Morning, somewhere in East Tivian.
On a bustling street in East Tivian, Nephthys stands in slight bewilderment, looking at the mysterious Mossance in front of her.
"Adèle Briouze? That famous dancer, right? I’ve heard of her and I’m somewhat interested. Why are you asking me about this?"
Nephthys responds, glancing at the giant poster of a glamorous woman hanging on the street. With such advertising, it’s hard not to be interested.
"Ah, you’re interested? That’s great!"
Hearing Nephthys’ words, Mossance says with relief. He then looks around cautiously before whispering to Nephthys.
"Since you’re interested in Adèle, would you like to attend her performance at the Soaring Theater tomorrow? I heard Adèle has several performances, and some of them are new routines she’s never performed before. It’s definitely worth watching!"
Mossance continues in a hushed tone, still glancing around nervously. Hearing this, Nephthys frowns slightly and asks.
"Adèle’s performance? Shouldn’t the tickets for that have been sold out by now?"
Nephthys says. Today is the day before the performance, and based on what she knows about the popularity of a star like Adèle from the newspapers, it’s almost impossible to get tickets at this point. In fact, if she hadn’t been busy preparing for her makeup exams, she might have tried to buy tickets herself."Yeah, normally you can’t get tickets even seven days in advance. But let me tell you, I still have a few tickets left. Right now, the price for a ticket could go as high as four or five pounds, but I can give you one for just two pounds. How about it?"
As he speaks, Mossance pulls out a corner of a few tickets from his pocket. Seeing this, Nephthys finally realizes what he’s up to.
"You’re a Beyonder, and you’re scalping tickets?"
Nephthys says, somewhat surprised. If she remembers correctly, Mossance is supposedly an Apprentice-rank Beyonder. How could a Beyonder stoop to scalping tickets?
"Hey, you don’t understand. Adèle’s performance tickets are incredibly profitable. It’s way more lucrative than occasionally robbing some newbies. I don’t want to join any factions, so why not take advantage of a profitable business? Making money isn’t shameful. As a Beyonder, I have a clear advantage when it comes to snatching tickets."
Mossance says with a grin. Hearing his words, Nephthys gains a new perspective on the lives of low-rank Beyonders in Tivian. Just as she’s about to say something more, her gaze catches a group of police officers and what appear to be theater staff in the distance. Looking back, she notices similar figures behind her, all scanning the area as if searching for someone.
Seeing this, Nephthys seems to understand something. Meanwhile, Mossance, noticing Nephthys’ lack of response, grows slightly impatient.
"So, miss, do you want the tickets or not? I’m in a bit of a hurry."
"Ah... Let me think. I could take the tickets, but I think you could lower the price a bit more."
Nephthys says with a slight smile. Mossance, looking troubled, responds.
"Lower the price? Hmm... Let me think. Alright, even though the price is already very low, considering you let me off last time, I’ll give you a 50% discount. One pound per ticket. I have two left, and I’ll sell them both to you. How about that?"
Mossance continues, but Nephthys shakes her finger and says.
"Fifty pence per ticket. If you agree, I’ll take both for one pound. If not, forget it."
Nephthys says bluntly. Hearing this, Mossance’s expression grows even more troubled. Fifty pence per ticket is almost the same as the price he paid for them. Selling at this price would only earn him a tiny profit.
"Uh... Miss, your price is really..."
Mossance starts to say something, but when he notices the police and theater staff approaching in the distance, he quickly responds.
"Alright, alright, fifty pence it is... Let’s hurry, miss."
With that, Mossance discreetly pulls out two colorful tickets, and Nephthys takes them, handing him a one-pound note in return. Mossance quickly pockets the money.
"Thanks for your business today, miss. Let’s meet again sometime~"
After pocketing the money, Mossance quickly slips away. Not long after, the theater staff and police in the crowd seem to spot him.
"There he is! That guy’s over there!"
"Quick, catch him!"
Several theater staff members shout as they surround Mossance and pin him down. The police arrive shortly after, but before they can intervene, the theater staff begin interrogating him.
"Mossance! You’re scalping our tickets again, aren’t you?!"
"Gentlemen, I swear I didn’t sell any tickets this time! Search me if you don’t believe me. I don’t have a single ticket on me... Ouch!"
Before Mossance can finish, the theater staff roughly pin him to the ground. One of them curses.
"This guy was always sneaky when he used to fight in the ring. Don’t believe a word he says. Search him!"
"Hey, take it easy! Ouch! That hurts!"
The theater staff and Mossance tussle, creating a chaotic scene that draws the attention of passersby. Nephthys watches from a distance and nods to herself.
“So he was being chased after all. That’s why he was in such a hurry to sell the tickets. Good thing I managed to get them at a low price.”
Nephthys thinks to herself. She had noticed that someone seemed to be looking for Mossance, and his shifty behavior had tipped her off, which is why she had pushed the price so low.
“Perfect. After my makeup exams, I can go watch the performance. What luck! I thought I’d missed my chance.”
Feeling the tickets in her bag, Nephthys thinks happily.
"Now... I’ll find someone to go with me. I wonder if Emma has time?"
Muttering to herself, Nephthys walks cheerfully back toward the university. However, just as she walks a short distance, she suddenly feels a strange sensation on her body. She touches her right shoulder, where there’s a mark she had drawn herself.
“Is this... Miss Dorothy’s mark? Is she signaling me?”
Thinking this, Nephthys quickly walks into a nearby alley and pulls a book from her bag. She flips through it and soon finds a page filled with text. New words are appearing on the page.
"Do you have time at noon?"
…
North Tivian, outside the east gate of King’s Campus, Green Shade Town.
