novelraw Chapter 385 Mist Empire’s Rise- 384: The Second Badge
Chapter 385 Mist Empire’s Rise- 384: The Second Badge
The shortcut didn't work. Luo Wei was disappointed for two seconds, then gathered her spirits to think of solutions.
She crossed out tasks like finding a lost bag of coins, catching a bread-stealing thief, finding pearls that fell into water when the rope broke. The earlier divination produced no results likely because these tasks had too many sub-levels.
Coins circulated. Hundreds of copper coins would scatter everywhere. The divination scope was too large.
If the owner only wanted to find the money bag itself, or the pickpocket who stole it, she could help. But he only wanted the money back—sorry, she was powerless.
Catching the bread-stealing thief was also tricky.
The owner didn't specify which day or which thief. Thieves, mice, cats, dogs, even birds—all might have stolen his bread. How could she find that?
Luo Wei only kept seven small tasks with recent loss times, single items of low value—like finding silver earrings and knives.
Removing massive burdens, the star tracks that couldn't produce results suddenly gave rapid guidance, marking lost items on the map.
Luo Wei memorized the seven items' positions, then selected four tasks finding living things for a second divination.
With precise classification, divination speed was much faster.
Lost puppies, rabbits that dug holes to escape—whether dead or alive, she knew their directions.
First divination canceled, then divined twice more. Luo Wei's mind remained clear, without pain or fatigue. Half her mental energy remained.
Wait, when did she gain the ability to measure mental energy?
Before this, she only had such perception for magic power and magical elements. She could sense magic strength and element concentration, even calculate how many fireballs her remaining magic could fire.
But mental energy was mysterious. When it existed, she couldn't detect it. She could only feel its disappearance.
Excessive mental energy consumption made her dizzy, slow to react. Overdrawing it caused brain pain, sensory failure, bleeding from seven orifices.
Those were symptoms of its disappearance.
Luo Wei never thought to give it measurable units. Could mental energy be measured? No one had tried.
"Everyone has mental energy. Some strong, some weak. Mental energy is innate, hard to improve later"—this was mages' entire understanding of this mysterious energy.
Luo Wei thought back to when she started—could only divine once a day. Soon became twice. Later vaguely touched the third time's threshold, but somehow fell back.
Much later, until this month's astrology exam, she stumbled through breaking the third barrier.
The third breakthrough caused qualitative change, finally letting her perceive energy existence in her mental world.
Luo Wei's brain told her—she needn't be limited by divination frequency anymore. How many times she could divine would depend on how much mental energy each question consumed.
Perhaps her previous mental energy was too weak—so weak it couldn't reach even basic measurement. That's why she couldn't perceive it.
Then why did her mental energy suddenly increase?
What did she do before the astrology exam?
She saved Viscount Wesley and Golus City's people. Her little knight stopped the archangel from seizing the Blade of Judgment. She reached cooperation with Zachary. She brought back the dark elf. She sent Wordsworth to Demon Island...
In short, she twisted multiple people's fate lines.
So her guess was correct. The more fate lines twisted, the faster her abilities improved.
With her current remaining mental energy, perhaps if she'd waited patiently just now, the star chart would have told her the answer.
Luo Wei reflected. When did she become impatient too?
If her divination question exceeded her mental energy, her body would give warning. But she felt no discomfort—meaning these seventeen tasks didn't exceed her threshold.
Dispersing complicated thoughts, Luo Wei exited her mental world, opened her eyes, and put down the tortoise shell.
Some lost items remained undivined. But she wasn't anxious.
First find and return already-divined items. Then take all small tasks teammates couldn't complete, tally and classify them. Finally solve them batch by batch.
Scorching sun overhead, the eight astrology squad members left the inn, splitting up to find townspeople's registered lost items.
After two days and nights of travel, the group had long lost their fresh appearance when leaving Siria City.
When they rode into Kakashi Town, they thought themselves dashing. Little did they know they were disheveled, covered in grass and mud—gray and dusty like they'd rolled in ash.
