Somewhere in East Tivian, in a dead end at the back of an alley, under Dorothy's manipulation, Naifnis, who possessed the Life Devour effect, knocked down the attacking thugs one by one. Seeing this scene, Mosans finally couldn't help but make a move. He directly clenched his fist and smashed it towards Naifnis. The speed of his fist was unusually fast. After seeing this, Dorothy immediately manipulated Naifnis to dodge.
'This fist speed... is he an Extraordinary?'
Realizing that the person in front of her was different from the thugs before, Dorothy also became slightly serious. She controlled Naifnis more precisely to engage in a brawl with Mosans.
Mosans's fist speed was very fast, swishing through the air with bursts of whistling sounds. It could be seen that the force of this fist was quite large. But in contrast, his movements were not particularly agile. He had speed and strength to spare but lacked reaction, and was very easily seen through by Dorothy.
'This guy, he's a Thirster...'
After just a few simple exchanges, Dorothy pretty much confirmed what kind of Extraordinary Mosans was. It was obvious, he was a Student stage 'Cup', a Thirster, considered one of the types of Extraordinary that Dorothy was most familiar with.
The battle with Mosans continued. Naifnis and Mosans were comparable in strength and speed. Theoretically, their combat power should be evenly matched, and it would be difficult for either side to determine victory. However, the truth was, Naifnis, manipulated by Dorothy, suppressed Mosans throughout the entire fight. Mosans's attacks were easily dodged by Naifnis, and then he was struck by the 'meteor hammer' in Naifnis's hand, crying out in pain.
Their strength was almost equal, but in terms of skill, Dorothy at this time had the upper hand. After successfully advancing to the Black Earth Stage, she had imprinted both the Light Swift Strike Sword and Laulent Sword Technique into her expanded Soul Book.
Of course, in order to save the capacity of the Soul Book, Dorothy did not imprint a complete set of sword techniques like Vanya, but only imprinted some basic combat skills and experience.
These basic skills include footwork, opponent's movement prediction, feints, force application techniques... and so on, all of which are very general combat skills and experience. They can be used even if the weapon is not a sword. Although it cannot reach the level when using a sword, the scope of use is wide. After all, even if a sword master doesn't use a sword, the effect of using other weapons with the support of rich experience is also beyond ordinary people.
Under the guidance of master-level dueling experience, Naifnis wielded the 'meteor hammer', coupled with punches and kicks, continuously striking Mosans violently, beating him until he howled and was bruised and swollen. Soon he couldn't hold on and begged for mercy.
"Stop, stop hitting! Stop! Spare me! Ah! I won't dare next time, big sister!" Mosans, who had completely given up attacking and could only passively defend by holding his head, cried out begging for mercy. Seeing this scene, Dorothy controlled Naifnis to stop after directly knocking the opponent to the ground, and said coldly to Mosans, who was in front of her, holding his injured spots and struggling in pain.
"Spare you? You just tried to rob me, and now you're asking me to spare you?"
"Yes... I was blind, I didn't see that you, big sister, are also a true Extraordinary, and thought you were just one of those weaklings. For the sake of the Cup Mother, spare me, don't eat me, I'll be useful to you!"
Mosans said, begging for mercy towards Naifnis in front of him, his words carrying a trace of fear. It was obvious that he had also taken Naifnis as a 'Cup' Extraordinary, and on the path of the 'Cup', there seemed to be a situation of mutual devouring among those on the same path. So now Mosans was afraid that Naifnis would eat him, just like Luer devoured Buck.
And Dorothy was slightly startled after hearing the name of the Cup Mother, and also quickly controlled Naifnis to respond.
"You're asking me not to eat you... then when you ate others, did you consider the feelings of the food in your mouth?"
Naifnis said to Mosans in a strict tone. Hearing Naifnis's words, Mosans felt a moment of surprise. He raised his head to look at Naifnis, his bruised and swollen face carrying a hint of surprise.
"Consider the feelings of the food in my mouth? You, you're not from the Blood Food Faction?"
'Blood Food Faction? What does this guy take me for? Combined with his previous words and the name 'Blood Food Faction', could it be a faction that specializes in cannibalism? That is to say, among the Extraordinary on the path of the 'Cup', are there many factions?'
Listening to Mosans's words, a trace of doubt and curiosity suddenly arose in Dorothy's heart. Intuition told her that it seemed she could get information from the person in front of her.
"I am indeed not from the Blood Food Faction."
Using Naifnis's mouth, Dorothy said to Mosans. Hearing Naifnis's words, Mosans couldn't help but show a happy expression.
"You're actually not from the Blood Food Faction, that's great! Sister, it just so happens that I'm also not from the Blood Food Faction. Look, there are already few people who are not from the Blood Food Faction in the current 'Cup' society. We are on the same path, so please, in your generosity, spare me this time!"