At noon, the sun shines directly on the streets of Green Shade Town. In a private room of a restaurant, Dorothy, dressed in a beige dress and matching hat, sits at a table with a glass of juice in front of her. Across from her sits Nephthys, who has just returned from shopping in the city and hasn’t had time to change her clothes.
"Well, judging by your appearance, you’ve been shopping in the city. It seems like you’ve been living quite comfortably lately, Senior Nephthys."
Dorothy says, sipping her juice as she looks at Nephthys, who smiles and responds.
"Ah... It’s not all that comfortable. I only go occasionally, Miss Dorothy."
Nephthys replies, her expression slightly tense. In front of Dorothy, whom she considers a high-ranking member of a secret society and a powerful Beyonder, Nephthys naturally feels a bit uneasy, even though Dorothy looks like a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl.
"Is that so... How are the mystical texts I gave you coming along? They’re crucial for your advancement to becoming a true Beyonder."
Dorothy asks, as the main reason she came to see Nephthys was to check on her progress with the texts and prepare her for becoming a Beyonder. Hearing this, Nephthys hesitates and then says apologetically.
"Ah... You mean those books you gave me... Well... I’m sorry, but I haven’t had much time to read them properly. I’ve only finished about half of the first one..."
Nephthys says, her voice trailing off. Hearing this, Dorothy frowns slightly and speaks in a somewhat stern tone.
"What? It’s been so long, and you’ve only read half of one?"
"Well, let me explain. The reason I haven’t read much is because I’ve been busy preparing for my makeup exams..."
Nephthys explains how she missed her exams due to her involvement with the Eight-Spired Nest and has been focusing on studying for her makeup exams, leaving little time for the mystical texts. Dorothy listens and nods understandingly.
"Alright, I understand your situation. If you’re busy with exams, there’s not much you can do. But make sure to continue reading the texts afterward."
Dorothy says sympathetically. After all, she was once a university student in her past life and understands the pressure of facing potential failure. Hearing Dorothy’s words, Nephthys breathes a sigh of relief.
"Phew... Thank you for understanding. I’ll definitely focus on completing the tasks you’ve given me."
Nephthys says gratefully, her tone reminiscent of how she might speak to a professor at school.
Mature, shrewd, powerful, and knowledgeable about the mysticism world—these are the impressions Dorothy has left on Nephthys. Even though Dorothy is younger and calls her "senior," Nephthys still sees Dorothy as somewhat of a mentor figure.
“Rather than focusing on the opportunity to become a Beyonder, she’s more concerned about whether she’ll fail her exams in the short term. Hmm, it seems Senior Nephthys isn’t the type to obsess over power and the mysticism world. She seems to treat the mystic and the mysticism world more as a hobby. That might not be a bad thing.”
Dorothy thinks to herself as she evaluates Nephthys. Meanwhile, Nephthys seems to be pondering something. After a moment of hesitation, she speaks up.
"Um, Miss Dorothy, are you interested in Adèle Briouze’s dancing?"
"Adèle Briouze?"
Hearing Nephthys’ words, Dorothy pauses and thinks back to the newspaper she read this morning.
"Isn’t she that famous dancer? I saw her advertisement in the paper. They say she’s an excellent dancer, and I think she has a performance tomorrow evening."
"Yes, yes! Adèle is a well-known dancer in Tivian. Tomorrow’s performance is highly anticipated, and the tickets sold out five or six days ago. Miss Dorothy, I managed to get two tickets for tomorrow’s performance through a stroke of luck this morning. As an apology for not completing the tasks you gave me on time, I’d like to give you one of the tickets. We can go watch the performance together."
With that, Nephthys takes out the ticket she had originally planned to give to her roommate, Emma, and hands it to Dorothy. Dorothy looks at it with a hint of surprise.
"Adèle’s performance ticket? Where did you get it? Tickets for such a popular performance should be hard to come by at this point."
Dorothy asks, puzzled.
"Well, this morning I ran into that guy who was following me last time..."
Nephthys explains her encounter with Mossance earlier in the day. After hearing the story, Dorothy can’t help but think to herself.
“A Beyonder scalping tickets? It seems low-rank Beyonders in Tivian don’t have it as easy as those in Igwynt. Over there, even an Apprentice-rank Beyonder is a small business owner or landowner. Here, an Apprentice is just a scalping thug. Is it because the Beyonder population in the capital is too large, leading to intense competition?”
Dorothy thinks to herself, though she also knows it’s more likely because Mossance refuses to join any factions.
"Huh... A Beyonder scalping tickets? That’s something new. From what you said, he was being chased by the police and theater staff? How unimpressive."
Dorothy says with a light laugh, and Nephthys nods in agreement.
"Yes, and it seemed like Mossance was more afraid of the theater staff than the police. They pinned him down and started searching him, and he cried out in pain. They were much harsher than the police."
"Being pinned down and crying out in pain by ordinary people? Hah, Mossance must be quite the actor."
Dorothy says with a chuckle. From what she knows, Mossance is a Craver. For a few ordinary people to pin him down and make him cry out in pain, it can only mean he’s a good actor.
"A good actor? Mossance certainly acted like it was real at the time, but..."
Hearing Dorothy’s words, Nephthys frowns slightly, sensing something amiss, and then speaks up.
"By the way, Miss Dorothy, among the theater staff who pinned Mossance down, there seemed to be someone who knew him. They even said Mossance used to be a boxer and that he was always sneaky back then!"
"A boxer?"
Hearing this, Dorothy pauses, recalling what Mossance had told her when she cornered him in an alley and beat him up.
Dorothy remembers that Mossance said he used to belong to a secret society called the High Ring Black Fist Society, which had been destroyed by the Afterbirth Cult and the Wolf Blood Society.
"It seems like tomorrow’s performance is worth attending."
Muttering to herself, Dorothy picks up the ticket on the table.