Summer clothing was thin and easily damaged. Students choosing astrology had some family money, not caring much about their clothes.
Some had hems torn by branches. Some had dress fronts burned through by sparks.
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After such wear, no matter how proper their clothing, they looked like they'd picked up rotten clothes to wear.
Even if not picked up, definitely old clothes worn many years.
If not poor, why would they run out to earn money in such hot weather?
Watching these youths walking streets and alleys, townspeople showed pitying gazes.
Finding one lost item only charged one copper coin—definitely afraid no one would hire them, so they pressed prices so low, right?
What pitiful youngsters!
The eight ran around town exhausted. Found chickens, caught dogs, completed most small tasks—yet the academy badge still hadn't appeared.
Did they really need to find all lost items to complete the task?
Everyone had exhausted their energy now—pale faces, white lips, cold sweat. Looking as depleted as the swordsman apprentices seen this morning.
No, they were worse than swordsman apprentices.
Swordsman apprentices were only physically tired. They were mentally and physically exhausted—dizzy, trembling limbs, staggering when walking.
The sun was setting. Everyone returned to the inn, tremblingly pulling out papyrus registering tasks, reporting completion progress.
Vina was ashamed: "I searched all afternoon, only found three lost items."
Though she could divine lost items' general directions, finding them still consumed much mental effort.
Like keys dropped by a small path—she searched along the path, digging through grass and turning stones, sweating profusely, searching over an hour before finding them.
Also a hat blown into the forest—she searched everywhere without finding it. Turned out birds had carried the hat up a tree to make a nest!
Other classmates were similar to Vina. Except for Luo Wei, each person averaged finding three lost items.
Three divinations broke their limits, already draining their energy. Finding things was especially physically demanding.
Some classmates chased chickens all afternoon. Some were chased by dogs all afternoon. Others dug ground all afternoon looking for buried money boxes. Each thoroughly exhausted.
Luo Wei quietly listened to everyone's complaints, laying eight papyrus sheets before herself, using charcoal pencil to mark unfound items.
"Hey, what's this for?" Vina noticed her movements, asking curiously.
Luo Wei was concise: "Finish the remaining small tasks."
Horror immediately floated in Vina's eyes: "More? I really can't anymore!"
"You don't need to," Luo Wei aligned the papyrus. "I'll do it."
Vina was shocked into stuttering: "You you you—how many did you find? How do you still have energy?"
Luo Wei: "Currently found eleven lost items. Including yours, we found thirty-two total. Sixteen remain. Not many."
"Plop"—everyone's jaws dropped.
Just now Luo Wei hadn't spoken. They thought she hadn't found much. Now telling them she alone found eleven lost items, and planned to find all remaining sixteen?
Was the gap between people this huge?
Everyone was dazed.
Vina's throat was dry: "You—you really can find the rest?"
"I'm not certain," Luo Wei glanced at the papyrus. "Some items scattered too severely. In such cases I can only find back a small portion. Some items involve people—divination difficulty is slightly greater."
"Right, right! So I didn't choose those tasks. I chose easy ones!"
Vina chattered: "On my registration paper, someone wanted to find her brother lost fifteen years ago. I couldn't even divine whether he was dead or alive, let alone find him."
Other classmates silently nodded. Yes, they'd also eliminated people-finding tasks.
Once divination questions involved people's fates, results were extremely difficult. Forcing calculations would cause their mental worlds to collapse.
Only astrologers had ability to calculate people's future, past, life, death, fortune, and misfortune. They weren't even astrology practitioners—just astrology apprentices. They couldn't solve those complex problems.
But there were always exceptions. Everyone quietly glanced at Luo Wei. Seemed like for her, all difficult problems weren't difficult. She could solve everything easily.
Evening glow filled the sky. Red sun like fire.
Luo Wei divined the whereabouts of sixteen lost items in one go. If findable, she had teammates help find them. If unfindable, she told divination results to the owners.
Eight people in the astrology squad—each assigned two small tasks. While the sky hadn't darkened, they hurried out.