Mosans continued to plead. Hearing his words, Naifnis then responded by asking?
"Then which society are you from? What method of Spirituality accumulation do you use?"
"Uh... I previously belonged to the 'High Ring Black Boxing Society', and used the 'Body Forging Method' to accumulate 'Cup' Spirituality, unlike the 'Blood Food Method' which seizes 'Cup' from the flesh and blood of others. Those of us who use the 'Body Forging Method' focus on intensely training our own bodies with secret methods to make the body stronger and more abundant inside, thus producing more 'Cup'."
Mosans said this. Hearing Mosans's statement, Dorothy felt a moment of surprise in her heart.
'Body Forging Method... Oh wow, so it turns out that simply by exercising the body, one can also increase Spirituality. Unlike plundering others' 'Cup', this is trying to enhance the 'Cup' one already possesses.
'Also, listening to the name of their society, black boxing? Unexpectedly, Extraordinary also come from boxers, and it also quite fits the style of this Body Forging Method of Spirituality accumulation.'
Dorothy thought this, then she made Naifnis smile slightly and then said with a hint of mockery.
"Black Boxing Society? I don't think your boxing skills are that great."
"Uh... well, it's just that your skills, big sister, are too superb..."
"Heh, no need to flatter me, continue talking. You said you previously belonged to the High Ring Black Boxing Society, then why did you quit?"
Dorothy continued to ask, and after hearing Naifnis's words, Mosans was slightly startled, then he responded with a solemn expression.
"No, it wasn't me who quit the society, but the society no longer exists."
"What..."
"The High Ring Black Boxing Society, more than a year ago, had already been wiped out by the Wolf Blood Society of the Fetal Garment Cult. I am just a survivor who escaped." Mosans said this with a hint of dimness in his eyes. Hearing his words, Dorothy couldn't help but furrow her brows slightly.
"Fetal Garment Cult... Wolf Blood Society?"
"Yes, don't you know? For higher quality blood food, they began to hunt other 'Cup' societies on a large scale a long time ago. Over the years, almost all 'Cup' societies in Tivian that were not part of the Tayi sect have been secretly purged by them. This includes not only us, but also 'Cup' societies that practiced other accumulation methods.
"Now, many remnants of these 'Cup' societies are either scattered throughout Tivian like me, or have gathered in South Tivian. It is said that they have formed an alliance with each other there, wanting to resist the Placenta in this way."
Mosans continued to speak. Hearing his words, Dorothy couldn't help but furrow her brows.
'There are also 'Cup' society forces in Tivian, and it's the Fetal Garment Cult. Looking at this, their power is not small. Luer was originally also one of them. What a coincidence.
'It seems now, although there are multiple Spirituality accumulation methods and multiple factions within the 'Cup' society, currently, the 'Blood Food Faction' led by the Fetal Garment Cult is dominant, and other factions and societies have been suppressed or even purged.'
Due to the characteristics of the 'Cup' Spirituality, it can grow by devouring flesh and blood. Naturally, an Extraordinary of the 'Cup' would be much more efficient at devouring another Extraordinary of the 'Cup' than devouring ordinary people. Therefore, the mutual infighting and devouring between Spirituality societies will be very intense…
'Hiss… It feels like becoming a 'Cup' Extraordinary would be very dangerous. Fellow practitioners look at each other like they are pieces of meat…'
Having finished thinking this, Dorothy controlled Naifnis to continue asking.
"That alliance in South Tivian, where exactly is it? What is the current situation? Do you know these things?"
"Sorry… I don't know much about that. Ever since our Fist Society was destroyed, I haven't wanted to interact with other 'Cup' anymore, so I haven't specifically inquired about this matter."
Mosans said this, and his words made Dorothy feel a little disappointed. In Dorothy's opinion, if she could find that 'Cup' alliance, she might have a chance to obtain quite a few 'Cup' secret transmissions from there.
Thinking this, Dorothy had Naifnis continue speaking.
"I haven't been in Tivian for long, so I'm not clear about some situations. Thank you for informing me today. In return, I can let you go and not kill you."
"Re- Really? Thank you, Sister, for sparing my life."
Hearing that the other party would not kill him, Mosans immediately said happily. After his society was preyed upon by the Wolf Blood Society, he harbored a hint of fear towards other Extraordinary of the 'Cup'. Now, this 'Cup' Extraordinary whom he had intended to rob was mercifully sparing his life, which was truly wonderful. In the same situation, if he had encountered a 'Cup' related to the Tayi Sect, he would probably have been completely devoured.
Looking at Mosans' grateful posture, Naifnis smiled slightly, then continued speaking.
"I can let you go, but since you dared to attack me, you will have to pay some price, one way or another."
Saying this, Naifnis scanned the group of people before her, then stretched out her hand and beckoned.
