia De's arm could twist into a pretzel, he would have to release the key to continue turning. But when he released the key, it actually stopped in mid-air as if it were truly fixed in a lock.
At the same time, Xia De could also feel the change in the whisper element in space when the relic's properties were activated. He himself had the Time-Space core Ling Rune, so he was very sensitive to abnormal changes in space.
After three clockwise turns and one counter-clockwise turn, Xia De immediately released the key in his hand. Centered on the key, the door that should have been behind him gradually appeared within three seconds. It was as if an invisible hand was assembling the door in space like a jigsaw puzzle.
"Xia De, step back a bit. Oh, whatever you do, don't turn your head, remember, absolutely do not turn your head."
The doctor warned nervously, and then Xia De heard the sound of a door opening behind him.
At the same time, the door in front of him also opened automatically, and the doctor walked out from inside. Xia De even saw his own back behind the doctor, indicating that these two doors had truly achieved spatial splicing.
"You see."
The doctor, having stepped out of the door in front of Xia De, said with a smile:
"You can use this method for spatial movement. Only one person can pass through the door at a time, and they must return within 3 minutes and 12 seconds."
Only then did Xia De notice the pocket watch in the doctor's hand.
"This door will only disappear when I return again, or when the time limit is reached. During this period, the key cannot be pulled out, and this door cannot be destroyed or moved by non-spatial forces. At the same time, I cannot leave a range of approximately 10 feet (about 3 meters) with the key as the center of the sphere. When I reach the boundary, I will walk out of the door again."
"What happens if you run out of time? Does it automatically return?"
"Of course not, it will maintain the same height and randomly appear at any location in the material world."
Saying that, the doctor turned and retreated back into the door. As the sound of the door closing behind him occurred, the door in front of Xia De disappeared as if erased by an eraser, and the key clanged to the floor.
"Two situations will cause the relic to go out of control: first, the user uses the key while looking at the door itself, and second, turning the key three times clockwise and one time counter-clockwise while the key is inserted into the door's main body."
"What will happen? Since it's Poet Grade, the harm caused by losing control shouldn't be small, right?"
Xia De asked curiously.
"It will summon some terrifying things that live in spatial crevices. It's somewhat similar to the situation when your Miracle, Raglai's Leap, is used frequently, but much more terrifying. Besides, every time this door is opened and stepped through, according to Saint Byron's research after containing it, there's about a 0.2% chance of being directly torn apart by a spatial storm. But considering that the probability of being hit by a carriage on the street is similar, there's no need to worry about that."
The doctor shook his head and told Xia De to pick up the key:
"This relic cannot be used in spatially abnormal areas, otherwise it will cause spatial tearing. For example, it cannot be used in the Darkness Domain. Also, this door cannot be used frequently; once an hour is the limit. Besides that, the containment conditions are simple: just leave the key in the keyhole when not in use. The key cannot be separated from the lock for more than 8 hours under any circumstances, and the key itself cannot pass through this door."
The final restriction determined that the door's utility was not very significant. One must possess spatial power and be able to return the key within eight hours to take it far away, but since one already possesses spatial jumping power, the effort of opening a single-person, single-use door for three minutes doesn't hold much significance.
"Can this be used for smuggling?"
Xia De asked curiously again.
"Yes, but this door cannot carry special items through it, nor can it transport items exceeding the user's own weight."
Therefore, it made sense that this seemingly useful door was only rated as "Document-level (Level 4)."
"Xia De, when do you plan to go to Middlesburg to deal with that demon? Tell me the exact time, and I'll prepare here. There are only 3 minutes and 12 seconds, which I think is enough, but it's good to prepare in advance."
"I'm thinking Dorothy has to give me a lesson tonight, tomorrow morning I have to open a time key, and in the morning I have to visit a Fortune Teller in Middlesburg who can foresee death, so I'll only have time to come back for the key in the afternoon. How about 7 PM?"
"Are you that busy?"
The doctor asked curiously, and seeing Xia De not answer, he didn't think much of it:
"The key cannot be separated from the lock for more than 8 hours, otherwise something will come out from behind the door, plus the time for you to return the key... To be safe, come back for the key after 3 PM tomorrow afternoon."
"No problem."
Xia De nodded, then hesitated and asked again:
"Doctor, is that correspondence group from Zaras Academy willing to sell this door?"
"You want this?"
The doctor asked, and Xia De nodded again:
"This door possesses spatial power, and it might help me use the Time-Space Ling Rune better."
More importantly, whether in Coldwater Port or Middlesburg, he acted alone. He could find some assistants locally, but they were not as close partners as Iluna or Luvia.
Although this door could only be open for 3 minutes and 12 seconds, sometimes even half a minute could be of great use.
"They are indeed willing to sell it, after all, the key not being able to leave the lock for 8 hours is a ridiculous restriction in itself. Moreover, the short duration of use and the distance limitation after opening the door greatly diminish the value of this relic. But I've heard them say that they are only willing to trade item for item, relic for relic, and do not accept other transactions."
"I see."
Xia De actually possessed quite a few relics now: the Sage-level god's gift box, the Secret Keeper Level dice of destiny, the Document-level gun of kindness, the Document-level fishing rod of the soul, and the Poet Grade poem manuscript pages were all useful. The three rings—demon hunter seal, metamorphosis ring, and fish training ring—all had to be kept, and the blood money and the upright coin were even less likely to be sold.
The only items he could consider selling, and which the other party might accept, were the Poet Grade youth everlasting leaf and the Document-level Corpse-Hiding Mirror. Xia De had two of the former, and more were expected in the foreseeable future; the latter's ability to hide within a mirror was very useful, but not essential for Xia De, and its absence wouldn't affect his combat power.
"I have so many relics."
Thinking of this, Xia De himself was a bit surprised. After all, except for the fishing rod and the upright coin, all other relics were obtained for free, so he hadn't realized he had so many good things.
"Alright then, doctor, please help me contact the other party."
At the doctor's desk, he wrote down the specific information for the youth everlasting leaf and the Corpse-Hiding Mirror:
"Ask them which of these two relics they would accept. If it's the youth everlasting leaf, they'll need to add money."
Although the youth everlasting leaf was only Poet Grade, its unique properties made it very expensive.
"If it's the Corpse-Hiding Mirror, I prefer a direct exchange. If the other party has other conditions, we can meet to discuss."
Gray Headed Eagle's secret mission had made Xia De quite rich; the 200 crowns and the yet-to-be-claimed 1000 pounds gave Xia De confidence in the transaction. However, the difference in price between that door and his mirror shouldn't be large, and he could completely accept anything within 100 pounds.
Doctor Schneider nodded:
"Then just wait for my good news. The other party is also an acquaintance of mine, so I'll arrange this business, and I definitely won't let you suffer a loss. It's already afternoon, so I probably won't find anyone. I'll go ask for you tomorrow morning, and by the time you come here to pick up the key in the afternoon, the deal might already be settled."