Leaving the inn once more, Luo Wei's complexion finally became as pale and haggard as her seven teammates. Red lips also lost color.
Today she divined six times total, calculating information on twenty-seven lost items. Brain overload caused throbbing temple pain. Body utterly exhausted.
When weak, people easily felt cold. In the height of summer, Luo Wei felt cold air surging up from her soles. Back felt chilly.
Wiping sweat with a handkerchief, she walked to a street-facing stone house, knocking on the door.
"Who is it?" A woman preparing dinner asked.
Luo Wei raised a smile: "Find Chickens Seek Dogs One Copper Squad!"
After doing tasks all afternoon, she could already say this embarrassing team name without changing expression.
The woman hurried out: "Found them? Did you find the person?"
"Sorry, the distance was too far. We didn't have time to find the person," Luo Wei said. "But we learned news of your brother. He's still alive, working as a tracker at Slijia Lake in Pensa Kingdom."
"Oh, tracker!" The woman trembled, asking: "He—he became a slave?"
Luo Wei softened her tone, using a comforting voice: "No, not that bad. He just became dependent on a manor lord at Slijia Lake."
The woman covered her mouth sobbing. Tears immediately rolled from her eyes.
Her brother lost personal freedom, becoming a serf enslaved by the manor lord. This didn't sound much better than slavery.
Luo Wei delivered the news, then politely took her leave.
"Wait, I haven't given you the copper coin!" The woman hurriedly took out a copper coin from her purse, reaching to hand it over.
Luo Wei stepped back: "No need, madam. I didn't find the person for you. You don't know if the news is true or false. We have professional ethics—don't charge if we don't find the item."
The woman froze, watching the girl nod to her, turn and leave. The thin back grew taller in the dusk.
She didn't seem like a wandering traveler. She seemed like a noble aristocrat.
Luo Wei arrived at the second task target's door, knocking: "Hello, Find Chickens Seek Dogs One Copper Squad!"
Clanging sounds came from inside. The person inside seemed to have knocked over dishes.
She waited a while. The person inside frantically picked things up, quickly walking toward the door.
"Creak"—the wooden door opened, revealing a sallow, emaciated face.
From appearance, this was a woman in her early thirties, malnourished, engaged in physical labor. Her living conditions really couldn't be called good. The linen clothes on her body had patch after patch. Shoes on her feet were also tattered.
Luo Wei didn't examine too much. Just under the woman's expectant gaze, she stated a cruel fact.
"Very sorry. According to news we learned, a year ago your husband's body was already cremated to ash in Artur City. We have no way to bring it back for burial."
Luo Wei prepared for the woman to rage or cry. However, what she didn't expect—after she finished speaking, a heart-stopping smile floated on the woman's face. Those numb eyes also radiated brilliance.
"You really can find, you really can find," she muttered. "She didn't lie to me, you didn't lie to me. Can find, definitely can find..."
"Sorry, madam," Luo Wei said gently. "We'll unilaterally terminate your hire. This news is free. Wish you a pleasant life. Goodbye."
"No!" The woman suddenly grabbed Luo Wei's sleeve, shaking her head violently. "No, I'm not looking for my husband. I want to find my daughter! Please, help me find my daughter!"
Luo Wei frowned: "Sorry, today we're not accepting..."
Before she finished, the woman interrupted, pulling out a round copper token from her pocket: "I know what you're looking for. You're looking for this, right? You help me find my daughter—I'll give it to you!"
Luo Wei's gaze fixed, seeing clearly what was in her hand—precisely the academy badge they'd searched for all afternoon.
The woman gripped the badge tightly. She didn't know what this thing was, but she guessed it must be very important to these youths.
She'd use this copper token to exchange for her daughter back!
Luo Wei moved her gaze to the woman's face. Seeing her seemingly crazed appearance, she knew this second point probably wouldn't be easily obtained.
"Calm down, madam. We can help you. But first you must tell me—who gave you this thing? What did that person say to you?"
Luo Wei pointed at the academy badge.