"I don't need much. Hand over all the cash and hidden resources you have on you, compensate me a little for my emotional distress, and then you can scram."
Naifnis said with a smile to the group of thugs in front of her. Listening to Naifnis, led by Mosans, all the thugs froze in place for a moment.
After this, Dorothy controlled Naifnis to search Mosans and all of his subordinates thoroughly, and then let them go.
Since they were in the city center, Naifnis didn't have a magic box to deal with corpses, and coupled with the fact that they only robbed for money and didn't harm or violate anyone, to avoid Naifnis getting into trouble which she couldn't handle herself, Dorothy didn't kill them, but instead robbed them.
The final result was that Dorothy obtained three talismans, two of which were Life Devour and one was from the 'Shadow', but Dorothy didn't recognize exactly what it was. Then there was a 'Cup' secret transmission, as well as some miscellaneous ritual materials, and 53 pound in cash.
'Damn, I didn't even get 100 pound this time, they're too poor.' Looking at the cash she had collected, Dorothy thought this, but there was nothing she could do.
After this, Dorothy controlled Naifnis to a safe street, helped her hail a carriage, got in, and then released the control.
"Huff… I… I'm finally… back?"
In the carriage, Naifnis, feeling the control of her body return, let out a long sigh. She put her hands in front of her eyes and murmured in disbelief.
Being able to control her body again gave Naifnis a sense of security, but soon she suddenly realized something and placed her designer bag on her lap to open it.
After taking out the "trophies" Dorothy had helped her collect earlier, she saw a large pile of broken brick fragments filling the bag. After searching through the brick fragments for a while, she found a cracked makeup compact and a hand mirror inside. The precious makeup had all spilled out and was mixed with the brick dust.
Seeing this scene, Naifnis immediately felt her heart stop. She thought to herself with an expression that wanted to cry but had no tears.
'Miss Dorothy… Couldn't you have chosen another weapon!'
...
On the other side, Dorothy, who had just finished helping Naifnis deal with the trouble, stood up in the secret room and stretched a big lazy stretch.
"Ugh~ I did another good deed, feeling comfortable~ As expected, reaching the Black Earth Stage is different."
Dorothy said happily. Taking advantage of this opportunity with Naifnis, she experienced her new ability and felt in good condition at this time.
"However, the consumption of Spirituality has become a bit high again. Although the control of Living Puppet has no distance limit and is far enough, it starts at a minimum of 1 cup, and attaching Life Devour requires another 1 cup. Hiss… I just leveled up, and cup is clearly very scarce…"
Touching her chin, Dorothy murmured as such. After advancing, her 'Cup' originally only had 6 points left, and this round of trouble consumed 2 points, leaving her with only 4 points of 'Cup' now.
It is foreseeable that as a Puppeteer with 'Cup' as a secondary Spirituality, the demand for 'Cup' Spirituality will definitely be large in the future, but she is essentially an Erudite and does not produce 'Cup' herself, so every point of 'Cup' used is one less.
"It seems that after dealing with the school matters, it is necessary to make a trip to South Tivian to find that so-called 'Cup' alliance."
Dorothy murmured as such. The biggest gain from helping with the thugs this time was not the trophies, but the unexpected intelligence about the 'Cup' society in Tivian. She has already planned in her mind to go to South Tivian later to see if she can find the alliance there and get some 'Cup' from them.
'Ah… At this time, I miss the Holy Communion Society a bit~'
Suddenly, Dorothy thought this. Thinking back to when she was in Igwinte, when did she ever lack 'Cup'?
"Never mind, let's go up first. I still need to confirm the situation in the school. After this wave, those guys should be withdrawing from the school."
Saying this, Dorothy packed up the things in the secret room, then carried a gas Light and walked into the exit passage that had been opened beforehand.
Entering the exit passage, what appeared before Dorothy was a staircase that ascended all the way. Walking on this staircase, Dorothy went upwards. After walking for an unknown amount of time, just as Dorothy's legs were starting to ache, this upward passage finally reached its end. What appeared before her were two tall stone statues. The statues were carved in the image of two hermits wearing long robes and hoods, with goatee beards. One of them held an open book in his hand, and the other held something resembling an armillary sphere.
'Armillary sphere and book, stargazing and revising books, meaning the starry sky and knowledge?'
Looking at the statues in front of her, Dorothy thought this, and then she focused her attention on the space between the two stone statues, where there was a Stone door.
Dorothy walked up to the Stone door and touched the common language that looked like scratches on it, then those scratches twisted into Prit text.
"Congratulations on your ascent, Scholar. More knowledge awaits your exploration. Under the gaze of the All-Seeing Eye, may you go further."
After the words appeared, the Stone door slowly opened with a rumble. The bright sunlight shone in from behind the Stone door, and Dorothy heard the sound of gurgling water by her ear.