“Is there any connection between the Blood Crystal Patterns and the Blood Glyphs of the city?”

“…I said that the Blood Crystal Patterns are like Glyph Arrays, not that they are Glyph Arrays,” Tia said, shaking her head. “There is still a difference between the two.”

“What kind of difference?”

“Would you not know it once you purchase some Blood Glyphs?”

“…I—

“Alright, I was just teasing you,” Tia said, chuckling at the embarrassed look on his face. Her question had been so sudden, that he did not have the time to use his Aspects. Besides, using Aspects in front of a True Wanderer so blatantly, that too one doing him a favour, was not exactly a good idea. It was just that his image as a calm, composed, mature leader…

“Maybe, if you were still going around crazily challenging the Trials, I would have suggested you to give the Trials of the Scholar Hall a visit. Now though… Since you have given up your previous strategy, how can I force you to take the Trials, and let all your work in the past couple of weeks be in vain?”

“…Is it that obvious?”

“Not to most people,” Tia said. “Only those who can see your brilliance will find the situation to be a little odd. And even among them, most will dismiss you as being a little cowardly. Yet that is just how arrogant young people are. Confident in themselves, and dismissive of their enemies. If you were up against experienced Wanderers, things might have been different. But for now, you can ignore the other Wanderers, and continue accumulating.”

“…I understand,” Alnea said, and paused for a few moments, allowing the Wanderer to perform her duties, before continuing. “About the Glyphs—

“What was the second question that you asked me?”

“…Are they still incomplete at the True Rank?”

“There is your answer,” Tia said. “Have you ever seen or heard about Glyph Arrays than can work despite being incomplete?”

“…No, but—

“Though the Blood Crystal Patterns are indeed like Glyph Arrays, in that they are a complex set of patterns that can harness the powers of the Origin Sea, the power they harness is not the same. Maybe the Blood Crystal Patterns also employs the Mysteries of the Origin Sea. No, they must employ the use of Mysteries. It is just that they are more subtle than the Glyph Arrays in the utilisation of Mysteries. Not to mention that their focus is storing Oren, not manifesting Mysteries.

“Besides, unlike Glyph Arrays, whose components are complete in themselves, and can work on their own, the components of the Blood Crystal Patterns are still unknown. Of course, some people suggest the Initial Stage False Rank Patterns are their most basic units, but that theory has its own problems, which you will know once you begin condensing Intermediate Stage Blood Crystals. In short, just know that Blood Crystal Patterns are not the same as Blood Glyphs.”

“…Indeed,” Alnea said, nodding to the Wanderer, as she continued guiding the other Trialists. From what he had heard, the Blood Crystal Patterns were indeed different from Blood Glyphs. Coupled with everything else that Wanderer Tia had said…

“There is just one more thing I want to ask.”

“What?”

“What are the basic requirements for learning Mystic Rank Blood Crystal Patterns?”

Wanderer Tia paused, and looked at him in silence for a few moments, before shaking her head.

“There are no Mystic Rank Blood Crystal Patterns.”

“Do we have to join the city to learn them?”

“…Even if you join the city, you cannot learn what does not exist.”

“Is even joining the city not enough? Do we have to enter the inner city?”

“Stop with your fantasies. Like I said—

“The core city?”

“Enough,” Wanderer Tia said, staring at him solemnly. “There are no Mystic Rank Blood Crystal Patterns.”

“…I understand.”

“…My apologies for my outburst,” Tia said after a moment of silence, letting out a sigh while she was at it. “I do not know if you heard about it from somewhere, or thought of it on your own, but trust me when I say this, it would not do you any good to keep asking about Mystic Rank Blood Crystal Patterns. If you are not careful, you might even attract some unwanted attention. And not just from your competitors in the city.

“On the surface, it may seem that the city is safe. That it runs on inviolable rules. But there is much more to the city than you know. The city’s council… the group of Wanderers sitting in the core city, controlling everything that happens in the city… They make their own rules. And if they feel that your presence threatens them… Besides, I was not lying. There are indeed no Mystic Rank Blood Crystal Patterns.”

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“…I understand,” Alnea said, this time with an ever widening grin. “Thank you for clearing my doubts, Wanderer Tia. I already know what I wanted to know.”

“…You did not hear a word of what I said, did you?”

“I heard everything loud and clear.”

“Yet you are still going to go after it.”

“After what?” Alnea said, blinking to prove his innocence. “I do not understand what you are trying to say.”

“Good,” Wanderer Tia said with a smile. “That is the attitude you should have.”

“…After all, I have no intention of needlessly risking my life.”

“…You are much better than when you first came to the city,” Wanderer Tia said, letting out a light laugh, before shaking her head, and waving her hand, shooing him away. “Alright, stop cluttering around my counter. Can you not see how long the queue of people I have to handle has become?”

“Thank you for your guidance, Wanderer Tia,” Alnea said, bowing slightly to the woman. “I will come again when I have more doubts.”

