Dorothy’s Forbidden Grimoire Novel - Chapter 446

Chapter 446**North Shore of the Conqueror’s Sea, Tuwah.**

Beneath the veil of nightfall in Tuwah, Dorothy dismantled the Gloom Gold Society’s local base with precision, personally eliminating its commander, Ben. Without hesitation, she seized his gear, reanimated his corpse into a puppet, and stored it in her Magic Box—just in time to avoid detection by the city’s incoming non-ordinary enforcement units. Her recently acquired magnetic levitation power granted her exceptional speed, enabling her to vanish from the area before anyone arrived.

Once at a safe distance, she transitioned to her corpse-puppet steed and galloped away. En route, she passed several fire brigade wagons hurtling toward the manor engulfed in flames. A red shimmer colored the skyline—evidence of the Gloom Gold base now completely ablaze. Thankfully, the structure had been somewhat secluded, enclosed within its own walls, ensuring the inferno wouldn’t spread to the neighboring buildings.

Before long, Dorothy returned to the area near her lodging. She secured the corpse-horse at the stable, peeled off her shadowy outerwear, and quietly reentered the inn, heading straight to her room. The first thing she did was open her “Sea of Texts Navigation” tome and flip to Beverly’s page. Grabbing her pen, she scrawled:

“Your task is complete.”

She waited briefly before a reply materialized—Beverly was clearly standing by, unaffected by the need for rest.

“Already? That fast? I had faith you could do it, but even I didn’t expect such speed. How severe were their casualties?”

“Their base has been wiped out. Four Black Earth operatives and one White Ash eliminated. The building caught fire during combat—I released the imprisoned ‘Materials’ but didn’t have time to scavenge. The blaze likely destroyed everything else. I couldn’t linger—Tuwah’s non-ordinary enforcers were probably en route. You’ve likely lost a good portion of the goods they seized.”

Dorothy provided a crisp report. Beverly’s response was immediate.

“One Stone Golem… four Wandering Walls. That’s consistent with their usual configuration in a city like Tuwah. With them gone, the Gloom Gold Society’s grip here should be practically broken.”

“A shame about the fire, but ultimately irrelevant. They generally move their valuable spoils quickly—probably little of worth remained. The aim wasn’t to recover loot, but to send a message and eliminate threats.”

Dorothy took silent note of how easily the Guild shrugged off the resource loss—wealth like that spoke volumes. She wrote again.

“Then… how soon will my compensation be delivered?”

“Don’t worry. The job’s done, and the reward is coming. Do you have any concrete proof of success?”

“I brought the main Stone Golem’s corpse. That should be enough.” Dorothy wrote, already pleased she’d thought to recover it. New words soon formed.

“That’s perfect. Stay in Tuwah for the next couple of days. Someone from our side will meet you there. Just present the body for confirmation.”

“Two days is reasonable. I’ll remain here. Also… could your agent bring two grimoires along the ‘Stone’ path? I’d like to buy them.” With her resources drained, and travel inconvenient, Dorothy figured it made sense to make the request now.

“Hah… the ever-curious ‘Neighbor’ hunting for more texts. Your thirst for knowledge never ends. No problem. I’ll have them bring the books. Given the scale of the favor you’ve done—and assuming your proof checks out—those grimoires can be part of your reward. No payment required.”

Dorothy was momentarily touched. Beverly’s generosity was striking—far removed from Audrey’s more transactional nature.

“Appreciated.”

“I’ve got another question,” Dorothy continued. “Do you have access to metals that can withstand high temperatures?”

“Of course. The Guild employs master craftsmen at every level. We carry everything—from mundane to spiritual essence-infused materials, even divine-grade metals used in crafting Core Components for Divine Avatars. Heat resistance? Definitely. Does this mean you’re planning to forge something?”

“I’m still gathering information. It’s good to know you’ve got what I’ll need. I’ll commission pieces later. For now, I’ll wait in Tuwah. Please don’t delay.”

“Understood. Expect our contact soon. Once they verify the corpse, I’ll send over the intelligence you asked for.”

After exchanging a few final remarks and their goodbyes, Dorothy closed the “Sea of Texts Navigation”.

She then shifted to sorting through what she had looted from Ben. The haul included a ring, a cane, several runes, a modest amount of cash, some spiritual essence storage units, and a strange pistol. She drew them one by one from her Magic Box, laying them out on the table. Channeling two points of “Lamp” spiritual essence, she conducted a rapid appraisal ritual.

She began with the ring. As she examined it, she realized it wasn’t a magical artifact but rather a cleverly built mechanical device. It functioned as a housing unit for runes and storage items, letting the user activate them instantly in emergencies. Dorothy recalled seeing a similar tool on Kim, another Wandering Wall killer.

The rune inside had crumbled—spent. The accompanying essence reserve was a dried strip of jerky, long since used. That pointed to a Life Devourment Rune once embedded there, which Ben had likely employed to bolster his vitality and raw power mid-fight.

‘Another quick-boost delivery tool… and once again, the rune was Life Devourment. Simple to make, effective to use. Pretty much a must-have for any capable operative. Rank 1 ‘Cup’ vitality and strength—tremendously useful to those without natural alignment to that path.’

