Chapter 13: Chapter 13: The Chain of Order Integrated into the Spine,
Chapter 13: The Chain of Order Integrated into the Spine,
Feeling light-headed and groggy, his head felt like it was filled with paste, ready to solidify with a single shake.
This was Hastar's most immediate sensation as he propped himself up from the desk with his arms, steadied himself against the wall, and staggered out the door, making his way back to his bedroom.
"If only I had known, I wouldn't have been so quick to whip the Wishing Lamp."
Hastar let out a wry smile and collapsed onto the soft comforter.
Having previously entered the Hall of Stars in his astral form through a ritual had already depleted much of his spiritual energy. Coupled with the changes brought about by establishing a new rule, he had nearly exhausted his reserves.
Yet, he had still insisted on whipping the Wishing Lamp again, causing an overload of his spiritual energy, making his head heavy as lead, throbbing with pain.
But without that whip, he would have felt incomplete.
"Tsk, it had to be done."
After pondering for a while, Hastar fell asleep.
The next day, the morning sun filtered through the gauze curtains, almost blinding Hastar with its golden glow.
Shielding his eyes with his right hand, he glanced at the time; it was already 9:43 am.
This was the latest he had ever woken up.
"Another new day, time to get up and strive!"
Muttering to himself, he turned over, buried his head in the comforter, and rested for another ten minutes before slowly getting out of bed.
After freshening up, he stood in front of a life-sized mirror, took off his shirt, revealing his smooth back.
His peripheral vision scanned the reflection in the mirror, from the back of his head down his spine, stopping at the tailbone.
He saw no apparent changes to his spine, nor could he see any trace of the Chain of Order.
"Do I need to activate spiritual vision to see a different change?"
With that thought, Hastar rubbed his right thumb and middle finger together three times.
With spiritual vision activated, the mirror's surface seemed to ripple, and a faint blue line, barely discernible, appeared along his spine, as if there truly was a Chain of Order perfectly integrated with it.
"There really is a Chain of Order!"
Although Hastar had anticipated it, he was still taken aback.
The rules set by the Hall of Stars could indeed affect reality!
It was just unclear what abilities this Chain of Order could provide him. Was it meant to bind enemies? No, it was more likely meant to restrict their movements.
He would have to wait until he encountered a suitable enemy to test its capabilities.
After admiring it for a while, Hastar frowned. The abnormality of his spine was so obvious after activating spiritual vision; wouldn't it be easily discovered?
Anyone who wasn't a fool would realize something was amiss if they saw a glowing spine.
And using spiritual vision to observe others was a common subconscious act among the extraordinary when interacting with people.
Could he hide the traces of the Chain of Order?
Just as Hastar had this thought, the faint blue line of the Chain of Order on his spine completely merged into it, leaving no trace of abnormality.
"That's more like it."
Hastar was pleased with the result.
He put his shirt back on, tidied up his appearance, and then closed the doors and windows before leaving the house.
As for breakfast? It was already half-past ten, so of course, he would wait until noon to eat.
Choosing between gaining a bit of energy and not having to cook or wash dishes, he would always choose the latter.
Arriving at Beckland University around eleven o'clock, Hastar asked Professor Wayne if he had time to teach in the afternoon. If not, he planned to visit Beckland's Queen District and then time his arrival at the courthouse gates.
The university's lunch was, as always, good and affordable.
After a post-lunch stroll to aid digestion, he received a reply from Professor Wayne that he had no time for private tutoring in the afternoon.
The Queen District.
It was the political center of Beckland, home to a small but powerful group, with King's Avenue running through it and close to St. Samuel's Church.
The Campbell family used to live in the Queen District and owned more than one property there. Unfortunately, due to Voltaire Campbell's diligent gambling, those properties were lost one by one.
Eventually, all the houses in the Queen District were gone, and the family had to move to the less prestigious West District. Even there, all but one house was lost to gambling, a true prodigal son.
Stepping into the Queen District again, Hastar couldn't help but feel the opulence, luxury, and grandeur, and the reality that no one here was poorly dressed.