“…As long as you do not bring me any more headaches,” Tia said, rolling her eyes at him, before glancing at the girls. “Do you three have any doubts?”

“…No, not at the moment.”

“At least not related to the path of Warriors.”

“Though we might have some questions that need to be answered…”

“Indeed,” Wanderer Tia said, and turned back towards him, laughing a bit louder than before, showing no intention of helping him out. “May Goddess Ilea be with you, little brother.”

“…I am not little,” Alnea said, resisting his urge to frown at the Wanderer. She was probably just trying to tease him. In her defence, she did have the right to be a little grumpy. Anyone in her position would have been. Deliberately testing her with his words, prying out the secrets of the city from her mouth, when she was bound by its rules to never reveal its core secrets…

Thankfully, Wanderer Tia was more friendly than other Wanderers, like Wanderer Martha, or he might have had to face more than just a small outburst. After all, the information that he had pried from her was enough for both of them to earn the ire of the city’s council. If the council learned the truth of the matter, that is.

Composed entirely of the Mystic Wanderers who chose to give up their clans and join the city, the city’s council was responsible for both, regulating and executing the rules of the city. And as the highest ruling authority of the city, the council did not have enough time to pay attention to what a Trialist and one of its employees were talking. Not to mention that they did not reveal much in their conversation anyway. Even if someone reported them, there was not much that the council could do unless they turned themselves in and confessed their crimes. Still, calling him little…

“Of course,” Wanderer Tia said, glancing at the girls next to him in amusement. “My apologies. You are indeed not ‘little’.”

…Maybe, if she had said those words without the smirk on her face, he could have believed Tia for a few moments. He still would have had his suspicions, but he would have given her the benefit of doubt. There was no need to doubt anymore. The Wanderer was not done with her revenge just yet. And he had no intention of letting himself get embarrassed in front of everyone.

“…See you later, Wanderer Tia,” Alnea said, and turned around before the Wanderer could say anything else. He did not even wait for the girls. They seemed to be having fun with each other anyway. Might as well leave them be on their own, he thought, as he made his way to the counter for Redemption and Exchange of Blood Coins, only to hear the girls catching up to him in the very next moment.

“What was that about?” Cecilia said, grabbing his hand, forcing him to stop and face her.

“…How would I know?” Alnea said, glancing back at Wanderer Tia, and found her guiding other Wanderers with a smile. Not a devious, or a happy one. Just a simple, official smile used to greet strangers. Then again, most of those Wanderers were indeed strangers to her. If not for—

“…Are trying to play dumb?”

“…Are you talking about me?” Alnea said, turning back to Cecilia in confusion, before finally understanding what she was referring to. “She was still a little grumpy because of what I did earlier. And I did not want to be called little anymore.”

“Who cares what she called you?” Cecilia said with a scoff, as she let go of his hand. “Is that even something that we should focus on right now?”

“…Then—

“It is what you said, and how you said those things,” Yuri added, putting on a solemn face.

“…Are you talking about the Blood Crystal Patterns?”

“…You said that you would just look for some rumours,” Cecilia said in a much lower voice than before. “That you were not going to be in any danger.”

“And I was not.”

“…Last I checked, making a True Wanderer lose control of her emotions, while standing just two hands away from her, counted as being in danger,” Vestia said, with no hint of her usual smile on her face. It looked like her united front with Cecilia had not broken up just yet.

“…She did not lose control. At worst, she was just a little overwhelmed by momentary anger.”

“And that little moment was enough for her to do many things.”

“…This is the Blood Hall.”

“…Are you going to risk your life on the hope that a Wanderer, lost in the flow her emotions, would observe some arbitrary rules that only those with a sane mind would care about?” Yuri said, finally sealing his fate.

“…I am sorry. I did not expect that my questions would—

“We will talk about this later,” Yuri said, glancing at the Wanderers around them. “For now, go finish what you came here for.”

“Didn’t he do it already?” Cecilia said, turning back towards Alnea. “Are you going to search for more rumours?”

“…Though I would not mind searching for more rumours—

“I think it would be best if our Captain leaves searching for rumours up to me,” Vestia said, finally resuming her smile. Except, this time, her smile looked more like a threat. Clearly, she was not going to take a no for her suggestion. Not even from her Captain. “Unless you want to offend the entire city, including the council. In that case, you can ignore my offer.”

“…what I want to know is not something that can be found by just eavesdropping on other people’s conversation. Few, if any of our competitors would know this secret. And those who know it will not dare to reveal it. Even a True Wanderer like Tia was hesitant to talk about it. Walking around in the Blood Hall, hoping to stumble upon this secret, would only be a waste of time.”

“…It looks like our Captain is not completely hopeless after all.”

“…Besides, you are right. I am indeed not suited to search for rumours. So, if you would not mind, I would like to ask you to—

“Like I said, this is not exactly the best place or time to discuss our plans,” Yuri said, glaring at Alnea. “Stop creating unnecessary troubles, and just go buy the materials you need.”