She made a mental note. Next, she turned to the cane—Ben’s weapon, which she’d already guessed was no ordinary item.

It was, as she suspected, enchanted. Named “Masher”, it posed as a walking stick until activated, at which point its head detached and extended via a hidden chain to form a flail. The flail’s weight could drastically increase when fueled with “Stone” essence, making its strikes brutally forceful—strong enough to pulverize solid barriers. With support from a Life Devourment Rune, Ben had the ability to flatten even Wandering Wall opponents with only a couple of blows. A textbook melee artifact.

‘Cane-to-flail transformation… mass boost via “Stone”… very potent. It’s less elegant than a blade but more straightforward in execution. Devastating. I should have Vania put it through some testing. Funny how often these weapons take cane form—maybe for ease of concealment or social reasons?’

Dorothy evaluated it as likely the most prized piece among her finds.

Next came the runes. She tallied two Life Devourment Runes, a Marshform Rune, and a Listening Earth Rune—all familiar types. Then came a few she hadn’t personally handled before:

Two Scorch Runes—fire-based projectiles—and a Gust Rune that generated a burst of wind. These likely served as Ben’s fallback elemental attacks. This theory was supported by the firearm among the loot.

The pistol wasn’t enchanted, per se, lacking any spiritual essence signature. But it was built from dark stone, had an exaggerated barrel, and no typical revolver cylinder. Instead, it featured a unique design tailored to accept runes and storage units. Upon closer examination, Dorothy understood its purpose.

The weapon fired the inserted runes or storage items, unleashing the stored elemental energy in a concentrated shot. A Stone Golem could insert a rune, shoot themselves, and instantly absorb the energy for a quick buff. Dorothy concluded this was standard equipment for Stone Golems under the Gloom Gold Society.

‘A rune-launcher for self-use… basically a magical injector for Stone Golems. Not something I’d find helpful.’

She set it aside and reviewed the essence storage items.

Ben had carried two small jerky-like pieces containing “Cup” essence—meant to power Life Devourment Runes—and two coin-shaped “Lamp” essence units for Scorch Runes. Dorothy had used the two “Lamp” ones for her earlier appraisal, so she now retained just the “Cup” reserves.

In addition to the gear, Ben had been carrying about 50,000 Bitras—roughly £350 Sterling—a generous amount to have on hand.

With the loot assessed, Dorothy tallied her essence expenditures—and the numbers weren’t pretty.

The operation had two stages. The first involved ambushing two Wandering Walls and assaulting the base. That phase cost her two Life Devourment Runes, one usage of her damage-transfer ability, and the Stream Electric Form state—totaling 4 “Cup” and 2 “Stone”. To enter the facility unnoticed, she masked Baana’s puppet mark, using 3 “Shadow”. A minimally charged shot from her Focusing Scorching Flame Sniper Rifle cost 2 “Lamp”, while the levitation escape maneuver consumed 1 “Stone”. The fight’s final act—firing her Electro-Magnetic Railgun—drained a hefty 5 “Stone”.

Her sniper rifle had drawn from its internal reservoir of 5 “Lamp” essence, two of which were spent. The 3 “Shadow” had come from a unit provided by the Bureau of Secrecy knight. After adjusting for the 7 “Stone” and 3 “Enlightenment” earned from the “Miner’s Marvel” grimoire, her remaining essence reserves stood as:

28 Cup, 4 Stone, 20 Shadow, 4 Lamp, 14 Silence, 37 Enlightenment.
Storage items: 2 Cup, 4 Shadow.
Cash on hand: £1,850 Sterling.

‘Damn… that’s a hefty cost. Direct combat guzzles essence like mad. I blew through nearly all the “Stone” I just bought—and it wasn’t cheap. At this rate, just surviving day-to-day is hard, let alone progressing toward higher tiers.’

Massaging her forehead, Dorothy let out a weary sigh. This skirmish might not have been as high-stakes as others, but because she’d acted without intermediaries, the essence drain had been unavoidable.

‘That Railgun’s power is no joke—but its hunger for essence is monstrous. I’ll need to limit its use going forward. Thankfully, Misaka Mikoto’s electromagnetism techniques offer alternative applications—less flashy, but also less costly…’

She reflected on her arsenal. Her lightning-calling ability remained the most cost-effective offense—borrowing natural lightning from storm clouds rather than producing it outright. But it required specific conditions and time to activate, reducing its reliability.

‘And the bombs… After the ship blast and now this fire, I’m almost out. I need to resupply. Used properly, explosives deliver incredible impact for practically no essence.’

She recalled how one well-placed bundle tonight had taken out two Black Earth operatives plus a number of unknown underlings. Value-wise, explosives were unmatched—cheap and essence-free, yet lethal to anyone below White Ash. Even a White Ash without “Cup” or “Stone” affinity could be disabled by a close-range detonation.

With that in mind, Dorothy resolved to check out Tuwah’s black market during the next couple of days to replenish her bomb supply.

Looking at her dwindling “Stone” reserves, she grimly remembered the reason she’d come to Tuwah in the first place—to acquire “Stone”. She’d started with five units and now had only four, meaning a net loss despite all the effort.

She let out a quiet sigh, resigned to the brutal arithmetic of her world.