After all, the nobles were kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see the poor suffer.
Many beggars thought to come to the Queen District to beg for money to sustain themselves, and they did get their wish, earning dozens or even hundreds of pounds in a day.
Then, at night, they were beaten to death, robbed of all their money, and their bodies thrown into the Tassock River.
After all, the nobles were kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see the poor suffer.
"Eh, I'm a noble myself…"
That made him feel quite conflicted.
"Oh, I'm also poor now…"
That made him feel even more conflicted…
As Hastar mused, he walked along the Kingdom Avenue, admiring the scenery on both sides.
Besides the large houses, the shops here had more character than those in other areas.
One street sold clothes, another jewelry, and another area specialized in gems…
Hastar simply passed by the shopfronts without entering, just familiarizing himself with the layout, never knowing when it might come in handy.
After wandering for two hours, it was almost time for the court session to begin, so he hired a carriage to leave the Queen District.
When the solemn voice of the judge resounded in the courtroom, Hastar emerged from around the corner, entered the main door, and sat in the last row's corner.
Good, Mrs. Germeny hadn't come today.
Hastar was in a good mood, listening intently to the day's cases.
Aside from sentencing a captured pirate ship, there was nothing new.
After the court session ended, Hastar was the first to rise, swiftly dodging out the door, hiring a carriage, and speeding away in a cloud of dust.
"Phew, perfect."
Sitting inside the carriage, Hastar shook his head with a chuckle, then lifted the curtain to survey the street scene.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure, one of the strongmen who had been behind the con artist Andrew.
The strongman looked unfriendly, and as his gaze swept over, he instinctively turned to avoid it.
Definitely suspicious! "Andrew must have sent him to watch me, heh, still not giving up."
Hastar let the curtain fall, his expression growing more serious. He tapped his cane lightly against the bottom of the carriage, pondering his next move.
Since the other party was relentless, he naturally had to take action.
Returning to the West District, before entering his own front door, Hastar keenly sensed a watchful gaze from the shadows.
He looked as usual, took out his key to open the door, and then closed it behind him.
The other party was bolder than he thought, already having someone watch his front door. He estimated that by tomorrow night at the latest, they would take action.
Although the security in the West District was decent, it was impossible to monitor the area all the time; there were always lapses.
Pondering, Hastar went upstairs to the study, sat at the desk, and took out two blank envelopes to begin writing.
The first letter was for Grelent, explaining how Andrew's group had come to his place a few days ago to swindle him unsuccessfully and, in their frustration, sought to harm him. He asked Grelent to put some pressure on the police station in the West District.
The second letter was a direct complaint to the local police station, claiming that Andrew's group attempted to insult a noble. The letter was vehement, urging them to send protection for him as soon as possible.
After sealing the letters, Hastar went out again to prevent any mishaps.
He hired a carriage to Grelent's house, but he didn't go in. Instead, he had the butler, who happened to be at the gate, deliver the letter to Grelent and send the other letter to the West District police station.
After all this, Hastar hired another carriage to take a tour nearby before returning home.
The round trip not only wasted a lot of his time but also cost him 1 sule and 4 pence!
Making him, who was already not wealthy, even poorer.
"When I catch Andrew, he must repay me double for my losses."
"Trying to bully a noble, shouldn't he pay the price?"
Hastar hummed lightly, grasped the kitchen knife, and chopped a celery stick into pieces, then sliced a whole piece of beef into thin slices, preparing to make a tender beef stir-fry.
At night, Hastar closed the bedroom door tightly and set up a makeshift bed in the adjacent study.
This was to avoid unnecessary trouble; he didn't want to fight a bunch of desperate strongmen.
As time ticked by, nearing two o'clock in the morning, the previously silent first floor was disturbed by the sound of a window being carefully smashed open.
Had they really come? Meditating to conserve his energy, Hastar opened his eyes immediately and grabbed a boning knife.
The blade was long, slender, and sharp, better suited for swift movements than the cumbersome cane.
(End of Chapter)
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