As I sit in the carriage and look over the newly awakened city of Nolan, there is already a strong smell of coal smoke in the air . For the people of this world, this is the smell of development and progress; for Jenkins, it is a carcinogenic odor.
There is no church [Spirit of Nature] in this city, so the nobles, factory owners and capitalists who cooperate with the city government can be so arrogant in this regard.
The Old Guy Antique Shop is located on Nolan City's famous shopping street, [Fifth Queen's Avenue]. It is part of the main street of Nolan City. Ten minutes east of this street is the actual harbor area. Due to its special location, the stores on this street are generally doing very well, but this is not the case for the Old Guy Antique Shop.
The antique store is located on the east side of the shopping street. In front of the store is just an old sign with the name of the store. At the bottom of the sign is a small line with the words: [Selling antiques since 1821, Oliver Old Guy's reputation guaranteed].
"The year is 1865 according to the world calendar and 763 according to the kingdom's [Golden Dragon] calendar, so the store is 44 years old"
On the wooden door of the store hung a brown cardboard with the words [Open for Business]. Jenkins hesitated and knocked on the door. When he saw that no one answered, he pushed the door open and went inside.
Amidst the crisp sound of bells, Jenkins saw the somewhat disorganized interior of the store. Perhaps the owner had originally intended to put up rows of shelves, but now it looked like the whole store was full of clutter.
Luckily, there is still room to walk around.
"Is this Jenkins Williamette?"
A tall, slim old man with small glasses asks in front of the wooden counter opposite the door. His face is very healthy and his voice full of energy, but he looks at least 60 years old.
"Yes, sir, I am Jenkins Williamette, are you the old Oliver?"
The old man in front of the counter nods.
"Yes. You look younger than in the photo. Now turn around and put the box in front of the door, then close the door and come over. Do you understand that?"
"Okay, sir."
He turned around as requested, changed [Open] to [Closed], then closed the door and walked down the path full of antiques to old man Oliver.
The old man waved his hand, opened the flap of the counter and walked out, then headed for the dark wooden door on one side of the room with a black wire key ring attached to it.
Jenkins followed him immediately.
Behind the door was a small courtyard. Next to the stacks of crumpled corrugated cardboard boxes on the side was a low brick house. "That's where I live."
He pointed to the upper floor of the store he had just come from. Two rust-red copper steam pipes stretched upwards along the wall.
"That's the antique store warehouse."
Then he pointed to the tiled house.
"I am Clover Oliver, the owner here, your employer and guide. Do you have any questions?"
He looked at Jenkins calmly.
"No."
"Very good, a clever man."
The old man nodded and led Jenkins back into the store.
He returned to the counter and fumbled around in the counter for a while. With a click, a downward passage appeared on the floor at one side. Judging by the style, it must have been a conversion of the original cellar.
He did not let Jenkins go down and then disappeared down there alone. Five minutes later he came out again with a roll of paper.
"Sit down."
He casually pulled up two chairs and the two of them sat down in front of the counter.
"This is your apprenticeship contract."
He handed him a sheet of paper. Jenkins glanced at it and realized that it was the contract Bin Xi had brought yesterday, so he signed it.
"I need to make it clear that in the future, you will not only follow me to learn the knowledge of superpowers, but also the knowledge of antique appraisal. Is that all right?" "Yes."
Jenkins nodded immediately.
The old man smiled, "This is good. In ancient times, the inheritance of superpowers was based on the bond between master and apprentice. At that time, apprentices had to bear many obligations, including servants and guards. But now it is different. The True God Church generously shares knowledge with believers. I only provide you with a place to study and guide you on the right path. But correspondingly, as a guide, I don't have to share my unique abilities with you."
"Sir, I am not quite clear on the skill thing. What does unique ability mean?"
Jenkins asked immediately.
"Young man, how much do you know about supernatural abilities?"
Asked the old man back.
"I do not know anything at all."
Jenkins replied honestly.
Oliver, the old man, rolled his eyes and nodded: "All right, I will start from the beginning, listen carefully. In this world, only people with superpowers can use superpowers, because we can mobilize our own spirits. Everyone has their own answer to the question of what spirits are, and you have to find it yourself. By recognizing ourselves and the world, we can strengthen our own spirits and thus improve the level of superpowers. Level 0 superpowers can only have three abilities. After upgrading, one ability is added for each odd level, and two abilities are added for each even level. For example, I am now a level 4 superpower, which means I can have 9 abilities, but in fact I have only chosen 7 abilities to learn so far." He lied. After Jenkins secretly opened the [Eye of Truth], the points of light in front of the old man were 8. "It's not just through these points of light that you can use abilities. Any superpower user can use abilities they do not have through rituals as long as they know the appropriate methods. But rituals not only require precious materials and special places, the conversion efficiency of spirits and abilities is also far lower than using super power abilities directly. Let me give you an example. According to the news from the church, your soul's essence ability is healing?
"Yes."
Jenkins admitted.
"There are many healing rituals in the church. The simplest requires silver leaf grass, three-legged snails, etc., and it's performed at the time of the full moon in the moonlight. It can speed up the healing of cuts on wounded people who stay in the area of the ritual within three days. But the spirits needed for the ritual require at least two users of the first level of superpowers."
"That's why the healing skills are so valuable."
Jenkins suddenly realized in his heart.
"The light point ability of a superpower can be acquired through learning, which also requires corresponding rituals and a lot of practice to truly condense the light points. The ability of a superpower is the greatest secret of the individual. In addition to the abilities you receive from the Church, each person has more or less different abilities. These abilities, which only you have mastered, are unique abilities"