232:
Although Sigil had fifteen factions, each of them had its own philosophical theory.
Like the Athar, the Believers of the Source, the Bleak Cabal, the Doomguard, the Fated… they were not mandatory work organizations, but more like a hobby club or a guild.
On the surface, they seemed to control the operation of the entire city, but in fact, everyone knew that the sovereignty of the city was always in the hands of the Lady of Pain.
“Shelley, are you really going to join this Sensate?”
Morgan looked at the hodgepodge-like scene around her and felt a little incredulous.
The Civic Festhall was like a hodgepodge. Opera houses, dance halls, museums, galleries, bars… all these places were for the senses. Everything related to the senses could be found here.
The members of the Sensates craved to experience everything, including art, but also much, much more.
With the Civic Festhall as the center, this area was filled with a large number of art-related industries. There were art lovers and art dealers from all over the multiverse, as well as taverns famous for the bards who performed there.
There was the best wine, the best food, and all sorts of other enjoyments.
Bards strolled the streets, and at the crossroads, there were puppet shows. Jugglers performed their fire-eating tricks in the alleys, and mages showed their illusions to the crowd…
Shelley, through a telepathic link, connected the consciousness of the four of them, forming a small four-person chat room. But at this time, it was a bit noisy… because Catherine was always looking at the various shops around her, constantly thinking in her mind, “I want to eat, I want to eat, I want to eat…”
The three of them, Shelley, chose to ignore this foodie. Shelley also observed his surroundings and explained, “Hmm, if we want to gain a foothold in Sigil, the Sensates are the best choice.”
The Sensates were probably the most open of the factions. Anyone could join. In terms of alignment, good or evil, lawful or chaotic, there was no conflict with the experience of new things.
“And I’m confident in the Sensates’ initiation test.”
Just then, the noisy crowd parted. The excited Uli, with a middle-aged man and woman, passed through the middle and came to Shelley and the others.
“This is Shelley, my friend. This is President Mary.”
In stark contrast to the extremely excited Uli, both sides were very calm. After politely nodding at each other, they waited for the other to speak.
Shelley had never expected that the president of the Sensates would be a woman with this kind of temperament. A little strong, but not without gentleness, a combination of hardness and softness. This kind of temperament always reminded him of a female noble family head.
And this kind of woman… Shelley was best at dealing with.
And compared to the old and experienced Shelley, Mary’s heart was a little shocked.
This group of people was ridiculously good-looking, and also ridiculously young. Only the woman in the purple robe looked a little older. The others all looked to be no more than twenty years old.
(Morgan: ???)
And a legendary powerhouse under twenty… was either a genius among geniuses, or a long-lived species that looked young.
And coincidentally, at this time, Shelley looked particularly like a vampire. Beautiful, a little effeminate, with a noble aura.
She exchanged a glance with Kusa without revealing anything, and then said elegantly, “Mr. Shelley, are you sure you want to join our Sensates?”
Seeing Shelley nod, Mary took out a translucent gem.
“You are Elder Uli’s friend, which means you are a friend of our Sensates.”
“In that case, let’s keep it simple and do the test right here.”
“This is a recording gem. You can choose to inject your five most unique experiences into it, with each experience corresponding to one of the five senses.”
“You can also provide only one experience, but it must have an extremely strong five-sense stimulation.”
To join the Sensates, the only condition was the desire for experience. Whether one passed or not depended on the judgment of the faction’s elders, but this judgment was generally subjective, so…
“For the fairness of the test, we invite everyone present to experience it together and make a choice together.”
Mary was actually biased toward rejecting this kind of person of unknown origin. But this was the first time in so many years that Uli had taken the initiative to bring someone to apply to join the Sensates. She couldn’t refuse him outright, and only hoped that Shelley would not be able to pass the test in public, so that Uli would have no legitimate reason to apply again.
“Really? We can also experience it?”
“Great! Long live the president!”
“President! Divorce Kusa! I can be your sister.”
“Oh, oh, oh!”
The members of the Sensates were called “feelers.” They were the ones who liked to experience all sorts of things the most, and this of course included joining in the fun.
The entire crowd around them boiled over, as if it were a festival game, their excited expressions overflowing.
And with his sensitivity to words, Shelley had figured out the deep meaning in Mary’s words in an instant.
“She wants to put me in a difficult position, so that I won’t have the face to apply again…”
“It seems she thinks I’m up to no good.”
Morgan and Erica, who were connected to Shelley’s heart, also received Shelley’s notification at the first moment. The two of them were a little angry.
“Won’t she be breaking the rules?”
“No, she’s the president. A little willfulness doesn’t matter.”
“Then you…”
If you fail, won’t it be very embarrassing? And all of Shelley’s previous preparations, all his calculations, all his arrangements will become a joke.
Failure?
The corners of Shelley’s mouth turned up. He turned his head and said to them with a brilliant smile, “Don’t worry.”
“I… have never lost before.”
Striding forward and exchanging a light look with Mary, Shelley said nothing and took the memory gem with a light laugh. Then he slowly closed his eyes under the watchful eyes of the crowd and focused his consciousness on the recording gem.
The crowd around them gradually quieted down, all staring at Shelley nervously. Even Catherine was infected by the atmosphere, swallowed the gem in her mouth, and quietly watched the gem in Shelley’s hand light up.
“Shelley, don’t lose.”
Time passed, second by second. The emotions of the people around them began to grow more and more tense. Their whispering voices began to gradually grow louder, and finally, they gradually became normal conversation.
“Why isn’t it ready yet? This is too slow.”
Just as someone was about to shout, Catherine suddenly let out a low roar, “Shut up.”
All the voices were like chickens with their throats choked. Even a few of the weaker-race feelers began to tremble.
Dragon fear.
Mary looked at the seemingly harmless, pure white young girl with surprise. She hadn’t expected her to be an adult dragon.
“The legendary strength among them should be this dragon…”
As she was thinking, Shelley slowly opened his eyes.
For some reason, Mary felt a little uneasy. Because in those brilliant blue eyes… was full of confidence.
